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CURIOSITIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

THE

GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS:

OR

VERMONT AND THE NEW YORK LAND-JOBBERS

BY

PHILIP H. SMITH,

AUTHOR OF

"ACADIA: A LOST CHAPTER IN AMERICAN HISTORY;"

"HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY;" ETC.

PAWLING, N. Y.:

PHILIP H. SMITH, PUBLISHER

1885

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by

PHILIP H. SMITH,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

PREFACE.

In the history of a country whose growth has been under circumstances like our own, every locality abounds in unrecorded deeds of moral heroism as worthy of notice as are many facts and events which have become fixed in the historic literature current among the masses. Even were such deeds to find a place in local history, they will necessary be circumscribed in their influence, and at best be so hidden among commonplace matter as almost to escape notice; while to attempt giving them the attention they deserve in a general history would be futile.

In the present attempt to render a comparatively unknown episode of our country's history the theme of a small volume, both these difficulties will be avoided; and by so giving it the prominence it deserves, thereby afford a better understanding of the inner workings of the stupendous machinery of our system of government. The by-ways of our country's annals are fruitful, in just such interesting and instructive themes.

One of the lessons herein taught is that positions of honor and trust are not always proof against cupidity and corruption; or, to speak more plainly, under color of law men have been known to perform the most lawless acts. The story of the Vermont troubles has one rare quality—the poor hard-working settlers were ultimately successful; and for once the cause of the humble cottager prevailed against the machinations of the favorites of royalty.

CONTENTS.

— Introduction 7-10

I. Geographical Outline and Settlement 11-14

II. Origin of the Land Troubles 15-23
III. Resisting New York Claimants 24-44
IV. Mandatory Laws of New York 45-48
V. Affair at Westminster 49-52
VI. Attitude of Congress 53-56
VII. Fall of Ticonderoga 57-69
VIII. Expedition into Canada 70-90

IX. Establishm't of a Civil Government 91-97

X. Battle of Bennington 98-109

XI. Private Negotiat'ns with the British 110-127
XII. Conclusion 128-130

INTRODUCTION.

Some one has truthfully remarked that the character of a people is largely determined by the natural features of the country they inhabit. The peasantry of mountainous Switzerland are proverbial for their bravery and hardihood, their strong and innate love of liberty, and their pure and exalted patriotism. Accustomed from infancy to danger, dependent upon their own resources, mingling day by day among the sublimest works of Creation, their aspirations acquire a buoyancy, and their spirits an independence, that leaves an impress on their lives amounting to a national characteristic.

Thus the brave pioneer, innured to hardship, and depending on his ax for shelter, and on his rifle for food and protection from wild beast and lurking Indian, will acquire a fertility of resource and vigor of limb, as in a measure to remunerate him for the privations he endures.

The original settlers of the New Hampshire Grants,—that territory now known as the State of Vermont,—were of this sturdy, fearless, and independent sort. It seemed as though they had drawn inspiration from the snow-clad, storm-riven mountains, at whose base their lowly thatched cabins were nestled. The long and hard winters taxed the energies of the new settlers for the necessaries of life, and precluded the introduction of luxuries that only degenerate. The stubborn wilderness was to be felled; the latent productiveness of the soil developed; hand to hand encounters with wild beasts were not infrequent; common safety demanded a unity of strength against the crafty foe, and necessity begat friends at the same time it rendered friendship a mutual safeguard; and this unity of purpose, thus nurtured and sustained, afterward displayed itself in one of the most unique chapters in the annals of American history.

The people of these Grants, known to the world as the Green Mountain Boys, were worthy the wild and romantic country in which they lived, and the stirring times in which they acted. Vermont was never organized as a separate colony under England, and from the first that plucky little community refused to submit to the domination of the older colonies on her borders. Her people seemed to imbibe a spirit of independence from the free air and the everlasting mountains.

New York claimed a jurisdiction over her soil, and a like demand was put forward by New Hampshire and Massachusetts. But the brave Green Mountain Boys, under the guidance of such natural leaders as the Allens, Baker, Warner, and others of like invincible spirit, kept the greedy land-grabbers at bay. In short, Vermont never had a government other than the supreme will of her own people, nor acknowledged the authority of any earthly potentate, until she was admitted [p. 10] on an equal footing into the Union of States, as the Fourteenth luminary in the blue field of the nation's emblem.

Yet had this people no inconsiderable sham in the work of achieving that independence which trade the present of our country a glorious possibility. They secured what they believed to be their own rights, at the same time they contributed to the adjustment of the claims of her sister communities.

There is no pretension, in the present pages, to giving what will be new to specialists in Vermont history. But to the general reader, and to the student of the philosophy of human events, there is much, we hope, both new and instructive. The firm bearing of the brave and hardy settlers of the Hampshire grants, and the important part they played in the War of the Revolution, give to the material of this little book somewhat of a national interest. Indeed, but for timely services of the Green Mountain Boys, it is more than possible the cause of America might have been lost.

CHAPTER I.

GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE AND SETTLEMENT.

Stephen A. Douglas has been credited with the remark that Vermont is an excellent place to emigrate from. Though small in area, with a surface singularly broken by mountain ranges, wracked by frosts and covered with snows five months of the year, yet her internal economy has proved favorable to the growth of both brain and brawn: in the halls of Congress, as well as in the pursuits of science and literature, she maintains her place right gallantly.

That long and irregular lake on the north-west boundary bears the name of the great European discoverer and explorer, Champlain, who here sought, and vainly, for a northwest passage to Cathay. The loveliness of its shores, and the unsurpassed picturesqueness of its islands, endear it to the tourist. Twice it has been the scene of a naval combat.

The Green Mountains,* from which the state takes its name, run lengthwise through the central portion, about midway between the Connecticut River on the east and Lake Champlain on the west. The sides of these mountains are clad with the perpetual verdure of their hardy evergreens, the verdant mosses and winter grasses

* In 1763, Rev. Samuel Peters, the first clergyman who paid a visit to the thirty thousand settlers in that country, in the presence of a number of landed proprietors, performed the ceremony of giving a new name to the province, "on the top of a rock standing on a high mountain, then named Pisgah, because it provided the company a clear sight of Lake Champlain to the west, and of the Connecticut River to the east, and which overlooked all the trees and hills in the vast wilderness at the north and south," . . which new name is "Verd Mont," in token that her mountains and hills shall ever be green and never die. He then poured the spirits about him and cast the bottle at the rock. The ceremony being over, the company descended Mount Pisgah, and took refreshments in a log house, kept by Captain Otley, where they spent the night with great pleasure.—Hist. Mag.

clinging to their towering summits. The principal streams, rising among these mountains and following the natural declivities, find their way into this river and lake, except those flowing northerly into Lake Memphremagog.

It was not until after the conquest of Canada that any considerable settlements were effected in the territory now known as Vermont. Situate about midway between the French districts on the River St. Lawrence and the New England settlements along the Atlantic coast, it had very naturally become the battle-ground of the contending powers, and a lurking place of their respective Indian allies. The early colonists of Massachusetts and Connecticut, in their frequent expeditions against the French in Canada, and while traversing these woods as hunters and scouting parties, had become familiar with the fertility of the lands between the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain. As soon as the danger attending their settlement was in a measure removed, by reason of Canada and New England coming under the same King, swarms of emigrants from the adjacent colonies poured into the country, and the most available and valuable portions were immediately taken up; and, as though by magic, the wilderness developed into fruitful fields, and gardens flourished where the wild rabbit had made its home. At the beginning of the Revolution the population was estimated at from twenty to thirty thousand.

If not to be governed at all is to be governed well,—and so it would seem to be in this instance,—the remarkable exemption of the State of Vermont from taxation at the close of the Revolution, as compared with other States, added to the fertility and cheapness of the land, attracted settlers from many of the older communities, resulting in large additions to population and resources.

CHAPTER II.

ORIGIN OF THE LAND TROUBLES.

Vermont, as has been well said, was born in the midst of tumult and the clash of arms. No other State, we can safely affirm, came up out of such tribulation. Her experience is that of a people exposed to the avarice and greed of officials who scruple not to use the necessities of their helpless subjects as a means of securing their own selfish ends.

It was in pursuance to instructions from his Britannic Majesty that Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire, proceeded, in 1749, to grant lands on the west side of the Connecticut River, in the present State of Vermont, to such persons as would settle and cultivate the same. After the declaration of peace between France and England, Wentworth ordered that a survey be made of the river for sixty miles, and that three tiers of townships be laid out on either side. In 1764 about one hundred and forty townships had been granted to New England settlers.

The lands went under the title of the "New Hampshire Grants," numbering sixty-eight proprietors, each grant being six miles square, the Governor reserving to himself five hundred acres at the corner of each township. There were also reserved four public rights, viz.: one to the society for the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts; one for a perpetual glebe to the established Church of England; one for the first settled minister of the Gospel in town; and one for the support of a school. The patentees, that is to say, the possessions, were after ten years to pay ninepence sterling per annum on each hundred acres as quit-rent to his Majesty.

In addition to the five hundred acres at the corner of each township, Governor Wentworth received fees and other emoluments in his official capacity in making these grants. But he was not always to pursue this career of pecuniary prosperity. Other scheming brains, jealous of his rapidly accumulating fortune, sought to deprive him of his monopoly of land giving. This menace lay in the persons of Cadwallader Colden, Lieut.-Gov. of New York, and some associates composed of lawyers and land speculators of New York City.

As an initiative, Lieut.-Gov. Colden issued a proclamation to the settlers on the west bank of the Connecticut, Dec. 28, 1763, arrogating to the government of New York sole jurisdiction over the territory, founding the claim on the grant made by Charles II to the Duke of York in 1664 and 1674, embracing among other parts "all the lands from the west side of the Connecticut River to the east side of the Delaware Bay." Colden at once commenced making grants of land in his newly acquired territory, and by the first of November following, his patents covered a large portion of the lands occupied by the settlers who had just paid for their titles to the Governor of New Hampshire.

Gov. Wentworth now issued a counter proclamation intended to inspire confidence in the grants from New Hampshire, and exhorting the people to be diligent in clearing up their lands, and not be intimidated by the threats of New York. The latter province thereupon made application to the Crown for a confirmation of its claims, falsely and fraudulently averring that such an arrangement would meet the wishes of the people of the territory in dispute. These claims were confirmed by Great Britain in July, 1764.

Wentworth complained of this loss of territory, and represented it to be injurious to the peace and prosperity of the country; but he was constrained, by advice of counsel, to recommend to the settlers due obedience to the authority and laws of New York.

Had this royal decree been interpreted by the Yorkers as simply effecting a change of jurisdiction, the inhabitants would have quietly submitted, as it was immaterial to them, other things being equal, whether they lived in New York or New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the private interests of Colden and the land speculators induced another interpretation. They maintained that the decision had a retrospective application; that the Connecticut River had always been the eastern boundary of New York, and hence the grants made by New Hampshire were null and void.

The people of the Grants were now apprised of the true nature of the diplomatic game that was being played, in which they were the parties likely to be the most affected. They now realized that the lands they had duly bought and paid for, and for which they held deeds under the authority of the Crown, were coveted by the land speculators, and, under color of law, the latter purposed to wrest them from their hands.

In 1765, a committee from the Grants waited upon the newly-appointed Governor of New York, Sir Henry Moore, to solicit his protection against [p. 20] the New York patents; but this measure failed of its purpose. The following year an agent was sent to the Court of Great Britain to recount the unjust proceedings against them; and the King in Council, in response thereto, issued an order bearing date of July 24, 1767, requiring of the Governor of New York that he should not, "upon pain of his Majesty's highest displeasure, presume to make any grant whatsoever of any part of the lands in question, until his Majesty's further pleasure should be known concerning the same." This order was obeyed during the administration of Governor Moore; but after his death, which occurred in the fall of 1769, it was wholly disregarded, and grants were made by successive governors up to the Revolutionary period.

After the death of Moore, New York proceeded to carry out its plan by attempting to compel the Vermontese to repurchase their lands, or to abandon them. Many of the settlers did not have the ready funds with which to repurchase their homes, had they been so minded; while the great majority peremptorily refused to submit. This bold opposition was followed by actions of ejectment at Albany, and judgments against the protesting settlers, the original proprietors.

The Governor of New York exercised a little judicious diplomacy by making a partial distinction between the settlers on the east and west sides of the Green Mountains, and, by winning some of the leading characters over to his interest, by that means divided the people. Some settlers on the east side, by yielding up their New Hampshire titles, had new or confirmation grants from New York on payment of half fees. The usual fee of the former colony for granting a township was about three hundred dollars; but under the latter it generally exceeded two thousand dollars.

To promote a further division between the two sections, New York gave civil and military commissions to settlers on the east side. A new county was erected there, and a log court house and jail was built in the wilderness, eight miles distant from any settlement. The Governor, by this stratagem, partially brought the eastern counties to coincide with New York, thus pacing the western district in the interior of the government. He hoped in that way to compel their submission; forgetting that men, who had braved every danger and hardship attending the settlement of a wild country, would not tamely submit to be dispossessed. The contest now grew warm and serious. Writs of ejectment were issued and served; some officers were prevented by force from serving their writs; the papers were returned to the Supreme Court at Albany.

Ethan Allen, a proprietor under the Hampshire Grants, accompanied by an eminent barrister of Connecticut named Ingersoll, repaired to Albany to answer in behalf of the Grants. When the first case was brought, Ingersoll answered for the defendant, supporting his plea by the royal orders and instructions to Governor Wentworth to make grants of land in the province of New Hampshire, and also produced the grant and charter to the settlers. The judge would not admit them to be taken as evidence, on which Ingersoll perceived the cause was already prejudged, and withdrew from the defense.

CHAPTER III.

RESISTING THE NEW YORK CLAIMANTS.

On the return of Mr. Allen to Bennington, the people met in convention; and passed a resolution to support their rights and property by force, inasmuch as justice was denied them by the intriguing land-jobbers controlling the civil power of New York. This was a bold stroke of one hundred men thus to oppose the most favored and influential colony under the Crown; but the Vermonters rightly conjectured their quarrel was with the governor of New York and a few land speculators only, and not with the body of its inhabitants.

Matters were daily becoming more serious. Civil officers were opposed by the people of the Grants; the latter were in turn indicted for riot, and sheriffs were sent to apprehend the delinquents. These officers were seized and severely chastised with twigs of the wilderness; that is to say, they were bound to trees and treated to an application of beech rods on their bare backs, well laid on. Every day produced new events: the settlers resolved to form themselves into a military association for mutual protection.

Before the close of the year 1770, committees of safety had been organized for purposes of defense against the New York claimants. These committees afterwards met in general convention, when important issues were to be determined. Ethan Allen was commissioned Colonel Commandant, and Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Robert Cockran, Gideon Warren and others, were appointed captains.

The Governor of New York had threatened to drive the Vermonters into the Green Mountains, which occasioned their taking the name of "Green Mountain Boys." The committees of safety passed a resolution in general council, in 1771, that no officer from New York be allowed to carry out of the Hampshire Grants any person, without permission given by the committees, or the military commanders. Surveyors of land under New York were forbidden to run any lines within the Grants; and transgressors in this particular were to be punished according to the judgment of a court formed among the military officers or elders of the people.

"Hugh Monroe, an old offender, was taken, tried, and ordered to be whipped on his naked back. He was tied to a tree, and flogged till he fainted; on recovering he was whipped again till he fainted; he revived and underwent a third lashing till he fainted; his wounds were then dressed, and he was banished the district of the New Hampshire Grants." These severities proved a salutary lesson, and the Green Mountain Boys became a terror to their adversaries.

The convention next issued a decree forbidding all persons taking out grants, or confirmations of grants, under New York. This had the effect of uniting the settlers very much in the common Cause. About the same time the Colonial Assembly of New York authorized the sheriffs to call out a posse comitatus in case of opposition to the execution of their office; and the Governor offered a reward of £150 for Colonel Ethan Allen, and £50 each for Warner and five others therein named, to any person that should take and confine them in any jail in New York. As a measure of retaliation, Allen and the other proscribed persons offered a reward of £5 for the taking of John Taber Kemp, Attorney General of New York, and published the same in the newspapers of the day.

The Supreme Court at Albany, having awarded a judgment on a writ of ejectment against James Breckenridge, of Bennington, the sheriff of Albany County summoned a posse to the number of seven hundred and fifty men to go and assist in serving the same. The officers collected about three hundred, and reaching Breckenridge's house some hours in advance of the sheriff's party, stationed their men in ambuscade in readiness to receive them.

An officer and eighteen men were placed inside the house. One hundred and fifty were secreted behind trees, in a wood, near the road by which the sheriff must pass, and where he would naturally halt his men while he went to demand possession of the premises. The other division was stationed behind a ridge of land, in a meadow, within gun-shot of the house, but out of sight of the sheriff's men. This arrangement of the ambuscade enabled the Green Mountain Boys to have a cross-fire on the Yorkers without endangering themselves; and they were instructed to hold themselves in readiness to commence the attack in case the sheriff forced the door, the signal to be a red flag hoisted above the chimney top.

When the sheriff and his party approached, all was silent; and exultingly they marched directly into the trap without being aware of their critical situation. Mr. Ten Eyck, the sheriff, went to the house and demanded entrance as Sheriff of the County of Albany; and threatened in case of refusal, to force the door. The answer was, "Attempt it, and you are a dead man." He repeated his demand; and was answered by "hideous groans from within."

At this juncture, the two divisions exhibited their hats on the points of their guns, which made them appear more numerous than they really were. The sheriff and his men, realizing the danger of their situation, "and not being interested in the dispute," beat a hasty retreat, without a gun being fired on either side. This affair served not only to cement the union of the people, but also to cause a higher estimate to be placed on them by the neighboring colonies.

On another occasion, an armed party of fifty men proceeded to Arlington, where they took prisoner Captain Remember Baker, one of the seven proscribed persons, severely wounding both him and his wife. Baker was put into a sleigh, and the party set out with all speed for Albany. An express was dispatched to Bennington with tidings of the occurrence. Ten men promptly mounted fleet horses, and after a ride of thirty [p. 30] miles, intercepted the kidnapping party at a crossroad. The ten horsemen impetuously charged upon the fifty Yorkers; and the latter, supposing them to be the advance guard of a larger force, left their prisoner and fled. Captain Baker was nearly exhausted with loss of blood; but he was kindly cared for, his wounds dressed, and he was restored to his wife and children, to their no small joy, and that of his friends.

A report reached Bennington that Governor Tryon was on his way by water to Albany, with British Troops, with a purpose to subdue or destroy the Green Mountain Boys. This was the more readily credited, as the royal troops had lately been used on Bateman's* Patent, in the colony of New York, to quell some disputes about the titles or rents of lands; and it was known that the subsequent grantees of the New Hampshire

* Should read "Beekman's" Patent, in Duchess County, probably in the present town of Pawling.

Grants had applied to the Governor of New York for a similar favor.

The committees of safety met the military officers to consult on the measures proper to be taken. They felt themselves at a crisis that would either compel them to submit, or take the field against a royal Governor and British troops. Having reflected on the justice of their cause, the labor and expense of building and the cultivating of their lands, they unanimously resolved "that it was their duty to oppose Governor Tryon and is troops to the utmost of their power, and convince him and his council that they were punishable by the Green Mountain Boys for disobeying his majesty's prohibitory orders of July, 1767." The elders of the people assured the military officers that they would afford them all the assistance in their power, and advised them to concert among themselves the plans of defense, and then withdrew.

A messenger was sent to Albany to ascertain he truth of the report, and learn the strength of the enemy and the order of marching. On his return, the messenger reported that "the British troops were wind-bound some distance below Albany, and were destined to relieve the garrisons at Oswego, Niagara, and Detroit, and that Governor Tryon was not with them." Of course all preparations for a battle were suspended.

The Governor and land agents of New York were in due time apprised of this "note of preparation," and were thus assured the Green Mountain Boys would fight even the King's troops on provocation. This affair served the purposes of Vermont as well as a bloody victory could have done; and prompted the Convention to forbid "all inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants to hold or accept any office of honor or profit under the colony of New York, and requiring all civil and military officers who had acted under New York to suspend their functions under penalty of being viewed.*"

* An expression signifying an application of the beech rod.

The first settlers of Clarendon were adherents of New York. Disturbances had often sprung up in that places and Mr. Spencer, who had acted as Justice of the Peace under New York, had often sent writs against the people. Colonel Allen and a few hundred men set off for Clarendon, to frighten Spencer out of the country. Acting on information received of Allen's intended visit, Spencer fled into the woods, and was not to be found when the party reached the house.

After scouting the woods in vain, they marched three miles and put up for the night. Towards daylight, Allen and his two men went again to Spencer's house. Forcing the door with a log, they rushed in with their guns and pistols, crying out for Spencer to appear; but he had not ventured to return home.

As they rejoined the main force, a small dog was discovered, which, unfortunately for the dog, bore the name of Tryon. This animal they cut into pieces with their swords for no other cause than that its name was Tryon; they held up the pieces of the dog on the points of their guns and cried out—"Thus will we do with Tryon!" Spencer was so much alarmed at these proceedings that he fled to New York, and matters remained quiet for a time.

In the spring of 1772, Governor Tryon, through the medium of a minister residing in Bennington, made overtures to the people of the Grants for a pacification. He promised if they would send agents to negotiate an accommodation, they would be received and protected, only excepting Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Remember Baker, and Robert Cockran.

This proposal being accepted, Captain Stephen Fay and Dr. Jonas Fay were sent to represent Vermont before the Governor, to arrange for an adjustment of claims. The most that was effected was a cessation of hostilities until his Majesty's pleasure could be further known. During this armistice, a surveyor named Cockburn was privately sent to survey out and locate lands within the bounds of the New Hampshire Grants. Ira Allen and a number of men went in search of him. They found the offender at Bolton, one hundred and thirty miles through an almost unbroken wilderness to the north of Bennington. They broke his instruments and allowed him to depart, with an admonition never to be seen in those parts again under pain of death. Only the partial armistice, and the efforts for a restoration of peace then in progress, saved Mr. Cockburn a severe whipping.

Governor Tryon next essayed the plan of establishing a colony of emigrants under the New York proprietors. The settlers were to be Scotchmen, and the colony was to be located at New Haven Falls. Allen was duly apprised of this, who, with a number of trusty followers, repaired to the place and began the construction of a block fort. The Scotch emigrants wisely sent some agents to view the country before coming in with their families; and learning the nature of the dispute as to title, refused to have any more to do in the matter.

One evening while Colonel Ethan Allen and Levi Roberts were at the house of a friend by the name of Richardson, they were surprised by two sergeants and ten soldiers from the garrison at Crown Point, all of them well armed. Allen and Roberts were well known to the soldiers, and realized they were caught in a trap, as, stimulated by the reward on their heads, the soldiers would be certain to take them before the New York authorities. But even in this dilemma, Allen's presence of mind did not forsake him. Both he and Roberts had their side arms about them, and he judged the soldiers would not immediately risk an open encounter. Calling for liquor, he began to make merry with the men; and such was his address, and his powers of conversation, that they were actually forced to join in the revelry. It was not long before the sergeants were dismayed at beholding their men, one by one, yielding to the seductive influence of their potations. Yet the doughty Colonel kept lustily calling for more liquor; and with well-feigned huskiness of voice, pressed all to drink, swearing they would merit his eternal displeasure if they refused.

At length, after nearly all had rolled from their chairs, stupefied by the quantities of liquor they had swallowed, Allen demanded to be shown to bed. He was answered that the sergeants had engaged the only spare beds in the house. He refused their offer to give up one of the beds to himself and Roberts, with a maudlin remark that two such jolly subjects of the King should have the best the house afforded, and declared his intention to sleep in the barn.

Leaving their guns in the house to disarm suspicion, Allen and Roberts suffered themselves to be conducted to the barn by the sergeants, where they were locked up for the night. The Colonel was apparently so far overcome with liquor as to require the assistance of two men to enable hint to walk; and he reeled about, and dropping down helpless upon the straw, fell off into a drunken slumber. Even Roberts began to have serious misgivings as to the condition of his Colonel, whom he had seen drain glass after glass during the evening, enough to turn the heads of half a dozen men. But no sooner had the footsteps of the retreating sergeant died away, than the labored breathing of the Colonel suddenly ceased; and sitting up, drew off his boots and poured therefrom the rum that Roberts was ready to swear be had seen disappear down Allen's throat.

Allen knew the soldiers had only repaired to the house to allow himself and his companion time to get sound asleep, when they would return and surprise them. What was to be done, must be done quickly. But Allen had no intention of leaving without their rifles. While they debated as to the best method of securing them, those coveted weapons were brought them by bliss Richardson, who had found means to privately remove them from a window; then making their egress from the barn, they hastily sought the safety of the dark forest. An hour later the sergeants went to secure their prisoners, whom they expected to find helplessly drunk, but the birds had flown.

One Hough, of Clarendon, was persuaded to accept the office of Justice of the Peace under New York, and attempted to officiate as such. He was taken before the committee of safety, where he plead in justification that he was authorized by the colony of New York. The committee caused the resolution of the Convention of the New Hampshire Grants to be read to him, forbidding all persons holding any office under New York, and then pronounced judgment on the prisoner that he "be taken and tied to a tree, and there, on his naked back, to receive two hundred stripes; his back being dressed, he should depart out of the district; and in the event of his return, unless leave was granted, he was to suffer death." It is needless to add the sentence of whipping was summarily executed. This occurred in January, 1775. Hough had signalized himself as being very active in procuring the outlawry acts [p. 40] against Allen and others of the Green Mountain Boys.

Dr. Samuel Adams, of Arlington, was outspoken in his denunciation of the Green Mountain Boys, and counseled the people to purchase lands under New York titles. The Doctor was cautioned to keep silent, and not needlessly incur their displeasure; but he declared he would free his mind, and, providing himself with a pair of good horse-pistols and other weapons, said he was ready to silence any man who dared to cross him. He was soon afterward surprised, and carried to the Green Mountain Tavern at Bennington, where the committee heard his defense. Of course judgment was rendered against him, and preparations made to carry his sentence into execution.

As was common in those days, a post some twenty or more feet in height held the tavern sign. On the top of this sign-post was a stuffed catamount's skin, showing large teeth, looking and grinning towards New York. Dr. Adams was tied in an arm chair and hoisted up to the sign, where he hung two mortal hours, as a punishment for his treasonable utterances. A large number of the citizens assembled to see the sentence carried out, and they were loud in their jeers and merriment at the Doctor's discomfiture. He was then let down, dismissed by the committee, and admonished to go and sin no more.

Colonel Ethan Allen was once on a visit to his brother Heman, who was residing at Salisbury, Conn. A plot was laid by some Yorkers to capture and convey him to the Poughkeepsie jail, and so obtain Tryon's promised premium. Robert M'Cormick; who was on intimate terms with the family, had been engaged to act as decoy. He was to spend the night with the family as their guest, and at a convenient hour, open the door and conduct the gang to the apartment where the Colonel slept. A sleigh was to be in readiness outside, in which their prisoner could be driven with all speed out of Connecticut.

M'Cormick parted from his companions at some distance from Heman Allen's house. He was kindly received, and offered a bed for the night. It was noticed he was unusually reticent, and quite reserved in his participation in the hospitalities tendered him. He made some indirect inquiries after Colonel Allen, who had ridden out that afternoon, but who was momentarily expected to return.

From these circumstances Heman was led to suspect some plot was on foot against his brother, and so expressed himself on that gentleman's return. The Colonel thereupon taxed M'Cormick at his unusual concern, and so pressed the poor fellow that he confessed there was a plot to capture him, and that he had come for the purpose of privately informing him of it. M'Cormick departed soon after, and told the gang of what he had done. Preparations were made for defense by the household, but they remained through the night unmolested.

The scene of this adventure was the birthplace of Ethan and Ira Allen, from which, at an early age, they removed with their parents to the Hampshire Grants. Ethan was remarkable for the boldness with which he declared his opinions, and a self-confidence that was abashed by no consciousness of ignorance. He acquired a wide notoriety as a pamphleteer during the Vermont troubles, there being no paper published thereat that time. His enemies tried to fix on him the stigma of an outlaw; and even so careful a historian as Irving is led to make the observation that he was a kind of Robin Hood among the mountains." The late T. S. Arthur once wrote of him as being a "guerilla chief," forgetting that he acted under the direction of a committee of safety—an authority universally adopted by the other colonies during the Revolution.

Ira Allen was still further traduced. The Western Star, a paper published at Stockbridge, Mass., in 1797, styles him the "Vermont Land Jobber;" and states he was at the time under arrest for treasonable designs against the government of Great Britain, concluding with the observation—"All humane men should shudder at the idea of a halter; and many honest men will rejoice if Allen's liberation puts an end to his restless career in future." Allen, it seems, had been charged with supplying the Irish, then in rebellion against England, with arms: after eight years of litigation he was acquitted.

CHAPTER IV.

MANDATORY LAWS OF NEW YORK.

The spirit of opposition and resentment had risen so high because of the events recorded in the preceding chapter, that New York was led to adopt the most stringent measures of coercion. The law which the wisdom of that colony devised to meet the exigencies of the occasion was a curiosity in American Legislation. It enacted that if any person opposed the civil officers of New York, or burned or destroyed property belonging to subjects of that colony, or, assembled for riotous purposes, such offenders shall be adjudged guilty of felony, without benefit of clergy, and were to suffer death as felons. The law made it the duty of the Governor to publish the names of offenders indicted for capital offenses, with an order requiring them to deliver themselves up in seventy days; in default of which the courts might award execution against them the same as though they had been tried and convicted—the death penalty to be administered without the benefit of clergy. All crimes, therefore, that had been committed on the Grants, could be tried at Albany, and a neglect to obey summons to deliver one's person into custody, was equivalent to a conviction. Thus was sought to be evaded the dangerous duty of serving processes on the Green Mountain Boys, and they would convict themselves by refusal to surrender without the inconvenience of a trial.

If this law was remarkable, the answer of the Green Mountain Boys was no less so. Said they: "By legerdemain, bribery and deception, they [the New Yorkers] have extended their dominion far and wide. We are resolved to inflict immediate death on whomsoever shall attempt the apprehension of the persons indicted as rioters. We will kill and destroy any person that shall be presumed to be accessory, aiding or assisting in taking any of us; although they have a license by the law to kill us, and an indemnification for so doing, they have no such indemnification from the Green Mountain Boys. If New York insists on killing us to take possession of our vineyards, let them come on; we are ready for a game of scalping with them." These sentiments were announced by handbills and in the papers throughout New England, with the design of deterring New York from attempting to enforce the law, as such an attempt would be certain to result in an effusion of blood. The people of Vermont maintained in this that they were merely contending for justice, and that the officers of New York, who were calling upon the inhabitants of Vermont to obey the royal orders, were themselves acting in open violation of the express commands of their King.

A new interest may be awakened when the character of the claimants is considered. The Green Mountain Boys were the actual settlers.

Each family had its log house in the midst of the clearing, with luxuriant crops of corn and potatoes growing among the charred stumps. These pioneers had brought nothing into the woods with them except what could be carried on horseback; some even brought in their goods on hand-sleds in winter, the infirm and children being drawn by husbands and brothers. A few cattle, sheep and hogs, shared rude sheds along with the horses. The rewards of industry and thrift were beginning to be realized. Many families lived remote from each other, and weeks might often pass by without meeting a neighbor. There was plenty of room for the Yorkers if they wished to turn farmers, and were willing to carve a home out of the wilderness as others had done. But such was far from their purpose. Besides, a farm ready cleared, with a snug house and barn, is preferable to one in the unbroken wilderness, when either can be had for the taking—and so thought the New York land jobbers.

CHAPTER V.

AFFAIR AT WESTMINSTER.

Colonel Allen collected the documents relative to the several grants of the crown, including that to the Plymouth Colony, to Lord Say and Seal, to the Duke of York, and some other papers, and in 1774 published them in a book. This had the effect of bringing the Vermont troubles into notoriety. The newspapers everywhere were circulating the proceedings, which resulted in stirring up public sentiment against the Crown, as it was supposed the Governor and Council of New York were sustained in their claims by the home government.

Hitherto the opposition to New York had been confined principally to the inhabitants west of the Green Mountains. As already stated, the policy [p. 50] of New York had been to divide the people in their sentiment, by a conciliatory course in respect to those living on the Connecticut River. But now an incident occurred which had the effect of arousing the spirit of opposition throughout the whole extent of the Hampshire Grants.

In September, 1775, a meeting of delegates from the several colonies met at Philadelphia, to consult upon measures for the public safety. This was followed by an almost universal suspension of the royal authority, the courts being closed, or adjourned without doing any business. New York alone refused assent to the patriotic measures recommended by Continental Congress. The court of justice for the County of Cumberland, on the Hampshire Grants, was to be held in March of that year at Westminster. Much dissatisfaction prevailed throughout the county, because of the course adopted by New York, and attempts were made to dissuade the judges from holding the court, without avail.

Early in the morning of the day appointed, the people of Westminster and the adjacent towns took possession of the court house to prevent the officers of the court from entering. The opposing party appeared, armed with guns, pistols and swords, and commanded the people to disperse. This being refused, the judges and their friends retired. About eleven o'clock at night they again appeared and demanded admittance; being again refused, they opened fire, killing one man and wounding several more. The wounded men, and some others, were seized and dragged to prison.

The next day the people flocked in from every part of the country. A coroner's inquest was instituted on the body of their fallen comrade, and a verdict returned of "willful murder by the Court Party," some of whom were immediately seized and placed in jail.

The news of this event spread far and wide throughout the Hampshire Grants, and fired the hearts of the stern yeomanry with an irrepressible bitterness and rage against the authorities of New York. A meeting of the committees of safety was held at Westminster the following month, at which spirited and patriotic resolutions were passed, among which was a declaration "that it is the manifest duty of the inhabitants, on the eternal and immutable principles of self-preservation, wholly to renounce and resist the administration of the province of New York, until such times as the lives and property of the inhabitants can be secured thereby." Indeed, such was the state of feeling, that but for the ominous occurrences preceding the American Revolution, which for the time absorbed all minor considerations, New York and Vermont would have been brought to the direful issues of a civil war.

CHAPTER VI.

ATTITUDE OF CONGRESS.

It must not be supposed, however, that in the overshadowing event of the great drama of the Revolution, the disputed claims to jurisdiction over Vermont were entirely forgotten. On the contrary, New York improved the very first opportunity to make application to Congress for a recognition of her title to the territory. Then New Hampshire, inasmuch as she had made the original grants of the soil, memorialized Congress for a recognition of her claims. Next Massachusetts, fearing lest the others should proceed to carve up the disputed territory as they could mutually agree, interposed her plea for a portion, as coming rightfully under her jurisdiction. So, while Vermont was battling bravely with the common enemy devastating her borders, she had to contend with the plots and baneful policy of three beleaguering and powerful States; and she only asked of Congress an independent sovereignty and even-handed justice.

Thus were four factions asserting a right to a jurisdiction over the territory, and each demanding of Congress a recognition of its claims. That body chose the wisest course practicable. It advised each party to refrain from a forcible exercise of authority over the disputed territory as a preliminary measure to future adjustment. To this New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire readily agreed, and authorized Congress to settle the whole matter in controversy.

But the Green Mountain State was of different mettle. She had already declared herself free and independent; she had boldly assumed the powers of government, and had exercised those powers in every part of her territory. She was not willing to surrender her sovereignty at the behests of a Congress by which her rights were not respected, and in which she was not represented. She was ready, as she had ever been, to bear her share of the war with Great Britain, and her sturdy Green Mountain Boys had more than once proved their valor and patriotism on the bloody field; but she would not consent to resign her just rights to the arbitrament of any body of men under heaven.

In June, 1780, Congress declared "that the proceedings of the inhabitants on the New Hampshire Grants were highly unwarrantable, and subversive of the peace and welfare of the United States; and that they be strictly required to abstain in the future from all acts of authority, civil or military, over those inhabitants who profess allegiance to other States."

Undaunted by this reprimand, Vermont responded, through her Governor and Council, that she considered the same subversive of her inalienable rights; that it was not in accord with the principal on which Congress grounded its own independence; and that it was contrary to the provision of the Federal Constitution forbidding Congress to meddle with the internal policy of unrepresented territory. Vermont farther intimated that if the present course was persisted in, she would have no motive to continue hostilities with Great Britain, and maintain an important frontier for a country that treated her people as slaves; but that it would remain for her to finally appeal to God and to an impartial world, to say who would be accountable for the awful consequences that must ensue.

And now having outlined thus much in advance by way of a better understanding of our subject, we will proceed to treat more in detail.

CHAPTER VII.

FALL OF TICONDEROGA.

On the night of the 17th of April, 1755, a lantern was hung out from an upper window of the North Church of Boston. Never did the beams of a tallow dip go forth on more momentous errand. As the feeble rays shot out into the night, few realized therein a symbol of the cause of Liberty that was so soon to be consecrated with patriot blood, and that was destined to create a refuge for the oppressed of every land. Hostile British troops were silently threading the dark marshes, and this was the signal to the minute men to prepare for their coming.

The British had placed guards on all the roads leading out of Boston to prevent all intelligence of the midnight sally from getting abroad; but the enemy had proceeded only a few miles when alarm guns, booming through the night air, and the clanging of village bells, showed that the hews of their approach was traveling before them, and that the country was rising. An express was sent back to Boston for a reinforcement, and Major Pitcairn was detached to press forward with all speed.

About seventy of the yeomanry of the country had been drawn up in military array near the church on the village green at Lexington. Pitcairn halted his men within a short distance of the church, and ordered them to prime and load. They then advanced at double quick. The Major, riding forward, shouted, "Disperse, ye rebels! Lay down your arms and disperse!" The patriots refused to obey; nor were they put to flight until eight of their little band were killed and ten wounded. The victors formed on the common, fired a volley, and gave three cheers for their inglorious triumph. Colonel Smith now arrived with the remainder of the force, and the march was resumed to the little village of Concord.

There the alarm had preceded them, arousing the inhabitants in the dead hour of night. The church bell called together the inhabitants. The minute men seized their arms and paraded near the church. Efforts were being made to conceal the military stores. A horseman brought word that the British troops had fired upon the people at Lexington, and were then advancing in victorious array upon Concord.

The excitement and indignation of the brave patriots were fully roused. Some of the militia marched down the road to meet the English force, and reported it to be three times their own. They now retired to an eminence about a mile from the centre of the town.

About seven o'clock the British troops hove in sight, with flags displayed and arms glittering in the morning sun. A strong detachment took post on the green, while parties were sent out to destroy the military stores. The yeomanry from [p. 60] the surrounding country were pouring in with such arms as they could obtain, until the little war-gathering on the height numbered nearly five hundred. At ten o'clock a body of three hundred dislodged the British from the north bridge, with a loss of two men killed. By this time, the stores having been destroyed, the enemy prepared to retreat.

The British troops were jaded with their long night march, but there was no rest or safety for them short of Boston. On their return march, the adjacent rocks and stone fences formed convenient breastworks, from behind which rustic marksmen sent the deadly bullet full into their ranks. Some were shot down: others dropped from sheer exhaustion; the rest hurried on with no care for their fallen comrades.

Before reaching Lexington, Colonel Smith received a severe wound in the leg. About two o'clock in the afternoon, they were met by a detachment one thousand strong, with two fieldpieces. This was the reinforcement that had marched so gaily through Roxbury to the tune of "Yankee Doodle," in derision of the rebels. The troops opened to the right and left, allowing the retreating soldiers to throw themselves into the hollow square to rest. A little after sunset the pursuit terminated at Charlestown common. A half hour afterward, a powerful body of men from Marblehead and Salem came up to join in the chase. Thus the ministerial troops narrowly escaped being cut off. The British loss was seventy-three killed, and one hundred and seventy-four wounded; that of the patriots forty-nine killed and thirty-nine wounded.

The cry for vengeance at this desecration of American soil resounded through the land.—Measures were concerted in council; the outrage was discussed in cabin and palace, and around the camp-fire of the hunter; while the voice of supplication from altar and dwelling was heard, asking the Almighty to bless the patriot cause.

As by common impulse, public attention was turned to the British fortresses of Ticonderoga and crown Point, against which retaliatory measures could be employed with the best effect. As these forts were located near the homes of the Green Mountain Boys, and their hardy courage fitted them for a duty of this kind, requests were sent simultaneously from several of the provinces to Ethan Allen* and his followers to surprise and capture those places. The provincial Legislature of Connecticut, though not openly sanctioning the invasion, lent money from its treasury to those engaged in it, and appointed a committee to assist in raising troops and supervising their management. The force finally engaging in the expedition was about two hundred and seventy

* Irving describes Allen as "well-fitted for the enterprise by his experience as a frontier champion, his robustness of mind and body, and his fearless spirit. He had a rough kind of eloquence, also, that was very effective with his followers." "His style," says another who knew him personally, "was a singular compound of local barbarisms, scriptural phrases, and oriental wildness: and though unclassic, and sometimes ungrammatical, was highly animated and forcible." General Washington wrote, "there is an original something in him which commands attention."

strong, composed of Green Mountain Rangers, with the exception of sixteen men from Connecticut and a score or so from Massachusetts.

Towards the close of April, 1775, it was evident something of unusual interest was transpiring in the Hampshire Grants. The labors of the farm were neglected at a time when they would require most attention, and with one accord each sturdy husbandman shouldered his trusty rifle, and silently betook himself to a journey.

The course of each led through the wilderness toward a central point near Bennington; and, before long, a motley array of mountaineers, in rough garb but of tried strength and valor, were gathered as though for some military exploit. Colonel Ethan Allen was placed at the head of the expedition,—James Eaton and Seth Warner being second and third in command: the troops arrived at Shoreham, opposite Fort Ticonderoga, on the night of the 7th of May. Detachments were sent off to Skenesborough (now Whitehall), and other points, to secure all the boats they could find for the transportation of the troops to the opposite shore.

About this time Benedict Arnold appeared among them, thirsting for military glory. He bore a colonel's commission from the Massachusetts committee of safety, and attempted to assume command of the expedition. The Green Mountain Boys, however, would follow no leader but Allen, and Arnold was obliged to yield, engaging to act as volunteer, with the rank but not the command of colonel.

The night of the 9th of May had arrived, but not so the boats for which detachments had been sent in quest. Yet it was deemed best not to delay the enterprise, and transportation was commenced with the few boats at command. The work proceeded slowly; day was about to break when Allen and, Arnold, with only eighty-three men, had crossed. To wait another day would lead to discovery by the garrison. Allen drew up his men and announced to there his purpose. "It is a desperate attempt," said he, "and I ask no man to go against his will. You who are willing to follow, poise your firelocks." Not a soldier shrank from his duty.

Guided by a boy, they mounted the hill silently and at a rapid pace. Day was breaking as Allen, with Arnold at his left hand, arrived at a sally port. A sentry snapped his piece at him and retreated, closely followed by Allen and his men. Another sentinel thrust at Eaton with his bayonet, but was struck down; when he begged lustily for quarter. His life was spared on condition of his leading the way instantly to the quarters of the Commandant who was yet in bed. Allen thundered at the door, and demanded a surrender of the fort. The Commandant appeared at the door half dressed, "the frightened face of his pretty wife appearing over his shoulder." By this time the Green Mountain Boys had formed on the parade ground, and were giving vent to hearty cheers. The garrison were made prisoners as they rushed forth in their confusion, having been startled out of their sleep. The Commandant was bewildered at what he beheld, and addressing Allen, cried out, "By what authority do you act?" "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!" was the reply.

Captain Delaplace with forty-eight of his men, a great supply of much needed military and naval stores, and a valuable fortress, were among the trophies of this brilliant dash of inexperienced farmer soldiers.

Colonel Seth Warner, who had now come over from Shoreham with the residue of the troops, was sent with a detachment against Crown Point, an express having been previously dispatched to Captain Baker, of Onion River, forty miles distant, to come with his company to assist. Captains Warner and Baker appeared before Crown Point nearly at the same time; the garrison, consisting only of a sergeant and twelve men, surrendered without firing a gun. Here were taken upward of a hundred cannon. On his way down, Captain Baker intercepted two small boats which had been sent to give the alarm to St. Johns, on the Sorel River.

Arnold now insisted on being given the command of the fortress, as being the only officer clothed with legal authority. Allen was too popular to be eclipsed by the assumptions of Arnold; and the Connecticut committee, which had accompanied the enterprise, gave an instrument in writing investing Allen with full command of the fort and its dependencies, until be should be in receipt of orders from the Connecticut Assembly or Continental Congress. Arnold was forced to content himself, meanwhile, with a statement of his grievances to the Massachusetts Legislature.

Just at this time a new project was set on foot which had the effect to appease the restless spirit of Arnold. The detachment originally sent to Skenesborough arrived with a schooner and several bateaux. Allen and Arnold arranged to continue their conquests by an attempt to surprise St. Johns, the frontier post of Canada. Arnold, who had been a seaman in his youth, took command of the schooner, which had been furnished with cannon and ammunition from the fort, while Arnold and his Green Mountain Boys embarked in the bateaux.

Arnold outsailed the other craft, surprised the post of St. Johns, and made its garrison prisoners; captured the King's sloop of seventy tons, with two brass pieces and seven men; took four bateaux and destroyed several others; and then, learning that troops were on the way from Montreal and Chamblee, spread his sails to the breeze and swept up the lake with his prizes and his prisoners, and some valuable stores.

On the way he met Allen and the bateaux. Salutes were exchanged, cannon answering to musketry. Learning from Arnold the particulars of his victory, Allen determined to push on and occupy the vacated post. The Canadian reinforcement had already taken possession on his arrival, so he returned to Ticonderoga.

This series of brilliant exploits was hailed as if in requital for the recent acts of British atrocity, and as an omen of a brighter future for the colonies. To the adherents of the Crown it must have been the occasion of astonishment and alarm. It drew public attention to the prowess of the Green Mountain Boys; and their leaders, from being denominated outlaws, were now extolled as patriots.

The capture of those frontier posts impressed the American people with a sense of their ability to cope with the disciplined soldiers of England, and helped some to decide for independence who had trembled in the balance, and at the same time contributed to render preparations for defense more prompt and effectual.