b'iiMi \n\n\n\n^^.s- \n\n\n\n\'V- \n\n\n\n-^^ \n\n\n\n.^ \n\n\n\nrj. V\' \n\n\n\n\xe2\x96\xa0\'\':. .<^ \n\n\n\nn^ V \n\n\n\nSARATOGA COUNTY: \nAn HistoFvICAl Addep^ss \n\nBy GEO. G. SOOTT. \n\n\n\nAND A \n\n\n\nCENTENNIAL ADDRESS \n\nBy J. S. L\'AMOREAUX. \n\n\n\nDelivered at Ballston Spa, N. Y., July 4, 1876. \n\n\n\nOPINIO Jijf ^tJ K^Aijjy ^/O. \n\n\n\nBALI.STON SPA, N. Y. \nPUBLTSIIEl) BY WATEllBUKY & INMAN. \n\n18TG. \n\n\n\n\nSARATOGA COUNTY ^^ "^ \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. \n\n\n\nBy GEO. G. SCOTT. \n\n\n\nAND A \n\n\n\nCENTENNIAL ADDRESS \n\nBy J. S. L\'AMOREAUX. \n\n\n\nDelivered at Ballston Spa, N. Y., July 4, 1876. \n\n\n\n(PIllO\'E, ^& CEJ^QIB. \n\n\n\nBALLSTON SPA, N. Y. \nPUBLISHED BY WATERBUBY & INMAN. \n\n1876. \n\n\n\n\n>^vv- \n\n\n\n^ \n\n\n\n\xc2\xab \n\n\n\nSARATOGA COUNTY: \n\nAn Historical Address \n\nDelivered at B<dMf/i Spa, ^\'. T., July 4, 1876, by Ge<>. O. 8coU. \n\n\n\nFellow Citizens : \n\nIn compliance with an invitation of the commit- \ntee of aiTaugements and our county officials, sug- \ngested by the proclamation of the f^resident of the \nUnited States, I have, with some diffidence, con- \nsented to assist in filling out the ceremonies of the \nday, with an imperfect sketch of our local history. \nThe brief limits required for an address upon an \noccasion of this character, will necessarily permit \nno more than a general reference to that portion of \nour history with which the civilized world is famil- \niar \xe2\x80\x94 which T shall endeavor to supplement with \nsome facts and incidents, confined chiefly to the \nColonial and Revolutionary period, that have es- \ncaped the notice of the general historian, or have \nnot been deem<^d worthy of his attention. Having \nalready been somewhat instrumental in furnishing \nsome of these facts and incidents that have been \n\n\n\n4 SARATOGA OOUNTY : \n\npublished, I shall feel at liberty to reclaim them, \nso far as shall be necessary for my purpose, \n\nTlie territory comprised within the limits of the \nc<jiinty of Saratoga, when first known to the Euro- \npeans, formed a part of the extensive domain of the \nMohawk Indians, one of the five nations, composing \nthe confederacy of the Iroquois. This territory had \nbeen reserved, and was kept by them, as their favor- \nite liunting ground. No one, not of tlieir nation, \nwhether savage or civilized, was permitted to en- \ncroach upon it. In the appropriate seasons, they \nwould leave their villages and castles up the Mo- \nhawk, and in their bark canoes glide down the river \nt,o the mouth of the Aal Plats (or Eel Place creek,) \nabout three miles below Schenectad3^ row up that \nstream to a point near the head of Long (now called) \nBallston lake, transport their canoes thither, pass \ndown that lake, at their leisure, and through its \noutlet, to what is now the East line corners, and \nthere encamp, for the purpose of hunting, trapping \nand fishing. \n\nI\'Util some forty years ago there was upon the \nMai-vin lot at that place, a boulder, with an orifice, \non its surface in the shape of a mortar, scooped out \neither by artificial means or by the action of water at \nsome remote period, which the Indians used for \npounding or ci ushing their corn into meal. This in- \nteresting relic has unfortunately disappeared, no one \nknows how or where \xe2\x80\x94 but it is supposed that it \nwas broken up in the construction of the I\'ailroad \nin the immediate vicinity. \n\nFrom this encampment they crossed over to the \n\n\n\nAN HlSTOUIt\'AL ADDRESS, 5 \n\nMourning Kill, a short mile distant, and proceeded \nthence in their canoes down tliat stream to its con- \nfluence with the Kayaderosseras, and thence to \nSaratoga lake. There are still occasionally found \nupon the west shore, between the mouth of the \nKayaderosseras and the Narrows, traces of their \nencampment. That lake was then noted, as it is \nyet noted, for the abundance of its fish, and con- \ntained, what have unfortunately long since disap- \npeared, large quantities of trout. The Kaya- \nderosseras, as far up as Rock Cit}\' F\'alls, for a \nconsiderable time after the advent of the whites, \nabounded not only in trout, but shad and herring. \nFrom the lake, the Indians passed down Fish creek \nto the Hudson, and down that river to the mouth \nof Anthonj^\'s Kill, up that stream, through the \nRound Lake and up the Ballston outlet, to their \nencampment by the old stone mortar. \n\nIt may seem incredible to the present generation, \nthat such diminutive streams as are some of those \nI have named, afforded navigation even for bark \ncanoes. But. it has been one of the draw backs \nof clearing up this wilderness for th\'^ abode of \ncivilized man, that our creeks have shrunk to \none-third or one-fourth of their original ordinary \nvolume. \n\nThis territory has been the scene of many a bloody \nconflict between the Mohawks and the Canada or \nNorthern Indians, known as the Hurons, the \nAlgonquins and the Adirondacs. On the south \nbank of the Sacandaga, in the town of Day, are \ntraces of an Indian burial place. There is a tra- \n\n\n\n6 SAEATOUA COUNTY : \n\ndition that a party of the xllgonquins, passing up \nthe river in their canoes, on an expedition against \nthe Mohawks, were drawn into an ambuscade by \nthe latter and all destroyed and buried at that spot. \nAt a later date, hostile parties of the same Indians \nhad an encounter by the bank of a stream near the \nline between Charlton and Galway, and nearly all \nof the defeated party were slaughtered. For many \nyears, even after the whites had begun to settle in \nthe vicinit}^, the survivors and kindred of the slain \nwere accustomed to return to the spot upon the \nanniversary of the battle, and indulge in lamen- \ntations over the dead, according to the Indian cus- \ntom. This circumstance gave to the creek the name \nof "Mourning Kill, which ithas ever since retained. \n("Kiir* is the Dutch name for "creek.") \n\nI hold in my hand a memorial medal of Queen \nMary the Second, which has no doubt dangled from \nthe neck of some loyal Mohawk, and was lost in \nthe chase or on the war path. It was found a few \nyears ago by Mr. George C. Taylor, two or three \nfeet below the surface of his meadow, near Milton \nCenter, while excavating a, ditch. The medal con- \ntains a vignette of the queen, and an inscription, as \nfollows : \n\n\n\nMARIA II. D. G MAG. BR FR. ET. \n\nHIB. REGINA. \n\nNATA. 10 FEBR. 1668 COR. 11 APR. \n\n16S9. MORT 29 DECK. 1694. \n\n\n\nThe place where we are assembled is near the \nline of march of the French and Indians, when in \n1690, they surprised and burned Schenectady, \n\n\n\nAN HISTOKIOAL ADDRESS. 7 \n\nslaughtered sixty-three of its inhabitants, and re- \nturned witli seveiul captives. \n\nThe Indian title to tracts bordering upon the Hud- \nson and Mohawk and extending back a few miles in- \nto the woods, had been purchased at an early day. \nand patents therefor obtained from the crown. The \nHalfmoon patent derives its name from the place of \nJunction of the Hudson and Mohawk, suggested by \nthe crescent shape which they there assume, or, as \nsome insist, by the curve in tlie Mohawk above the \nCohoes Falls. The Indian name was Nachtenack. \nThis patent was issued to Philip Pieters Schuyler \nand Goosen Gerrits Van Schaick, May 4, 1668. \nIt is also known as Van Schaick\' s Patent. It in- \ncludes Ji part of ^^"aterford, and a tract along the \neast side of Halfmoon. The Saratoga i)atent de- \nrives its name from a place on the Hudson, (now \nSchuylerville) called "Saraghtoga." This word in \nthe Indian tongue, signities \'\'swift water.\'" to dis- \ntinguish that point in the river from the \'\'still \nwater" which there commences, and extends down \nto Stillwater village. Tliis patent, about seven- \nteen miles in length along the river, and extend- \ning six miles on each side, was granted, Oct. y, \n1708, to Petei- Schuyler and others. The Clifton \nPark or Chenentahowe patent, embracing the east \nportion of the present town of Clifton Park, was \ngranted to Nanning Hermance and others, Sept. \n23, 1708. The Appell i)atent, the source of much \nlitigation in our courts, was granted to William \nAppell, Nov. 2, 1708, and consists of a narrow strip, \nextending from the Mohawk at Rexford Flats to \nthe vicinity of Ballston lake. \n\n\n\n8 sakatoCtA coitnty : \n\nTtie original Indian tract called Kayaderosseras^ \nderived its name from the Kayaderosseras creek. \nThe word in the Indian language signifies \' \'crooked \nstream." The patent of that name was issued No- \nrembei- 2, 1708, to Nanning Hermance and twelve \nothers, among whom was Sampson Broughton, the \nattorney general of the province, and embraces all \nof the central, and by fai- the givater portion of the \ncounty, and extends into the adjoining counties of \nMontgomery, Fulton and Warren. It was granted \nby Queen Anne, under the great seal of the prov- \nince, and is now kept in our county clerk\'s office. \nThe history of the titk^ to this tract, affords a strik- \ning, though not un(;ommon, ill ustration of the greed, \nunscrupulousness and rapacity of our own race, in \nits transactions with the ignorant children of the \nforest. The process by which the Indians were \nfinally forced to yield up tliis valuable property, is \nan instance of the operation of that universal phy- \nsiological law, which has been denominated "the \nsurvival of tlie fittest," but which in this instance \nma}^ be, perhaps, appiopriately paraphrased as \n\xe2\x80\xa2\'the success of the smaitest." The pretended In- \ndian deed in 1702 to two individuals, upon the \nstrength of wliich the patent was afterwards ob- \ntained, was evidently procured by the basest fraud. \nThis was so palpable and notorious that for nearly \nhalf a century after its date no open claim under \nthe patent was made. The ^ears of the Indians had \nbeen excited soon after it was issued, but after so \ngreat lapse of time, the}^ regarded the claim as \nabandoned. In the meantime the shares of the \noriginal patentees had become vested in about one \n\n\n\nAN HISTOKICAL ADDKESS. 9 \n\nhundred and thirty proprietors, most of whom were \nmembers of the assembly and council, the most \nprominent lawyers and the most wealthy and influ- \nential inhabitants of the province. It is evident \nfrom the communications to the Lords of Trade in \nLondon, (who had charge of colonial affairs, ) made \nby Lieut. Gov. DeLancy, Gov. Moore and Sir. Wil- \nliam Johnson, from 1754, when the fears of the \nIndians in regard to this claim were renewed, until \nthe final settlement in 1 768, that the patent waa \ninvalid for the following reasons : \n\nThe Indian deed purported to have been executed \nby only i^y<> tribes of the Mohawks ; Aviicieas ittj \nvalidity required the concurrence of their three \ntribes, the Wolf, the Turtle and the Bear. \n\nThose who f^xecnted the d<M>d had no authority \nto bind their tribes. \n\nIt was procured upon the representation that it \nconveyed no more land than was sufficient for two \nor three small farms on the river above Saraghtoga, \nwhen it contained several hundred thousand acres, \nand the patent embraced much more than the deed \npurported to convey. \n\nThe pretended consideration was \xc2\xa360 to be paid \nin goods, which were never delivered ; the excuse \n(which was believed to be a sham) being that they \nhad been sent from Albany to Schenecte,dy for the \n[ndians, and there accidentally destroy by fire. \n\nSir William Johnson, always the true friend of \nthe Indians, from time to time urged the necessity \nand importance of doing justice to the Mohawks in \nthis regard, not only upon principle, but as a mat \n\n\n\n10 SAEATOGA COUNTY : \n\nter of policy ; for they were a formidable military \npower, and the other nations of the Indian confed- \neracy would inevitably take up their quarrel, and \ntLe peace and security of the province be endan- \ngered. In vain he urged that proceedings be taken \nto vacate the patent for fraud, either by a scire \nfacias, or an act of the Colonial legislature. \n\nIn writing to the Lords of Trade, Oct. 30, 1764, \nSir William says : "From the date of the Kaya- \nderosseras patent in 1708 to 1754, no settlement \nwhatever was made thereon, nor hath the same ever \nbeen surveyed or any partition made thereof as yet \nby the patentees ; and this notorious neglect, to the \nprejudice of the colony (had the grant been equit- \nable) can only be attributed to their consciousness \nof its iniquity. Since then some of the proprieta- \nries without knowing their own shares, have very \nlately encouraged some families, who, according \nto the best information, do not exceed a dozen in \nnumber, to settle on some parts of the patent \ntowards Fort Edward, and in the neighborhood of \nSaraghtoga lake, but the Mohawk hunters, having \ncome across their huts last year warned them off, \nwith which some have complied.\'- \n\nIn 1768 the Mohawks were persuaded into what \nwas called a settlement, wliereby, in consideration \nof $5,000 a\xc2\xbbd the relinquishment of a small portion \nof the tract as claimed under the patent, they re- \nleased all their interest in it, according to the sur- \nvey then made. \n\nThey never forgave the injury. Upon the break- \ning out of hostilities soon after, between Great \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 11 \n\nBritain and her colonies, they cast their fortunes \nwith the Johnson family, and followed Sir John \nJohnson to Canada. Availing themselves of their \nfamiliar acquaintance v^rith this region, they eagerly \nseized the opportunity of gratifying their revenge, \nby accompanying the regular forces in their fre- \nquent raids from Canada \xe2\x80\x94 to one of which I shall \npresently refer. \n\nIn 1769 and 1770 the patent was partitioned. Tt \nwas subdivided into twenty-four divisions or allot- \nments, and each allotment again divided into thir- \nteen lots, so that each patentee, his heirs or assigns, \nwould have a share in each allotment, and these \nlots were distributed by ballot. The commission- \ners of partition were Christopher Yates and John \nGlen, both of Schenectad}^, and Thomas Palmer of \nNew Cornwall in the county of Orange, and Charles \nWebb was the surveyor. \n\nA tract five miles square, constituting the present \ntown of Ballstou, except a few hundred acres at the \nsouth end, together with what is known as the Five \nThousand acre tract in the south part of Charlton, \nwas set apart by the commissioners for defraying \nthe expenses of the partition and survey. From its \nproximity to the Mohawk valley, and the general \nappearance of the land, this reservation was re- \ngarded as the most valuable and salable in the \npatent. It was immediatel}^ sub;iivided into lots \nand thrown upon the market. \n\nBefore this partition took place, settlements upon \nthe river patents already referred to, had been made \nto some extent, but were almost exclusively con- \n\n\n\n12 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nfined to the river valleys. Along the valley of the \nHudson, they had been partially retarded, by \nreason of its being the highway for the passage of \nthe armies engaged in the wars between Great \nBritain and France. Before the middle of the last \ncentury there was a number of wiiite inhabitants, \ntwo or three saw mills, and a log fort at Saraghtoga. \nIn November 1745, the settlement was attacked by \na party of French and Indians. The fort, which \nhad been permitted to go to decay, the mills, and \nabout twenty houses, were burned, and about thirty \npersons were killed and scalped, and about sixty \nmore taken prisoners. In 1689, Harman Leversee \nhad a house and barn at Halfmoon, surrounded by \na fort, and in 1714 the place contained 101 inhab- \nitants, mostly of Dutch descent, and scattered for \nseveral miles along both rivers. \n\nIn the early part of the last century, two brothers, \nMichael and Nicholas McDonald, natives of Ireland, \nwhen mere boys, were enticed on board of a vessel, \nlying in the Liffey, brought to Philadelphia, and \nthere sold for a tei m of years, in accordance with a \nbarbarous practice then in vogue, for a sum suffi- \ncient to defray the expenses of their passage, and \ntaken into the back -woods of Pennsj^lvania. In \nprocess of time they found their way to Schenec- \ntady, and having acquired a taste for life in the \nwilderness, settled down on the west shore of Long \nhike, and <;onstructedarude cabin. On their route \nthither they passed over a tract which had been \nrecently burned over by Mohawk hunters for a deer \npasture, to which thej\' gave the name of "Burnt \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. \n\n\n\n13 \n\n\n\nHills," which it has ever since retained. This was \nin 1763. In 1767, Sir William Johnson having \nheard through the Indians of a wonderful "medicine \nspring" flowing from the summit of a rock, and \nbeing in ill health, procured a party of them to con- \nduct him thither. They passed a night in McDon- \nald\'s cabin, and Michael, the next day, accom- \npanied his guests to the spring (now known as the \nHigh Rock spring at Saratoga Springs)\xe2\x80\x94 Sir Wil- \nliam being transported on a litter \xe2\x80\x94 and returned \nwith them to his cabin \n\nIt was owing to Sir William\'s influence with the \nMohawks that the McDonald\'s remained undis- \nturbed in their occupancy, and upon the subdivis- \nion of the Five mile square they obtained a \ndeed from the proper source. Michael McDonald \ndied on his old homestead June 28, 1823, in the \n96th 3^ear of his age. \n\nThe next arrival, after this, was that of the Rev. \nEliphalet Ball (from whom Ballston derives its \nname) with his family consisting of three sons, John, \nStephen and Flamen, and a daughter Mary, who \nsubsequently became the wife of James Gordon. \nThis was in 1770. Mr. Ball had been a Congregation- \nal minister at Bedford, Westchester county and sev- \neral of his congregation, which extended into Stam- \nford, tlie adjoining town in Connecticiit, came with \nhim. A tract of 400 acres, upon the south line of \nwhich the \' \'red meeting house\' " was subsequently \nerected, was donated to him by the propriet jrs of \nthe Five mile square, as an inducement for this \nremoval. They were soon followed by several \n\n\n\n,14 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nfamilies from Connecticut and emigrants from Scot- \nland and the north of Ireland. \n\nOn the 22d of September, 1775, such of the \ninhabitants as had been members of churches \nin their former homes, met, and united as a society \nunder the mhiistry of Rev. Mr. Ball, and sub- \nscribed a paper containing among other things, this \narticle of faith : \' \'We believe the Gospel as it \nis explained and held forth in the assembly of \nDivine\' s shorter catechism, and the directory of the \nchurch of Scotland, as our plan of church govern- \nment, so far as we may find it agreeable to the \nWordofGrod;" thus reserving, to its full extent, \nthe right of conscience and private judgment. \nMeasures were soon taken to build a house of wor- \nship, which resulted in the erection within a few \nyears of the "Red Meeting House," known to some \nof the present generation as the "old Academy." \n\nWhen iiidependence was declared, the Ballston \nsettlement had extended into what are now Charl- \nton, Gal way, and Milton, but then, and until or- \nganized as towns in 1792, known respectively as \nFreehold, Galloway, and Mill Town or Kayaderos- \nseras. \n\nThe war did not entirely prevent, but it seriously \nchecked, the influx of settlers. In regard to the \ncontroversy witli the mother country there was \nhere, as elsewhere, a diversity of sentiment. The \nchoice was not entirely free from perplexity. The \nissue of the struggle was uncertain. The Tory or \nRoyalist was assured protection from the strong \narm of that government which had never failed to \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. \n\n\n\nf \n\n\n\nshield its obedient or to punish its rebellious sub- \nject. Some remembered how, thirty years previous, \nthe rebellion against the British crowi\', headed by \nthe son of the lineal heir of the house of Stuart, \nand wliich collapsed on the disastrous field of Cul- \nloden, was followed by the merciless and indis- \ncriminate slaughter of the vanquished\xe2\x80\x94 which fast- \nened upon the commander of the royal forces \xe2\x80\x94 a \nson of the king \xe2\x80\x94 the appellation of the "Butcher \nof Cumberland." Others, composed of the timid \nand conservative, the friends of law and order, \nthose whose loyalty to the king they deemed an \nessential part of their religion, and who dreaded \nthe disgrace of being stigmatized as "rebels," \nadhered to the royal cause. The majority, which \nincluded the most influential and intelligent inhabi- \ntants, instead of being intimidated by the oppro- \nbrious epithet, gloried in it. They were aware of \nthe penalties of treason. But, as men of sagacity \nthey could not fail to perceive that it was repug- \nnant to the dictates of reason and humanity that \nthis vast country, with its boundless prospects of \ngreatness, should remain an appendage to a little \nisland, at the distance of 3,000 miles, across a vast \nwaste of waters ; and that the question of Ameri- \ncan independence was merely a question of time, \nand the time had come. There were enough loyal \nsubjects scattered through the settlement to "aid \nand comfort the enemy," and harbor their scouts \nand spies. \n\nCol. Robert Van Rensselaer, in a letter to the \nprovincial congress sitting at Kingston, dated \n\n\n\nS SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nApril IH, 1777, writes that he has received a letter \nrequesting the assistance of the militia to quell an \ninsurrection of the tories in Ballston. \n\nHezekiah Middlebrook, chairman of the Balls- \nton committee of safety, writes a letter to the com- \nmittee of Saratoga, dated May 2, 1777, stating in \ndetail, the suspicious movements of a party of men \nwho had encamped between Charles Merrick\' s and \nEbenezer Sprague\'s (now on the road^between Fac- \ntory Village and James Thompson\'s) and adds that \nthe morning previous, thirty or forty men were \ndiscovered marching up the Kayaderosseras, and \nreturned the same way in the evening and further \nadds \' \'There is reason to think there is a large body \nof them, more than we are able to cope with, and \na good many from this settlement have absconded, \nand it is thought have joined them. We look upon \nourselves at their mercy, if they choose to attack \nus, which we hope will incite you to be as expedi- \ntious as you can to assist us." \n\nThe explanation of this alarm would seem to be \nthis : Several of the tories in this vicinity having \nreceived the offer of bounty lands in Canada, \nmarched off in an armed body at about the date of \nMiddlebrook\' s letter to join the British forces at \nCrown Point. They struck the well known Indian \ntrail, leading over the Kayaderosseras mountain, \nacross the Sacandaga river near Daly\'s creek, and \nwest of Lake George to Crown Point, which I shall \nhereafter refer to. They encamped the first night \non the bank of a lake on the summit of the moun- \ntain, to which, (either from its surroundings or \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDIIKSS. 17 \n\ntheir own situation, or perhaps botli,) they gave the \nname of \'\'Lake Desolation," which it still retains. \nCol. James Gordon, with a detachment of militia \n(among whom were Edmund Jennings and David \nHow) followed in pursuit, and on the 6tli of May, \novertook them, thirty-one in number, in the present \ntown of Luzerne, and brought them back. They \nwere tried by a court martial and fined fifteen dol- \nlars each. \n\nOn the approa(;li of Burgoyne\'s army, several of \nthe Connecticut families returned to that state, and \ndid not come back until the close of the war. \n\nThe centennial celebration of the event which has \ngivt\'U immortality to the name of Saratoga, will no \ndoubt be observ^-d in October, 1877, with all the \npomp and circumstance befitting the occasion, \nand the event itself illustrated by the best oratory \nof the country. Although it took place upon our \nsoil, it is the property of the whole country. It \nfills the brightest page in its annals ; and the name \nof Saratoga occupies as conspicuous a place in \nEnglish history, though not as flattering to Eng- \nlish pride, as Blenheim, or Ramillies, or Quebec \xe2\x80\x94 \nI had almost said Waterloo. It has been classified \nb}"^ historians as one of the decisive battles in the \nhistory of the world. Before it occurred, defeat \nand disaster had for the most part followed the \nAmerican arms, and hope had well nigh given place \nto despair. At no time since the commencement of \nhostilities, had our cause seemed so full of peril. \nOn the one side, the British troops were in the occu- \npation of New York city and the adjacent country. \nSir Henry Clinton, with a fleet of transports, was \n\n\n\n18 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nabout to sail up tlie Hudson. St. Leger, with a\' \nbody of regulars and Canadians, landing at Oswego, \nAvas joined bj^ a force of Mohawks under Brant, and\' \nhad proceeded as far as Fort Stanwix to march \ndown the Mohawk valley. From the north Gen- \neral Burgoyne, who had won laurels for the crown, \nby his distinguished successes in Spain, connnand- \niug a large army, composed mostly of veterans of \nthe seven years war, was moving down the upper \nHudson to effect a junction with Clinton and St. \nLeger. The plan of the campaign was, incident- \nly, to prevent reinforcements to the American army, \nunder the command of Schuyler and subsecpiently \nof Gates, and then to concentrate their forces at Al- \nbany, and with that city for their headquarters, \nand a chain of military posts, stretching from the \nsea coast to the St. Lawrence, to cut off all com- \nmunication between New England and the other \ncolonies, and thus dismember the confederacy. Nor \nwas this all. We were carrying on a war against \na power, "with which,\'\' in the words of America\'s \ngreatest statesman and orator, "Imperial Rome, in \nthe heighth of her glory is not to be compared \xe2\x80\x94 a \npower which has dotted over the surface of the \nwhole globe with its possessions and military posts \n\xe2\x80\x94 whose morning drum beat, following the sun and \nkeeping company with the hours, encircles the \nearth daily with one continuous and unbroken \nstrain of the martial airs of England.\'\' It was \ncalculated on both sides \xe2\x80\x94 and such probably would \nhave been the result\xe2\x80\x94 that if success should attend \nthis expedition, it would terminate the contest. \n\n\n\nAN Ii[S.\'i(\xc2\xbbRI(\'AL ADDRESS. 19 \n\nSir Heiiiy Clinton la^-ged behind; St. Leger\'s \nprogress was blocked at Fort Stanwix ; and upon \nthe plains of Saratoga, within twelv^e miles of the \nspot where we are now assembled, the compara- \ntively undisciplined troops of the Colonies, re-in- \nforced by detachments of militia from the back \nsettlements, achieved a l)ril]iant and decisive vic- \ntory. One of the most gallant of the British officers, \nthe only general officer of the British forces killed \nin the war, fell on the held, and the splendid army, \nwith its munitions and stores and ordnance, were \nfinally surrendered to the Americans. The (confi- \ndence inspired by this triumph of our arms, com- \nmunicated a new impulse to our cause, which had \nits influence until our flag floated in triumph on \nthe field of Yorktown. \n\nAfter the surrender of Burgoyne, no event of im- \nportance occurred within our borders until 1780. \nIn the early part of October in that year, an expe- \ndition was sent out from Canada under the com- \nmand of Major Carlton, by way of Lake Cham- \nplain. Landing about 200 at the head of Bulwagga \nbay, which forms the west shore of Crown Point, \nthe remainder, consisting of about 800 proceeded \nup the lake, landing at South bay, moved forward \nrapidly to Fort Anne, where they arrived on the \n10th of October, and on demand the fort was sur- \nrendered, and then burnt, and the garrison made \nprisoners. They then with their prisoners marched \nacross to Fort George, where they arrived October \n11th. After a short skirmish outside of the fort, \nbetween Gage\'s Hill and Bloody Pond in which the \n\n\n\n20 SAKATOGA COUNTY : \n\nenemy were successful, and a brief investment of \nthe fort, our troops surrendered themselves as pris- \noners, and the fort was destroyed. Major Carlton, \nwith his forces and prisoners thereupon returned to \niiis vessels on Lake Champlain. \n\nThe other party which landed at Bulwagga Bay, \nwas made up of a part of Sir John Johnson\'s corps, \nand some rangers, (among whom were refugees \nfrom the Ballston settlement) and Mohawk Indians, \nled by "Captain John," and all under the com- \nmand of Captain Munro, formerly a trader at \nSchenectady. The object of this part of the expe- \ndition was to attack Schenectady, but if that ex- \nperiment, upon reconnoitring should be deemed \nhazardous, then to make a descent upon the Balls- \nton settlement. The orders to Munro were, to \nplunder, destroy property, and take prisoners, but \nnot to kill, unless attacked or resisted, or to prevent \nescapes. They proceeded by the Indian trail \nalready mentioned, and encamped in the northwest \npart of the present town of Milton, where they \nremained a few days, concealed from all but some \ntories in the neighborhood, by whom they were \nsupplied with provisions. Having learned through \ntheir scouts that it would be unsafe to make an \nattempt on Schenectady, and that the "fort" in \nBallston had just been garrisoned by about 200 \nmilitia men chiefly from the former place, they con- \ncluded to advance no further than Col, Gordon\'s. \n\nThe "fort," as it was called, stood on the south- \nwest corner of the square, at the Red Meeting \nhouse, which was then nearly completed^ The fort \n\n\n\nAN ni8T0RI\xc2\xabAL ADDRESH. 31 \n\nwas constructed of oak logs, with loop lioles for \nmusketry, and surrounded with pickets. \n\nThe massacre at Cherry V^alley, and the more \nrecent Indian barbarities in the Mohawk valley, \nhad excited the worst apprehensions of the Balls- \nton inhabitants, who had for two qi three months \nprevious been expecting an invasion of tiie enemy. \nSome of them had frequently abandoned their \ndwellings at night, taking with them their most \nvaluable effects and lodged in the woods ; but as \nno danger appeared, their vigilance rehixed, and \nthey slept in their dwellings. \n\nCol. Jamefe Grordon, then the commanding officer \nof a regiment of militia, arrived home October 13th, \nfrom Poughkeepsie, where he had attended as a \nmember of the legislature, at an extra session con- \nvened by Gov. Clinton, which adjourned October \nloth. His residence was on the Middle Line road, \nupon the farm now owned by Henry VViswall, jr. \nand his capture was deemed of considerable impor- \ntance. Some of the escaped tories, who had been \nbrought back by him three years previous, had not \nforgiven him, and one of them, in communication \nwith Munro, informed him of Gordon\'s arrival. In \nthe evening of October 16th, the enemy came to a \nhalt at the dwelling of one I:.mes McDonald, a tory \nliving at the first four corners west of what has \nsince been known as the Court House hill. Mc- \nDonald piloted the party through the woods to the \nrear of Gordon\'s house. Gordon was awakened by \nthe breaking of the windows of his sleeping room, \nby bayonets thrust through them. He sprang from \n\n\n\n22 SATJATOGA COUNTY : \n\nliis bed, in wlii -h \\\xc2\xa5tt*liis wife and little daughter, \nand partly dressing himself, went into the; hall, \nAvliich was by this; time tilled with the enemy. As \nhe opened the door, a gigantic savage raised his \ntomahawk, and as the blow was descending upon \nGordon\'s head., the arm of the savage was caught \nby an officei-. At this moment the brass clock, \nwhich stood in the corner of the hall, struck twelve, \nwhereupon an Indian shattered it into pieces with \nhis tomahawk exclaiming: "you never speak \nagain !" A scene of indiscriminate plunder then \nensued, which was chiefly carried on by the squaws, \nwho accompanied the party, and who were the \nmost heavily laden with the spoils. The Indians \nattempted to Are the house and barn, but were \nprevented. Besides Gordon, Jack Calbraith and \nJohn Parlow, servants, and Nero, Jacob and Ann, \nthree negro slaves were carried off as prisoners. \n\nAs they proceeded towards the main road, where \nGordon\'s miller, Isaac Stow, lived, he came run- \nning toward them, exclaiming "Col. Gordon, save \nyourself! the Indians!" He turt:ed and ran a \nshort distance, when he was intercepted by an In- \ndian, who pierced him in the side with his spontoon \nand Stow fell, The Indian then dispatched him \nwith his tomahawk and took off his scalp. \n\nIn the meantime, a party had proceeded to the \nhouse of Captain Collins, across the Mourning Kill. \nThey broke open his door and captured him and his \nfemale slave. His son, Mannasseh, escaped through \nan upper window and ran to the fort, a mile and \na half distant, and gave the alarm. The enemy \n\n\n\nAX iriSTOKKAL Al>l)KK>>. 23\' \n\nthen piucct\'ded up the Middle Line road and made \nprisoners of Thomas Barniim, John Davis, Elisha \nBenedict, and his three sons, Caleb,Elias and Felix, \nand Dublin, his slave ; Edward A. Watrous, Paul \nPierson and his son John, a boy, John Higby and \nhis son Lewis, George Kennedy, -Jabez Patchin, \xe2\x80\xa2 \nJosiah Hollister, Ebenezei- Sprague and his sons \nJohn and Elijah : Thomas Kenned}\', Enoch Wood \nand one Palmatier, living near what is now known \nas Milton Center, and who was the last one taken. \nBut one man lived north of Palmatier. Being a \ntory, he was unmolested. Several houses and \nbarns were burned. \n\nBetween Higby\' s and George Kennedy\'s, about \nfifty under the command of Lieut. Frazer, a refugee \nfrom the vicinity of Burnt Hills, left the main body \nand advanced to the dwelling of George Scott. \nAroused from sleep by the violent barking of his \nwatch dog, he, with his musket in iiis hand opened \nthe door, and saw the column advancing in the \nmoonlight. He heard some one exclaim : "Scott, \nthrow down your gun, or you are a dead man !" \nNot hastening to obej^ he was felled to the floor, \nby three tomahawks simultaneously thrown at him \nby Indians of the party, who rushed up to take his \nBcalp. The}^ were prevented by Frazer and Ser- \ngeant Springsteed, another refugee and formerl}" \nScott\'s hired man, who, with their swords, kept \nthe savages at bay. The party pillaged the house \nand left Scott, as they believed, in a dying con- \ndition ; \xe2\x80\x94 so they informed Col. Gordon, his brother- \nin-law \xe2\x80\x94 but he recovered. \n\n\n\n24 8AKATOGA COUNTY : \n\nThe enemy crossed tlie Kayaderosseras, at what \nis uow Milton Center, about daylight and soon \ncame to a halt Each prisoner was placed between \ntwo of the enemy in Indian file. Their hands were \ntied, some of them were barefooted and most of \nthem but j)artly dressed. George Kennedy was lame \nfrom a cut in his foot, and had no clothing bnt a \nsheet. Munro thereupon addressed his men. He \nsaid he expected they would be pursued, and that \non discovering the first sign of a pursuit, evnn the \nfiring of n gun, nach man must kill his prisoner. \nIn this order, thf march was resumed ; the prison- \ners ex])e(^ting that the troops from the fort would \novertake them, and that each moment would be \ntheir last Anothei\' source of apprehension was \nthat some Indian would fall ))ack and fire his gun \nfor the purpose\' of having the ord<\'r carried into \nexecution, a reward for scalps having been offered. \nFor this inhuman order, Munro was afterwards dis- \nmissed from the service. \n\nThe first man in front of Gordon was a British \nregular, a German, who was next behind Captain \nCollins and had charge of him. Gordon was the \npiisoner of a ferocious savage imniediateh\' in his \nrear. He lieard the soldier say to Capt. Collins : \n"I have been through the late war in Europe, and \nin many battles, but I never before have heard sucli \na bloody order as this. I can kill in the heat of \nbattle, but not in cold blood. You need not fear \nme, for I will not obey the order. But the Indian \nin charge of Gordon is thirsting for his blood, and \nthe moment a gun is fired Gordon is a dead man." \n\n\n\nAN HlrtTORICAL ADDRESS. 25 \n\nOn arriving at the foot of the Kayaderosseras \nmountain, tley halted for breakfast, and slaugiiter- \ned the sheep and catth^ which they had driven \nalong ot. their retreat. In the afternoon, they \nBtruck the trail up the mountain by which they had \ndescended, and halted for the night about two miles \nbeyond Lake Desolation. Alunio here discharged \nEbenezer Sprague and Paul Pierson, both old men, \ntogether with John Pierson and George Kennedy. \nGordon had privately, by some means sent l^ack a \nmessage, advising that all attempts at a rescue \nshould be abandoned. The messenger met Capt. \nStepluM) I\'all with a detachment of militia trom the \nfort, at what has siu(;e b(;en known as Milton meet- \ning house, and they returned. The enemy with their \nprisoners, on tlie 24th day of October, arrived at \nBulwagga bay and there, joining Carlton\'s party, \nthey all proceeded down the lake to St. Johns and \nthence to Montreal. \'I\'he prisoners were at first \nlodged in the JR.ecollet convent, anl afterwards con- \nfiRf^d in a jail. Gordon was bailed in the sum of \n\xc2\xa33,000 by James Ellice, with whom he had formerly \nbeen connected in business, in Schenectadj\'. After \na few months, for wliat reason he never knew, he, \nalone of all the prisoners, was removed to Quebec \nand kept there in prison for about two years, when \nhe was transferred t<j the Isle of Orleans. \n\nIn May, 1781, the notorious Joe Bettys with the \naid of about thirty refugees under his comm md, \nmade a raid into the Ballston district and captured \nConsider Chard, Uri Tracy, Ephraim Tracy, Samuel \nNash and Samuel Patchin. They were all taken \n\n\n\n26 SARATOGA (!OUNTY : \n\nto Canada excepting Nash, who escaped near Lake \nDesolation. At the same time, Epenetus White, \nCaptain Rumsey, two brothers named Banta, and \nsome others oi; the east side of Long lake, were \ntakeirby a Tory officer named Waltermeyer, and \nmarched oif to Canada. \n\nWhen Gordon was removed to the Isle of Orleans, \nhe there found White, Higby, Enoch Wood, the \ntwo Bantas, and other Ballston prisoners. They \ncontrived to escape from tlin island by means of a \nfisherman\'s boat, and landing on the right bank of \nthe river, they, made their way into the wilderness. \nTheir provisions soon gave out and for several days \nthc^y subsisted up\xc2\xab^n nothing but berries and a \nspecies of mussel found in the streams. Arriving \nat the headwaters of the St. John, they, wi.th their \nhatchets, constructed a rude raft, upon wiiich they \nfloated down the river for a considerable distance, \nand then struck across to Passamaquoddy bay. \nThis was in 1783, and there the}\' learned for the \nfirst time, that hostilities had ceased. They pro- \nceeded to Halifax, and were brought from thence to \nBoston by a cartel. \n\nNero, one of Munro\'s prisoners, after his capture, \nhad attempted to escape. A few rods south of the \nnorth line of the \'\'Five mile square," where James \nAllison now lives, he suddenly broke from the \nranks, and sprang headlong down a ravine. His \nhead coming in contact with a sapling, he was \nretaken. At Montreal he was sold to Capt. Laws, \na British ofiicer. The other slaves, captured by \nMonro, were also sold. In a short time, Nero and \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADUKE8S. 27 \n\nCapt. Benedict\'s "boy" Dubliii,contrived to escape. \nThey came by the west shore of Lake Champlain, \nto Ticonderoga, and there swam across tlie Lake, \nand found tlieir way to Richmond, Massachiisetts. \nThere they remained until tlie close of the war, \nwhen they returned to Ballston and vohmtarily sur- \nrenderc^d tlipm-^t^lve- lespeciively to rh<>ir former \nowners. \n\nJoe Bettys, to whom 1 have alluded, was the son \nof respectable parents Residing in thn Ballston dis- \ntrict. His fatlier, Joseph Bettys, during and subse- \nquent to tlie wai\', kept a tavein b^low what is \nknown as the Delavau farm, upon the farm now \noccupied by Mr. Lewis Trites. The old man\'s \ngravestone may be seen in the cemetery at Burnt \nHills. The career of Joseph Bettys jr. is an im- \nportant item in the early history of Ballston. His \nname, for several years towards the close of the war, \nwas a terror to its inhabitants. The followino- \naccount of Bettys is mostly compiled trom Simms\'s \nBorder Wars, and a statement of Col. John Ball : \n\nCol. Ball, a son of Rev. Eliphalet Ball, as early \nas 1776, held a lieutenant\'s commission in a reo-i- \nment of New York forces commanded by Colonel \nWynkoop. Being acquainted with Bettys, and \nknowing him to be bold, athletic and intelligent in \nan uncommon degree, he succeeded in enlisting \nhim as a sergeant. Bettys was soon reduced to the \nranks by reason of some insolence to an otficer, who, \nas he alleged, had wantonly abused him. To save \nhim to the cause, Ball procured him a sergeantcy \nin the fleet commanded by Gen. Arnold on Lake \n\n\n\n28 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nChamplain, in 1776. Bettys was in the desperate \nfight between the Britisli and American fleets on \nthe Lake, and being a skillful seaman, was of sig- \nnal service during the contest. He fought until \nevery commissioned officer on board of his vessel \nwas killed or wounded, and then himself assumed \nthe command, and continued to light with such \nreckless courage that General Waterbury, who was \nsecond in command under Arnold, preceiving that \nthe vessel was likely to sink, was obliged to order \nBettys and the remnant of the crew on board of hia \nown vessel. \'He stationed him on the quarter de tk \nby his side, and gave orders through him, until the \nvessel having become disabled, and the crew nearly \nall killed. Gen. Waterbury wounded and only two \nofficers left, the colors were struck, and the rem- \nnant made pi-isoners. They were soon discharged \non their parole. General Waterbury afterwards \ninformed the Rev. Mr. Ball that he never saw a \nman behave with such deliberate desperation as did \nBettys on that occasion, and that the shrewdness \nof his management was equal to his courage. \n\nFor some reason his gallant services were not \nrecognized to his satisfaction, and this neglect his \nproud spirit and ungovernable temper could not \nbrook. He afterwards went to Canada, joined the \nloyalists, and receiving an Ensign\'s commission in \nthe British army, became a S\'py and proved him- \nself a most dangerous and subtle enemy. He was \nat length captured and sentenced to be hung at \nWest Point, but the entreaties of his aged parents, \nand the solicitations of influential whigs, induced \n\n\n\nAN IIISTOHIGAL ADDRESS. 39 \n\nGeneral Washington to pardon him. But it was \nill directed clemency. He was more vindictive \nthan ever, and the vvhigs in this part of the state, \nand especially in Ballston, soon had oiicasion to \nregret the lenity they liad unfortunately caused \nto l)e extended to him. He recruited soldiers for " \nthe king in our very midst, planned and guided \nmany of the raids from, the north, and was at the \nsame time in the (Huployment of the king\'s officers \nas a most faithful and successful messenger, and \ncunning and intelligent spy. There had been many \nattempts to apprehend him, but he eluded them all. \nIn the early spring of 1782, in the present town \nof Clifton Park, about a mile west of Jonesville, \none Jacob Fulmer was engaged in making maple \nsugar in the woods, and after remaining there as \nusual over night, was relieved in the morning by \nhis daughter while he went to his breakfast. The \nmorning was very foggy, and she, without being \nobserved, saw a man, upon snow shoes, bearing a \npack and a gun, pass near by and proceed toward \nthe house of a widow named Hawkins. This house \nwas upon the farm now belonging to L. W. Crosby. \nThe girl immediately informed her father, who at \nonce suspected the stranger might be Bettys. Call- \ning upon two of his neighbors, Perkins and Corey, \nand all being well armed, tii.;^ stealthily approach- \ned the house, and suddenly burst open the door. \nThey discovered Bettys with his back towards \nthem, eating his breakfast, with his rille by his \nside. He seized it, but not having taken the pre- \ncaution to undo the deer- skin cover that protected \n\n\n\n30 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nthe lock, was unable to discharge it. They seized \nhim and tied him securely. He asked leave to \nsmoke, and was partially unbound to afford him \nthe opportunity. He went to the lireplace to light \nhis pipe, and took something out of his tobacco box* \nand threw it into the fire. Corey noticed this and \nimmediately snatched it out with a handful of \ncoals. It was a small leaden box about the eighth \nof an inch in thickness, and contained a paper in \ncypher, which afterwards proved to be a dispatcli \nto the British commander in New York, and also \ncontained an order on the mayor of New York for \n\xc2\xa380 sterling, in case the dispatch should be safely \ndelivered. Bettys begged for leave to burn the \npapers, and offere.L 100 guineas for the privilege, \nbut his captors refused. He then despairingly \nsaid : \'*I am a dead man." He was taken to \nAlbany, tried by a court martial and convicted and \nhung as a spy ; to the great relief of the whigs in \nthis section of the state. \n\nA few weeks after the capture of Bettys, a small \nparty of St Regis Indians, having spent the winter \nin hunting and tishing in the northern wilderness, \nattacked Joseph Gonzalez a.:d his sons, living in \nthat part of the Ballston district which is now \nCharlton, while they were burning brush in the \nfield. Gonzalez and his son Emanuel were killed \nand scalped. John, a younger son fifteen years \nold and a hired man were carried off as prisoners \nand taken to St. Regis village. John was subse- \nquently forced to enter the British service, and re- \nturned in 1785. He was the father of the late \nEmanuel Consahis of Charlton. \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 31 \n\nAVhile Gen. Wasliington was waiting at New- \nburgh, in the summer of 1788, for the definitive treaty \nof peace, he concluded to while away a part of the \ntime by a trip to tlie northern part of the state. \nAccordingly, accompanied by Gov. Clinton, Gen. \nHamilton, and others, he proceeded by water to \nAlbany. From thence the party on horseback \nmoved up the river, and visited the scene of the late \nbattle above Stillwater, and the spot of Burgoyne\'s \nsurrejider. They continued on to Lake George, \npassed down the lake in boats which had been pro- \nvided for them, and examined the fortifications of \nTicondei\'oga and Crown Point. On their return \nthey came by the way of the High Ro(?k spring, \nwhere they halted, and then with some difficulty \nfound their way to the mineral spring (at the foot \nof what is now Front street) Avhich first gave to \nBallston Spa its celebrity as a watering place. The \nspring then flowed through a tube iriade from the \nsection of a hollow tree. No building had then \nbeen ei-ected or clearing made within our present \ncorporate limits. From here they proceeded to the \nresidence of Col. Gordon, who had recently returned \nfrom his captivity, where they dined. Towards \nnight they left for Schenectady, Col. Gordon\'attired \nin his regimentals escorting them, and riding at \nWashington\'s right. \n\nFor just one hundred years our territory formed \na part of Albany county;, which was established in \n1691,. Until the erection of Tryon and Charlotte \ncounties in 1772, it embraced all the northern and \nwestern portions of the province, and for a time, \n\n\n\ni^ 8AKATOOA COUNTY: \n\nthe whole of Vermont By an act of the colonial \nlegislature, pa.^sfMi March 24, 1772. a district in \nAlbany county, by the name of Halfmoon, was \nere(!ted, which included the present towns of Half- \nmoon, Waterford and Clifton Park. By the same \nact, all the residue of our territory, including the \nSaiatoga patent, wjis organized as a district by the \nname of Saratoga. By another act, passed April \n1, 1775, th(^ distri(^t of Ballston was taken from \nSaratoga. Tlie Ballston district embraced the pres- \nent towns of Ballston, Charlton, Galway, Milton, \nProvidence, Edinburgh, Day, Hadley, and the \nmost of Greenii(^ld and Coiinth. In 1788 the dis- \ntricts of Halfmoon and Ballston were organized as \ntowns in Albany county. The Saratoga district \nwas divided into two towns in the sam*^ county, to \nwit : Stillwater, which <-nibraced th(^ south part of \nthe Saratoga patent on both sides of the river; and \nSaratoga, which included the residue of the district. \n\nThese four towns, except the portions of Saratoga \nand Stillwater Ijnng east of the river, constituted \nthe county of Saratoga, which was cj-eated by an \nact of the legislature, passed February\' 7, 1791. \nThis brings us down to our separate existence as a \ncounty,\' and affords a convenient stopping place. \n\nBut a brief sketch of the semi-centennial celebra- \ntion of Amej\'ican independence in this village on \nTuesday, July 4, 1826, will, I trust, be not deemed \ninappropriate. It surpasseAin interest and pageant- \nry all Fourth of July observances in this county, \nthat preceded it, or have followed it. \n\nThe most prominent feature of the procession was \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 33 \n\na car 42 feet long and 14 feet wide named \'\'The \nTemple of Industry." It was drawn by thirteen \nyoke of oxen, each yoke in charge of a driver clad \nin a tow frock, and all under the command of Jacob \nNear of Malta. Upon the car, were thirteen repre- \nsentatives of so many branches of the mechanic \narts, plying their vocations. Among them was the \nprinter, striking off semi-centennial odes; the black- \nsmith, with his anvil, keeping time with the music ; \nthe cooper, making more noise tlian all tht? others ; \nand Mr. William A\'an Ness, who, while the pro- \n<;ession was moving, made a paii- of shoes for the \npresident of the day, to whom they were presented \nwith an appropriate address and response. \n\nAnother interesting feature of the procession was \na band of thirty-semn Bevolutlonary nderans, \nwho kept step to the music in a way that indicated \nthey had not forgotten their military discipline. \nLemuel Wilcox, a soldier of the revolution, bore a \nstandard inscribed, \'\'Declaration of Independence.\'" \nJohn Whitehead, another i-evolutionary veteran, \nbore a standard inscribed "Constitution of the \nUnited States." And another veteran. Jeremiah \nPierson, carried the national standard. \n\nAnothei- atti*active feature was the "Corps of \nUnion Cadets," composed of two tine looking and \nadmirably drilled uniformed companies from Union \ncollege ; one commanded b}^ Captain Knox and the \nother by Captain Jackson, now the senior professor \nin Ihat institution. The corps was under the com- \nmand of Major Holland, the register of the college, \nand a veteran of the war of 1812. \n\n\n\n34 SAEATOC+A (BOUNTY : \n\nThe procession moved through the principal \nstreets amid salvos from a brass six pounder cap- \ntured from Burgoyne, to the Baptist church, which \nstood upon the lot now occupied b}^ the railroad \nwater tank. Samuel Young, then speaker of the \nassembly, presided. >*rayer was offered by Rev. \nEliphalet Nott, the president of Union college. \nThe declaration of independence was read by Anson \nBrown, a young lawyer of this village, who died \nwhile our representative in the twenty-sixth con- \ngress. The oration was delivered by John W. \nTaylor, then speaker of the House of Representa- \ntives. His concluding remarks were addressed to \nthe revolutionary soldiers, who arose in a bod}^ \nand the scene was quite dramatic. \n\nThe Union Cadets dined at the Sans Souci hotel, \nand the regular dinner and toasts were at the Vil- \nlage Hotel. Among the regular toasts was the fol- \nlowing : \n\nJohn Adams, Thomas .leflerson and Cliarle? Carroll of Carroll- \nton ; The surviving signers of the declaration of independence. \nAs the measure of their daj^s, so is that of their fame \xe2\x80\x94 over flowing. \n\nWh-n this sentiment was iittored. it was not \nknown, that since the sun had risen on that day, \ntwo of those illustrious patriots had been numbered \nwith the dead, leaving Charles Carroll the sole sur- \nvivor. \n\nBy previous arrangement, the cadets marched \ninto the room, when the president of the day ad- \ndressed them in highly appropriate and compli- \nmentary terms. Major Holland responded, reading \nfrom a manuscript, in the familiar liand writing of \nDr. Nott, which I hold in my hand : \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDKEvSS. 35 \n\nGentlemen : In behalf oi tbt- corps 1 have the huuor to com \nmand, permit me to teuder their acknowledgement for your polite \nattentions. If our humble exertions to :iid in the duties of the day \nhave met the approbation of this patriotic assemblage, it is the \nhighest gratification we can receive. In retiring, permit me to \npropose as a toast : \n\nTuE COUNTY OF Sak.\\toga. Its hills, monumeutt; of valor; its \nsprings, resorts of fashion ; its hainlets, signalized bj\' patriots and \nstatesmen. \n\nUnion college and its distinguished president \nwere complimented by two of the r/7?/w/// as fol- \nlow^s : \n\nBy Thomas Palmer, Esq. \n\nUnion Coi-lege. C\'revit \xe2\x80\x94 crencit \xe2\x80\x94 rrencut. \n\nBy Anson Brown, Esq. \n\nThe President of Union College. \'\'\'^Dignumluutk >nriim musa \nvetat moi\'i." \n\nIf these sentiments were not duly appreciated by" \nall present, tlie following was expressed in such \nplain spoken, unmistakable English, that there \nwas no doubt as to its meaning : \n\nBy Edward Watrous, Esq. \n\nThe LEGiTiMA\'rEs of Europe. May they be yoked, poked and \nJu>ppled, cross fettered^ tied head andjoot and turned out to browse on \nthe pine plains of old Saratoga. \n\nIn regard to the remaining festivities at the table^ \nand the exuberance of patriotic feeling manifested, \nthe truth of history, perhaps, requires the state- \nment, that temperance societies had not yet been \norganized. \n\nThe committee of arrangements consisted of \nJames Merrill, David Cory, Wm. Clark, JohnDix, \nJerry Penfield, Charles Field. Alexander Russell, \nRobert Bennett, Roswell Herrick, David F. White, \nGeo. W. Fish, Hiram Middlebrook, Joseph Bar- \nker, David Derrick, Sylvester Blood, Samuel R. \nGrarrett and Abraham Middlebrook. Tlie general \n\n\n\n36 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nmanager of this superb celebration was Lyman B. \nLangworthy, then the sheriff of the county, now \nliving at Rochester, and almost a nonagenarian. \n\nThe only, survivors of those who officiated on \nthat occasion besides sheriff Langworthy, and Prof. \nJackson, are Joseph Barker, Hiram Middlebrook \nand our fellow citizen, Samuel R. Gariett. \n\nAnd now. Time in its "ceaseless course,\'\' has \n^brought us down to the semi-centennial anni\\\'ersary \nof the deaths of Adams and Jefferson, and to the \ncentennial of American Independence, which they \nwere so instrumental in establishing. \n\nWhen the Persian monarch more than 2,000 \nyears ago, looked down upon the Hellespont cov- \nered with ships, and the shores and plains of \nAbydos swarming with men composing his grand \narmy for the invasion of Greece, he, with tears gave \nutterance to the thought, which has been deemed \nworth}\' of mention b}^ the historian, that in a hun- \ndred years, not one of that vast multitude would be \nalive. How brief indeed is the life of man, when \ncompared with the duration of his race I It is a \nsolemn reflection, however obvious and common \nplace it may seem, that of the millions who are this \nda}^ (^elebrating the commencement of the second \ncentury of our national existence, probably not one \nwill live to usher in the third. Let us indulge \nthe hope, tliat when the Sun rises on the Fourth of \nJuly, 1976, it will shine upon a free, prosperous and \nehappy land, still known as the United SrATp:s of \nAmeiuoa. \n\n\n\nI \n\n\n\nOENTENNIAL ADDRESS \n\nDdkemi at BalUton Sjja, K. Y. July 4, 1876, by J S. L\'Amoreaux. \n\n4 \n\n\n\nFellow Citizen\'s : \n\nThe nation which w<* are proud to call our own \nlias had one hundred years of life. This is its cen- \ntennial birth-da}\'. Its history has been one that \nhas attracted the attention of the civilized world. \nBorn out of oppression, cradled in libert} , it has \nbreathed an atmosphere full of political principles, \nwhich i-ecognize the individual rights of man as \nnowhere else recognized ; which guaranteed a lib- \nerty to all that is elsewhere impossible ; that insist- \ned upon the education of the masses as the sure \nprotection of the principles upon which it is found- \ned ; which foster in every way the best and high- \nest interests of the whole people. To found such a \nnation \xe2\x80\x94 to perpetuate such a government, presu])- \nposes sacrifices of no small value, and a watchful- \nness incessant and vigilant. \n\nWe have be<m passing through, for the last year, \nthe nation\'s anniveisary of these sacrifices ; esti- \nmating again the price our fathers paid at Lexing- \nton, Bunker Hill, and other honored fields, where \n\n\n\n88 SAKATOGA COUNTY : \n\nthe handful of patriots laid the foundation of this \ngovernment in blood and tears. And for more than \na year they fought defiantly, without organization, \nwithout government and without any definite aim \nof independence. At Lexington and Bunker Hill \nthe men who faced the trained regiments of Eng- \nland were the farmer boys, without leader, disci- \npline or equipment. Washington did not take \ncommand of the Continental army until July 3d, \n1775, tSien numbering about 7,000 persons \xe2\x80\x94 less \nthan one half the number were equipped. A few \nmonths after, the adjutant-general described the \nmilitary situation in these words : "With an army \nof force before and a secret one bel ind, we stand \non a point of land with 6,000 old troops (if a year\'s \nservice of about half, can entitle them to this name) \nand about 1,500 law levies of the province ; many \ndisaffected and more doubtful. Every man, from \nthe general to the private, acquainted with our sit \xe2\x80\xa2 \nuation, is exceedingly discouraged. Had I known \nthe true posture of affairs no consideration would \nhave tempted me to take x^art in this scene ; and \nthis sentiment is universal." \n\nBefore this little band, taken from 8,000,000 of \npeople, thirt}^ thousand of the best troops of Eng- \nland were ariayed. At Charleston alone there \nwere fifty ships of war. A long coast line was to \nbe defended, an extensive part guarded, the disaf- \nfected and the tories watched. A situation more \ndisheartening could be hardl}^ imagined. \n\nDuring the earlier part of the war the idea of \nnational inde])en deuce was almost, if not entirely, \n\n\n\nAX HISTORICAL Al>nUESS. 39 \n\nunknown. It was far from being understood that \nthe war was for the purpose of revolt. Jefferson, \nthe author of tlie declaration of independence, said : \n"I had never heard a whisper of a disposition to \nseparate from the mother country until after April \n19, 1 776. \' \' Washington said : * \'When I lirst took \ncommand of the army, July 8, 1775, 1 abhorred the \nidea of independeiice." It was an idea, at tlie \nperiod named, in its infancy, if indeed it had life \nat all. It was not until the succeeding year, 1776, \nthat it began to take permanent shape, and the \npeople began to consider the possibility of a sepa- \nlate sovereignty, and to be made more enthusiastic \nand devoted by a grand and definite aim. Histo- \nrians .say tliat : "As Americans, they were called \nupon as free subjects of Great Britain, to relinquish \ntheorcitically and practicall}^ some of the dearest \nprerogatives guaranteed to them by ancient laws \nand customs, prerogatives in which were enveloped \nthe most precious kernels of civil libert}-. They \narose as (me family to resist the insidious progress \not oncoming despotism, and yearned for union to \ngive themselves strength commensurate to the task. \nLeading minds in every colony perceived the \nnecessity for a general council, and in the spring of \n1774 the great heart of Anglo-America seemed to \nbeat as with one pulsation with this sublime idea. \nThat idea found voice and expression almost sim- \nultaneously throughout the land. Rhode Island \nhad the distinguished honor to be first to speak out \npublicly on the subject. A general congress was \nproposed at a town meeting in Providence on May \n\n\n\n40 SAEATOGA COUNTY : \n\n17, 1774. A committee of a town meeting held in \nPhiladelphia on the 21st, four days afterward, also \nrecommended such a measure, and on the 23d a \ntown meeting in New York city uttered the same \nsentiment. The lionse of Burgesses, dissolved by \nLord Dunmore, assembled at the Raleigh tavern in \nWilliamsburgh on the 27th, and on that day warm- \nly recommended the assembling of a national coun- \ncAl ; and Baltimore in county meeting also took \naction in favor of it on the 31st ; on the 0th of June \na town meeting at Norwich, Conn., proposed a \ngeneral congress ; on the 11th a county nu^eting at \nNewark, N. J., did the same. On the 17th the \nMassachusetts assembly and at the same time a \ntown meeting in Faneuil hall, Boston, strenuously \nrecommended the measure, and a county meeting \nat New Castle, Delaware, approvt-dof it Oii the 2yth. \nOn the Otli of* July, the committee of correspon- \ndence at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, expressed \nits approl)ation of the measure. A general province \nmeeting held at Charleston, S. C, on the 6th, 7th \nand 8th of that month urged the necessit}^ of such \na congress ; and a district meeting at Wilmington. \nN. C, heartily responded affirmatively. \n\nThus we perceive that within the space of sixty- \nfour days, twelve of the thirteen colonies spoke out \ndecidedly in favor of a continental congress, Georgia \nalone remaining silent. The Massachusetts assem- \nbly designated the 1st of Septenibei-, 1774, as the \ntime, and Philadelphia as the place, for the meet- \ning of the congress. Other colonies acquiesced and \nat Philadelphia the delegates convened. \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 41 \n\n. Says Bancroft : \'This congress in the earlier \nmonths of 1776 had been steadily drifting on \ntowards the distinct assertion of separate sover- \neignty, and had rendered it irreconcilable with \nreason and good conscience for the colonies to take \nthe oaths required for the support of the govern- \nment under the crown of Great Britain."\' \n\nBut it was not until the 7th of June, 1776, that \nRichard Henry Lee, of Virginia, arose and read the \nresolution : \'\'That these united colonies are, and \nof right ought to be, free and independent states ; \nthat they are absolved from all allegiance to the \nBritish Crown and that all political connection \nbetween them and the state of Great Britain is, and \nought to be, totally disolved.\'\' \n\nThe morning of July 1 was the day set apart for \nconsidering this resolution, and at the appointed \ntime the members, fifty in number, appeared in \ntheir places. Every colony was found to be repre- \nsented and the delegates from all but one had re- \nceived full power to act. As early as January, \nMassachusetts had instructed her delegates to act \nfor independence. South Carolina in March, and \nGeorgia in April. North Carolina, on the 12th of \nApril was the first to direct expressly its represen- \ntatives in Congress to concur in a declaration of \nindependence. On the 4th day of May, Rhode \nisland made its delegates the representatives of an \nindependent republic. For two days the resolu- \ntion was earnestly and solemnly debated, and on \nthe 2d day of July, 1776, in the words of John \nAdams, "the greatest question was decided which \n\n\n\n43 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\nwas ever debated in America, and a greater, per- \nhaps, never has, nor ever will be, decided among \nmen. I am surprised at the suddenness as well as \nthe greatness of this resolution. It may be the will \nof heaven that America shall suffer calamities still \nmore wasting, and distresses yet more dreadful ; \nbut, I submit all my hopes and fears to an over- \nruling Providence in which I firmly believe. I am \nwell aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that \nit will cost us to maintain the declaration and sup- \nport and defend these states, yet through all the \ngloom I can see the rays of ravishing glory." \n\nThe vote of July 2 changed the thirteen depen- \ndent colonies into thirteen independent states ; but \nthe terse, ringing sentences of Jefferson in the \nDeclaration of Independence, put the resolution of \nLee with such force before the country and the \nworld that the birth of the American republic is \nconsidered to be, not the day on which the resolu- \ntion passed, but the day on whi -h the declaration \nAvas promulgated. \n\nLooking back upon the work of these men, we \ncan scarcely conceive the solemnity of the discuss- \nion, the perils that environed those few patriots, \nthe earnestness with which the}- devoted their lives, \ntheir treasure, their sacred honor, to the principles \nthey believed to be above all price. They were not \nthoughtless, reckless men. The wisdom, the states- \nmanship and prudence of the country, were there \nassembled. And the men who laid all upon the \naltar of their country were those who weighed well \nthe peril of their cause, and the suffering and pos- \n\n\n\nAX HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 48 \n\naible disaster that awaited them. Seeing all and \ndreading the worst, the}^ boldly defied the greatest \npower on earth. Congress in its wisdom saw fit to \nconceal the name of the mover of the resolution, \nbut when the Declaration was to be signed, the \nenthusiasm of that hour tired every heari. and with \ndefiant pen they put their immortal names to the \npaper. \n\nSaid John Hancock : "There, John Bull ma}^ \nread my name without spectacles." \n\nFranklin remarked : "We must hang together, \nor else most assuredly we shall all hang separate- \nly-" \n\nHarrison remarked that Gerry, afterward vice- \npresident, would be hanging in the air long after \nhis own fate would be settled. \n\nFrom the work of these devoted men and the \nprinciples they promulgated, have grown all the \nresults of the past century. The tj-ee which you \nplant to-day is an emblem of the tree of liberty \nthey planted then, imbedding its roots firmlj\'- in the \nsoil of their loft}^ devotion and watering it through \nthe terrible years of war with the best blood of the \nland. \n\nUnder the protecting shade of that tree we have \nenjoyed a hundred years of unexampled prosperity, \na century of marvelous growth in all that makes ar \nnation sti\'ong and beneficent to the world. The \nresults of the century are almost beyond tlie con- \nception of the human mind. The inventions and \ndiscoveries of the age, in all the appfiances that \nalmost annihilate space and time, show us how \n\n\n\n44 SARATOGA COUNTY : \n\npoor and weak our fathers were a hundred years \nago. We numbered then 3,()00,()0() of people scat- \ntered from Massachusetts to Georgia, occupying \nhardly more than the sea coast. Most of the coun- \ntry was a wilderness, the towns widel}- separated, \nthe roads almost impassable. \n\nNew York state to-day alone has a mucli larger \npopulation, and is stronger in all the elements of \npower. In a hundred years we have doubled our \nterritory many times. We have increased from \n3, 000, ()()() of poor people to our 50,000,000 of the \nwealthiest people on the globe. And this growth, \nwith all that is suggested has onlj\' been rendered \n])0ssible by the discoveries which have been made \nduring the last hundred years. \n\nThis has been the wonder-century of the christian \nera, and so far as known in the histoiy of the world. \nSteam has revolutionized the world. Our own \nnoble Hudson was first plowed by the parent of \nsteamers, and to-day no clime u[)on the face of the \nearth that does not bow in homage to its royal \nsway. The locomotive has built a net work of \nroads, traversing every se(?tion of country, and has \nconstructed in 50 years more then 78,000 miles of \nrailway, 25,000 more than all Europe has laid in \nthe same time ; and our roads carry their passen- \ngers with a comfort and speed unknown in tlie old \nworld. \n\nBy the side of every railway is that lightninu\' \npulse of the world, the electric telegraph, stretching \nover vast tracts of country, joining hands with the \nold world under the sea, bringing us into familiar \nacquaintance with all the doings of the earth, and \n\n\n\nAN HISTORICAL ADDRE88. 4o \n\nwith news of the most minute occurreuces of the \npresent day from tlie most distant parts of the globe. \nWhat fifty years ago would be considered a mira- \ncle is to-day a fact of common occurrence, and yet \nthe telegraph was first brought into practical use \nin 1844, and in 30 years 700, Ooo miles of telegraph \nhave been constructed, 150,000 in the United States \nalone. \n\nAdd to these the stationary engine, as a manu- \nfacturing power, which has entirely changed the \nface and form of labor. Our rapid development \nhas only been \xe2\x80\xa2 made possible by our multiplied \napplication of discover}^ Machiner}\' has sup- \nplanted labor and become the bone and sinew of \nthe country. The cotton gin ; the machiues for \nplanting, sowing and thresliing ; the sewing ma- \nchines and the knitting machines ; by which one \nman does the work of ten in the varied fields of \nlabor : oil drawn from the depths of earth to light \nour homes ; gold and silver and iron mines ; all \nthc^se present the face and beauty of the country. \nAll these wonderful inventions and developments \nare made to please and benefit man. \n\nThe printing press, placing 2,500 volumes annu- \nally in the hauds of the people, giving life blood to \nthe nation, with our periodicals, secular and relig- \nious, make us the admiration of the world. \n\nThe system of public instruction which gathers \n6,000,000 of our children in the best public schools \nin the world, nd sending them out prepared for \nAmerican citizenship, is the highest evidence of our \nsubstantial and permanent progress. \n\n\n\n46 SARATOGA COLfNTY : \n\nThe inventions of the people sliow the wonderful \nfertility of American ingenuity and imagination. \nIn 1874, one year, 13,o99 patents were granted to \nthe American people for their inventions, exceeding \nmany times that of all other nations combined. \n\nThese years are behind us ; on them we stand as \non vantage ground, and from tliem we look into \nthe future. While wonders have been accomplished \nin the century past, much beyond the conception \nof our fathers, still there is work to do. Let us \nglean from the experience of the past, and with an \nintelligent and cultivated intellect, and conscience, \nmay the principles of our country, like the tree our \nfathers planted, be blessed of heaven and nurtured \nby our favored country. \n\nMay the iidelity of her sons, and the earnest, \nsterling, uncompromising integrity of her people \nbe her mark of distinction ; and, as the tree this \nday planted shall grow in grandeur and beauty, so \nmay we as a nation grow in moral and intellectual \nstrength and power, ever remembering the highest \nexhibition of a nation\'s glory is to battle for the \nriglit. \n\n\n\n\'\xe2\x80\xa2Who\'ll press for gold this crowded street \n\nA hundred j-ears to come? \nWho\'ll tread yon church with willing feet \n\nA hundred years to come ? \nPule, trembling age,und tiery youth. \nAnd childhood with his bruw of truth, \nThe rich and poor, on land and sea, \nWhere will the mighty millions be, \n\nA liundred years to come ? \n\n\n\nAN JIISTORICAL ADDRESS. 47 \n\n"We all within our graves shall sleep \n\nA hundred j-ears to come. \nNo living soul for us will weep \n\nA hundred years to come. \nHut other men our land will till, \nAnd others then our streets will till, \nAnd \xc2\xa9ther words will sing as gay, \nAnd bright the sunshine as to-day, \n\nA hundred years to come." \n\n\n\nEHHATA. \n\nPage 9, Line 38, read "destroyed" for "destroy." \nPage 33, Line 39, read "surpassed" for "surpasses. \nPage 38, Line 30, read "county" for "country." \n\n\n\n\\ \n\n\n\n\xe2\x80\xa2^ >t.. \n\n\n\nV \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\xe2\x96\xa0^n \n\n\n\n\n":j> \n\n\n\'<^ \n\n\n:^^ \n\n\n% \n\n\n\n.^^^ \n\n\n\n\n\n\nX^^ \'^^ \n\n\n\n-->, \n\n\n\n.^^^ \n\n\n\n\xe2\x96\xa0.^^\'^ \n\n\n\n\'./\'^C^ \n\n\n\n\n\n\n4^ \n\n\n\nLIBRARY OF CONGRESS \n\n\n\n014 108 304 1 ^ \n\n\n\n'