the Norwalk River (a small stream), and about forty-eight miles
northeast from New York. It was among the earliest settlements in
Connecticut, having been purchased of the natives in 1640. The bounds of
the east tract, sold to Roger Ludlow, as described in the ancient
records, were "from Norwalk River to Sawhatue [Saugatuck] River, from
sea, Indian one day walk in the country"--that is, one day's north walk
into the country; hence the name of Norwalk. The articles given to the
Indians for the tract were "eight fathoms wampum, six coats, ten
hatchets, ten hoes, ten knives, ten scizers, ten juseharps, ten fathom
tobacko, three kettles of six hands about, and ten looking-glasses." The
articles given for the tract on the west side of the river, between it
and Five Mile River, sold to Captain Patrick, were "of wampum ten
fathoms, hatchets three, howes three, when ships come; six glasses,
twelve tobacko pipes, three knives, ten drills, ten needles."--Barber's
Historical Collections; Hall's Historical Records of Norwalk.
** This view is from the west side of Gregory's Point, looking north-
northwest. The promontory toward the left, covered with dark trees, is
called Fort Point. There was an Indian fortification when the first
settlers arrived at Norwalk. Further to the left, on the extreme edge of
the picture, is seen one end of the rail-road bridge, which crosses
Norwalk River. The New York and New Haven Railroad was then in progress
of construction. The point derives its name from its former proprietor,
Governor Thomas Fitch, whose residence was Norwalk. He was Governor of
the colony of Connecticut, and his name is among the beloved of his
generation. He died July 18th, 1774, in the seventy-fifth year of his
age.
Landing of Tryon at Norwalk.--Destruction of the Village.--Conduct of
Tryon.--Scenes at Darien Church.
414east side of the harbor, within a mile and a half of the bridge." *
They lay on their arms all night, awaiting the expected arrival of a
company of Loyalists. At dawn they marched toward the town, and were met
by a company of about fifty Continental soldiers, under Captain Stephen
Betts, who were posted upon an eminence known as _Gruman's Hill_, a
little east of the road. A skirmish ensued, but the little band of
patriots were soon obliged to flee before overwhelming numbers, leaving
four of their party dead. The people, greatly alarmed, fled to Belden's
Hill, five miles distant, during the night. The Continentals and a few
of the militia took post within "random cannon-shot upon the hills on
the north," whence they annoyed the enemy exceedingly. Tryon halted upon
Gruman's Hill until the other division landed at _Old Well_, ** on the
west side of the stream. The two divisions joined, and soon drove nearly
every Whig inhabitant from the village, dispersed the troops collected
upon the hills, and seized one of their cannon.
The destruction of property then commenced. Governor Tryon thus coolly
related the circumstances in his official dispatch to Sir Henry Clinton:
"After many salt-pans were destroyed, whale-boats carried on board the
fleet, and the magazines, stores, and vessels set in flames, with the
greater part of the dwelling-houses, the advanced corps were drawn back,
and the troops retired in two columns to the place of our first
debarkation, and, unassaulted, took ship, and returned to Huntington
Bay."
While the village was burning, Tryon sat in a rocking-chair upon
Gruman's Hill, and viewed the scene with apparent pleasure--a puny
imitator of Nero, who fiddled while Rome was blazing. It was a cruel and
wanton destruction of property, and none but a small mind and spiteful
heart could have conceived and consummated so foul an act. Two houses of
worship (Episcopal and Congregational), eighty dwellings, eighty-seven
barns, twenty-two stores, seventeen shops, four mills, and five vessels
were laid in ashes in the course of a few hours, and hundreds of women
and children were driven to the woods for shelter. Only six houses were
spared. One of them, now (1848) occupied by Ex-governor Bissell, was
saved through the exertions of a maiden lady living with Mr. Belden, the
then owner. Governor Tryon had been Belden's guest one night, several
years previous, and the lady went up to Gruman's Hill reminded him of
the fact, and asked for and received a protection for the house. Tryon
sent a file of soldiers with her to guard it. When the British left,
most of the resident Tories went with them. Among them was the Rev. Mr.
Leamington, the Episcopalian minister. He had continued praying for the
"king and all others in authority," according to the Liturgy of his
Church, until the people forbade him and threatened him with violence.
About five miles westward of Norwalk, on the main road to Stamford, is a
Congregational Church more than one hundred years old. Its pastor in
1781 was the Rev. Moses Mather. On Sunday, the 22d of July, the church
was surrounded by a party of Tories, under Captain Frost, just as the
congregation were singing the first tune. Dr. Mather and the men of the
congregation were taken to the banks of the Sound, thrust into boats,
and conveyed across to Lloyd's Neck, on Long Island, whence they were
carried to New York and placed in the Provost Jail. Some died there.
Nineteen of the twenty-five prisoners were exchanged and returned to
their families. Peter St. John, one of the prisoners, wrote an account
of the affair in doggerel verse. Of the Provost he says if I must
conclude that in this place We found the worst of Adam's race.
* Tryon's official dispatch.
** This place is situated a little more than a mile from the center of
the village of Norwalk. It received its name from an old well from
which, in ancient times, vessels engaged in the West Indian trade took
their supplies of water.--Barber
Visit to Gregory's Point--The Cow Pasture.--Ancient Regulations.--
Grummon's Hill.--Nathaniel Raymond.
415
Thieves, murderers, and pickpockets too,
And every thing that's bad they'd do:
One of our men found, to his cost,
Three pounds York money he had lost;
His pockets picked, I guess before
We had been there one single hour."
Dr. Mather was cruelly treated in the Provost, until his situation was
made known to Mrs. Irving, mother of our distinguished writer,
Washington Irving, who obtained permission to send him food and
clothing. He was released at the close of the year.
The Rev. Edwin Hall, of the First Congregational Church, whose
historical researches have made him familiar with localities of interest
about Norwalk, kindly accompanied me as cicerone. We rode down to
Gregory's Point, from which I sketched Tryon's landing-place, pictured
on page 413. On the beautiful plain near by stood the ancient village,
the first settlers having chosen the sea-washed level for their
residences, in preference to the higher and rougher ground at the head
of navigation, on which the present town is situated. The old village
had gone into decay, and the new town was just beginning to flourish,
when Tryon laid it in ruins. A little further seaward, upon a neck of
land comprising Fitch's Point and an extensive salt meadow, is the _Cow
Pasture_, so called from the circumstance that the cows belonging to the
settlers were pastured there, under the direction of the town
authorities. *
From Gregory's Point we rode over the hills to the estate of Mr.
Ebenezer Smith, and from a high hill near his house I sketched the
distant view of Compo, on page 402. From that eminence we obtained one
of the most beautiful prospects of land and water imaginable. Southward
was the broad mouth of the Norwalk River, with its beautiful green
islands, and beyond was the heaving Sound, dotted with sails, and
bounded by the wooded shores of Long Island in the distance. On the
right were clustered the white houses of Norwalk, and on the left
swelling Compo was stretched out, scarcely concealing the noble shade
trees of Fairfield beyond.
Returning along East Avenue to the village, I stopped near the residence
of Mr. Hall, and made the accompanying sketch of Grum-an's Hill. It is a
high elevation, a little east of the avenue, partly covered by an
orchard, and commanding a fine prospect of the village, harbor, and
Sound. Tryon sat upon the summit of the hill, where the five Lombardy
poplars are seen. The venerable Nathaniel Raymond, still living, when I
was there (1848), near the Old Well, or West Norwalk Wharf (where he had
dwelt from his birth, ninety-five years), remembers the hill being "red
with the British." He was a corporal of the guard at the time, and,
after securing his most valuable effects, and carrying his aged parents
to a place of safety three miles
* The old records of the town, quoted by Mr. Hall, exhibit many curious
features in the municipal regulations adopted by the early settlers. In
1665 it is recorded that "Walter Hait has undertaken to beat the drumm
for meeting when all occasions required, for which he is to have 10s.
Also, Thomas Benedict has undertaken to have the meeting-house swept for
the yeere ensuing; he is to have 20s." Again: "At c town meeting in
Norwalk, March the 20th, 1667, it was voted and ordered that it shall be
left to the townsmen from yere to yere to appoint a time or day, at or
before the 10th day of March, for the securing of the fences on both
sides, and that they shall give notis to all the inhabitants the night
before, and the drumb to be beten in the morning, which shall bo
accounted a sufficient warning for every man to secure his fence, or
else to bear his own damages." Again: "At the same meeting (October
17th, 1667), voted and ordered that, after the field is cleared, the
townsmen shall hier Steven Beckwith, or some other man, to fetch the
cows out of the neck [the Cow Pasture]; and he that shall be hiered
shall give warning by sounding a home about twelve of the clock, that he
that is to accompany him is to repaire to him."
Time of Tryon's Landing.--Departure from Norwalk.--New England
Villages.--The Green at Fairfield.--Pequots
416distant, shouldered his musket, and was with the few soldiers whom
Tryon boasted of having driven from the hills north of the town. He says
it was Saturday night when Tryon landed, and, like Danbury, the town was
burned on Sunday. Mr. Raymond was quite vigorous in body and mind, and
Time seemed to have used him gently. I desired to visit two other
ancient inhabitants, but the hour for the arrival of the mail-coach for
New Haven was near, and I hastened back to the hotel, whence I left for
the east between three and four o'clock in the afternoon.
The coach, a sort of tin-peddler's wagon in form, was full, and, quite
in accordance with my inclination, I took a seat with the driver. It was
a genial afternoon, and all things in nature and art combined to please
and edify. We reached Bridgeport, at the mouth of the Housatonic River,
fourteen miles east of Norwalk, at sunset, and a more pleasing variety
of beautiful scenery can nowhere be found than charmed us during that
short journey. We passed through Westport (old Saugatuck), Southport,
and Fairfield, lovely villages lying upon estuaries of Long Island
Sound, and all replete with historic interest. Unlike most modern
villages, with their rectangular streets, and exhibiting an ambitious
imitation of large cities, the neat houses, embowered in shrubbery, are
thinly scattered along winding avenues shaded by venerable trees, the
ground on either side left undulating as the hand of Nature fashioned
it. Herein consists the great beauty of the New England villages, a
beauty quite too often overlooked in other states in the process of
laying out towns. Nature and art have here wrought in harmony, and
village and country are beautifully and healthfully blended.
I was informed, before leaving Norwalk, that the "Buckly House," the
last relic of the Revolution in Fairfield, had fallen under the stroke
of public improvement, and also that no living witness of the cruelty of
Governor Tryon was there. I therefore concluded to go directly through
to New Haven that evening. During a detention of the coach for half an
hour at the post-office, in Fairfield, I made a rough sketch of the
annexed view of the village Green, which I subsequently corrected by a
picture in Barber's _Historical Collections of Connecticut_. The view is
from the eastern side of the Green, near the spacious new hotel that
fronts upon it. The jail on the left, the court-house in the center, and
the church on the right were erected upon the foundations of those that
were burned by the British in 1779, and in the same style of
architecture.. Such being the fact, the Green, from our point of view,
doubtless has the same general aspect that it presented before the
marauder desolated it. As the destruction of Fairfield was subsequent to
the incursion of the enemy into New Haven, I shall give the record of
its hard fate after noticing the movements of Tryon and his associates
at the latter place
Immediately back of Fairfield village is the celebrated swamp where the
warlike Pequots made their last stand against the English, in July,
1637. * There they were overthrown
* The Pequots, or Pequods, were a formidable tribe of Indians, having at
least seven hundred warriors. Their principal settlements were on a hill
in Groton, Connecticut. They were a terror to other tribes, and became a
great annoyance to the Connecticut and Massachusetts settlements.
Governor Endicott, of the former province, had tried to treat with them,
but in vain, and their bold defiance of the whites increased Early in
1637 they attacked the small English fort at Saybrook, murdered several
women of Weathersfield, and carried away two girls into captivity. The
colonists mustered all their able men, and, being joined by portions of
the Mohegans, Narragansets, and Niantic tribes, fell upon the Pequots in
their retreat upon the Mystic River. A warm battle ensued, and the
Pequots were beaten. They fought desperately, but were finally driven
westward, and took shelter in the swamp near Fairfield. Sassacus, their
chief, escaped to the Mohawks, by whom he was afterward murdered. The
Indian name of Fairfield was Unguowa. Mr. Ludlow, who accompanied the
English troops, and was afterward Deputy-governor of the colony of
Connecticut, pleased with the country in the neighborhood of the Sasco
Swamp, began, with others, a plantation there, and called it their fair
field. Hence its name.
Destruction of the Pequots.--Greenfield Hill.--Dwight's Poem.--Journey
to New Haven.--A Stroll to East Rock.
417and annihilated, and the place has ever since been called the Pequot
Swamp. They might have escaped had not one of their number, who loitered
behind, been captured by Captain Mason, and compelled to disclose the
retreat of his comrades. One hundred were made prisoners, the residue
were destroyed. The fort at Mystic had previously been demolished, and
they took refuge in this swamp.
We passed in sight of Greenfield Hill, near the village, renowned for
its academy and church, wherein President Dwight, of Yale College,
officiated as tutor and pastor for twelve years. The view from the hill
is said to be exceedingly fine, and from the belfry of the church no
less than seventeen houses of worship may be seen, in Fairfield and the
adjacent villages. Dr. Dwight, while minister of Greenfield, wrote a
poem called "Greenfield Hill." Referring to the view from the belfry, he
exclaims,
"Heavens, what a matchless group of beauties rare
Southward expands! where, crown'd with yon tall oak,
Round Hill the circling land and sea o'erlooks;
Or, smoothly sloping, Grover's beauteous rise,
Spreads its green sides and lifts its single tree,
Glad mark for seamen; or, with ruder face,
Orchards, and fields, and groves, and houses rare,
And scatter'd cedars, Mill Hill meets the eye;
Or where, beyond, with every beauty clad,
More distant heights in vernal pride ascend.
On either side a long, continued range,
In all the charms of rural nature dress'd,
Slopes gently to the main. Ere Try on sunk
To infamy unfathom'd, through yon groves
Once glisten'd Norwalk's white ascending spires,
And soon, if Heaven permit, shall shine again.
Here, sky-encircled, Stratford's churches beam;
And Stratfield's turrets greet the roving eye.
In clear, full view, with every varied charm
That forms the finish'd landscape, blending soft
In matchless union, Fairfield and Green's Farms
Give luster to the day. Here, crown'd with pines
And skirting groves, with creeks and havens fair
Embellish'd, fed with many a beauteous stream,
Prince of the waves, and ocean's favorite child,
Far westward fading, in confusion blue,
And eastward stretch'd beyond the human ken,
And mingled with the sky; there Longa's Sound
Glorious expands."
The evening closed in, mild and balmy, before we reached Stratford,
three miles eastward of Bridgeport, and the beautiful country through
which we were passing was hidden from view. We crossed several small
estuaries, and the vapor that arose from the grassy salt marshes was
grateful to the nostrils. The warm land-breeze ceased at eight o'clock,
and a strong wind from the ocean brought a chilling fog upon its wings,
which veiled the stars, and made us welcome the sparkling lights of New
Haven as we descended Milford Hill and crossed the broad salt marsh that
skirts the western suburbs of the town. We arrived at the _Tontine_ a
little after nine, and supped with a keen appetite, for I had fasted
since breakfast at Ridgefield at ten in the morning. It was Saturday
night, and the weary journeys of the week made the privileges of the
approaching day of rest appear peculiarly valuable.
"The morning dawn'd with tokens of a storm--
A ruddy cloud athwart the eastern sky
Glow'd with the omens of a tempest near;"
Yet I ventured to stroll out to East Rock, two miles east-northeast of
the city. Crossing the bridge at the factory owned by the late Eli
Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin that bears his name, I toiled up the
steep slope through the woods to the summit of the rock,
East Rock.--View from its Summit.--Quinnipiack.--Settlement of New
Haven.
418nearly four hundred feet above the plain below. This rock is the
southern extremity of the Mount Tom range of hills. It lies contiguous
to a similar amorphous mass called West Rock, and both are composed
principally of hornblende and feldspar, interspersed with quartz and
iron. The oxyd of iron, by the action of rains, covers their bare and
almost perpendicular fronts, and gives them their red appearance, which
caused the Dutch anciently to designate the site of New Haven by the
name of _Red Rock._ The fronts of these rocks are composed of
assemblages of vast irregular columns, similar in appearance to the
Palisades of the Hudson, and, like them, having great beds of debris at
their bases. A view from either will repay the traveler for his labor in
reaching the summit. That from the East Rock is particularly attractive,
for it embraces the harbor, city, plain, and almost every point of
historical interest connected with New Haven, or Quinnipiack, as the
Indians called it
"I stood upon the cliff's extremest edge,
And downward far beneath me could I see
Complaining brooks that played with meadow sedge,
Then brightly wandered on their journey free."
Willis Gaylord Clarke.
Winding through the plain were Mill River and the Quinnipiack, spanned
by noble bridges near the city that lay stretched along the beautiful
bay; and
"Beyond
The distant temple spires that lift their points
In harmony above the leaf-clad town--
Beyond the calm bay and the restless Sound
Was the blue island stretching like a cloud
Where the sky stoops to earth: the Rock was smooth,
And there upon the table-stone sad youths
Had carved, unheeded, names, to weave for them
That insect's immortality that lies
In stone, for ages, on a showman's shelf."
L. M. N.=
East and West Haven, where the two divisions of the British invading
force landed in 1779, Fort Hale, whence they departed; Neck Bridge,
across Mill River, under which the fugitive judges of King Charles I.
were concealed; and West Rock, where they "raised their Ebenezer" and
dwelt in seclusion for some time, were all in full view. With a spirit
fraught with reverence for the past, and with scenery hallowed by the
presence of "young antiquity' spread out before us, let us sit down a
moment and listen to the teachings of the chronicler In the summer of
1637 several wealthy and influential English gentlemen arrived at Bos
ton, preparatory to making a permanent location in wilderness America.
The young colony of Massachusetts Bay regarded them with great favor,
and various settlements coveted the honor of numbering them among their
proprietors. But they determined to plant a distinct colony, and, having
heard of the beautiful country along the Sound, from Saybrook to the
Saugatuck, discovered by the English in their pursuit of the Pequots,
they projected a settlement in that part of the land. In the autumn a
portion of them made a journey to Connecticut, to explore the harbors
and lands along the coasts, who finally decided upon the beautiful plain
on the Quinnipiack for settlement, and built a log hut there. *
In the spring of 1638 the principal men of the new emigration to the
colony--Rev. Mr. Davenport, Mr. Pruden, and Samuel and Theophilus Eaton-
-with the people of their company, sailed from Boston for Quinnipiack.
They reached the haven in about a fortnight, and their first Sabbath
there was the 18th of April, 1638. The people assembled under a large
oak, that stood where George and College Streets intersect; and under
its venerable branches the New Haven and Milford Churches were afterward
formed. Designing to make a large and flourishing settlement, founded on
strict justice, they purchased the land of Mau-
* This was upon the corner of the present Church and George Streets, New
Haven.--Barber.
Organic Law of the New Haven Colony.--The "Regicides."--The
Concealment.--Friendship of Davenport.--Narrow Escape.
419maguin, the chief sachem of that region, on honorable terms, and
entered into what they called a _plantation covenant_ with each other.
They laid out their town-plat in squares, designing it for an elegant
city. They prospered for more than a year without any fixed laws, and in
1639 proceeded to lay the foundation of their civil and religious
polity. Theophilus Eaton was chosen governor, and Mr. Davenport gave him
a serious charge before all the people, from Deut., i., 16, 17. It was
decreed by the freemen that there should be a general court annually in
the plantation, on the last week in October. This was ordained a court
of election, in which all the officers of the colony were to be chosen.
This court determined that the Word of God should be the only rule for
ordering the affairs of government in that commonwealth.
This was the original fundamental Constitution of New Haven, brief in
words, but powerful in principle, for the Bible was the statute book. It
exhibited the same general religious aspect in its external affairs as
that of the Massachusetts colony. Seven pillars of the Church were
chosen, and all government was originally in the Church. The members of
the Church (none others being possessed of the elective franchise)
elected the governor, magistrates, and all other officers. The
magistrates were merely the assistants of the governor. * Thus the new
colony, having its foundation laid upon divine laws and strong faith in
man, began a glorious career; and the little settlement, ambitious of
excellence, has grown to be, if not the largest, one of the most
beautiful cities in the Western World. From the time of its foundation
until the Revolution broke out, its history, like that of the other New
England settlements, exhibits the ebbing and flowing of the tide of
prosperity, under the influences of the laws of the supreme government
and the pressure of Indian hostilities; sometimes burdened and cast down
by the injustice of the former, and menaced with overthrow and ruin by
the latter.
New Haven became famous as the "city of refuge" for three of the English
regicides, or judges who condemned King Charles I. to death. They were
Generals Goffe and Whalley, and Colonel Dixwell. Whalley was descended
from a very ancient family, and was a relative of Oliver Cromwell. Goffe
was the son of a Puritan divine, and married a daughter of Whalley.
Dixwell was a wealthy country gentleman of Kent, and was a member of
Parliament in 1654. On the restoration of Charles II. to the throne of
his father, many of the judges were arrested; thirty were condemned to
death, and ten were executed. The three above named escaped to New
England. Goffe and Whalley arrived at Boston in July, 1660, and took up
their residence in Cambridge. Feeling insecure there, they removed to
New Haven, where their unaffected piety won for them the confidence and
esteem of the people, and particularly of the minister, Mr. Davenport.
Their apparent freedom from danger lasted but a few days. The
proclamation of Charles, offering a large reward for their apprehension,
and the news that pursuers were on the scent, reached them at the same
time, and they were obliged to flee. They took shelter in a rocky
cavern, on the top of West Rock, where they were supplied daily with
food by their friends. They shifted their place of abode from time to
time, calling each locality _Ebenezer_, and occasionally appeared
publicly in New Haven. On one occasion they sat under the Neck Bridge,
upon Mill River, when their pursuers passed over; and several times they
came near falling into their hands. The people generally favored their
escape, and for their lives they owed much to Mr. Davenport. **
* Trumbull's History of Connecticut; Barber's History of New Haven.
** About the time when the pursuers were expected at New Haven, Mr.
Davenport preached publicly from the text, "Take counsel, execute
judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon-day;
hide the outcasts; betray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts
dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the
spoilers." Isaiah, xvi., 3, 4. The sermon had the effect to put the
whole town upon their guard, and made the people resolve on concealment
of the "outcasts." The following anecdote is related of Goffe, while he
was in Boston: A fencing-master erected a stage, and upon it he walked
several days, defying any one to a combat with swords. Goffe wrapped a
huge cheese in a napkin for a shield, and, arming himself with a mop
filled with dirty water from a pool, mounted the stage and accepted the
challenge. The fencing-master attempted to drive him off, but Goffe
skillfully received the thrusts of his sword into the cheese. At the
third lunge of his antagonist, Goffe held the sword fast in his soft
shield long enough to smear the face of the fencing-master with the
filthy mop. Enraged, the challenger caught up a broad-sword, when Goffe
exclaimed, with a firm voice, "Stop, sir; hitherto, you see, I have only
played with you, and not attempted to harm you; but if you come at me
now with the broad-sword, know that I will certainly take your life."
Goffe's firmness alarmed the fencing-master, who exclaimed, "Who can you
be? You must be either Goffe, Whalley, or the devil, for there was no
other man in England could beat me."
Goffe at Hadley.--Colonel Dixwell.--Tomb stones of the Regicides.--Stamp
Act Proceedings.
420In the autumn they left New Haven and went to Hadley. While there,
eleven years afterward, _King Philip's War_ took place. While the people
of the town were in their meeting-house, observing a fast, a body of
Indians surrounded them. The continual expectation of such an event made
the inhabitants always go armed to worship. They were so armed on this
occasion, and sallied out to drive off the savages. At that moment there
appeared in their midst a man of venerable aspect and singular costume,
who placed himself at the head of the people, and, by causing them to
observe strict military tactics, enabled them to disperse the
assailants. The stranger then disappeared. The people believed an angel
had been sent to lead them and effect a victory. The angel was General
Goffe.
Colonel Dixwell was with Goffe and Whalley much of the time of their
long exile. His latter years were passed in New Haven, where he called
himself James Davids, Esq. He acknowledged his name and character before
his death, which occurred in 1688, about a month previous to the arrest
of Governor Andros in Boston. The governor was hated by the colonists,
and when the news of the revolution in England, which Dixwell had
predicted, reached Boston, the people seized the obnoxious chief
magistrate and thrust him into prison. *
Goffe and Whalley died at Hadley, and it is supposed that their bodies
were afterward secretly conveyed to New Haven. In the old burying-ground
in that city, in the rear of the Center Church, are stones which bear
the initials of the regicides. They are standing separate; I have
grouped them for convenience. The two marked E. W. are the head and foot
stones of Whatley's grave; and the date, by an extension below the five,
may read 1658 or 1678. He died about 1678. These stones are about two
feet wide and high, and eight inches thick. Goffe's, marked 80 and M.
G., is only ten inches high. The M, it is supposed, is an inverted W.
Dix-well's stone, seen in front, is two and a half feet high and broad.
It is a red stone; the others are a sort of dark blue stone. The reason
given for inscribing only their initials on their stones is, a fear that
some sycophant of royalty, "clothed with a little brief authority" in
New England, might disturb their remains. ** New Haven was greatly
agitated by proceedings growing out of the Stamp Act. It was among the
earliest of the New England towns that echoed the voice of opposition
raised by Boston against the oppression of the mother country, and the
people were generally zealous in maintaining the liberty of action
professed to be secured to them by disannulled charters. When Ingersoll,
who was appointed stamp-master (or the agent of government to sell
"stamped paper"), announced the reception of the objectionable articles,
New Haven soon became in a state of actual rebellion. Ingersoll was
menaced with every indignity, and even his life was proclaimed forfeit
by some, if he persisted in exercising his new vocation. Finding
September 19, 1765 own town too warm for him, he proceeded toward
Hartford. He was met near Weathersfield by a deputation of about five
hundred men, and, when in the town, they demanded his resignation of the
office. He refused acquiescence, on the reasonable plea that he awaited
the action of the General Assembly of Connecticut, whose com-
* Stiles's History of the Regicides; Barber's History of New Haven.
** A lineal descendant of Colonel Dixwell asked and received permission
of the authorities of New Haven to disinter the remains of his ancestor,
and bury them beneath a monument which he proposed to erect to his
memory, on College Green, in the rear of the Center Church. They were
accordingly removed in November 1849, and a neat monument, surrounded by
an iron railing, is erected there.
Treatment of the Stamp-master.--Joy on the Repeal of the Act.--
Patriotism of the People.--Boldness of Benedict Arnold
421mands in the premises he should implicitly obey. But the people would
listen to no legal excuses, and he, "thinking the cause not worth dying
for," yielded to the menaces of the people, and signed a paper declaring
his resignation of the office. He was then forced to stand up and read
it to the people. Not content with this, they made him throw up his hat,
cry out "Liberty and property," and give three cheers. After dining, he
was conducted to Hartford by a cavalcade of about one thousand, who
surrounded the court-house, and caused him to read his resignation in
the presence of the members of the Assembly.
The people were quite as much excited by joy when the news of the repeal
of the noxious act reached them, in May, 1766. The fact was thus
announced on the 23d of May, by a New Haven newspaper: "Last Monday
morning, early, an express arrived here with the charming news, soon
after which many of the inhabitants were awakened with the noise of
small arms from different quarters of the town; all the bells were rung,
and cannon roared the glad tidings. In the afternoon the clergy publicly
returned thanks for the blessing, and a company of militia were
collected, under the principal direction of Colonel [afterward General]
Wooster. In the evening were illuminations, bonfires, and dances, all
without any remarkable indecency or disorder. The arrival of the regular
post from Boston last night has completed our joy for the wise and
interesting repeal of the Stamp Act. Business will soon be transacted as
usual in this loyal colony. In short, every thing in nature seems to
wear a more cheerful aspect than usual--to a great majority."
In all subsequent proceedings, in opposition to the unjust acts of the
British government toward the colonies, New Haven was famed for its zeal
and firmness; and the people of Boston received its warmest sympathies
and support in all the trials through which they had to pass, under the
royal displeasure, from 1768 until 1776, when that city was purged of
the enemies of freedom by the Continental army, under Washington.
New Haven was among the first of the New England towns that sent
soldiers to the fields of the Revolution. The news of the skirmish at
Lexington reached New Haven at about noon the next day. Ben April, 1775
edict Arnold was then the captain of the Governor's Guards. He summoned
his corps, and proposed starting immediately for Lexington. About forty
of them consented to go. * Arnold requested the town authorities to
furnish the company with ammunition. They refused, and the hot patriot
marched his men to the house where the select-men were in session,
formed a line in front, and sent in word that, if the keys of the
* Among the members of the company who went with Arnold were Mr. Earl, a
portrait painter, and Amos Doolittle, an engraver. Mr. Earl made four
drawings of Lexington and Concord, which were afterward engraved by Mr.
Doolittle. The plates were twelve by eighteen inches in size, and were
executed with great dispatch, for in the Connecticut Journal of December
13th, 1775, is the following advertisement:
"This day published,
"And to be sold at the store of Mr. James Lockwood, near the college in
New Haven, four different views of the battles of Lexington, Concord,
&e., on the 19th of April, 1775.
"Plate I., the battle of Lexington.
"Plate II., a view of the town of Concord, with the ministerial troops
destroying the stores.
"Plate III., the battle at the North Bridge, in Concord.
"Plate IV., the south part of Lexington, when the first detachment was
joined by Lord Percy.
"The above four plates are neatly engraven on copper, from original
paintings taken on the spot.
"Price, six shillings per set for plain ones, or eight shillings
colored."
* The engraving of the first of the above-named plates was Mr.
Doolittle's earliest effort in that branch of art; and it is not a
little singular that his last day's labor with the burin was bestowed
upon a reduced copy of the same picture, for Barber's History of New
Haven, executed in 1832. A copy of this print will be found on page 524.
** Arnold lived in Water Street, near the ship-yard. The house is still
standing (1848), on the left side if the street going toward the water
It is a handsome frame building, embowered in shrubbery. In the garret
of the house the sign was found recently which hung over the door of
Arnold's store, in Water Street It was black, with white letters, and
painted precisely alike on both sides. It was lettered
B, Arnold, Druggist,
Bookseller, &c.,
FROM LONDON.
Sibi Tolique.
* The Latin motto may be rendered, For himself and for the whole, or for
all. Arnold combined the selling of drugs and books in New Haven from
1763 to 1767.
March of Arnold and his Company to Cambridge.--Expedition under Tryon.--
Landing of the Troops near New Haven.
422powder-house were not delivered to him within five minutes, he would
order his company to break it open and help themselves. The keys were
given up, the powder was procured, and soon the volunteers were on their
march through Wethersfield and Pomfret, for Cambridge. At Pomfret they
were joined by General Putnam, who left his plow in the furrow, and, on
arriving at Cambridge, they took possession of the elegant mansion of
Governor Oliver, who had fled from the vicinity. Arnold's corps made a
fine appearance, and so correct was their discipline, that they were
chosen to deliver to Governor Gage the body of a British officer who had
died from wounds received at Lexington.
New Haven suffered equally with its sister towns of the sea-board during
the whole war for independence, but the severest trial it endured was an
invasion by a British force, under Governor Tryon of New York, and
Brigadier-general Garth, in the summer of 1779. For some time the idea
of a predatory war against the Americans had occupied the British
commanders here. They finally decided upon the measure, and submitted
their plans to the ministry at home. Wearied by fruitless endeavors to
quell the rebellion, the king and his advisers readily consented to the
prosecution of any scheme that promised success. Arthur Lee, the
political spy abroad upon the movements of the British ministry,
immediately forwarded to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, and the
Committee for Foreign Affairs, information of the intended change in
military operations. Under date of Paris, April 6th, 1779, he says, "I
have received intelligence that it is determined in the British cabinet
to send over immediate orders to New York for an expedition through the
Sound, up Connecticut River. The enemy are to land at Wethersfield, and
proceed by land to New Haven Bay, where they are to re-embark, after
having plundered, burned, and destroyed all in their way." Adverse
winds, and the capture of some of the papers sent by Lee, prevented the
Americans from receiving timely warning.
Having received the ministerial instructions, Sir Henry Clinton
proceeded to execute his orders. Governor Tryon was considered a very
proper instrument to perform the nefarious service, and a force of
twenty-six hundred men was put under his command, with Brigadier-general
Garth as his lieutenant. These were placed upon two ships of war (the
Camilla and Scorpion), with transports and tenders, forty-eight in
number, commanded by Commodore Sir George Collier, and toward evening of
the 3d of July they passed through Hell Gate into the Sound. On the 4th,
while the patriots on land were celebrating the adoption of the
Declaration of Independence, the two commanders joined in drawing up a
proclamation and an address to the inhabitants of Connecticut, inviting
and urging them to return to their allegiance, and promising ample
protection in person and property to those who should remain peaceably
in their dwellings, excepting the civil and military officers of the
rebel government. This address was sent on shore and distributed, but,
before the inhabitants had time to consult upon the public good, the
enemy was among them.
July, 1779Collier's fleet sailed up New Haven Bay on the night of the
4th, and early the next (Monday) morning landed in two divisions, those
under Tryon at East Haven, and those under Garth at West Haven. The
latter landed about sunrise, and im-
* This is a view of the spot where Garth landed, in Orange, formerly
West Haven. It is between three and four miles below New Haven, on the
western side of the harbor entrance, and is a place of considerable
resort in summer for the people of the city.
Alarm in New Haven.--Bravery of the Militia.--Battle on Milford Hill.--
West Bridge.--Death of Campbell.
423mediately prepared to march upon the town. Information of the
approach of the enemy having reached New Haven the previous evening,
preparations had been made for defense. All, however, was confusion and
alarm, and the care of families and property occupied those who
otherwise might have made a successful stand against the invaders. Many
of the inhabitants took refuge upon East Rock, where they remained until
the departure of the enemy.
The first opposition to the invaders was made by twenty-five of the
inhabitants of the town (some of whom were students of Yale College),
under Captain Hillhouse, who met an advanced party of the enemy on
Milford Hill. Already the West Bridge on the Milford Road had been
destroyed, some field pieces taken thither, and slight breast-works
thrown up
Although there was but a handful of Americans, they were animated by
such spirit, when they saw their homes and families in peril, that they
drove the advancing enemy nearly back to their landing-place, and took
one prisoner. The whole body of the invaders now moved forward, with
strong flanking parties and two field pieces. The cannons of the
Americans at West Bridge kept up such a brisk fire that the enemy dared
not venture further upon that road, but moved along Milford Hill,
northward to the Derby Road, to enter the town by that avenue. This
movement required a circuitous march of several miles. The first
attacking party of the Americans, continually augmenting, soon swelled
to a hundred and fifty, and a sharp conflict ensued with the enemy's
left flank, near the Milford Road. In this skirmish Major Campbell, the
British adjutant, was killed. He was singled out by a militia-man
concealed behind a rock, and fell, pierced by a musket-ball
* This view is from the Milford Road, eastward of West Bridge. The high
ground in the distance is Milford Hill, on which is seen the road,
directly over the umbrella. A little to the right of the road is the
spot where Major Campbell was buried. West Bridge is about a mile and a
half from the central part of New Haven.
** This rude memorial was erected in 1831, by J. W. Barber, Esq., of New
Haven, the historian of that city, and author of the Historical
Collections of Connecticut, as a tribute of respect for a meritorious
officer. It is about a foot and a half high. The site of Campbell's
grave was pointed out to Mr. Barber by the late Chauncy Ailing, who saw
him buried. Several Americans, who were killed at the same time, were
buried near. Their remains were afterward removed. Those of Adjutant
Campbell rest undisturbed.
Campbell's Grave.--Entrance of tbe Enemy into New Haven.--Dr. Daggett
and his Treatment--Landing of Tryon.
424near his heart. He was wrapped in a blanket, and carried upon a
sheep-litter to a house near by, where he expired. He was buried in a
shallow grave not far from the spot where he fell, on the summit of the
high ground near the intersection of the Milford and West Haven Roads,
in the southwest corner of a field known as _Campbell's Lot._
After the skirmish, the British pressed onward toward the Derby Road.
Eye-witnesses described their appearance from points near the city as
very brilliant; Milford Hill seemed all in a blaze, from the mingled
effects upon the eye of scarlet uniforms and glittering arms. The
Americans annoyed them exceedingly all the way to Thompson's Bridge (now
Westville), on the Derby Road, and the small force at West Bridge, under
Captain Phineas Bradley, hastened to that point to oppose their passage.
Bradley was too late; Garth had possession of the bridge and the
fording-places of the stream, and, after a sharp skirmish of ten
minutes, he drove the militia before him, and marched triumphantly into
the town between twelve and one o'clock. He had been piloted all the way
from the landing-place by a young Tory named William Chandler, who, with
his father and family, left New Haven when the enemy departed.
Among those who went out to the West Bridge and beyond, to oppose the
enemy, was the Rev. Dr. Daggett, * then late President of Yale College,
and a warm republican. Armed with a musket, he joined his friends to
oppose the common enemy. Near the West Bridge he was wounded and made a
prisoner, and, but for the interference of young Chandler, the Tory
guide, who had been a student in the college, he would doubtless have
been murdered. He was cruelly injured with bayonets, and by a severe
blow across the bowels with the butt of a musket, after he had
surrendered and begged for quarters. ** Yet his firmness did not forsake
him. While abused and cursed, he was asked whether, if released, he
would again take up arms against them, and replied, "I rather believe I
shall if I get an opportunity."
As soon as the boats that conveyed the first division of the enemy to
shore returned, the second division, under Tryon, consisting chiefly of
Hessians and Tories, landed, with two pieces of cannon, on the east side
of the harbor, where the light-house now stands. They marched up and
attacked the little fort on Black Rock (now Fort Hale), which was
defended by a feeble garrison of only nineteen men, with three pieces of
artillery. After a slight skirmish, the Americans were driven from the
post. The enemy then pushed toward the town, while their shipping drew
nearer and menaced the inhab-
* Naphtali Daggett was a native of Battleborough, Massachusetts. He
graduated at Yale College in 1748, and in 1756 was appointed professor
of divinity in that institution, whieh office he held until his death.
He officiated as president of the college from 1766 until 1777, when he
was succeeded by Dr. Stiles. He died November 25th, 1780, aged about
sixty years.
** "I was insulted," says the doctor, in his account preserved in MS. in
the office of the Secretary of State, at Hartford, "in the most shocking
manner by the ruffian soldiers, many of which came at me with fixed
bayonets, and swore they would kill me on the spot. They drove me with
the main body a hasty march of five miles or more. They damned me, those
that took me, because they spared my life. Thus, amid a thousand
insults, my infernal drivers hastened me along, faster than my strength
would admit in the extreme heat of the day, weakened as I was by my
wounds and the loss of blood, which, at a moderate computation, could
not be less than one quart. And when I failed, in some degree, through
faintness, he would strike me on the back with a heavy walking-staff,
and kick me behind with his foot. At length, by the supporting power of
God, I arrived at the Green, New Haven. But my life was almost spent,
the world around me several times appearing as dark as midnight. I
obtained leave of an officer to be carried into the Widow Lyman's and
laid upon a bed, where I lay the rest of the day and succeeding night,
in such acute and excruciating pain as I never felt before."
Conduct of the Enemy.--People on East Rock.--Evacuation by the British.-
-Destruction of Fairfield.
425itants with bombardment. At the bridge over Neck Creek (Tomlinson's
Bridge) the Americans made some resistance with a field piece, but were
soon obliged to yield to superior numbers and discipline. Before night
the town was completely possessed by the invaders. Throughout the
remainder of the day and night the soldiery committed many excesses and
crimes, plundering deserted houses, ravishing unprotected women, and
murdering several citizens, among whom were the venerable Mr. Beers, and
an aged and helpless man named English.
The general movements of the enemy through the day could be seen by the
fugitive inhabitants on East Neck, and gloomy indeed was the night they
passed there. Families were separated, for the men were generally
mustering from all parts of the adjacent country to expel the enemy.
Anxiously their hearts beat for kindred then in peril, and eagerly their
eyes were turned toward their homes, in momentary expectation of
beholding them in flames.
It was Garth's intention to burn the town. He declared, in a note to
Tryon, that the "conflagration it so richly deserved should commence as
soon as he should secure the Neck Bridge." But during the night he
changed his mind. Early on Sunday morning, a July 7, 1779perceiving the
militia collecting in large numbers, he called in his guards, and
retreated to his boats. Part of his troops went on board the ships, and
part crossed over to East Haven, where they joined Tryon's division.
Toward that point the militia now directed their attention. In the
afternoon, finding himself hard pressed by the citizen soldiers that
were flocking to New Haven from the adjacent country, Tryon ordered a
retreat to the shipping. Several buildings and some vessels and stores
were set on fire at East Haven when they left. At five o'clock the fleet
weighed anchor and sailed westward, carrying away about forty of the
inhabitants of the town.
The appetite of Tryon and his troops for pillage and murder was not
sated when, on the afternoon of the 7th, they embarked from Fort Rock,
now Fort Hale. * Sailing down the Sound, they anchored off the village
of Fairfield on the morning of the 8th. After a fog that lay upon the
waters had cleared away, they landed a little eastward of Kensie's
Point, at a place called the Pines, and marched immediately to the
village. Dr. Timothy Dwight has given a graphic description of the
destruction of the town. "On the 7th of July, 1779," he says, "Governor
Tryon, with the army I have already mentioned, sailed from New Haven to
Fairfield, and the next morning disembarked upon the beach. A few
militia assembled to oppose them, and, in a desultory, scattered manner,
fought with great intrepidity through most of the day. They killed some,
took several prisoners, and wounded more. But the expedition was so
sudden and unexpected, that efforts made in this manner were necessarily
fruitless. The town was plundered; a great part of the houses, together
with two churches, the court-house, jail, and school-houses, were
burned. The barns had just been filled with wheat and other produce. The
inhabitants, therefore, were turned out into the world almost literally
destitute.
"Mrs. Burr, the wife of Thaddeus Burr, Esq., high sheriff of the county,
resolved to continue in the mansion-house of the family, and make an
attempt to save it from conflagration The house stood at a sufficient
distance from other buildings. Mrs. Burr was adorned with all the
qualities which give distinction to her sex; possessed of fine
accomplishments, and a dignity of character scarcely rivaled; and
probably had never known what it was to be treated with disrespect, or
even with inattention. She made a personal application to Governor
Tryon, in terms which, from a lady of her high respectability, could
hardly have failed of a satisfactory answer from any person who claimed
the title of a gentleman. The answer which she actually received was,
however, rude and brutal, and spoke the want, not only of politeness and
humanity, but even of vulgar civility. The house was sentenced to the
flames, and was speedily set on fire. An attempt was made in the mean
time, by some
* Fort Hale is situated upon an insulated rock, two miles from the end
of Long Wharf, New Haven. It was named in honor of Captain Nathan Hale,
one of the early Revolutionary martyrs. The Americans had a battery of
three guns upon this point, which greatly annoyed the enemy when landing
Dwight's Account of the Destruction of Fairfield.--Tryon's Apology.--
Extent of the Destruction.--The Buckley House.
426of the soldiery, to rob her of a valuable watch, with rich furniture;
for Governor Tryon refused to protect her, as well as to preserve the
house. The watch had been already conveyed out of their reach; but the
house, filled with every thing which contributes either to comfort or
elegance of living, was laid in ashes.
"While the town was in flames a thunder-storm overspread the heavens,
just as night came on. The conflagration of near two hundred houses
illumined the earth, the skirts of the clouds, and the waves of the
Sound with a union of gloom and grandeur at once inexpressibly awful and
magnificent. The sky speedily was hung with the deepest darkness
Wherever the clouds were not tinged by the melancholy luster of the
flames. The thunder rolled above. Beneath, the roaring of the fires
filled up the intervals with a deep and hollow sound, which seemed to be
the protracted murmur of the thunder reverberated from one end of heaven
to the other. Add to this convulsion of the elements, and these dreadful
effects of vindictive and wanton devastation, the trembling of the
earth, the sharp sound of muskets occasionally discharged, the groans
here and there of the wounded and dying, and the shouts of triumph; then
place before your eyes crowds of the miserable sufferers, mingled with
bodies of the militia, and from the neighboring hills taking a farewell
prospect of their property and their dwellings, their happiness and
their hopes, and you will form a just, but imperfect, picture of the
burning of Fairfield. It needed no great effort of imagination to
believe that the final day had arrived, and that, amid this funereal
darkness, the morning would speedily dawn to which no night would ever
succeed; the graves yield up their inhabitants; and the trial commence,
at which was to be finally settled the destiny of man.
"The apology made by Governor Tryon for this Indian effort was conveyed
in the following sentence: 'The village was burned, to resent the fire
of the rebels from their houses, and to mask our retreat.' This
declaration unequivocally proves that the rebels were troublesome to
their invaders, and at the same time is to be considered as the best
apology which they are able to make. But it contains a palpable
falsehood, intended to justify conduct which admits of no excuse, and
rejects with disdain every attempt at palliation. Why did this body of
men land at Fairfield at all? There were here no stores, no fortress, no
enemy, except such as were to be found in every village throughout the
United States. It was undoubtedly the original object of the expedition
to set fire to this town, and the apology was created after the work was
done. It was perfectly unnecessary to mask the retreat. The townsmen,
and the little collection of farmers assembled to aid them, had no power
to disturb it. No British officer, no British soldier would confess
that, in these circumstances, he felt the least anxiety concerning any
molestation from such opposers. The next morning the troops re-embarked,
and, proceeding to Green's Farms, set fire to the church and consumed
it, together with fifteen dwelling-houses, eleven barns, and several
stores." *
The Hessians who accompanied Tryon were his incendiaries. To them he
intrusted the wielding of the torch, and faithfully they obeyed their
master.
When the people fled from the town, not expecting that their houses
would be burned, they left most of their furniture behind. The distress
was consequently great, for many lost every earthly possession.
Among the buildings saved was that
* Dwight's Travels in New England, in., 512. According to a document in
the office of the Secretary of State of Connecticut, the number of
buildings destroyed was ninety-seven dwellings, sixty-seven barns,
forty-eight stores, two school-houses, one county-house, two meeting-
houses, and one Episcopal Church.
* This building stood upon the eastern side of the Green, fronting the
church. It was demolished three or four years ago, having stood more
than a century and a half. The engraving is a copy, by permission of the
author, from Barber's Historical Collections of Connecticut, page 353.
Tryon lodged in the upper room on the right of the main building.
Treatment of Mrs. Buckley.--Interference of General Silliman.--
Humphreys's Elegy on the Burning of Fairfield
427of Mr. Buckley, pictured in the engraving. Tryon made it his head-
quarters. The naval officer who had charge of the British ships, and
piloted them to Fairfield, was Mrs. Buckley's brother, and he had
requested Tryon to spare the house of his sister. Tryon acquiesced, and,
feeling his indebtedness to her brother, the general informed Mrs.
Buckley that if there was any other house she wished to save she should
be gratified. After the enemy left, the enraged militia, under Captain
Sturges, placed a field piece in front of the dwelling, and then sent
Mrs Buckley word that she might have two hours to clear the house, and
leave it, or they would blow her to atoms. She found means to
communicate a notice of her situation to General Silliman, who was about
two miles distant. He immediately went to the town, and found one
hundred and fifty men at the cannon. By threats and persuasion he
induced them to withdraw. The next day Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, with
his regiment, arrived from White Plains, and, encamping on the smoking
ruins, made Tryon's quarters his own. *
The cruelties committed upon helpless women and children, and the wanton
destruction of property, at Fairfield, were worthy only of savages, and
made the name of Tryon a synonym for every thing infernal. The passions
of the soldiery were excited by strong drink, and murder, pillage, and
brutal violence to women were their employment throughout the night.
Like similar outrages elsewhere, these awakened the strongest feelings
of hatred and revenge against the common enemy, and the pen, the pulpit,
and the forum sent forth their righteous denunciations. Colonel David
Humphreys, the soldier-poet of the Revolution, visited the scene of
destruction soon after the event, and wrote the following elegy while on
the spot.
"Ye smoking ruins, marks of hostile ire,
Ye ashes warm, which drink the tears that flow,
Ye desolated plains, my voice inspire,
And give soft music to the song of woe.
How pleasant, Fairfield, on the enraptured sight
Rose thy tall spires and oped thy social halls!
How oft my bosom beat with pure delight
At yonder spot where stand thy darken'd walls!
But there the voice of mirth resounds no more.
A silent sadness through the streets prevails;
The distant main alone is heard to roar,
The hollow chimneys hum with sudden gales--
Save where scorch'd elms the untimely foliage shed,
Which, rustling, hovers round the faded green--
Save where, at twilight, mourners frequent tread,
Mid recent graves, o'er desolation's scene.
How changed the blissful prospect when compared,
These glooms funereal, with thy former bloom,
Thy hospitable rights when Tryon shared,
Long ere he seal'd thy melancholy doom.
That impious wretch with coward voice decreed
Defenseless domes and hallow'd fanes to dust;
Beheld, with sneering smile, the wounded bleed,
And spurr'd his bands to rapine, blood, and last.
Vain was the widow's, vain the orphan's cry,
To touch his feelings or to soothe his rage--
Vain the fair drop that roll'd from beauty's eye,
Vain the dumb grief of supplicating age.
Could Tryon hope to quench the patriot flame,
Or make his deeds survive in glory's page?
Could Britons seek of savages the same,
Or deem it conquest thus the war to wage?
* Mrs. Buckley was not a friend of the enemy. According to her
testimony, under oath, she was badly treated by the soldiery,
notwithstanding she had a protection from General Garth, the second in
command. They plundered her house, stripped her buckles from her shoes,
tore a ring from her finger, and fired the house five times before
leaving it.--See Hinman's Historical Collections, p. 620.
Tryon's Retreat from Failfield.--Journey resumed.--Return to New Haven.-
-Visit to West Bridge and other Localities.
428
Yes. Britons scorn the councils of the skies,
Extend wide havoc, spurn the insulted foes;
The insulted foes to ten-fold vengeance rise,
Resistance growing as the danger grows.
Red in their wounds, and pointing to the plain,
The visionary shapes before me stand;
The thunder bursts, the battle burns again,
And kindling fires encrimson all the strand.
Long, dusky wreaths of smoke, reluctant driven,
In black'ning volumes o'er the landscape bend:
Here the broad splendor blazes high to heaven,
There umber'd streams in purple pomp ascend.
In fiery eddies round the tott'ring walls,
Emitting sparks, the lighter fragments fly,
With frightful crash the burning mansion falls,
The works of years in glowing embers lie.
Tryon, behold thy sanguine flames aspire,
Clouds tinged with dies intolerably bright:
Behold, well pleased, the village wrapp'd in fire,
Let one wide ruin glut thy ravish'd sight!
Ere fades the grateful scene, indulge thine eyes,
See age and sickness tremulously slow
Creep from the flames. See babes in torture die,
And mothers swoon in agonies of woe.
Go, gaze enraptured with the mother's tear,
The infant's terror, and the captive's pain;
Where no hold bands can cheek thy cursed career,
Mix fire with blood on each unguarded plain!
These be thy triumphs, this thy boasted fame!
Daughters of mem'ry, raise the deathless song,
Repeat through endless years his hated name,
Embalm his crimes, and teach the world our wrong."
Large numbers of militia had collected in the neighborhood of Fairfield
on the morning of the 9th, and at eight o'clock Tryon sounded a retreat
to the shipping. His troops were galled very much by the militia, and it
was noon before all were embarked. At three in the afternoon they
weighed anchor and sailed over to Huntington, Long Island, whence they
made a descent upon, and destroyed, Norwalk.
We will close the record and hasten from the mountain, for
"'Tis Sabbath morn, and lingering on the gale
The mellow'd peals of the sweet bells arise,
Floating where'er the restless wands prevail,
Laden with incense and with harmonies,"
and inviting me back to the city and the open sanctuary. I arrived in
time for a luncheon breakfast, and to listen to an eloquent sermon in
Trinity Church on the College Green, from a stripling deacon who had
just taken orders. The afternoon was warm and lowery, the rain came
pattering down in the evening, and the next morning a nor'easter was
piping its melancholy notes among the stately elms of the city, * while
the rain poured as if Aquarius had overturned his water-jar.
There was a lull in the storm about nine o'clock, and, accompanied by
Mr. Barber, the artist-author, in a covered wagon, I visited some of the
points of interest about the city. We first rode to the West Bridge on
West River, near which the Americans made their first stand against
General Garth, and in the midst of a heavy dash of rain made the sketch
on page 423. Returning to the city, we visited the dwelling of Arnold,
Neck Bridge, and the
Cemetery. In the latter, a large and beautiful "city of the dead," lie
many illustrious remains, among which are those of Colonel David
Humphreys, one of Washington's aids.
* The fine elms which shade the public square and vicinity were planted
by the Rev. David Austin and Hon. James Hillhouse. They are the pride of
New Haven, and have conferred upon it the title of The city of Elms.
The Cemetery.--Humphreys's Monument.--The Grave of Arnold's Wife.--Her
Character.--Colonel Humphreys.
429They lie near the southwestern part of the Cemetery, and over them
stands a fine monument consisting of a granite obelisk and pedestal,
about twelve feet in height.
Upon two tablets of copper, inserted in the pedestal, is the following
inscription, written by his friend, the author of M'Fingal: "David
Humphreys, LL.D., Acad. Scient. Philad., Mass., at Connect., *
In the northeast section of the Cemetery is a dark stone, neatly carved
with an ornamental border, sacred to the memory of Margaret, the first
wife of Benedict Arnold, who died on the 19th of June, 1775, while her
husband was upon Lake Champlain. Her maiden name was Mansfield, and by
her Arnold had three sons. She was thirty-one years old when she died.
She is represented as a woman of the most fervent piety, exalted
patriotism, gentleness of manners, and sweetness of disposition. These
qualities are powerful checks upon unruly passions, particularly when
exerted in the intimate relation of husband and wife. Had she lived
until the close of the Revolution, far different might have been the
fate of her husband, for there is little doubt that his resentments
against Congress and the managers of military affairs for two years
previous to his treason were fostered
* Mr. Barber gives the following translation: "David Humphreys, doctor
of laws, member of the Academy of Sciences of Philadelphia,
Massachusetts, and Connecticut, of the Bath [Agricultural Society] and
of the Royal Society of London. Fired with the love of country and of
liberty, he consecrated his youth wholly to the service of the republic,
which he defended by his arms, aided by his counsels, adorned by his
learning, and preserved in harmony with foreign nations. In the field he
was the companion and aid of the great Washington, a colonel in the army
of his country, and commander of the veteran volunteers of Connecticut.
He went embassador to the courts of Portugal and Spain, and, returning,
enriched his native land with the true golden fleece.* He was a
distinguished historian and poet; a model and a patron of science, and
of the ornamental and useful arts. After a full discharge of every duty,
and a life well spent, he died on the 21st day of February, 1818, aged
sixty-five years." To complete the brief biography given in this
inscription, I will add that Colonel Humphreys was born in Derby,
Connecticut, in 1753, and graduated at Yale College in 1771. He soon
afterward went to reside with Colonel Phillips, of Phillips's Manor, New
York. He joined the Continental army, and in 1778 was one of General
Putnam's aids, with the rank of maior. Washington appointed him his aid
in 1780, and he remained in the military family of the chief until the
close of the war. For his valor at Yorktown, Congress honored him with a
sword. He accompanied Jefferson to Paris, as secretary of legation, in
1784. Kosciusko accompanied them. He was a member of the Legislature of
Connecticut in 1786, and about that time lie, Barlow, and Hopkins wrote
the Anarchiad. From 1788 until he was appointed minister to Portugal, in
1790, he resided with Washington at Mount Vernon. He was appointed
minister plenipotentiary to Spain in 1794; married the daughter of a
wealthy English gentleman at Lisbon in 1797; returned in 1801, and for
ten years devoted his time to agriculture. In 1812 he took the command
of the militia of Connecticut. His death was sudden, caused by an
organic disease of the heart. His literary attainments were
considerable. Besides several poems, he wrote some political pamphlets;
and in 1788, while at Mount Vernon, completed a life of Putnam, a large
portion of the material of which he received from the lips of the
veteran.
* This is in allusion to the fact that Colonel Humphreys was the man who
introduced merino sheep into the United Stales, he sent over from Spain
a flock of one hundred in 1801.
Arnold's Disaffection.--Dr. Eneas Munson.--Death of Colonel Scammell.--
His Epitaph by Humphreys.
430by his intercourse with the Tory friends of his second wife, Margaret
Shippen, of Philadelphia.
Indeed, the Loyalists claimed him for a friend as early as December,
1778. Charles Stewart, writing to Joseph Galloway, said, "General Arnold
is in Philadelphia. It is said that he will be discharged, being thought
a pert Tory. Certain it is that he associates mostly with these people."
On leaving the Cemetery, we called upon the venerable Eneas Munson,
M.D., a vigorous relic of the Revolution. He lived until August, 1852,
when more than eighty-nine years ol age. He was Dr. Thacher's assistant
in the Continental army, and was present at the siege of Yorktown and
the surrender of Cornwallis, in October, 1781. He was then a surgeon in
Colonel Seammell's regiment, which, in that action, was attached to
General Hamilton's brigade.
During the siege Colonel Scammell was shot by a Hessian cav officer,
while reconnoitering a small redoubt on a point of land which had been
alternately in possession of the Americans and British. It was just at
twilight, and, while making careful observations, two Hessian horsemen
came suddenly upon him, and presented their pistols. Perceiving that
there was no chance for escape, he surrendered, saying, "Gentlemen, I am
your prisoner." Either because they did not understand his words, or
actuated by that want of humanity which generally characterized those
mercernaries, one of them fired, and wounded the colonel mortally. He
was carried to Williamsburg, and Dr. Munson was the first surgeon in
attendance upon him. He died there on the 6th of October. Colonel
Humphreys (to whose regiment Dr. Munson was attached after the death of
Scammell) wrote the following poetic epitaph for the tomb of his friend.
I do not know whether the lines were ever inscribed upon marble, or
recorded by the pen of history by Dr. Munson, and I give them as a
memorial of a brave and accomplished officer of the Revolution.
* This portrait is from a Daguerreotype kindly lent me by Dr. Munson,
with permission to copy it
Nathan Beers.--Yale College.--Its political Character in the
Revolution.--A Tory Student
431
"What though no friend could ward thine early fall,
Nor guardian angels turn the treacherous ball;
Bless'd shade, be soothed! Thy virtues all are known--
Thy fame shall last beyond this mouldering stone,
Which conquering armies, from their toils return,
Read to thy glory while thy fate they mourn."
A drawing of the place where Scammell was killed, and a biographical
sketch of that officer, are given in the notice of my visit to Yorktown.
Dr. Munson died in October, 1852.
A few doors from Dr. Munson, in the same street, lived the almost
centenarian, Nathan Beers, who was paymaster in Scammell's regiment at
Yorktown. He was ninety-six years old, and completely demented; second
childhood, with all its trials for the subject and his friends, was his
lot; yet did I look with reverence upon that thin visage and "lack-
luster eye." where once were indices of a noble mind within. A truer
patriot never drew blade for his country, and, above all, he was "an
honest man, the noblest work of God. For years he struggled with the
misfortunes of life, and became involved in debt. At length Congress
made a decision in his favor respecting a claim for a pension as
paymaster in the Continental army, and arrearages amounting to some
thousands of dollars were awarded him. There was enough to give him a
competence in his old age, but even this reward for public services he
handed over to his creditors. He has since gone to receive the final
recompense of the patriot and Christian. He died on the 10th. of
February, 1849, aged almost 98.
After a short visit to the Trumbull Gallery of Paintings and the Library
of Yale College, * I returned to my lodgings, and at four o'clock in the
afternoon departed in the cars for Hartford.
* Yale College, aside from its intrinsic worth as a seminary of
learning, is remarkable for the great number of the leading men of the
Revolution who were educated within its walls. That warm and consistent
patriot, President Daggett, gave a political tone to the establishment
favorable to the republican cause, and it was regarded as the nursery of
Whig principles during the Revolution. When New Haven was invaded by
Tryon, Yale College was marked for special vengeance, but, as we have
seen, the invaders retreated hastily without burning the town. There
were very few among the students, during our war for independence, who
were imbued with Tory principles, and they were generally, if known,
rather harshly dealt with.
* One instance may suffice to show the spirit of the times. In June,
1775, a student named Abiather Camp was reported unfriendly to Congress.
A committee of investigation was appointed, who wrote a very polite note
to the young gentleman, setting forth the charges made against him, and
demanding an explicit denial, if the report was untrue. The young scape-
grace returned the following answer:
"New Haven, June 13,1775.
"To the Honorable and Respectable Gentlemen of the Committee now
residing in Yale College: "May it please your honors, ham--ham--ham.
"Finis cumsistula, popularum gig--
A man without a head has no need of a wig.
"Abiather Camp."
* The insulted committee resolved to advertise Camp as an enemy to his
country, and to treat him with all possible scorn and neglect. Such
advertisement was posted upon the hall door. He braved public opinion
until October, when he recanted, and publicly asked pardon for his
offenses.
* Yale College was founded by ten principal ministers in the colony, who
met for the purpose, at New Haven, in 1700. Each brought a number of
books at their next meeting in 1701, and, presenting them to the
society, said, "I give these books for the founding of a college in the
colony." A proposition to found a college had been named fifty years
before. The first commencement was held at Saybrook, in 1702. In 1717
the first college building was erected in New Haven. It was seventy feet
long and twenty-two wide. From time to time several liberal endowments
have been made to the institution, the earliest and most munificent of
which was from Elihu Yale, in whose honor the college was named. Among
its distinguished benefactors were Sir Isaac Newton, Dean Berkley,
Bishop Burnet, Halley, Edwards, &c. The present imposing pile was
commenced in 1750. Additions have been made at different times, and it
now consists of four spacious edifices, each four stories high, one
hundred and four by forty feet on the ground; a chapel, lyceum,
atheneum, chemical laboratory, dining-hall, and a dwelling-house for the
president.
New England and its Associations.--Arrival at Hartford.--Continuation of
the Storm.
432
CHAPTER XIX
"Land of the forest and the rock--
Of dark blue lake and mighty river--
Of mountains rear'd aloft to mock
The storm's career, the lightning's shock:
My own green land forever.
Oh! never may a son of thine,
Where'er his wandering steps incline,
Forget the sky which bent above
His childhood like a dream of love--
The stream beneath the green hill flowing--
The broad-armed trees above it growing--
The clear breeze through the foliage blowing,
Or hear, unmoved, the taunt of scorn
Breathed o'er the brave New England born."
Whittier
LTHOUGH much of the soil of New England is rough and sterile, and labor-
-hard and unceasing labor--is necessary to procure subsistence for its
teeming population, in no part of our republic can be found stronger
birthplace attachments. It is no sentiment of recent growth, springing
up under the influence of the genial warmth of our free institutions,
but ante-dates our Revolution, and was prominently manifest in colonial
This sentiment, strong and vigorous, gave birth to that zealous
patriotism which distinguished the people of the Eastern States during
the ten years preceding the war for independence, and the seven years of
that contest. Republicanism seemed to be indigenous to the soil, and the
people appeared to inhale the air of freedom at every breath. Every
where upon the Connecticut, and eastward, loyalty to the sovereign--a
commendable virtue in a people governed by a righteous prince--was
changed by kingly oppression into loyalty to a high and holy principle,
and hallowed, for all time, the region where it flourished. To a pilgrim
on an errand like mine the rough hills and smiling valleys of New
England are sanctuaries for patriot worship; and as our long train swept
over the sandy plain of New Haven, and coursed among the hills of
Wallingford and Meriden, an emotion stirred the breast akin to that of
the Jew of old when going up to Jerusalem to _the Great Feast_. A day's
journey before me was Boston--the city of the pilgrims, the nursery of
liberty cradled in the May Flower, the first altar-place of freedom in
the Western World.
The storm, which had abated for a few hours at mid-day, came down with
increased violence, and the wind-eddies wrapped the cars in such wreaths
of smoke from the engine, that only an occasional glimpse of the country
could be obtained. It was almost dark when we October 2, 1848 reached
Hartford, upon the Connecticut River, thirty-six miles northward of New
Haven; where, sick and weary from the effects of exposure and fatigue
during the morning, a glowing grate and an "old arm-chair" in a snug
room at the "United States" were, under the circumstances, comforts
which a prince might covet. Let us close the shutters against the
impotent gusts, and pass the evening with the chroniclers of Hartford
and its vicinage.
Hartford (Suckiag), and Wethersfield, four miles distant, were the
earliest settlements in Connecticut. In 1633 the Dutch from Nieu
Amsterdam went up the Connecticut River,
First Settlement at Hartford. First Meeting house in Connecticut.--
Government organized. Union of New England Colonies
433and established a trading-house and built a small fort on the south
side of the Mill River, at its junction with the Connecticut, near the
site of Hartford. The place is still known as Dutch Point.
About the same time William Holmes and others of the Plymouth colony
sailed up the Connecticut, in a vessel having the frame of a dwelling on
board, and, landing on the west side, near the present Windsor, erected
the first house built in Connecticut. The Dutch threatened to fire on
them, but they were allowed to pass by. In 1635, John Steele and others,
under the auspices of Rev. Thomas Hooker, of Cambridge, reached Holmes's
residence, and began a settlement near. Hooker and his wife, with about
one hundred men, women, and children of his flock, left Cambridge the
following year, and marched June 1636 through the wilderness westward to
the pioneer settlement, subsisting, on the journey, upon the milk of a
herd of cows which they drove before them. Over hills and mountains,
through thickets and marshes, they made their way, with no guide but a
compass, no shelter but the heavens and the trees, no bed save the bare
earth, relying upon Divine Providence and their own indomitable
perseverance for success. The first house of worship was erected the
previous year, and on the 9th of July, 1636, Mr. Hooker first preached,
and administered the holy communion there.
The Dutch looked upon the new-comers as intruders, while the English
settlers in turn regarded the Dutch in that light, because the whole
country north of 40° belonged, by chartered rights, to the Plymouth and
Massachusetts Companies. Much animosity existed for several years, the
Dutch refusing to submit to the laws framed by the English colony, and
often threatening hostilities against them. Finally, in 1654, an order
arrived from Parliament requiring the English colony to regard the
Dutch, in all respects, as enemies. In conformity to this order, the
Dutch trading-house, fort, and all their lands were sequestered for the
benefit of the commonwealth. The Dutch then withdrew.
The first court, or regularly organized government, in Connecticut, was
held at Hartford in the spring of 1636. The people were under the
general government of Massachusetts, but were allowed to have minor
courts of their own, empowered to make war or peace, and form alliances
with the natives within the colony. The English settlement was not
fairly seated, before the Pequots, already mentioned, disturbed it with
menaces of destruction. The Pequot war ensued in 1637, and, although it
involved the colony in debt, and caused a present scarcity of
provisions, it established peace for many years, and was ultimately
beneficial.
In January, 1639, a convention of the free planters of Connecticut was
held at Hartford, and a distinct commonwealth was formed. They adopted a
constitution of civil government, which was organized in April
following, by the election of John Haynes governor, and six magistrates.
In 1642 their criminal code, founded upon Jewish laws as developed in
the Scripture, was completed and entered on record. By this code the
death penalty was incurred by those guilty of worshiping any but the one
true God; of witchcraft; blasphemy; willful murder, except in defense of
life; man-stealing; false swearing, by which a man's life might be
forfeited; unchastity of various grades; cursing or smiting of parents
by a child over sixteen years of age, except when it could be shown that
the child's training had been neglected or the parents were guilty of
cruel treatment; and of a stubborn disobedience of parents by a son over
sixteen years of age.
The following year the colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut
(as Hartford was called), and New Haven confederated for their mutual
safety and welfare, and called themselves the United Colonies of Neiv
England.' Each colony was author-
* This picture of the first house for Christian worship erected in
Connecticut is copied from Barber's Historical Collections. He obtained
the drawing from an antiquary of Hartford, and believes it correct.
** The term New England was first applied by Captain John Smith,
according to the dedicatory epistle to the "First Sermon preached in New
England" by Robert Cushman. "It was so called," says the address.
"because of the resemblance that is in it of England, the native soil of
Englishmen. It being much what the same for heat and cold in summer and
winter, it being champaign ground, but no high mountains, somewhat like
the soil in Kent and Essex; full of dales and meadow grounds, full of
rivers and sweet springs, as England is. But principally, so far as we
can yet find, it is an island, and near about the quantity of England,
cut out from the main land in America, as England is from Europe, by a
great arm of the sea, which entereth in 40°, and runneth up north and
west by west, and goeth out either into the South Sea or else into the
Bay of Canada. The certainty whereof and secrets of which we have not
yet so found as that as eye-witnesses we can make narration thereof;
but, if God give time and means, we shall, ere long, discover both the
extent of that river, together with the secrets thereof, and so try what
territories, habitations, or commodities may be found either in it or
about it." This address was written, and the sermon preached at
Plymouth, in December, 1621. By the Bay of Canada is meant the St.
Lawrence, and by the "great arm of the sea." the Hudson River. The
explorations of Hendrick Hudson in 1609 seem not to have been known to
the worthy divine, and he imagined a connection between the Hudson and
St. Lawrence, by which New England was made an island.
Conjunction of New Haven and Connecticut Colonies.--James II.--Quo
Warranto.--Governor Andross.--The "Charter Oak.'
434ized to send two commissioners to meet annually in September, first
at Boston, and then at Hartford, New Haven, and Plymouth, with power to
make war and peace, and enact federal laws for the general good. This
union was productive of great benefit, for it made the united
settlements formidable in opposition to their enemies, the Dutch and
Indians.
In 1662, Charles II. granted a charter to the Connecticut colony, by
which the New Haven colony was included within that of the former. At
first there was much dissatisfaction, but in 1655 the two colonies
joined in an amicable election of officers, and chose John Winthrop for
governor.
Charles was succeeded by his brother James, a bigoted, narrow-minded,
and unjust prince. Many of his advisers were ambitious and unprincipled
men, scheming for the consolidation of power in the person of the king.
Immediately on the accession of James, they arranged a plan for
procuring a surrender of all the patents of the New England colonies,
and forming the whole northern part of America into twelve provinces,
with a governor general over a July, 1683 the whole. Writs of _quo
warranto_ were accordingly issued, (a) requiring the several colonies to
appear, by representatives, before his majesty's council, to show by
what right they exercised certain powers and privileges. * The colony of
Connecticut sent an agent to England with a petition and remonstrances
to the king. The mission was vain, for already the decree had gone forth
for annulling the charters. Sir Edmund Andross was appointed the first
governor general, and arrived at Boston in December, 1686. He
immediately demanded the surrender of the charter of Connecticut, and it
was refused. Nearly a year elapsed, and meanwhile Andross began to play
the tyrant. His first fair promises to the people were broken, and,
supported by royal authority, he assumed a dignity and importance almost
equal to his master's, thoroughly disgusting the colonists.
In October, 1687, he went to Hartford with a company of soldiers while
the Assembly was in session, and demanded an immediate surrender of
their charter. Sir Edmund was received with apparent respect by the
members, and in his presence the subject of his demand was calmly
debated until evening. The charter was then brought forth and placed
upon the table around which the members were sitting. Andross was about
to seize it, when the lights were suddenly extinguished. A large
concourse of people had assembled without, and the moment the lights
disappeared
* A writ of quo warranto issues against any person or corporation that
usurps any franchise or liberty against the king without good title, and
is brought against the usurpers to show by what right and title they
hold and claim such franchise and liberty.--Law Dictionary.
** This venerable relic is still vigorous, and is a "gnarled oak"
indeed. It stands upon the northern slope of the Wyllys Hill, a
beautiful elevation on the south side of Charter Street, a few rods east
of Main Street. This engraving is from a sketch which I made of the tree
from Charter Street, on the 3d of October, 1848. Omitted the picket
fence in front, in order to show the appearance of the whole trunk. The
opening of the cavity wherein the charter was concealed is seen near the
roots. The heavy wind that had been blowing for thirty hours had
stripped the tree of a large portion of its autumnal leaves, and strewn
the ground with acorns. The trunk, near the roots, is twenty-five feet
in circumference. A daughter of Secretary Wyllys, writing to Dr. Holmes
about the year 1800, says of this oak, "The first inhabitant of that
name [Wyllys] found it standing in the height of its glory. Age seems to
have curtailed its branches, yet it is not exceeded in the height of its
coloring or richness of its foliage.... The cavity, which was the asylum
of our charter, was near the roots, and large enough to admit a child.
Within the space of eight years that cavity has closed, as it it had
fulfilled the divine purpose for which it had been reared." The cavity
within remains as large as anciently, but the orifice will hardly admit
a hand.
Concealment of the Charter.--Expulsion of Andross.--Accident at
Hartford.--Washington's Conference with Rochambeau.
435they raised a load huzza, and several entered the chamber. Captain
Wadsworth, of Hartford, seized the charter, and, unobserved, carried it
off and deposited it in the hollow trunk of a large oak-tree fronting
the house of Hon. Samuel Wyllys, then one of the magistrates of that
colony. The candles were relighted, quiet was restored, and Andross
eagerly sought the coveted parchment. It was gone, and none could, or
would, reveal its hiding-place. Sir Edmund stormed for a time, and
threatened the colony with royal displeasure; then quietly taking
possession of the government, he closed the records of the court,
October 31, 1687 or Assembly, with a simple annunciation of the fact.
The administration of Andross was short. His royal master was driven
from his throne and country the next year, and his minion in America was
arrested, and con 1685 fined in the Castle, near Boston, until February,
1689, when he was sent to England for trial. Able jurists in England
having decided that, as Connecticut had never given up her charter, it
remained in full force, the former government was re-established. From
that time until the Revolution no important events of general interest
occurred at Hartford. A melancholy accident occurred there in May, 1766,
on the occasion of rejoicings because of the repeal of the Stamp Act.
The day had been spent in hilarity. Bells, cannons, and huzzas had
testified the general and excessive joy, and great preparations were
making for bonfires, fire-works, and a general illumination. In the
chamber of a brick school-house that stood where the Hartford Hotel was
afterward built, a number of young men were preparing fire-works in the
evening. Under the house was a quantity of gunpowder, from which the
militia had received supplies during the day. The powder had been
scattered from the building to the street. Some boys accidentally set it
on fire, and immediately the building was reduced to a ruin; several of
the inmates were killed, and many badly wounded.
The most important occurrences of general interest at Hartford, during
the Revolution, were the two conferences between Washington and the
Count de Rochambeau, the commander of the French army in America. The
first interview was on the 21st of September, 1780, the second on the
23d of May, 1781. The French fleet, under the command of the Chevalier
de Ternay, conveying the troops sent to our shores by Louis XVI. of
France to aid us, arrived at Newport in July, 1780; and the conference
of Washington with Rochambeau and Ternay, in September following, was to
consult upon future operations. * This interview resulted in the
conclusion that the season was too far advanced for the allies to
perform any thing of importance, and, after making some general
arrangements for the next campaign, Washington returned to his camp at
West Point, in the Hudson Highlands. It was during his absence at
Hartford that Arnold attempted to surrender West Point and its
subordinate posts into the hands of the enemy.
The second conference between Washington and Rochambeau was at
Wethersfield, four miles below Hartford. Rochambeau and General the
Marquis de Chastellux, with their suites, arrived at Hartford on the
21st of May, where they were met by Wash-
* At that time the French fleet was blockaded in Narraganset Bay by a
superior English squadron. Ternay was quite dissatisfied with his
situation, and wrote very discouraging letters to the Count de
Vergennes, the French premier. In one (written September 10th, 1780),
from Newport, he said, "We are actually compelled to remain on a very
strict defensive. The English squadron is superior in number and in
every other respect. The fate of North America is yet very uncertain,
and the Revolution is not so far advanced as it has been believed in
Europe." An account of the negotiations and other circumstances
connected with the sending of troops from France to aid in the
Revolution will be given in a future chapter, devoted to the subject of
the diplomacy of the United States during the war for independence.
Conference at the Webb House.--Its Object--Junction of the allied
Armies.--Attempt on New York.--Windsor.
436ington, and Generals Knox and Du Portail, and their suites. The
meeting was celebrated by discharges of cannon; and, after partaking of
refreshments, the officers, with several private gentlemen as an escort,
rode to Wethersfield. Washington lodged at the house of Mr. Joseph Webb,
* in Wethersfield, and there the conference was held.
The object of the interview was to concert a plan of operations for the
ensuing campaign. The minutes of the conference are in the form of
queries by Rochambeau, which were answered by Washington. The conclusion
of the matter was an arrangement for the French army to march as
speedily as possible to the Hudson River, and form a junction with the
American army encamped there, for the purpose of making a demonstration
upon the city of New York, if practicable. An expedition southward seems
to have been proposed by the French officers, but this idea was
abandoned on account of the lateness of the season, and the danger to
which northern troops would be exposed in the Southern States in summer.
It was also agreed to send to the West Indies for the squadron, under
Count de Grasse, to sail immediately to Sandy Hook, and, forming a
junction with the fleet under Count de Barras, confine Admiral Arbuthnot
to New York Bay, and act in concert with the combined armies in
besieging the city, then the strong-hold of the enemy. The French troops
consisted of about four thousand men, exclusive of two hundred that were
to be left in charge of stores at Providence. A circular letter was sent
by Washington to the Eastern Legislatures, and to that of New Jersey,
requesting them to supply as large a quota of Continental troops as
possible. Such a force as he felt sure could be mustered, Washington
deemed adequate to undertake the siege of New York; and, on his return
from Wethersfield, he began his arrangements for the enterprise. The two
armies formed a junction near Dobbs's Ferry, at the beginning of July.
After several ineffectual attempts upon the upper end of York Island,
circumstances caused Washington to abandon the enterprise. The arrival
of a reenforcement for Clinton in New York, the expressed determination
of De Grasse to sail for the Chesapeake, and the peculiar situation of
affairs in Virginia, where Cornwallis and La Fayette were operating
against each other, induced Washington to march south with the combined
armies. The result was the siege of Yorktown and capture of Cornwallis.
The storm was raging as furiously as ever on the morning after my
arrival in Hartford, and I abandoned the idea of visiting Wethersfield
and Windsor. *** With a letter of introduction to the Rev. Thomas
Robbins, the librarian of the Connecticut Historical Society, I vis-
* "May 18th. Set out this day for the interview at Wethersfield with the
Count de Rochambeau and Admiral Barras. Reached Morgan's Tavern, forty-
three miles from Fishkill Landing, after dining at Colonel Vanderburg's.
19th. Breakfasted at Litchfield, dined at Farmington, and lodged at
Wethersfield, at the house of Mr. Joseph Webb."--Washington's Diary. The
Count Barras was prevented from attending the meeting by the appearance
of a large British fleet, under Admiral Arbuthnot, off Block Island. The
residence of Colonel Vanderburg, where Washington dined, was at
Poughquag, in Beekman, Dutchess county.
* This house is still standing (1848), in the central part of
Wethersfield, a few rods south of the Congregational Church.
*** Windsor is situated upon the Connecticut, a little above Hartford,
at the mouth of the Farmington River. Here was planted the first English
settlement in Connecticut, for here the first house was built. It was
the egg from which sprang Hartford and the Connecticut colony. East
Windsor, on the east side of the Connecticut, has a notoriety in our
Revolutionary annals, on account of its being, for a short time, the
quarters of a portion of the British and Hessian troops of Burgoyne's
captured army, on their way to Boston; also as the quarters of Governor
Franklin, of New Jersey, and General Prescott, captured on Rhode Island,
while prisoners in the hands of the Americans. The events connected with
the capture of these two persons will be noticed elsewhere. They were
confined, under a strong guard, in the house of Captain Ebenezer Grant,
which, I was told, is still standing, a few rods south of the
Theological Seminary.
Connecticut Historical Society.--Dr. Robbins's Library.--Brewster's
Chest.--The Pilgrim Covenant.--Names of the Pilgrims.
437ited the room of that institution, situated in a fine edifice called
the _Wadsworth Atheneum_ This building stands upon the site of the old
"Wadsworth Mansion, the place of Washington's first conference with
Rochambeau.
The cordial welcome with which I was received bv Dr. Robbins was a
prelude to many kind courtesies bestowed by him during a visit of three
hours. He is a venerable bachelor of seventy-two years, and, habited in
the style of a gentleman fifty years ago, his appearance carried the
mind back to the time of Washington. The library of the society, valued
at ten thousand dollars, is its property only in prospective; it belongs
to Dr. Robbins, who has, by will, bequeathed it to the institution at
his death. It contains many exceedingly rare books and MSS., collected
by its intelligent owner during a long life devoted to the two-fold
pursuits of a Christian pastor and a man of letters. There are many
historical curiosities in the library-room, a few of which I sketched.
The one invested with the greatest interest was the chest of Elder
Brewster, of the May Flower, brought from Holland in that Pilgrim ship.
Near it stood a heavy iron pot that belonged to Miles Standish, the
"hero of New England," one of the most celebrated of the Pilgrim
passengers. The chest is of yellow Norway pine, stained with a color
resembling London brown. Its dimensions are four feet two inches long,
one foot eight inches broad, and two feet six inches high.
The key, in size, has more the appearance of one belonging to a prison
than to a clothing receptacle. The chest is a relic of much interest
_per se_, but a fact connected with its history makes it an object
almost worthy of reverence to a New Englander, and, indeed, to every
American. Well-established tradition asserts that the solemn written
compact made by the passengers of the May Flower previous to the landing
of the Pilgrims was drawn up and signed upon the lid of this chest, it
being the most convenient article at hand for the purpose. That compact,
brief and general, may be regarded as the foundation of civil and
religious liberty in the Western World, and was the first instrument of
civil government ever subscribed as the act of the whole people. * It
was conceived in the following terms:
"In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are under written, the Loyal
Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of
Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c..,
Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and the advancement of the
Christian Faith, and Honor of our King and country, a Voyage to plant
* The harbor (Cape Cod) in which the May Flower anchored was ascertained
to be north of the fortieth degree of latitude, consequently the
proposed landing-place and seulement would be beyond the jurisdiction of
the South Virginia Company, from whom these emigrants had received their
charter. That instrument was, therefore, useless. Some of those who
embarked from England had intimated that they would be under no law when
ashore. The majority of the emigrants, concerned on account of this
appearance of faction, thought proper to have recourse to natural law,
and resolved that, before disembarkation, they should enter into an
association, and bind themselves in a political body, to be governed by
the majority. This was the origin of the compact. The following is a
list of the signatures to the instrument: John Carver, William Bradford,
Edward Winslow, William Brewster, Isaac Allerton, Miles Standish. John
Alden. Samuel Fuller, Christopher Martin, William Mullins, William
White,* Richard Warren, John Howland. Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilley,
John Tilley, Francis Cook, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Tinker, John Ridgedalc,
Edward Fuller, John Turner, Francis Eaton, James Chilton. John
Crackston, John Billington, Moses Fletcher, John Goodman, Degorv Priest,
Thomas Williams, Gilbert Winslow, Edward Margeson, Peter Brown, Richard
Britteridge, George Soule, Richard Clarke, Richard Gardiner, John
Allerton, Thomas English, Edward Doty, Edward Leister. There were forty-
one subscribers to the compact, each one placing opposite his name the
number of his family. The whole number of souls was one hundred and
one.--See Moore's Memoirs of American Governors, i., 25.
* Just previous to the landing of the Pilgrims, the wife of William
White gave birth to a son, the first English child born in New England.
From the circumstances of his birth he was named Peregrine. He died at
Marshfield, July 22, 1704, aged nearly eighty-four years. William White
died soon after the seating of the colony, and his widow married Edward
Winslow. This was the first English marriage in New England. It was a
singular circumstance that Mrs. White was the first mother and the first
bride in New England, and mother of the first native governor of the
colony, who was also the sole bearer of the honer of commander-in-chief
of the forces of the confederate colonies.--See Baylies, ii, 12.
Hand-writing of the Pilgrims.--Robinson's short Sword.--Ancient Chair.
438the first Colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; Do by these
Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God, and of one
another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil body
Politic, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of
the ends aforesaid; and by Virtue hereof, to enact, constitute, and
frame just and equal laws, ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Offices
from Time to Time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the
General Good of the Colony; unto which we Promise all due Submission and
Obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our Names at
Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the year of the Sign of our
Sovereign Lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland the
Eighteenth, and of Scotland the Fifty-fourth, Anno Domini, 1620."
Another curious relic of the Pilgrims, preserved by Dr. Robbins, is a
_mincing-knife_, made of the sword-blade that belonged to the Rev. Mr.
Robinson, the pastor of the Pilgrims, at Leyden. Mr. Robinson never came
to New England, but remained at Leyden till his death in 1625. His widow
and family came over, bringing his effects, among which was his short
sword, an article then generally worn by civilians as well as military
men.
His three sons were desirous of possessing this relic. It being
impossible for each to have it entire, it was cut into three pieces, and
the sons, true to the impulses of New England thrift, each had his piece
made into the useful implement here represented.
Another interesting relic is a _chair_ which was an heir-loom in the
family of one of the earlier settlers of New Haven. It is made wholly of
turned wood (except the board bottom), fastened together by wooden pegs,
and is similar, in appearance, to Governor Carver's chair, in the
cabinet of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Its existence is traced
back to the thirteenth century. The material is ash and its construction
ingenious. *
* These were copied from Russell's "Recollections of the Pilgrims." He
obtained them from old deeds and other documents. The writers were
members of the first Plymouth Church, and some of them were passengers
in the May Flower.
Putnam's Tavern Sign.--Other interesting Relics.--The Connecticut
Charter.--Ride to Wethersfield.--Arrival at Boston.
439The tavern sign of General Putnam, which hung before his door in
Brooklyn, Connecticut, about the year 1768, is also preserved. * It is
made of yellow pine, painted, alike on both sides. The device is a full-
length portrait of Wolfe, dressed in scarlet uniform, and, as a work of
art, possesses much merit.
The portrait of the young hero is quite correct. The background is a
faint miniature copy of West's picture of _The Death of Wolfe_, painted
by that artist during the first years of his residence in England. The
sign-board is full of small punctures made by shot, the figure of Wolfe
having been used as a target at some time.
A drum, used to call the people to worship; an ottoman, that belonged to
Mrs. Washington; the vest, torn and bloodstained, worn by Ledyard when
massacred at Groton, and the wooden ease in which the celebrated charter
of Connecticut was sent over and kept, are in the collection. The latter
is about three and a half feet long and four inches wide and deep, lined
with printed paper, apparently waste leaves of a history of the reign of
Charles I. In the center is a circular projection for the great seal,
which was attached. I saw the charter itself in the office of the
Secretary of State. It is written upon fine vellum, and on one corner is
a beautifully drawn portrait of Charles, executed in India ink.
The storm abating a little at about noon, I rode down to Wethersfield
and sketched the Webb House, returning in time to make the drawing of
the Charter Oak pictured on page 434, the rain pouring like a summer
shower, and my umbrella, held by a young friend, scarcely protecting my
paper from the deluge. Pocketing some of the acorns from the venerable
tree, I hastened back to my lodgings, and at a little past five in the
evening departed for Boston. I passed the night at Springfield, ninety-
eight miles west of Boston, and reached the latter place at one o'clock
the next day. The city was enveloped in a cold mist that hung upon the
skirts of the receding storm; and, too ill to ramble for business or
pleasure, even if fine weather had beckoned me out, I passed the
afternoon and evening before a blazing fire at the _Marlborough._
We are now upon the most interesting portion of the classic ground of
the Revolution. Before noting my visit to places of interest in the
vicinity, let us view the wide field of historic research here spread
out, and study some of the causes which led to the wonderful effect of
dismembering a powerful empire, and founding a republic, more glorious,
because more beneficent, than any that preceded it.
* The following letter, in which Putnam alludes to the fact that he had
kept tavern, I copied from the original in his hand-writing, now in
possession of the Connecticut Historical Society: Brooklyn, Feb'y 18,
1782.
* "Gentlemen--Being an Enemy to Idleness, Dissipation, and Intemperance,
I would object against any measure that may be conducive thereto; and as
the multiplying of public houses where the public good does not require
it has a direct tendency to ruin the morals of the youth, and promote
idleness and intemperance among all ranks of people, especially as the
grand object of those candidates for license is money, and where that is
the case, men are not apt to be over-tender of people's morals or
purses. The authority of this town, I think, have run into a great error
in approbating an additional number of public houses, especially in this
parish. They have approbated two houses in the center, where there never
was custom (I mean traveling custom) enough for one. The other custom
(or domestic), I have been informed, has of late years increased, and
the licensing of another house, I fear, would increase it more. As I
kept a public house here myself a number of years before the war, I had
an opportunity of knowing, and certainly do know, that the traveling
custom is loo trifling for a man to lay himself out so as to keep such a
house as travelers have a right to expect; therefore I hope your honors
will consult the good of this parish, so as only to license one of the
two houses. I shall not undertake to say which ought to be licensed;
your honors will act according to your best information. I am, with
esteem, your honors' humble servant,
* "Israel Putnam.
* "To the Hon'ble County Court, to be held at Windham on the 19th inst."
The May Flower.--Rise of the Puritans.--Bishops Hooper and Rogers.--
Henry VIII.--Elizabeth.--Puritan Boldness.
440I have just mentioned the May Flower, and the solemn compact for the
founding of a commonwealth, with a government deriving its powers from
the consent of a majority of the governed, which was drawn up and signed
in its cabin. That vessel was truly the cradle of American liberty,
rocked by the icy billows of Massachusetts Bay. A glance at antecedent
events, in which were involved the causes that led to the emigration to
America of that body of Puritans called The Pilgrims, is profitable in
tracing the remote springs of our Revolutionary movements in New
England, for they contain the germs of our institutions.
Just three hundred years ago, when the exiled Hooper was recalled, and
appointed 1550Bishop of Gloucester, the Puritans had their birth as a
distinct and separate religious body. Henry VIII. quarreled with Pope
Julius III. because he would not grant that licentious monarch a divorce
from Catharine of Aragon, to allow him to marry the beautiful Anne
Boleyn. Henry professed Protestantism, abolished the pope's authority in
England, and assumed to be himself the head of the Church. He retained
the title, "Defender of the Faith," which the pope had previously
bestowed upon him in gratitude for his championship of Rome, for he had
even written a book against Luther. Thus, in seeking the gratification
of his own unhallowed appetites, that monster in wickedness planted the
seeds of the English Reformation. The accession of Edward VI., a son of
Henry by Jane Seymour, one of his six wives, led the way to the firm
establishment of Protestantism in England. The purity of life which the
disciples of both Luther and Calvin exhibited won for them the esteem of
the virtuous and good. Yet the followers of these two reformers differed
materially in the matter of rituals, and somewhat in doctrine. Luther
permitted the cross and taper, pictures and images, as things of
indifference; Calvin demanded the purest spiritual worship. The reform
having begun by decided opposition to the ceremonials as well as dogmas
of the Papal Church, Calvin and his friends deemed it essential to the
full completion of the work to make no concessions to papacy, even in
non-essential matters. The austere principle was announced; and
Puritanism, which then had birth, declared that not even a ceremony
should be allowed, unless it was enjoined by the Word of God. Hooper,
imbued with this spirit, refused a 1550 for a time to be consecrated in
the vestments required by law, (a) and the Reformed Church of England
was shaken to its center by conflicting views respecting ceremonials.
Churchmen, or the Protestants who adhered to much of the Romish
ceremonials, and the Puritans (first so called in derision) became
bitter opponents. During the reign of 1553-8Mary, a violent and bigoted
papist, both parties were involved in danger. The Puritans were placed
in the greatest peril, because they were most opposed to papacy, and
Hooper and Rogers, both Puritans, were the first martyrs of Protestant
England.