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 BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL 
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE EARLY 
 
 PIOIEER SETTLERS OF OHIO, 
 
 WITH NARRATIVES OF 
 
 INCIDENTS AND OCCURRENCES IN 1775. 
 
 BY S. P. HILDRETH, M. D. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ANNEXED 
 
 A JOURNAL OF OCCURRENCES WHICH HAPPENED IN THE CIRCLES OF 
 THE AUTHOR'S PERSONAL OBSERVATION, IN THE DETACHMENT COM- 
 MANDED BY COL, BENEDICT ARNOLD, CONSISTING OF TWO 
 BATTALIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES ARMY, AT 
 CAMBRIDGE, MASS., IN A. D. 1775 :" 
 
 BY COLONEL R. J. MEIGS. 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 H. W. DERBY & CO., PUBLISHERS, 
 
 1852.
 
 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year of our Lord, one 
 thousand, eight hundred and fifty-two,by H. W. DERBY & Co., in the 
 Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Ohio.
 
 P R E F A C K . 
 
 THIS is the second volume of the Early History of Ohio, prepared by 
 Dr. Ilildrelh of Marietta, and published under the auspices of the Ohio 
 Historical Society. It is composed of a. scries of Biographical Notices of 
 the early settlers of Washington County, who were also the early settler:. 
 of Ohio. Among them are seme names celebrated in American history, 
 'whose active life commenced amid the most stirring events of the Revolu- 
 tion, and whose evening days were finished amid the frcs!i and forest 
 scenes of a new and rising State. So various ana eventful lives as theirs 
 have scarcely ever fallen to the lot of man. They were born under a 
 monarchy, fought the battle of Independence, arista.! in the baptism 
 of a great republic, then moved into a wilderness, and hid th-T founda- 
 tions of a State, itself almost equaling an empire. Tiieso men nut only 
 lived in remarkable times, but were thorn selves remarkable men. Ener- 
 getic, industrious, persevering, honest, bold, and free they were limited 
 in their achievements only by the limits of possibility. Successful alike 
 in field and forest, they have, at length, gono to their rest, leaving 
 names which ere a part of the fame and the history of their countrv. 
 
 Among the biographies of such men will ;J.-;o be found notic:s of some 
 women, whose characters deserve to be perpetuated among the mernorie:; 
 of the State. The public and posterity will owe much to Dr. Iliidrcth for 
 having so carefully preserved these memoirs of the earlv tinv. ;;-. Tin- 
 Historical Society deeply regrets that it has no power to do moro than 
 merely introduce this interesting volume to the public. 
 
 EDW.\RD D. MAXSFIEUI, 
 President of the Ohio Historical Society.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 3 
 
 UUFUS PUTNAM 13 
 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE 120 
 
 JAMES MITCHELL VARNUM 165 
 
 SAMUEL HOLDEN PARSONS 1SG 
 
 BENJAMIN TUPPER 217 
 
 EBENEZER SPROAT 230 
 
 JONATHAN DEVOL 241 
 
 RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS 25? 
 
 GRIFFIN GREENE 270 
 
 PAUL FEARING 291 
 
 JOSEPH AND REBECCA GILMAN 302 
 
 BENJAMIN IVES AND HANNAH GILMAN 30G 
 
 MARY LAKE 320 
 
 DANIEL STORY 325 
 
 JABEZ TRUE 329 
 
 WILLIAM DANA 337 
 
 NATHANIEL GUSHING 340 
 
 JONATHAN IIASKELL 345 
 
 EBENEZER BATTF.LLE f 349 
 
 ISRAEL PUTNAM 354 
 
 NATHAN GOODALE.. . 35P
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 ROBERT BRADFORD 370 
 
 AARON WALDO PUTNAM 372 
 
 JONATHAN STONE 380 
 
 ROBERT OLIVER 391 
 
 HAFF IELD WHITE 396 
 
 DEAN TYLER 398 
 
 WILLIAM GRAY 399 
 
 WILLIAM STAGEY 401 
 
 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF ATHENS COUNTY, OHIO 408 
 
 JERVIS CUTLER 414 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE FIRST SETrLJiiMENT OF AMESTOWN, IN 
 
 ATHENS COUNTY, OHIO 421 
 
 BENJAMIN BROWN 428 
 
 JOSEPH BARKER 433 
 
 HAMILTON KERR 464 
 
 ISAAC AND REBECCA WILLIAMS 475 
 
 HARMAN AND MARGARET BLENNERHASSETT 491 
 
 APPENDIX.. . 523
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 early history of the first settlements in the now great state 
 of Ohio, not only ought to be preserved as an important epoch in 
 the general history of our common country, but also the characters 
 and public services of those men who were eminent in forming these 
 settlements, have a claim to go down to posterity amongst the bene- 
 factors of mankind. The influence of their morals and habits has 
 had a lasting effect on society, and is now perceptible in the general 
 character of the communities in which they resided. The facts thus 
 preserved, will enable the future historian to account for many things 
 in our history which otherwise might appear obscure. The origin 
 of an orderly, well regulated society, in any given district, may often 
 be explained by tracing back its history to the influence exerted 
 over it by some one or more individuals, who have imparted this 
 character to it in its commencement : while the example of a few 
 dissolute men, may have done much in placing a stigma on the name 
 of a place, that will remain for ages." The settlements of the Ohio 
 Company, were fortunate in this respect ; all the leading and influ- 
 ential men were on the side of good order, morality and religion ; 
 and the impress of their character is seen and felt to this day, in the 
 well regulated, quiet habits, of a New England community, worthy 
 the descendants of their Puritan ancestors. While many of the early 
 colonies in the West, were composed of the ignorant, the vulgar, and 
 the rude, those of Washington county, like some of the Grecian, 
 carried with them, the sciences and the arts ; and although placed 
 on the frontiers, amidst the howling wilderness, and tribes of hostile 
 savages, exposed to danger and privation, there ran in the veins of 
 these little bands, some of the best blood of the country. They 
 enrolled many men of highly cultivated minds and exalted intellect. 
 There was at one time, in 1789, no less than ten of these, who had
 
 X INTRODUCTION. 
 
 received the honors of a college course of education : a larger 
 number than can now be found in the same district of country, if the 
 professors in the Marietta College are excluded. The Hon. William 
 Woodbridge, in his remarks before the Senate of the United States, 
 on the question of the annexation of Texas, against which the citi- 
 zens of Marietta, with thousands of others in Ohio, loudly remon- 
 strated, when presenting that paper, gave the following sketch of 
 the character of the men who first founded that place : 
 
 "It was on the 7th of April, 1783, that this settlement Avas first 
 commenced ; it was then that the first stone, the corner stone, of 
 this great state was laid ; and it was laid by these men, or by their 
 immediate ancestors. The colony then consisted almost entirely of 
 a remnant, and a most revered remnant, of your armies of the 
 Revolution of officers and soldiers, who, at the close of that seven 
 years' term of privation, of suffering, and of battles, found them- 
 selves let loose upon the world with their private fortunes, in gen- 
 eral ruined, estranged almost from their own early homes, and 
 with occupations gone ! If they were of any of the learned profes- 
 sions, and there were many such, their professions were forgotten, and 
 if their pursuits had been agricultural, commercial, or mechanical, 
 why they had lost those business habits so difficult to acquire, but 
 which are yet so indispensable to success; and such of their pay, 
 too, as they may have been enabled to preserve, being old conti- 
 nental certificates, and become almost worthless in their hands, for 
 all available purposes. In circumstances of so much gloom, the 
 thought occurred of establishing themselves once more in a bodv. 
 
 O O * ' 
 
 in the untrodden West. During many years they had camped to- 
 gether, and eaten together ; they had fought and bled together ; there 
 
 O O v J 
 
 was something pleasing in the plan of continuing still closer, their 
 social and friendly relations. They had warrants which entitled 
 them to public lands ; many of them had continental certificates and 
 other evidences of claim, which would go far to enable them to make 
 their purchase. An association wns formed ; negotiations with the 
 old Continental Congress and with the Board of War were com- 
 menced, and during the year 1787, a purchase was effected; and on 
 the 7th of April, as I have said, 1788, the first and principal detach
 
 INTRODUCTION. : i 
 
 incut of that interesting corps of emigrants, landed at the confluence 
 of the Muskingum with the Ohio river. This was directly athwart 
 the old Indian war path; for it was down the Muskingum arid its 
 tributary branches, that the Wyandolts, the Shawnees, the Ottawas, 
 and all the Indians of the north and northwest, were accustomed to 
 march, Avhen from time to time, for almost half a century before, 
 they made those dreadfid incursions, into western Virginia and wes- 
 tern Pennsylvania, which spread desolation, and ruin, and despair, 
 through all those regions. Being arrived there, they marked out 
 their embryo city, and in honor of the friend of their country, the 
 queen of France, called it Marietta. They surrounded it with pali- 
 sades and abatis ; they erected block-houses and bastions. On an 
 eminence a little above, and near the Muskingum, they constructed 
 a more regular and scientific fortification. Thus did the settlement 
 of that great state commence. Among these colonists were very 
 many of the most distinguished officers of the Revolution, and of 
 all grades. Gen. Rufus Putnam, and Gen. Benjamin Tapper, of the 
 Massachusetts line, were there. Gen. Parsons of the Connecticut, 
 and Gen. Varnum, of the Rhode Island lines, were there. Old Com- 
 modore Whipplc, of Rhode Island, for whom the honor is claimed 
 of firing the first hostile gun from on board a ' Congress ' vessel of 
 war, and who during the whole war, was another ' Paul Jones,' 
 and as active and daring, found his grave there ; as did a near rela- 
 tive of Gen. Nathaniel Green. The sons of the 'Wolf catcher,' 
 Gen. Israel Putnam, and the descendants of Manasseh Cutler, were 
 there. Col. Gushing and Col. Sproat, Col. Oliver and Col. Sargent, 
 and multitudes of others, distinguished alike for their bravery, for 
 their patriotism, and for their skill in war, were there. Some few 
 there arc, some very few, still alive, and whose names I recognize, 
 who constituted a part of this wonderful band of veteran soldiers. 
 The rest, one after another, have dropped off. Many of the things I 
 have adverted to, I personally saw. I was a child then, but I well 
 recollect the regular morning reveille, and the evening tattoo, that 
 
 o o ' o ' 
 
 helped to give character to the establishment. Even on the Sabbath, 
 the male population were always under arms, and with their chap- 
 lain, who was willing to share the lot of his comrades, Avere accus-
 
 xil INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tomed to march in battle array, to their block-house church. And 
 I take this occasion to remark, that it was not until the memorable 
 victory of Gen. Wayne, that the war of the Revolution really ended, 
 and Gen. Harrison was right when he made that assertion." 
 
 There is nothing more noble than to feel a deep interest in the 
 honor of our country, our state, or the community in which we mingle. 
 The history of these men belongs to the United States ; their breasts 
 were often the bulwarks, which, in the "time of trial," saved us from 
 the enslaving power of Great Britain, and we are endeavoring to 
 preserve their names and their characters from oblivion, by erecting 
 this historical monument to their memory. For the materials on 
 which it is founded, the author is indebted to many kind friends, 
 generally the relatives of the persons, but in an especial manner to 
 W. R. Putnam, Esq., Hon. Judge Cutler, Col. Joseph Barker, and 
 William Slocomb : for Com. Whipple, to his grandson, Dr. Com- 
 Btock, of Boston, John Kowland, Esq., of Providence, Rhode Island, 
 and P. G. Robbins, M. D., of Roxbury, Massachusetts. The 
 names of many other prominent men are omitted from a lack of the 
 facts on which to found a written biography ; and the larger number 
 of those here given were obtained with much laborious search, 
 amongst old letters, volumes of history, oral tradition, and numer- 
 ous letters of inquiry written to the relatives of the deceased, in 
 various and distant parts of the country. A full and well written biog- 
 raphy of the late Gov. Meigs, who was one of the early settlers of 
 Marietta, has been published in a posthumous volume of Sketches 
 of the early Settlers of Ohio, by the late Alexander Campbell, Esq., 
 and is not given here.* The present work has many imperfections, 
 but may be the means of preserving some facts not generally known, 
 for the use of a future and more able historian. 
 
 * That of General II. Putnam iu the same volume, is a brief sketch taken from a 
 newspaper notice at the time of his death ; and that of Paul Fearing, Esq., was 
 written for Mr. Campbell, by the author of this volume, and is now rcpublished 
 with some additions.
 
 11UFUS PUTNAM. 15 
 
 and was the cousin of Elisha Putnam, the father of Gen. 
 Ilufug. At the death of his father, Mr. Putnam was seven 
 years old. He was now sent to live with his maternal grand- 
 father in Danvers, and remained in his family until Septem- 
 ber, 1747. During this period he was sent to school a portion 
 of the time, and made some progress in reading. In the 
 course of this year, his mother married Capt. John Sadler, 
 of Upton, Massachusetts, and he went to live with him, and 
 remained under his roof until his death, in 1753. His mother 
 was now again a widow. 
 
 In 1752, when fourteen years of age, Rufus made choice 
 of his brother-in-law, Jonathan Dudley, of Sutton, as his 
 guardian, and the certificate is signed by the Hon. Joseph 
 Wilder, judge of probate for Worcester county. During the 
 time of his residence with his step-father, all opportunities 
 for instruction were denied him. Capt. Sadler was very 
 illiterate himself, and thought books and learning of very 
 little use, and not worth the time bestowed on their acquire- 
 ment. The world is not destitute of such men to this day ; 
 they think and act as if they believed that the body was the 
 only part to be provided for, and that the mind needed no 
 instruction, or food for its growth, except what is acquired 
 by natural observation and instinct. But young Putnam 
 felt that he had another appetite to supply, besides that of 
 the body; that his mind craved food and instruction, and 
 would not be appeased without it. Notwithstanding the 
 ridicule and obstructions thrown in his way by his step-father, 
 he sought every opportunity for study, and examination of 
 the books that fell in his way. Having no school books of 
 his own, and this parsimonious man refusing to buy them, 
 he soon fell upon a plan to get them himself. Capt. 
 Sadler kept a kind of public house, at which travelers some- 
 times called for refreshment. By waiting diligently upon 
 diem, they sometimes gave him a few pence. These he
 
 16 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 carefully laid by, until he could purchase some powder and 
 shot : with this ammunition and an old shot gun, he killed 
 partridges, or pheasants, and sold from time to time until 
 the proceeds bought him a spelling book and an arithmetic. 
 With these two invaluable articles, the foundation of all, 
 even the most profound learning, he soon made considerable 
 progress in the rudiments of education, without any teacher 
 but his own patient ingenuity. In the same way he learned 
 to write, and make figures in a legible manner, progressing 
 in a short time to the rule of three, guided only by the 
 directions laid down in the book. How delightful must have 
 been his sensations when he could put his own thoughts into 
 tangible sentences on paper, and understand the rules of 
 calculation, so important in all the concerns of life. 
 
 In March, 1754, when nearly sixteen years old, he was 
 bound as an apprentice to the mill-wright trade, under 
 Daniel Mathews, of Brookfield. He was a man who had 
 nearly the same opinion of the inutility of learning, as Mr. 
 Sadler, and entirely neglected to send his apprentice to 
 school. He, however, was more favorable in one respect, 
 as he did not refuse him the use of candles for light, when 
 pursuing his studies in the long winter evenings. His atten- 
 tion was chiefly directed to the acquisition of arithmetic, 
 geography and history ; while orthography, etymology, and 
 the rules of grammar were neglected. Having no books in 
 these branches and no one to teach him, his attention was 
 chiefly directed to that which would be more immediately 
 useful in the common affairs of life. In penmanship he 
 had no aid from those nice copperplate engravings, pub- 
 lished in after years, nor any one to guide him in the art of 
 neat handwriting, so that those two important branches, 
 spelling correctly, and writing handsomely, did not receive 
 that attention they otherwise would have done, and left him 
 during all his future life to rcsret his deficiencies in these
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 17 
 
 respects. Could he have looked into futurity, or had the 
 least intimation of the public stations of trust and honor 
 which he was destined by Providence to fill in manhood, he 
 would doubtless have been better prepared for their arduous 
 duties. The greatest wonder of all is, that with the discour- 
 agements and privations which environed him, he had the 
 fortitude and perseverance to overcome these obstacles, and 
 acquire so much really useful learning as he did. Ninety- 
 nine boys in a hundred would never have made the attempt, 
 but have lived and died in ignorance. 
 
 During this portion of his life, from sixteen to nineteen 
 years, he was busily occupied under Daniel Mathews, in 
 acquiring the practical art of the mill-wright, and in working 
 on his farm. It required some knowledge of geometiy, to 
 form perfect circles, divide them into numerous equal por- 
 tions, and lay out the exact angles necessary in the frame- 
 work of the mill; thus gradually enlarging his knowledge 
 of mathematics, for which he had naturally an ardent attach- 
 ment, and a mind well fitted to comprehend. During this 
 time his physical frame grew full as rapidly as his mind, so 
 that when he was eighteen years old, he possessed the 
 brawny limbs, the muscular power, and the full stature of a 
 man six feet high. In all athletic exercises, he was renowned 
 for his great strength and activity; and thus eminently fitted 
 for the fatigues and privations of the military life he was 
 destined so early to enter. 
 
 The war between Great Britain and France, in which 
 the colonies were much more deeply interested than the 
 mother country, commenced in the year 1754, when he 
 entered on his apprenticeship. The accounts of the several 
 battles, the defeat of Gen. Braddock, and the exploits of his 
 martial relative, Capt. Israel Putnam, no doubt filled his 
 youthful mind with ardor, and led him while yet only in his 
 
 nineteenth year to enlist as a private soldier, in the company 
 2
 
 18 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 of Capt. Ebenezer Learned, consisting of one hundred men, 
 many of whom must have been his acquaintances or asso- 
 ciates. The term of service was a little short of a year, 
 commencing the 15th of March, 1757, and ending the 2d 
 day of February, 1758. By the 30th of April the de- 
 tachment was ready for marching, and that day left Brook- 
 field, on their route for Kinderhook, on the Hudson river, 
 about eighteen miles below Albany, which place they reached 
 on the 6th of May. 
 
 In this and his subsequent campaign, he turned the art of 
 writing, which he had with so much difficulty acquired, to a 
 useful purpose, by keeping a regular journal of the events 
 which took place ; and without this precaution would have 
 been lost or forgotten. He remarks that Capt. Learned 
 prayed regularly, night and morning, with his men, and on 
 the Sabbath read a sermon in addition a proof of the gen- 
 eral prevalence of piety amongst the New England people, 
 and which if more common in this day, would suppress much 
 of the profanity and wickedness so universal amongst the 
 soldiery of modern times. On the 18th of May, they left 
 Kinderhook, and marched the same day to Greenbush, 
 opposite the town of Albany. 
 
 On the 21st of May, the company moved to Seaghticoke, 
 a Dutch settlement on the banks of the Iloosack river, three 
 miles from the Hudson. It was deserted by the inhabitants 
 on account of the Indians, and now lies in the north-westerly 
 corner of Renssellaer county. 
 
 On the 9th of June, the detachment joined Col. Fry's 
 regiment, at Still water, a spot subsequently famous for the bat- 
 tles at Bemis' Heights, which turned the tide of Burgoyne's 
 success, and finally led to his surrender. On the llth they 
 marched to Saratoga, a place still more celebrated in military 
 history, for the conquest of his army, thirty years after this 
 time, in which Mr. Putnam ac*ted a conspicuous part.
 
 UUFTJS PUTNAM. 19 
 
 On the 14th of this month, Fry's regiment, composed of 
 seventeen companies of provincials, decamped, and on the 
 following day reached Fort Edward. This celebrated mili- 
 tary post, so often noticed in the events of the old French 
 war, was built two years before this time, and was now in 
 the pride of its strength. It stood on the east or left bank of 
 the Hudson river, about fifty-two miles above Albany, and 
 was constructed by a body of colonial troops under Gen. 
 Lyman, and named after Edward, Duke of York, the eldest 
 son of King George the Second, of England. It is thus 
 described in Mr. Putnam's journal : " The river washed one 
 side of its walls. The form was somewhat irregular; having 
 two bastions and two half bastions. The walls were high 
 and thick, composed of hewed timber a broad rampart, with 
 casements, or bomb-proofs a deep ditch with a draw-bridge 
 a covered way, glacis, &c." In an after note, he says, " I 
 have been particular in this description, because in 1777, 
 there was by no means so great an appearance of there hav- 
 ing been a fortification here as we find in the ancient 
 works at Marietta and other parts of the Ohio country." 
 It stood at the head of the carrying place, between the Hud- 
 son and Lake George, and also Wood creek, a tributary of 
 Lake Champlain. The village of Fort Edward stands near 
 the site of the old fort, and serves to perpetuate its name. 
 The tragical fate of Miss McCrea happened in this vicinity 
 in 1777. White Hall, at the head of the Lake, the port from 
 which steamboats now run to St. John, in Canada, was, in 
 the Revolutionary war, called Skenesborough ; and was 
 named after Moj. Skene, presently noticed by Mr. Putnam 
 in his journal. 
 
 Being determined to see as much as possible of the adven- 
 tures and hardships of a military life, he joined the corps of 
 Rangers, as a volunteer, and on the 8th of July, marched on 
 a scout under Lieut. Collins, with twenty-two men, to
 
 20 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 reconnoitre South Bay, the southerly extremity of Lake 
 Champlain, distant about twenty-five miles from Fort Ed- 
 ward. On the 9th, having approached, as they thought, near 
 the bay, the main party was halted, and three men, of whom 
 Mr. Putnam was one, sent forward to learn its situation. 
 Supposing it would occupy but a few hours, they loft their 
 blankets and provisions with the men that remained in camp. 
 It proved to be much further than they had anticipated, and 
 after fulfilling their orders, it was nearly night when they got 
 back to the encampment. Much to their vexation and disap- 
 pointment, they found that the lieutenant and his men, had 
 left the ground, carrying with them their blankets and pro- 
 visions. It seems that the leader had taken alarm at their 
 long absence, supposing them either killed or captured by 
 the Indians, and had hastily retreated in confusion. The 
 deserted Rangers fired their guns, to give notice of their 
 return, but no answering signal was heard. Two nights 
 were thus spent in the woods, exposed, without their blankets, 
 to the annoyance of gnats and musquitoes, which swarmed 
 in vast numbers over this humid region. The dress of the 
 Rangers was similar to that of the Indians, leaving their 
 thighs bare, and exposed to their attacks. They reached 
 Fort Edward on the llth, having been forty-eight hours 
 without food, thus realizing a little foretaste of a rangers 
 life. Lieut. Collins did not get in until the following 
 day, and confessed that he heard their signal guns, but 
 supposed them fired by the Indians. lie, however, by vari- 
 ous excuses, pacified Mr. Putnam and his comrades; yet he 
 remarks on the transaction. "It was extremely unsoldier- 
 like to leave us in the woods in the manner he did. If our 
 long absence gave cause of alarm, he ought to have with- 
 drawn but a short distance, placed himself in ambush, and 
 posted two men under cover to watch for our return, or 
 give notice of the approach of the enemy."
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 21 
 
 On the 23d of July, about eight o'clock in the morning, a 
 large party of Indians fired on the Carpenter*', or Mechanics' 
 Guard, within half a mile of the fort, and killed thirteen 
 men, with one missing. This was the first view he had of 
 Indian butchery; and says, "It was not very agreeable to 
 the feelings of a young soldier, and I think there are few 
 who can look on such scenes with indifference." In the 
 afternoon, two hundred and fifty men, under Capt. Israel 
 Putnam, were sent out in pursuit. They followed the trail 
 until sunset, when the main body was halted, and three 
 men, of whom Mr. Putnam was one, sent forward a mile or 
 more, with orders to secrete themselves near the trail until 
 after dark, watching closely for any scout that might be 
 sent back, "for," said the captain of the Rangers, "if they 
 do not embark to-night in their boats, they will send a party 
 back to see if they are pursued." They went as ordered, 
 but made no discovery. He remarks, "It was a maxim I 
 treasured up in my mind, as applicable, especially in the 
 woods, whether you are pursuing, or are pursued by the 
 enemy," and was the beginning of his military knowledge. 
 
 CAPTURE OF FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 
 
 THE Marquis de Montcalm, who commanded the French 
 forces in Canada, was a man of intelligence and vast enter- 
 prise. After one or two ineffectual attempts to surprise the 
 fort without the trouble of a regular siege, he finally con- 
 cluded to collect all the troops in his power, and set about 
 the work by regular approaches. This fort stood near the 
 head of Lake George, distant fourteen miles from Fort Ed- 
 ward, and seventy from Albany, and was built by Gen. 
 Johnson in 1755, who named it after one of the princes of 
 the reigning family. It was a square work, with four bas- 
 tions. The walls were made of timber, filled in with earth
 
 22 RUF US PUTNAM. 
 
 with a ditch on the outside; and was able, for a time, to re- 
 sist a cannonade or bombardment. Having arranged his 
 plan of operations, Monte aim came up the lake with a for- 
 midable array of boats; and on the 3d of August, 1757, 
 landed an army of ten thousand men, and a large body of 
 Indians, with a heavy train of artillery ; and immediately 
 commenced the siege. Col. Munroe, who commanded the 
 fort, had arrived only the day before, with his regiment, from 
 Fort Edward, to reinforce the garrison. He was a brave 
 man, and made the best defense in his power; but the 
 troops under his command were too few in number, to hold 
 out long against so formidable an attack. Many of his can- 
 non burst, and the ammunition failed. After a spirited de- 
 fense of six days, a capitulation was entered into for the 
 surrender of the fort and troops, on the 9th of August. 
 "About half a mile east of the fort, separated from it by a 
 swamp and creek, lay a body of fifteen hundred Provincials, 
 encamped within a low breastwork of logs. On these Mont- 
 calm made no serious attack; and they might at any time 
 have made their escape, by forcing their way through the 
 enemy posted in that quarter; but the next morning after 
 the surrender, or the 10th of August, as the Provincials were 
 paraded, to march to Fort Edward, agreeably to capitula- 
 tion, the Indians attacked them, and a horrid butchery en- 
 sued. Those who escaped with their lives were stripped 
 almost naked; many were lost in the woods, where they 
 wandered several days without food. One man. in particu- 
 lar, was out ten days; and there is reason to believe, that 
 some perished, especially the wounded. The number mur- 
 dered, and missing, was some hundreds. 
 
 "Gen. Webb lay, all the time of the siege, at Fort Ed- 
 ward, with not less than four thousand men, and for a con- 
 siderable part of the time with a larger number, by the 
 coming up of the Xcw York militia. He was informed.
 
 RUF US PUTNAM. 23 
 
 every day of the siege, by an express from Col. Munroe, 
 of the progress of affairs at the lake, and knew that the 
 enemy had made an attempt on the fortified camp of the Pro- 
 vincials. It was the opinion of many officers, that he might 
 have relieved the fort, and that he was much to blame for 
 not attempting it. The general opinion amongst the sol- 
 diers was, that he was a coward; for he took no care to 
 bury the men butchered in the manner mentioned, or to seek 
 for the wounded, should there be any living among the dead. 
 I was on the ground a short time after, and saw the dead 
 bodies as much neglected as if they had been wild beasts.'' 
 (M.-v\. Jouu.) lie remarks, that the Provincials lost all 
 confidence in Gen. Webb, and many of them left the 
 army, and returned home. He was himself, at one time, 
 being under great excitement at the dastardly conduct of 
 Webb, on the point of leaving, but was providentially pre- 
 vented. 
 
 On the 8th of October, the campaign being closed for that 
 year, the Provincials, who composed the corps of Rangers, 
 were discharged. He, however, continued to do camp duty 
 some days longer, and then attached himself to a company 
 of artisans, who were employed, until the 10th of Novem- 
 ber, in completing the defenses of Fort Edward. On that 
 day, the remnant of Col. Frye's regiment, himself, and the 
 larger portion of his men, having been captured at Fort 
 William Henry, marched down to the Half-moon, a post 
 twelve miles above Albany. His providentially joining the 
 Rangers, no doubt, saved him from participating in this 
 slaughter and captivity. 
 
 On the 18th of November, three hundred and sixty men 
 of the detachment were drafted into four companies, and 
 ordered to different posts for winter quarters. This was a 
 vexations disappointment, as the Provincials expected to be
 
 24 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 discharged at the close of the campaign, although, accord- 
 ing to their enlistment, they were to serve until the 2d day 
 of February, 1758. 
 
 Capt. Learned 1 s company, to which Mr. Putnam be- 
 longed, was ordered up to Stillwater, on the east side of 
 the Hudson; while he and several other mechanics were de- 
 tained and employed in completing the king's works at the 
 Half-moon, until the 29th of December. 
 
 The 1st of January, 1758, was celebrated by the men in 
 great festivity, with an earnest looking forward to Candle- 
 mas, or 2d of February, as the period of their release from 
 servitude. 
 
 From the movements of the commander of the stockaded 
 garrison, Capt. Skene, afterward major, and proprietor 
 of Skenesborough, they began to suspect he intended to 
 retain them in service beyond the time of their enlistment. 
 The Provincials were quartered in huts by themselves, a 
 short distance from the post, which was guarded by a com- 
 pany of British regulars. Having decided on making a 
 push for home, as soon as they considered themselves fairly 
 at liberty, previous arrangements were made for the jour- 
 ney, by preparing snow shoes for each man, as there was 
 no possibility of marching through the woods, where the 
 snow was three or four feet deep, without this ingeniously 
 contrived Indian apparatus, which had been adopted by the- 
 Xew Englanders from them. Capt. Learned, who had just 
 returned from a furlough to Massachusetts, when made ac- 
 quainted with the design of his men, approved of their plan, 
 and said he would lead them, unless he could procure their 
 regular discharge. Mr. Putnam observes on this transac- 
 tion, that he thought well of the captain at the time, but 
 had since learned, that for an oflicer to desert his post is 
 unpardonable. 
 
 On tho 2d of February, Capt. Skene ordered the Provin-
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 25 
 
 cials into the fort, and read a letter from Gen. Abercrombie, 
 directing him to persuade the Massachusetts men under his 
 command, to tarry a few days, until he could hear from that 
 government, and know their intentions in regard to them. 
 To this they replied, that he is a good soldier who serves 
 his full time, and that the province had no farther concern 
 with them; neither would they remain any longer. Capt. 
 Skcne threatened them with death if they departed without 
 a regular discharge, and ordered them back to their bar- 
 racks. He, however, took no forcible measures to detain 
 them, nor did he search their huts for the snow-shoes, which 
 they took the precaution to secrete under the snow. Their 
 huts were sheltered by a high bank, out of sight of the fort, 
 which screened their movements from observation. 
 
 Firm to their purpose, about three o'clock in the morning 
 of the 3d of February, they marched off as silently as pos- 
 sible, seventy in number, under the command of Capt. 
 Learned and Lieut. Walker; leaving Lieut. Brown, and a 
 few invalids, who did not choose to join them. After leav- 
 ing their barracks, they had a level piece of intervale, bor- 
 dering the Hudson, about half a mile wide to cross, exposed 
 to the artillery of the fort, had they been discovered by the 
 sentinels, which was the reason of their departure in the 
 night. They did not fear any opposition from the men in 
 the garrison in the open field, as they outnumbered them. 
 As to provisions for the march, they had provided as well as 
 they could, by saving a portion of their daily rations for a 
 week or two previous, and had hoarded up in this way, two 
 or three days' allowance. The distance to Iloosack fort, as 
 it was called, a small stockaded garrison belonging to Mas- 
 sachusetts, was thirty miles, and was allotted for two days 
 march. The snow in the woods was deeper than expected, 
 and made the traveling laborious for the leading men of 
 the file, while those who followed after had a pretty firm
 
 26 BUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 path. The second day of the march was in a snow storm ; 
 nevertheless, they bore manfully on, directing their course 
 for Hoosack river, which was to be their guide to the fort; 
 but during the snow storm they became bewildered, and fall- 
 ing on a westerly branch, instead of the main stream, it led 
 them far out of their course, and at night they encamped 
 without reaching their desired haven. Two turkeys were 
 killed during the day, which aided their scanty stock of food. 
 On the third day's march, they decamped very early, confi- 
 dent of reaching the fort before noon, but mid-day passed 
 by, and the night arrived without the sight of it. One tur- 
 key was killed, and the camp formed with heavy hearts; 
 which was done by kindling fires against a fallen tree, and 
 lying down on the snow with their blankets, in the open air. 
 Their provision was now nearly spent, and they were led, 
 reluctantly, to believe, that they were actually lost in the 
 woods. Several of the men, from the extreme severity of 
 the weather, had frozen their feet ; and one had lost a snow 
 shoe by breaking through the ice. 
 
 On the fourth day the march was continued up the stream 
 until noon, when they concluded to alter their course. This 
 branch of the Hoosack, it seems, led up into the Xew 
 Hampshire grants, afterward Vermont, where the town of 
 Bennington was subsequently built. The direction of the 
 march, by the advice of Capt. Learned, was now about 
 south-east, over a hilly broken region, and the sun wont 
 down as they reached the top of a high mountain, which 
 appeared to be the water shed, or dividing ridge between 
 the streams which fell into the Hudson and Connecticut 
 rivers. The weather was excessively cold, and the snow 
 five feet deep. On the morning of the fifth day, after a 
 very uncomfortable night, thirty of the men, IMr. Putnam 
 being one of them, breakfasted on a small turkey, without 
 salt or bread. After traveling about five miles thev fell on a
 
 KUFUS PUTNAM. 27 
 
 small branch, running south-cast, down which they followed 
 until several tributaries had enlarged it, by night, to a con- 
 siderable river. All this day they had no food but the buds 
 of the beech trees, and a few bush cranberries. At night 
 they encamped, weary and faint, but not disheartened. 
 The sixth day's march was continued along the course of 
 the river discovered the day before, which none of them 
 knew the name of, in a broken, hilly region, not very favor- 
 able to the point of compass they wished to follow. The 
 weather was cold and stormy, while the men were so feeble 
 and lame from frozen feet, that only a few were able to 
 lead the trail, and break the path in the snow. By march- 
 ing on the frozen river, the lame men found a smooth path, 
 or it is probable some of them would have perished. At 
 night they encamped by tens in a mess. As it happened they 
 had with them one dog, and only one. He was large and 
 fat. At night it was concluded to kill him for supper. This 
 was done, and his body divided into seven portions, or one 
 part to every ten men, the entrails falling to the butcher as 
 his fee; and as he belonged to Mr. Putnam's mess, they 
 made their supper on the fat. On the morning of the sev- 
 enth day, his men breakfasted on one of the feet, and a 
 hind leg cut off at the gambrel joint, which being pounded 
 and roasted in the embers, so as to separate the bones of 
 the foot, made quite a palatable viand to a hungry stomach. 
 That day the party confined their march to the river, and 
 about noon came to a spot where some trees had been 
 recently cut for some shingles. This was the first sign of 
 inhabitants they had seen, and it revived their drooping 
 spirits. At sunset one of the men noticed a small stream 
 putting in on the left bank, which he recognized as Pelham 
 brook, and that Hawk's fort, on Decrfield river, was not 
 more than three miles distant. This latter river is a branch 
 of the Connecticut.
 
 28 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Their leader now ordered two men to go forward to the 
 fort, and make provision for the arrival of the party in the 
 morning, which was a wise measure, and directed the most 
 active men to make fires for the more feeble and lame ones, 
 as they came up, which happily they all did by dark. That 
 night Putnam's mess supped on the thigh bone of the dog, 
 made into soup, with a small bit of pork and a little ginger, 
 which made a very palatable dish. \Vith respect to the 
 flesh of a dog, he observes, "since the experience of that 
 day, I have believed it to be very good meat, and could cat 
 it at any time without disgust." This goes to confirm the 
 experience of Lewis and Clark's men in their journey over 
 the Rocky mountains, who lived on it for weeks, and pre- 
 ferred it to any other meat. 
 
 On the eighth day's march, which was the 10th of Feb- 
 ruary, early in the forenoon, they met some men from the 
 fort, coming to their relief with slices of bread and meat, to 
 appease their appetites and enable them to reach the post, 
 where they were received with great kindness. Many of 
 the men were badly frozen, and nearly exhausted with 
 hunger. As a proof of the vigor of his frame, Mr. Putnam 
 carried the pack of a sick man in addition to his own, and 
 was always one of the leaders in breaking the path ; 
 although he felt the cravings of hunger, yet never failed in 
 vigor or activity. One cause of this he attributes to the 
 use of a litlle honey, which one of his mess had in a bottle, 
 about a pound weight. Into this limin] battle, each man 
 dipped the end of a rod and put to his mouth, and not like 
 Jonathan into a Ji'itinj cnmb. 
 
 On the Ifith of February, he arrived at his former home, 
 very thankful for his preservation amidst so many dangers. 
 Cap!, [.earned was much censured for his conduct, and 
 was not again commissioned during the war. 
 
 After pas/ing the remainder of the winter at home, and
 
 KUFUS PUTNAM. 29 
 
 forgetting the sufferings of the last campaign, he again 
 enlisted in the provincial service, for another tour of 
 duty, in Capt. Joseph Whitcomb's company, and Col. Rug- 
 gles' regiment. The war, thus far, had been a continued 
 scene of disasters, and disgrace to the crown; one anny 
 after another had been defeated or captured, and the French 
 were in a fair way of overrunning the British possessions in 
 America; and although the number of inhabitants in the 
 Canadas was not more than one quarter as great as that of 
 the colonies, yet their military commanders were much 
 more able and energetic than the British, and carried con- 
 quest and victory wherever they turned their arms. 
 
 The regiment to which he was attached, rendezvoused at 
 Northampton, in Massachusetts, and marched for Albany 
 on the 3d of June. On the Gth, they passed Pantoosac 
 fort, a small post on the Hoosack river, then within the 
 boundaries of the province of Massachusetts. This was 
 the station that Capt. Learned expected to reach on the 
 second day after his unmilitary and disastrous desertion of 
 his post at Stillwater, on the 2d of February. On the 8th, 
 the regiment arrived at Grcenbush, opposite to Albany. 
 " From Northampton street to this place was through a 
 wilderness, with but one house in the whole distance, except 
 the little fort above mentioned." This was in the year 
 1758 ; since that time vast changes have taken place in this 
 region, and the railroad, in a few hours, would transport 
 the whole regiment over the distance which occupied live 
 days of steady marching. 
 
 On the 12th of June, he was detached with about eighty 
 other artisans from the regiment under Lieut. Pool, and 
 ordered on to the head of Lake George to erect works, in 
 advance of the army. On the 5th of July, the troops being, 
 assembled, embarked in batteaux. amounting to seventeen 
 thousand men, under the command of Gen. Abercrombie,
 
 30 KUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Lord Howe, the second in command, Gen. Gage, the third, 
 and Col. Bradstreet, quarter-master-gencral. The com- 
 mander-in-chief was an old man, and entirely unfit for the 
 post, as was proved by the result of the campaign. The 
 army had but little respect for his abilities; while on the 
 contrary, Lord Howe was their idol, and in him they placed 
 their utmost confidence. He was remarkably easy and 
 affable in his manners, mixing familiarly with the mechan- 
 ics and common soldiers, inquiring into their condition and 
 wants, displaying a real interest in their welfare, very 
 different from those generally in high authority. This won 
 the regard of the troops, and they would undergo any sac- 
 rifice at his bidding. Gen. Gage never acquired much rep- 
 utation as a commander, and the furious Bradstreet was 
 hated by all the army. The batteaux moved down the 
 lake until evening, when the troops landed at Sabbath- 
 day Point for refreshment, and then rowed all night. On 
 the Cth they disembarked at the northern extremity of Lake 
 George, in two divisions, one on each side of the outlet. 
 On the approach of the division on the right bank, a 
 detachment of the enemy stationed there, retired without 
 firing a gun. That division of the army on the left bank, 
 was under the command of Lord Howe, and on its advance 
 was met by a skirmishing party of the French, who, very 
 unfortunately for the British, killed Lord Howe in the early 
 part of the engagement. His death struck a damp on the 
 spirits of the whole army, and no doubt had an influence 
 in causing the defeat which followed. Mr. Putnam was 
 left in charge of the boats, but soon volunteered his service 
 in the attack on the works, and joined his regiment, which 
 was posled with Col. Ly man's, of Connecticut, on the west 
 of the mills, and was busily employed in erecting a breast- 
 work. The attack on the fort at Ticonderoga, began at 
 twelve o'clock, and was continued without intermission for
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 31 
 
 several hours, without making any impression. At length 
 the ammunition of the regular troops was exhausted, and 
 a call was made on the Provincials to forward them a sup- 
 ply. Mr. Putnam again volunteered in this service, \\hen 
 they approached the scene of action, they found that the 
 attacked troops had been effectually repulsed in their 
 attempt to storm the enemy's lines, but did not consider it 
 a total defeat, as it finally proved to be. Col. liugglcs-' 
 regiment remained in their breast-work until midnight 
 unmolested, and then retreated to the shore of the lake, 
 where they had landed on the 6th. On the morning of the 
 9th, Ruggles found his regiment in the rear of the army, 
 which had retreated in the night, leaving them with the 
 Rangers of the other regiment of Provincials near the 
 French lines. In the forenoon of that day, all the troops 
 embarked and returned to the south end of the lake, closing 
 Gen. Abercrombie's expedition, which commenced with such 
 high hopes, under a cloud of disgrace, and a loss of fifteen 
 hundred men, in killed and wounded. Ticonderoga fort 
 was protected on three of its sides by water, and on the 
 other for some distance in front extended a morass; the 
 remainder w r as fortified with a breast-work, eight feet high, 
 and planted with artillery. In addition to which the ground 
 for one hundred yards in front, was covered with abatis. 
 After reconnoitering the works, the engineer sent on this 
 important duty, was so stupid as to report to the commander 
 that they might be carried by musketry. The difficulty of 
 advancing artillery over the morass and broken ground in 
 front, led to the adopting of this fatal advice, and the defeat 
 of the army. The post was defended by about four thou- 
 sand men, and although their actual assailants amounted 
 to twelve or fifteen thousand, and the attack lasted for more 
 than four hours, yet they could make no impression on the 
 garrison. The loss must have been greater than actually
 
 32 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 estimated, as twenty-five hundred stands of arms were 
 picked up by the French. Mr. Putnam remarks that " when 
 he subsequently became acquainted with the strength of 
 the works and the mode of attack, he considered it the 
 most injudicious and wanton sacrifice of men, that ever 
 came within his knowledge or reading." 
 
 Nothing farther of an offensive nature was attempted in 
 that quarter, by Abercrombie, this season. A fort was com- 
 menced 011 the ground occupied by the fortified camp of the 
 Provincials, in 1757, during the siege and capture of Fort 
 William Henry, which was called Fort George, and stood 
 half a mile east of that unfortunate garrison. On the 22d 
 of July, the regiment to which he belonged was ordered to 
 Fort Edward, and the men employed in repairing the roads 
 from that post to Albany, until the 29th of October, when 
 they were discharged. 
 
 On the 9th of November, he arrived at Sutton, his native 
 place, where he passed the winter. On this campaign, in 
 after life, he has these remarks : " Tims was I carried through 
 a second campaign, enjoy ing uninterrupted health, the friend- 
 ship of my officers, and never charged with a fault. But, 
 alas ! in my journal, I cannot find any acknowledgment to 
 my divine Benefactor and Preserver, nor do I recollect that 1 
 had any serious reflections on the subject." This is in accor- 
 dance with the natural heart, but when it becomes touched 
 with the influences of the Holy Spirit, it is ready and wil- 
 ling to acknowledge its obligations to its rightful Lord and 
 Benefactor. 
 
 On the 2d of April, 1759, he decided on again entering the 
 military service, and enlisted into Capt. John Fibley's com- 
 pany, as a substitute for Moses Leland, who had been drafted 
 into the army, but did not wish to serve. For this enlistment 
 he received fourteen pounds, thirteen shillings, Massachusetts 
 currency, or forty-five dollars, fifty cents. The original receipt
 
 RUPUS PUTNAM. 33 
 
 yet remains in the Leland family. He was finally transferred 
 to Capt. William Page's company, of Ilardvvick, in the bat- 
 talion of Lieut. Col. Ingersol, in Col. Ruggles' regiment ; and 
 was now advanced to the post of orderly sergeant; marching 
 with the army by the old route, to the south end of Lake 
 George. 
 
 On the 21st of July, they embarked in batteaux under thr- 
 command of Gen. Amherst, " a sagacious, humane and ex- 
 perienced commander." Mr. Putnam notices his kindness 
 and attention to the welfare of the common soldiers, as 
 highly commendable. On the 22d, they landed at the outlet 
 of the lake, in nearly the same numbers, as of last year, 
 without meeting with any opposition. The following day 
 they took possession of the breastworks, where they were so 
 signally repulsed the year before, with little opposition, 
 and thinks the loss of so many lives in the previous attack, 
 attributable to the rashness of Col. Bradstreet. On the 
 24th, they began to open their trenches for a regular siege 
 and bombardment of Fort Ticonderoga. This was a regu- 
 lar, strongly built, stone fort, erected by the French in 1756. 
 and capable of resisting any common attack. The French 
 had kept up a regular discharge of artillery, since the 23d. 
 while their enemies were erecting their works for the batte- 
 ries. That night, before any serious attack had been made, 
 the garrison silently evacuated the fort, and embarked on 
 the lake for Crown Point, a strong post, ten or twelve miles 
 lower down on the west side of Lake Champlain. About 
 three o 'clock in the morning of the 27th the fort blew up. 
 with a tremendous explosion. The French did not make any 
 resistance at Crown Point, but proceeded on down the lake 
 to Montreal. The cause of their sudden desertion of these 
 strong posts, was the news of General Wolf's approach to 
 Quebec, so that no aid could be sent them from below ; and 
 
 rather than be captured they abandoned their positions. 
 3
 
 34 RUtf US PUTNAM. 
 
 Thus terminated the third campaign, in which Mr. Putnam 
 had been engaged, with the total demolition of the French 
 power on the lakes George and Champlain, leading to their 
 final expulsion from North America. This was a glorious 
 conquest for the British arms, in which the Provincials 
 shared largely ; but the greater good to them was the check 
 it gave to the incursions of the savages, who for more than 
 a century had invaded their frontier, assisted and encouraged 
 with supplies of arms and ammunition from the French, 
 plundering, murdering, and carrying into captivity their 
 exposed inhabitants, from Maine to Pennsylvania. 
 
 As the army was about to leave Ticonderoga in pursuit, 
 greatly to his disappointment and vexation, he was ordered 
 by the brigadier-general to remain and superintend the 
 building of a saw-mill, at the lower falls on the outlet of 
 Lake George, where it debouches into a bay of Lake Cham- 
 plain. After the mills were completed, he obtained a pass 
 to go to Crown Point, where his regiment then lay. When 
 he arrived there, instead of going into the lines, he was or- 
 dered by Maj. Skene, the superintendent of the works then 
 building for the enlargement of the garrison, to labor as a 
 carpenter on the block-houses, promising him the full wages 
 for such work. After a few days he was ordered back to 
 oversee the operations of the saw-mills, and retained until 
 the 1st of December, some months after the discharge of 
 his regiment. The engineer of the army, whose name is 
 not given, when he was finally discharged, would not allow 
 him the dollar a day as had been promised by Col. Robin- 
 son, the quartermaster-general, but turned him off with 
 fifteen pence, the pay of a private soldier ; putting, no doubt, 
 the extra pay justly due him into his own pocket. 
 
 On the 1st, in company with Col. Miller, Capt. T.ite and 
 others, eleven in number, he embarked on Lake George, to 
 go up to the southerly end, in two batteaux. Expecting to
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 35 
 
 reach Fort George the next day, they took but little pro- 
 vision. But the wind failing them, they passed the night 
 four miles north of Sabbath-day Point, a noted head-land. 
 On the 2d, the wind arose to a perfect storm, with intense 
 cold, so that they were confined to the shore, and could not 
 move at all. On the 3d, their provisions were expended. 
 The wind and cold continued, and their situation was be- 
 coming alarming ; but in rambling along the shore one of 
 the men found an old provision bag, with about a dozen 
 pounds of salted pork, which, with some damaged flour, 
 brought by Col. Miller to feed two horses he had on board, 
 made into dumplings, served well for that day. The 4th 
 day was calm and they again embarked, but one of the boats 
 being leaky, the ice formed so thick and heavy in it, that it 
 was abandoned and the whole party entered the single boat. 
 This additional burthen loaded her down within two or three 
 inches of the top of her sides, and the least agitation of the 
 water would have filled her. But, providentially, it remained 
 calm all day, and they reached the fort at sunset without 
 any accident. From thence he returned to Brookfield, in 
 Massachusetts, on the 16th of December. 
 
 Disgusted with the treatment he had received in the ser- 
 vice, in removing him from the duties of an orderly sergeant 
 and placing him among the artisans, without any extra pay 
 for his labor, he concluded not to engage any further in the 
 army. The post of orderly sergeant is well calculated to 
 improve the soldier in a knowledge of military duty, which 
 appears to have been his object and aim that he might finally 
 be promoted. It was a good school to prepare him by these 
 trials, for the life intended for him by Providence. Beginning 
 thus in the ranks, when he finally became a commander, he 
 knew well what to require from the private soldier. Nearly 
 all the famous marshals of Napoleon rose to this distin- 
 guished honor from privates, solely by their merit. He seems
 
 36 EUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 early to have acquired the respect and confidence of those 
 under his command, and several anecdotes are related of 
 their implicit obedience to his orders. 
 
 The winter of 1759 was passed in New Braintree, working 
 on a small farm of fifty acres, which he had purchased 
 from the avails of his wages and bounty. 
 
 In March, 1760, orders were issued by the Provincial Gov- 
 ernment to raise troops for another campaign. At the first 
 muster of the militia he enrolled himself in the company of 
 that town, and was by Capt. Page, presented with recruiting 
 orders from Col. Ruggles. His well known character for 
 bravery and soldierly conduct, enabled him to recruit very 
 successfully. While occupied in this service he received a 
 commission as ensign, in Col. Willard's regiment, Ruggles 
 having been promoted to a brigadier. On the 2d of June 
 he left recruiting and set out for the army, taking with him 
 one of the men as a waiter, and joined his company, which 
 had marched some time previous, under Capt. Thomas Be- 
 man, at Ticonderoga, on the 18th. Here he found four com- 
 panies of Provincials. His own was stationed at the land- 
 ing on the outlet of Lake George, where they remained to 
 the end of the campaign, and he was thus deprived of the 
 honor of partaking in the fatigues of the siege and capture 
 of the garrison at Isle au Noix, which opened the way for 
 the junction of the three British armies before Montreal, and 
 caused its surrender on the 8th of September, thus com- 
 pleting the conquest of Canada. On the 19th of November 
 his company was discharged at Ticonderoga, and on the 
 20th they crossed Lake Champlain, and began their march 
 through the wilderness, by way of Otter creek, to Number 
 Four, on the Connecticut river, a place often noticed in the 
 early history of the country, and distant eighty miles from 
 the lake ; which place they reached on the 25th. On the 1st 
 of December he arrived at his home in New Braintree.
 
 KUFUS PUTNAM. 37 
 
 In 1761, there being no further call for military service, he 
 resumed his old employment of building milla and farming, 
 which he followed for seven or eight years. After which 
 time, to the period of the Revolution, he was engaged in prac- 
 tical surveying for the neighboring landholders in that and the 
 adjacent towns. This art he acquired under the direction of 
 Col. Timothy Dwight, of Northampton, the father of Presi- 
 dent Dwight, of Yale College. The book chiefly, and perhaps 
 only studied, was Love's Art of Surveying, printed in Lon- 
 don in 17G8, and now in the family. He was one of the 
 best writers on that subject. Geometry was acquired from 
 the same source, to which he also added the study of navi- 
 gation. His own natural mechanical cast of mind, and 
 habits of close observation, soon enabled him to practice the 
 art of surveying with great accuracy and deserved credit. 
 Mr. Putnam was a practical, matter-of-fact man, in whatever 
 branch he engaged. First a mill-wright, then a soldier, next 
 a surveyor, and finally an engineer; the principles of all 
 which he acquired from a very few books, with but little in- 
 struction, and intent, close study of the subject before him. 
 When a soldier, he stored his mind with military maxims, 
 and a strict observance of discipline, which enabled him in 
 after life to win the approbation of his superiors, and the 
 love and good will of his equals, as well as of all under his 
 charge. 
 
 In April, 1761, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Ayers, 
 daughter of William Ayers, Esq., of Brookfield, an exten- 
 sive landholder, and one of the first families in the place. 
 In November following his wife died in childbed, leaving to 
 the sorrowing father a little son, which God in his providence 
 saw fit also to remove the following year. Nevertheless he 
 bore these privations without murmuring against his Maker, 
 and was enabled to ascribe righteousness to the Lord. 
 
 In January. 1765, he was again married to Miss Pcivis
 
 38 RUFUS PUTNA.M. 
 
 Rice, daughter of Zebulon Rice, of Westborough, Massachu- 
 setts, with whom he lived in great harmony and happiness 
 more than fifty-five years, and raised a numerous family of 
 children. After this marriage he settled in the north parish of 
 Brookfield, on a small farm of fifty acres, where his family 
 resided during the war, until the year 1780, when he pur- 
 chased a large farm and capacious dwelling-house in the 
 town of Rutland. It was one of those confiscated estates 
 belonging to the Tories, who had deserted their country and 
 joined in league with the enemy for the subjugation of the 
 Whigs. However we may now consider the justice of the 
 policy pursued by our forefathers in those turbulent days, 
 there is no doubt they considered it strictly honest and right 
 to devote to the use of the country, the property of those 
 who had thus unnaturally deserted the land which gave them 
 birth; and turned their hands, like parricides, against their 
 own fathers and brothers. Many enormities were then prac- 
 ticed by the Whigs as well as the Tories, under the excitement 
 of party feelings, which time, and a more cool consideration 
 of right and wrong, leads us to condemn. 
 
 In the year 1772, Gen. Lyman, one of the Provincial 
 officers, returned from England, where he had been detained 
 several years, in soliciting the British government for a 
 grant of land to the colonial officers and soldiers, who had 
 served in the late war against France. Soon after this, a 
 meeting of the adventurers was notified to be held at Hart- 
 ford, Connecticut, the same year. At this meeting the 
 general informed them that an order was passed by the 
 king in council, authorizing the governor of W T est Florida 
 to grant lands in that province in the same proportion and 
 manner as given to his majesty's regular troops. Soon 
 after the war was closed, in the year 1763, three new gov- 
 ernments, or provinces, were established in their newly 
 acquired American possessions, called by the names of
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 39 
 
 Quebec, East Florida and West Florida; and an order was 
 passed by the king and council, giving to the British troops 
 engaged in the war, grants of land in these provinces; and 
 the governors were ordered to make the donations in the 
 following proportions, of any unoccupied tracts, viz.: To 
 a person of the rank of a field officer, five thousand acres; 
 to a captain, three thousand acres; to a subaltern or staff 
 officer, two thousand acres ; to a non-commissioned officer, 
 two hundred acres; and to a private man, fifty acres. 
 The same was also granted to the officers and men in the 
 navy; but nothing was said of any grant to the Provincial 
 officers and soldiers, many of whom had served during the 
 whole war, and were as justly entitled to the benefit as the 
 regular troops. But the crown seems always to have felt a 
 coldness and want of regard for the interests of the colonists ; 
 treating them much more like menials and aliens than real 
 subjects and children of the realm. One reason of this 
 might have been their great distance from home, and the 
 consideration of their dissenting and Puritan principles, no 
 way in accordance with the established religion of the king- 
 dom. It was with reluctance that the promise was made to 
 Gen. Lyman, or they would not have been so long in grant- 
 ing it, and even then he brought no written document to 
 substantiate the grant ; but his word was so far credited that 
 the. meeting resolved to explore the lands, and appointed 
 a committee for that purpose, of which Mr. Putnam was 
 one. 
 
 On the 10th of December he left home on the mission to 
 Florida, passing through Brookline. Connecticut, to accom- 
 pany Col. Israel Putnam, who was another of the exploring 
 committee. They took shipping at Norwich, and arrived at 
 New York on the 20th of the month. The 10th of January. 
 1773, they sailed from the city on board the sloop Missis- 
 sippi, chartered by the associates of The Military Company
 
 40 RTJFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 of Adventurers, as the company was styled. The exploring 
 committee consisted of Col. Israel Putnam, Capt. Enos, Mr. 
 Thaddeus Lyman and Rufus Putnam, accompanied by Dan- 
 iel Putnam, a son of the colonel, and a hired man. On the 
 30th of January they arrived at Cape JNichola Mole, a 
 port in the north-west part of the island of Hispaniola. 
 The harbor is an open bay, exposed to the north winds. 
 The town contained about three hundred houses, situated in 
 a mountainous portion of the island, with no plantations 
 near it. He gives no particulars of the voyage, from the 
 effects of sea sickness. Leaving the port, they sailed to 
 Montego bay, on the north side of Jamaica; and the 9th 
 took their departure for the bay of Pensacola, steering a 
 westerly course. On the llth Mr. Putnam took an observa- 
 tion of the latitude, and found it to be 19 10' north. On 
 the 12th, at night, they narrowly escaped shipwreck, by run- 
 ning on to a low sandy island, called the Grand Command- 
 ers. On the 18th, doubled Cape Antonio, the west end of 
 Cuba, and steered north-west. From the 21st to the 25th, 
 the weather was very stormy, and on the latter day extremely 
 cold for this climate ; and when he returned to New England, 
 found that this day was called " the cold Tuesday," showing 
 the extensive range of this great depression of temperature. 
 On the 28th they had soundings at forty -five fathoms, and 
 soon after the first land made was their desired port, which 
 was rather extraordinary after such tempestuous weather. 
 On the 1st of March they entered the bay of Pensacola, and 
 anchored at some distance from the town, the water being 
 very shoal, and landed from their boat. Gov. Chester 
 and his council treated them very kindly, but no order for 
 granting lands to the Provincials had yet arrived. This was 
 a discouraging circumstance, but the hope that it might yet 
 arrive, and a proposal being made of granting lands to the 
 company on terms already within the governor's power,
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 41 
 
 induced the committee to decide on proceeding to reconnoi- 
 ter the country on the Mississippi, and make such surveys 
 as they thought proper. For this purpose Mr. Putnam was 
 commissioned by Gov. Chester, as a deputy surveyor of the 
 province of West Florida, which commission is now in the 
 possession of his son. The town of Pensacola, he says, 
 contained about one hundred and fifty houses ; and the 
 country around, when viewed from the top of the state- 
 house, is covered with a pitch pine forest. The surface of 
 the earth is a white sand, and a few miles back bears a 
 scanty supply of scrubby oaks, walnut and sassafras. 
 
 On the 18th of March they left the bay of Pensacola, and 
 steered for the mouth of the Mississippi. As they approached 
 the father of American rivers, the broad surface of turbid, 
 clay-colored, fresh water, floating for many leagues on the 
 top of the salt water, led them to think they were running 
 on to a sandy beach. However, they soon discovered their 
 mistake, and continued their course into the clay-colored 
 water. The surface was fresh for several feet down, but on 
 sinking the bucket beyond a certain depth it brought up 
 salt water. On the 20th of March, at five o'clock, P. M., 
 the sloop anchored just off the mouth of the river, with the 
 block-house, on Mud island, bearing north-west. In the 
 night a gale from the north drove the .sloop from her 
 anchorage, and she did not regain her position under 
 twenty-four hours. Soon after a Spanish schooner anchored 
 near them, and sent her boat on board asking for provisions. 
 They stated that forty days ago, they were lying at anchor 
 near where the sloop now lay, when a north wind drove 
 them to sea as far as the bay of Campeche. and they had 
 not been able to regain their lost ground until now. On 
 this he remarks, " How different our fortune ! In the passage 
 from Cape St. Antonio to Pensacola, in crossing the same 
 bay, we had to conflict with storms and contrary winds for
 
 42 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 five days, lying at the mercy of the currents to carry us we 
 knew not whither ; yet Providence conducted us directly to 
 our desired port!" Thus acknowledging the kindness of 
 that God in whom he trusted all the days of his life. 
 
 On the 22d of March they entered the Mississippi river, 
 and proceeded up about ten miles from the mud bank at 
 the mouth of the ship channel, called the French Balize. 
 On the bar they found twelve feet of water. Here they 
 were wind-bound for several days, and Mr. Putnam occupied 
 the time in surveying the delta at the mouth, with the several 
 outlets. As it will be very interesting to compare this survey 
 with the present condition of the delta, and see the encroach- 
 ment it has made on the gulf in the period of seventy- three 
 years, which is doubtless very great, a plan of that survey 
 is annexed, copied from the one made by Mr. Putnam, and 
 preserved among his manuscripts relating to that explora- 
 tion. There is also a plan of the Mississippi, as high up 
 as they ascended, taken by measurement of each day's 
 progress, and the meanders of the river. His well known 
 accuracy in surveys of this kind, would make his old sketches 
 a valuable acquisition to science, to show the changes that 
 have taken place in this ever wandering stream. 
 
 On the 26th they passed the first plantation, thirty-five 
 miles from the mouth, on the left bank. On the 28th, passed 
 the plantation of Mons. de la Loira, about sixty-five miles 
 above the mouth, which in the largest yet seen, and contained 
 three hundred and twenty acres, French measure, and sixteen 
 negro slaves. This man, while under the French govern- 
 ment, valued his possession at twelve thousand pounds ; but 
 now. under the Spanish rule, was not worth more than one- 
 third of that sum. lie was seventy-two years old, and said 
 he was the first man born in Louisiana. He also stated 
 that Ihe river at that place never rose or fell over eight feet, 
 and commonly only Jive or six feet, but that higher up it was
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 43 
 
 different. Mr. Putnam observed that the French inhabitants 
 looked as healthy in this settlement as the people of the 
 northern colonies. On the 30th of March, they passed the 
 English reach, and came to against a high bank, three 
 miles below New Orleans, where they found several English 
 and other vessels, waiting for trade ; not being allowed by 
 the Spaniards to lie at, or opposite the town. In coming up 
 he took the courses and estimated the distances, making from 
 the mud bank at the mouth, eighty-five and three-fourth miles 
 to the English reach, and from thence fourteen miles to 
 New Orleans, which, added together, make ninety-nine and 
 three-fourth miles. Thus far, he says, the river was about 
 half a mile wide, with a gentle current. With the wind in a 
 southerly quarter, a vessel could make the passage to Eng- 
 lish reach in a short time. At this point the river was seven 
 hundred and fifteen yards wide, and seventy fathoms deep. 
 On the 8th of April, the captain of the sloop refused to pro- 
 ceed any further up the river, and the committee embarked 
 in a small bateau; making use of oars, and a sail when the 
 wind was favorable. He still continued, as they proceeded, 
 every day, to take the courses and distances as before. On 
 the llth, they reached the Acadia settlement, seventy-one 
 miles above New Orleans. It was composed of the inhabit- 
 ants of Nova Scotia, removed to this place by the English in 
 1754, on the conquest of that country. They passed one day 
 with the Acadians, and were treated hospitably. On the 
 13th, passed an Indian village of twenty warriors. On the 
 15th, they passed the river Iberville, so called in the treaty 
 of 17G3, at the head of the island of Orleans; and is one 
 hundred, eighteen and a half miles from the town of New 
 Orleans. It is a small outlet of the Mississippi, and was dry 
 at the time of their passage. In high water it fills, and runs 
 eastward, discharging its waters, with the river Amite, into 
 the lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain, forming the island of
 
 44 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Orleans. This outlet was subsequently called Bayou Man- 
 chac. On the island side of the outlet was a Spanish 
 garrison, with an officer and ten men. On the English side, 
 called Manchac, was a small village, with good gardens, but 
 no soldiers. A mile and a half above, was a village of Ala- 
 bama Indians, on the left bank. On the 18th they passed 
 Baton Rouge, fourteen miles above Manchac. On the 19th, 
 came to the fort and church of Point Coupee, a French set- 
 tlement, extending about seven leagues on the river, and said 
 to be as old, or older than New Orleans. On the 20th, passed 
 a village of the Tonica Indians, of about forty huts. On the 
 22d passed the outlet of the Opelousas, which flows into the 
 Gulf of Mexico ; at that time it was about forty perches 
 wide, and by Mr. Putnam's measurement, three hundred, fif- 
 teen and a half miles from the balize, or mouth of the river, 
 and ninety-seven and a quarter above the Iberville, or head 
 of the island of Orleans. The mouth of the Red river was 
 then three miles above the outlet of Opelousas, and ap- 
 parently about two hundred yards wide. On the 23d, passed 
 Loftus' Heights, now Fort Adams. The next day, a few 
 miles above the mouth of the Homochitto creek, they coasted a 
 curious bend in the river, of eleven and a half miles, wliich 
 at the isthmus or neck was only forty-seven yards across ; 
 and by a water level he ascertained the fall in the river to be 
 two and a half feet in that distance. Their average progress 
 against the stream was from twelve to fourteen miles a day. 
 On the 26th, they arrived at Fort Rosalia, at the Natches, 
 and half a mile below, he notes, " is the first gravel stones 
 we have seen on the shores of the river." Fort Rosalia, or 
 rather its ruins, was seated on the margin of an elevated 
 plain or bluff, nearly eighty perches from the river, and was 
 approached by a winding road, not difficult of ascent. It 
 was a regular heptagon, capable of containing four or five 
 hundred men, built by the French in 1714. The English,
 
 BUFUS PUTNAM. 45 
 
 after the peace of 17G3, kept a garrison here until about four 
 years before this visit; since which the barracks and out- 
 buildings were burnt by the Indians in a drunken frolic. 
 Here he took the latitude of the place with one of Davis' 
 quadrants, and made the fort to be in latitude 31 deg. 50 rnin. 
 N., and the variation of the needle 5 deg. E. The lands for 
 several miles adjacent, appeared to be old, \vorn-out, Indian 
 planting grounds. The buildings were only one trader's hut, 
 near the old fort. How vast the changes since that period ! no 
 appearance of civilized man but one solitary trader's hut, where 
 the large and flourishing town of Natchez now stands. It 
 had formerly been populated with a numerous tribe of In- 
 dians, who more nearly approached the Mexicans in civiliza- 
 tion, at the time of the conquest, than any other tribe in 
 North America, but they were totally exterminated by the 
 French about the year 1729. On the 27th, the party visited 
 a small settlement on Catharine's creek, three miles from the 
 river, and were informed that on Homochitto creek, about 
 twenty miles distant, were a number of settlers. 
 
 They had now ascended the river by Mr. Putnam's esti- 
 mate, three hundred and eighty-eight miles, and in all that 
 distance had seen no spring, or creek water, fit to drink. On 
 the 28th they left the Natchez, and on the 3d of May, arrived 
 at the mouth of Bine river, or Stone creek, forty-six and a 
 half miles above. About eight miles below is the Petit gulf, 
 where now is the village of Rodney. The river is bounded 
 for nearly a mile by a solid rock, at an angle of forty-five 
 degrees, and about three hundred feet high. All the valua- 
 ble lands on the Mississippi, below Bine river, having been 
 already located, they here commenced their reconnoissance 
 of the country on the left bank, or east side of the river, for 
 a tract of land suitable for farming. They ascended Stony 
 creek in their boat, seventeen miles to the forks. The lands 
 on the left side were low and subject to the river floods, and
 
 46 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 on the right broken, with soil rather thin and gravelly. 
 About one hundred rods below the forks, they marked a tree, 
 for the commencement of the location. On the 5th, they 
 retiirned down the creek to the Mississippi. The town of 
 Gibsonport now stands on this creek, which is known by thfl 
 name of Bayou Pierre, and is in the midst of a rich, cotton 
 growing country. The same day they ascended the river to 
 Grand gulf, to the residence of Thomas James, an Indian 
 trader. The following day he engaged a Choctaw Indian to 
 accompany them as a guide, and also to notify the Indians 
 they might meet in the woods, who they were. Three miles 
 above Mr. James' station, was the mouth of the La Four- 
 chetto, or Big Black river. At this point two of the committee, 
 with the Indian guide, left the boat, and proceeded across the 
 country to the Walnut hills, while the others in the boat pro- 
 ceeded on to that place by water. The distance from Big 
 Black, was estimated to be fifty-five and a half miles, and the 
 boat reached there on the 8th of May. On the way up passed 
 several high, handsome bottoms, as well as some that were 
 flooded in high water. Here they met the party by land, 
 who reported that their route was over a flat country, with 
 some cypress swamps, and cane brakes so thick that it was 
 impossible to explore any distance from the path. On this 
 camping ground is now located the commercial and thriving 
 town of Vicksburg, the second for population and business 
 in the state, and will probably soon be the first. On the 
 9th, they proceeded on to the mouth of the Yazoo river, the 
 same two gentlemen going by land as on the 6th, for the pur- 
 pose of exploring the high grounds on this river, distance 
 seventeen and a half miles. On the 10th, the boat ascended 
 the Yazoo river nine miles to a high land, said to have been 
 formerly a French post, where they met their companions, 
 who had traversed the woods, at a fine spring, issuing from 
 under the rocks.
 
 KUFUS PUTNAM. 47 
 
 By calculation Mr. Putnam ascertained that they were 
 now north of the provincial line of West Florida, which 
 was further confirmed by the angry looks of several Indians, 
 who had met them there, and disapproved of their visit; 
 this induced them to return without further examination. 
 The Yazoo, he says, is about twenty-five perches wide, a 
 dead stream, abounding in alligators. The Mississippi in 
 floods, backs high up this river. They descended that day 
 six miles, and encamped. It was intended by Mr. Lyman 
 and Col. Israel Putnam, to have gone by the Chickasaw path 
 from Yazoo, across the country, to Big Black river, but their 
 Indian guide refused to pilot them. From the llth to the 
 13th, they explored the lands on the left bank, or south side 
 of the Yazoo, and on the latter day Col. Putnam, Mr. Ly- 
 man and M. Putnam set out by land, to explore more care- 
 fully the ridge of high land stretching from the old French 
 post to Walnut Hills. They traveled as near the hills as 
 possible, on account of the cane brakes, discovered several 
 small streams issuing from the high grounds, and found the 
 soil very rich. " In the afternoon they were taken up by a 
 mighty cane brake. Here Col. Putnam climbed a tree, and 
 saw high land about one hundred rods distant, which we 
 were two hours in gaining, on account of the difficulty of 
 getting through the cane." At this place, Mr. Putnam 
 mounted a tree, and had a fine prospect of the country. 
 The lands from the north-east round to the south, appeared 
 hilly, but not mountainous or very broken. They descended 
 part way down the hill, and encamped by a fine spring. 
 This mount of vision must have been in the north-west por- 
 tion of what is now Warren county, fifteen or twenty miles 
 north of Vicksburg, in the midst of the present rich cotton 
 plantations. On the 14th, they came, by a zigzag course, 
 through the flat lands to then- boat, which had descended to 
 within one mile of the Walnut hills. This region was
 
 48 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 much injured by ponds, cypress swamps and overflowings 
 of the river. The cane was chiefly confined to the uplands. 
 On the 15th, Mr. Putnam and Lyman ascended to the top 
 of the hills, where the former climbed two trees, and found 
 the country still rising toward the north, and toward the 
 east and south-east, soil rich, and covered with cane on the 
 highest ridges, which extended over on to Big Black. Some 
 miles above the mouth, near the foot of the hills, are some 
 cypress swamps and dead water, but no brooks or running 
 streams. Having completed the exploration in that quar- 
 ter, they dropped down the river, landing several times to 
 examine the bottom lands. They had intended to send a 
 part of the committee by land, across the bend of the Mis- 
 sissippi above the mouth of Big Black, but were told it was 
 impassable by reason of ponds and swamps. On the 16th of 
 May the}- returned down the river to Mr. James' station, who 
 spoke the Indian language, and through him their guide in- 
 formed them, that on the Yazoo, he met two of his chiefs, 
 Chickasaws, who were opposed to the whites exploring any 
 of the country above the Big Black, and that was the reason 
 why he had refused to pilot them from the Yazoo to that 
 river. The following day, Col. Putnam, Mr. Lyman, and 
 Mr. Putnam commenced a further survey of the lands on 
 the Big Black, in reference to a location. They found this 
 stream from six to eight rods wide, and ascended it twenty - 
 five miles, with the boat, to a rocky rapid, over which the 
 water falls about a foot, and is a good mill scat. They saw 
 much fine land on and near the creek, with several springs 
 of water; on the left bank, it was hilly, but rich land. 
 
 On the 20th, they returned again to Mr. James', and there 
 found Capt. George, a Chickasaw chief, waiting to see them. 
 He showed them his commission from Gov. Chester, in which 
 he is called Mingo Oumee, or Snake head. He informed 
 them, that at a congress of his people, it had been decided 

 
 BUFUS PUTNAM. 49 
 
 that no whites should settle on the Yazoo, but that they 
 might do so on the Big Black, but not higher up the Missis- 
 sippi. The Chickasaws have their towns on the Yazoo, and 
 the Choctaws east of them. On the 21st they left the Indian 
 traders' post, on their return down the river, and on the 24th 
 of May reached the Natchez, where Mr. Putnam again took 
 the latitude, and found it as before, to be 31 deg. and 15 
 min. N., and by an observation at sunsetting, found the 
 variation of the needle to be 5 deg. and 30 min. E. Here 
 they were told that the country on the heads of the Homo- 
 chitto, now in Franklin county, Mississippi, were hilly, much 
 broken, and badly watered ; therefore they did not explore 
 that region, as formerly intended. 
 
 On the 2d of June, arrived at Manchac, being delayed by 
 explorations of the country at various points on the left 
 bank of the river. A description of the region examined, 
 is given by Mr. Putnam with minuteness. The climate in 
 winter is so temperate, that cattle need no fodder, but live 
 abroad all the season in the woods, and yet the summer 
 heat is by no means great. The intervals or bottoms he 
 describes as very rich, but subject to be overflowed, and in- 
 terspersed with ponds and cypress swamps, which will be 
 difficult to drain. That the uplands back of the bottoms, 
 are rich, but broken, and from several views taken from the 
 tops of trees, continue so for several miles into the country. 
 The soil rather thin, but rich, based on clay; the under- 
 growth cane. The timber hickory, and oaks of various 
 kinds ; while on the bottoms he found locust, willow, cotton- 
 wood, copalm?, ash, mulberry, the royal magnolia, or 
 high laurel, with cypress in abundance. As to the streams 
 of water, he saw but few small ones, and none suitable for 
 mills ; and the only mill-seat he saw or heard of, was on the Big 
 Black. The feathered race consists of some turkeys, plenty 
 
 of ducks, and in winter, geese and wood pigeons (columba 
 4
 
 50 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 migratoria.) The wild game were deer and bears chiefly. 
 Reptiles not abundant, and those he saw, harmless. Fish 
 of various kinds were plenty in the rivers, the chief of which 
 were catfish and sheep's-head. Alligators swarmed in the 
 Mississippi, and w r ere found in all the streams they visited. 
 On the 3d of June they met the sloop, which brought them 
 out three leagues below Manchac, and were detained until 
 the 9th, by Mr. Ladle, the supercargo, in taking in lading. 
 
 On the 12th, came to, at four miles above New Orleans, 
 and remained until the 28th, repairing the vessel. On Thurs- 
 day, the 1st of July, at 4 P. M., they passed the Balize, and 
 sailed for Pensacola, but on account of head winds, did not 
 arrive there until the morning of the 5th. 
 
 On the Gth, the committee waited on the governor, who 
 informed them that he had received letters from England by 
 way of Jamaica, since their absence, but nothing further re- 
 lating to a grant of lands to the Provincials. The following 
 day they presented a petition to Gov. Chester and council, 
 with a plan of the townships they proposed to locate ; but 
 so many objections were made to it, that the decision of the 
 matter was laid over to the 9th. In the meantime, the sur- 
 veyor-general requested Mr. Putnam to make out a new 
 draft of the proposed townships. On that day the council 
 presented the committee with their decision as to the lands, 
 which limited the time of their taking actual possession, to 
 the 1st of March, 1774. They appealed to the governor for 
 an extension of the time, but without success. On the llth, 
 they left the town of Pensacola, and fell down to Rose island, 
 from which place, on advice from Mr. Jones, one of the 
 council, Col. Putnam and Mr. Lyman went up to town, to 
 engage Mr. Livingston, the secretary, to make one more 
 effort in council, for lengthening the time, but the result is 
 not recorded. 
 
 Owing to head winds, they did not sail until the 15th of
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 51 
 
 July. The latitude as observed that day was 29 deg. 11 min. 
 N. From thence to the 22d, he kept a regular journal of 
 the progress of the voyage, giving the daily latitude, currents, 
 &c., with the tact of an old navigator. On that day, he was 
 so prostrated by sea-sickness, that the observations are 
 omitted until the 6th of August, when they arrived at New 
 York. Frora thence he returned down the sound to Nor- 
 wich, and from thence by land, to his home in Brookfield, 
 having been absent over eight months. 
 
 As to the result of this exploration, he says, " So favorable 
 was the report of the committee, as to the quality of the 
 land, climate, &c., and moderate terms on which the gov- 
 ernor and council had engaged to grant them, that at a 
 meeting of the military land company in the fall of 1773, 
 at Hartford, they resolved to prosecute the settlement; and 
 during that autumn, winter, and spring following, several 
 hundred families embarked from Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
 and other places, for the purpose of settling on the lands 
 we had explored. But they were sadly disappointed. On 
 the 6th of October of that year, Gov. Chester received an 
 order from the king in council, prohibiting him from grant- 
 ing any more lands, either on family rights, or on purchase, 
 until the king's pleasure be further signified to him. Thus 
 the land office was shut before the emigrants arrived, and 
 indeed I believe before any of them sailed, and never 
 opened afterward ." The poor Provincials were greatly 
 disappointed, but were permitted to occupy any vacant land 
 they could find. The emigrants of 1774 arrived generally 
 so late in the season, that many of them sickened and died 
 in this new climate, and the war which soon followed, put 
 a stop to any further attempts to prosecute the settlement 
 Thus early had that spirit of roaming and change of place 
 infected the New Englanders, which appears to be natu- 
 ral to their Saxon blood, descending from their Puritan
 
 52 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 forefathers, who wandered early in the seventeenth century 
 from their native land to find a new home in North America. 
 
 Mr. Putnam received only eighty dollars for all his ex- 
 penses and loss of time in this trip to the Mississippi. 
 
 The annexed plan is an interesting relic of this affair, and 
 shows the boundaries and forms of the townships located for 
 the company, which was drawn by Mr. Putnam, and ap- 
 pended to the report of the committee. In his orders froni' 
 Elias Dunford, Esq., the surveyor-general of West Florida, 
 preserved amongst his papers, minute directions are given as 
 to his manner of conducting the survey, requiring notices of 
 important places on the river for landings, wharves, towns, 
 &c. The townships were in no case to exceed in width one 
 third of their length, so that their base on the water courses 
 should not occupy an over proportion of their banks, which 
 accounts for their unusual shape. They were nineteen in 
 number, and intended to contain about twenty thousand 
 acres each, making the whole grant from Gov. Chester 
 amount to three hundred and eighty thousand acres. The 
 cost to the company was no more than the fees claimed by 
 the officers of the government, amounting to five pounds 
 sterling, or eighteen dollars, twenty cents, for every thousand 
 acres. 
 
 In the Boston Weekly News-Letter, of December 4th, 
 1772, there is published a full account of the meeting of the 
 Company of Military Adventurers, held at Hartford in No- 
 vember, with the origin of the company, their previous 
 doings, and the names of all the various committees. In 
 the preamble to this meeting, it is stated that Gen. Phinehas 
 Lyman was chosen as their agent to solicit the Court of 
 Great Britain for a grant of land, in 1703, and that he had 
 been detained at that court for nine years, to the great 
 expense of the company in obtaining the grant. This was 
 a fair specimen of the manner in which the mother country
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 53 
 
 dealt with her colonies ; and even then the pretended gift 
 was a delusion, as they promised Gen. Lyman that the order 
 to Gov. Chester, authorizing the grant, should be sent out so 
 as to reach him by the time he arrived at Boston. 
 
 Several letters are preserved amongst Gen. Putnam's pa- 
 pers, from the adventurers who went out to West Florida. 
 Amongst them one from Capt. Michael Martyn, on the river 
 Amite, August 17, 1774. He had settled forty-five miles up 
 that stream. His family had been sick, but he was pleased 
 with the country. Gen. Lyman, with several other families, 
 had moved on to the Big Black river, in the surveyed terri- 
 tory, and one man was about erecting a mill at the little 
 falls on that stream ; but that the prospect of making money 
 by shipping lumber to New Orleans was blasted by the 
 Spaniards forbidding that trade. 
 
 In the year 1802, the survivors of that company, about 
 one hundred in number, re-organized themselves, and peti- 
 tioned Congress for a confirmation of their old grant, but it 
 does not appear that anything was done for them ; and thus 
 ended this famous land adventure, which at the time caused 
 a good deal of excitement in New England. 
 
 The revolutionary storm, which had been gathering for 
 several years, burst upon the colonies, the second year after 
 liis return from this expedition. Ever active to the service 
 of his native country, he joined the army in the capacity of 
 a lieutenant-colonel, in the regiment of Col. David Brewer. 
 His regiment was stationed at Roxbury, in Gen. Thomas' 
 division of the army, soon after the affair at Lexington. 
 
 In a short time after the battle of Bunker hill, the general 
 and field officers of the Roxbury division, met in council on 
 the best course to pursue, in their present defenseless situa- 
 tion, exposed at any time to the attack of the enemy without 
 any better protection than a board fence. It was decided
 
 54 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 that lines should be thrown up for the defense of the town. 
 When this was determined, the difficulty arose where to find 
 a man capable of directing the works in a military manner. 
 Engineers were rare amongst a people who had never car- 
 ried on a war but under the direction of mother Britain, who 
 iilled such posts with her own sons. At length it was men- 
 tioned to the general by some of Col. Putnam's friends, that 
 in the late war against Canada, he had seen some service in 
 this line ; but on being solicited by the commander to under- 
 take the work, he frankly told him that he had never read a 
 word on that branch of science, and all his knowledge was 
 acquired by working under British engineers. The general 
 would take no denial, and Col. Putnam reluctantly set about 
 tracing out lines in front of Roxbury, toward Boston, and 
 various places in the vicinity, especially at Sewel's Point. 
 It so happened that he was occupied at the latter post, when 
 Gen. Washington and Gen. Lee, first came over to examine 
 the situation of the troops, and state of the defenses on that 
 side of Charles' river. The plan of the works met the entire 
 approbation of Gen. Washington, and Lee spoke in high 
 terms of that on Sewer's Point, when compared with those 
 at Cambridge, which animated and encouraged him to per- 
 severe in his efforts. All the defenses at Roxbury, Dorches- 
 ter and Brooklyne, were of his construction, and especially 
 the fort on Cobble Hill. 
 
 In the course of this campaign, at the request of Gen. 
 Washington, he surveyed and delineated a map of the 
 courses, distances, and relative situation of the enemy's 
 works in Boston and Charleston, with the American defenses 
 in Cambridge, Roxbury, &c., which must have been of great 
 importance to him in arranging his plans for an attack on 
 the former place. In December, he accompanied Gen. Lee 
 to Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, and at the latter 
 place planned a battery that commanded the harbor; also,
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 55 
 
 a work on an elevation at Howland's feriy, which secured 
 the communication of the island with the main land. In the 
 new organization of the army, made in the fall of 1775, he 
 was appointed a lieutenant-colonel in the twenty-second 
 regiment, commanded by Col. Samuel Wyllis. He, however, 
 did not actually join that regiment, but was continued in 
 the engineer department. 
 
 In the winter of 1776, Gen. Washington was deeply en- 
 gaged in planning an attack on the British army in Boston, 
 by crossing the troops on the ice, or else to draw them out 
 from their stronghold, by erecting works on Dorchester neck, 
 that would not only annoy the town, but destroy their ship- 
 ping in the harbor. In constructing the latter work, Col. 
 Putnam, with his usual modesty, and constant reliance on 
 an overruling Power, in directing the affairs of man, thus 
 speaks : " As soon as the ice was thought to be sufficiently 
 strong for the army to pass over, a council of general offi- 
 cers was convened on the subject. What their particular 
 opinions were I never knew, but the brigadiers were directed 
 to consult their field officers, and they to feel the temper of 
 the captains and subalterns. While this was doing I was 
 invited to dine at head-quarters; and while at dinner, Gen. 
 Washington invited me to tarry after the company had de- 
 parted. When we were alone he entered into a free con- 
 versation on the subject of storming the city of Boston. 
 That it was much better to draw the enemy out to Dorches- 
 ter, than to attack him in Boston, no one doubted ; for if we 
 could maintain ourselves on that neck of land, our command 
 of the town and harbor would be such as would probably 
 compel them to leave the place. But the cold weather, 
 which had made a bridge of ice for our passage into Boston, 
 had also frozen the earth to a great depth, especially in the 
 open country, like the hills on Dorchester neck, so that it was 
 impossible to make a lodgment there in the usual way, (tha*
 
 56 KUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 is, by excavating the earth.) However, the general directed 
 me to consider the matter, and if I could think of any- 
 way by which it could be done, to make a report to him 
 immediately." 
 
 He then describes the events which he calls providential, 
 and may evidently be referred to him who created, as well 
 as rules the destiny of man, but which thoughtless and blind 
 mortals attribute to the freaks of chance. "I left head- 
 quarters in company with another gentleman, and on the 
 way came by those of Gen. Heath. I had no thought of 
 calling until I came against his door, when I said, let us 
 call on Gen. Heath, to which the gentleman agreed. I had 
 no other motive than to pay my respects to the general. 
 While there I cast my eye on a book which lay on the table, 
 lettered on the back Muller's Field Engineer. Immediately 
 I requested the general to lend it to me. He denied me. 
 I repeated my request. He again refused, saying, he never 
 lent his books. I then told him that he must recollect, that 
 he was one, who at Roxbury, in a manner compelled me to 
 undertake a business on w r hich, at the time, I confessed I 
 had never read a word, and that he must let me have the 
 book. After a few more excuses on his part, and pressing 
 on mine, I obtained the loan of it." 
 
 He arrived at his quarters about dark, but w r as so much 
 engaged in receiving reports of the progress of the works 
 until a late hour, that he did not examine Muller until 
 morning. On looking over the contents of the book, he 
 came to the word chandelier. This was a new phrase to 
 him, but on turning to the page where the article was 
 described, and reading it carefully over, he was soon ready 
 to report a plan for making a lodgment on Dorchester 
 heights. In a few minutes after he had decided on the fea- 
 sibility of the plan, Col. Gridly, who had planned the 
 works at Cambridge, and Col. Knox of the artillery, who
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 57 
 
 had been directed to consult with Col. Putnam on this diffi- 
 cult subject, entered his room and acquiesced in his plan. 
 The report was approved by Gen. Washington, and prepa- 
 rations immediately made to carry it into operation. The 
 chandeliers were made of stout timbers, ten feet long, into 
 which were framed posts, five feet high and five feet apart, 
 placed on the ground in parallel lines, and the open spaces 
 fitted in with bundles of fascines, strongly picketed together; 
 thus forming a movable parapet of wood, instead of earth, 
 as heretofore done. The men were immediately set to work 
 in the adjacent apple orchard and woodlands, cutting and 
 bundling up the fascines, and carrying them with the chan- 
 deliers on to the ground selected for the work on the night 
 of the 4th of March, and on the morning of the 5th, the 
 British troops were astonished to see a formidable battery, 
 erected by their industrious Yankee foes in one night, where 
 the evening before no appearance of such a defense was to 
 be seen. The ground was so deeply frozen that the intrench- 
 ing tools made no more impression on it than on a solid 
 rock, and their old mode of excavating trenches, and throw- 
 ing up parapets of earth, was utterly at a nonplus. 
 
 The providential visit of Col. Putnam at Gen. Heath's 
 quarters, was both the remote and immediate cause of the 
 sudden withdrawal of the British troops from Boston. On 
 the first sight of this barrier, mounted with artillery and 
 frowning defiance, Gen. Howe decided on landing troops 
 and carrying it by storm, and would have probably been 
 another Bunker hill adventure or something worse. The ice 
 broke way soon after, and his boats being dispersed by a 
 gale of wind, when the troops had embarked, he gave up 
 the design, and sent word to Gen. Washington that he would 
 leave the town with his army unharmed,' if he would not 
 molest the shipping while the men and stores were remov- 
 ing. The evacuation of the place, and the relief of the
 
 58 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 inhabitants from British thraldom and abuse, being all that 
 Washington sought, the terms were complied with, and this 
 desirable object accomplished without bloodshed. 
 
 On the last day of March, 1776, he was ordered by Gen. 
 Washington to proceed to New York, by way of Providence, 
 Rhode Island, to aid Gov. Cook with his advice and 
 assistance, in constructing works for the defense of that 
 town. While on this tour of duty, he again visited New- 
 port, and made additional defenses there. On the 6th of 
 April he had an interview with Washingto i, at Providence, 
 who felt a deep interest in his welfare, not only for his suc- 
 cessful efforts on Dorchester hights, but also for the integ- 
 rity, uprightness, and straightforward patriotism of the 
 man ; and not only during the war, but during his whole 
 life, treated him with marked respect and friendship. He 
 reached New York about the 20th of April, and was imme- 
 diately authorized as chief engineer, to lay out and oversee 
 the works of defense during that campaign at New York, 
 Long Island, and their dependencies, with Fort Washington, 
 Fort Lee, Kingsbridge, &c., the larger portion of which 
 appears in the plan of New York island, attached to Mar- 
 shall's Life of Washington. This was a service of great 
 fatigue, as it occupied all his time from daylight in the 
 morning until night, and sometimes all night. 
 
 On the 10th of July, Gen. Washington, in a letter to Con- 
 gress, notices the services of Col. Putnam : ' Gen. Mercer is 
 now in the Jerseys, for the purpose of receiving and ordering 
 the militia coming for the flying camp, and I have sent over 
 our chief engineer to view the ground in the neighborhood 
 of Amboy, and to lay out some necessary works for the 
 encampment, and such as may be proper at the different 
 passes in Bergen Neck and other places." 
 
 In August, Congress appointed him engineer, which was 
 announced by Gen. Washington to him, as follows :
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 59 
 
 "NEW YORK, August 11, 1776. 
 
 SIR : I have the pleasure to inform you that Congress have 
 appointed you an engineer, with the rank of colonel, and 
 pay of sixty dollars a month. I beg of you to hasten the 
 sinking of vessels and other obstructions in the river at Fort 
 Washington, as fast as it is possible. Advise Gen. Putnam 
 constantly of the kind of vessels you want and other things, 
 that no delay that can possibly be avoided may happen. 
 
 I am sir, your assured friend and servant, 
 
 G. WASHINGTON. 
 
 P. S. Congress have just sent two French gentlemen 
 here as engineers. Will either of them be of use at Fort 
 Washington or Kingsbridge ?" 
 
 A vast deal of labor and expense was bestowed by the 
 Americans early in the war, in placing obstructions in the 
 North river, such as chains, booms, chevaux-de-frise, sunken 
 vessels, &c., to prevent the ascent of the enemy's ships of 
 war to the highlands ; but all of it was useless expenditure, 
 for with a leading wind their large frigates and seventy-fours 
 could with ease break through any obstruction of this kind, 
 and only excited their derision. After a year or tw0 of trial, 
 this mode of defense was abandoned. Their entire control 
 of all our harbors and mouths of rivers by their vast fleets, 
 gave them a great advantage over their foes, in the transport 
 of troops, munitions of war, &c.,from one point to another. 
 
 On the 8th of September, 1776, a council of general officers 
 had determined on holding possession of the city of New 
 York. On the 12th, by order of Gen. Washington, Col. 
 Putnam went out with Gen. Mifflin to reconnoiter between 
 Kingsbridge and Morrisania, and on their return Washington 
 met them near Harlem hights, where they made their report. 
 This led to a council of general officers, in which it was decided 
 to abandon the city, and this measure was based on their
 
 60 KUPUS PUTNAM. 
 
 report, being the means of saving the army from total 
 destruction. 
 
 Col. Putnam remarks that his appointment by Congress 
 as engineer, was wholly unexpected. That his first attempts 
 in that department arose from pure necessity, in place of a 
 better man, and that his continuance in that service was 
 more out of respect to Gen. Washington, than a sense of his 
 own qualifications. After his arrival at New York he had 
 greatly improved his knowledge, by the study of writers on 
 that subject; and his daily practice in that profound art for 
 more than a year, had now made him a much more skillful 
 engineer, yet his natural modesty had never led him once to 
 think of being appointed to the first post in a corps of engi- 
 neers. His observations on the deficiencies and difficulties 
 which attended that department, led him, in September, to 
 draw up a plan for a distinct engineering corps, which was 
 presented to Gen. Washington, and by him laid before Con- 
 gress, with the following letter, of November 5 : 
 
 " I have taken the liberty to transmit a plan for establish- 
 ing a corps of engineers, artificers, &c., sketched out by 
 Col. Putnam, and which is proposed for the consideration of 
 Congress. How far they may incline to adopt it, or whether 
 they may choose to proceed on such an extensive scale, they 
 will be pleased to determine. However, I conceive it a 
 matter well worthy of their consideration, being convinced 
 from experience, and from reasons suggested by Col. Put- 
 nam, who has acted with great diligence and reputation in 
 the business, that some establishment of the sort is highly 
 necessary, and will be productive of the most beneficial 
 consequences." 
 
 In his letter which accompanied the project, Col. Putnam 
 disclaimed all pretensions to being placed at the head of 
 the corps, but expressed a desire to serve in the line of the 
 army. In this modest rejection of so distinguished a post,
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 61 
 
 he was, no doubt, in some measure influenced by the well 
 known deficiencies of his early education, but his love of 
 country being greater than the love of self, led him to prefer 
 the appointment of some better educated man. His judg- 
 ment and practical skill in this branch, was no doubt equal 
 or superior to that of any other man in the army, while his 
 knowledge of surveying and drafting, with his mechanical 
 turn of mind and sound judgment, rendered him a far better 
 master of this branch of science than he \vas willing to 
 admit. 
 
 On the 19th of October the enemy landed their army on 
 Pells point, and some skirmishing took place between a part 
 of Glover's brigade and the advance of the British troops, 
 near East Chester. The following morning Gen. Washing- 
 ton directed Col. Putnam to reconnoiter their position. For 
 this purpose he left Kingsbridge, in company with Col. Reid, 
 the adjutant-general, and a foot-guard of twenty men. 
 From the hights of East Chester they saw a small body of 
 the enemy near the church, but could learn nothing from 
 the inhabitants, as the houses were all deserted. Col. Reid 
 now left him to attend to other duties, and Col. Putnam 
 requested him to take back the guard, as he thought he 
 Could better succeed in reconnoitering by himself. He then 
 disguised his appearance as an officer, and set out for White 
 Plains, a place he had never visited, nor did he know the 
 road which led to that place. Directly a highway turned 
 off to the right, which he followed a short distance, and 
 came to a house, where a woman informed him that the 
 road he was now on led to New Rochelle ; that the enemy 
 were there, and had posted a guard at a house then in sight. 
 He now turned his course, and proceeded toward White 
 Plains, approaching within three or four miles of the place, 
 when he discovered a house a little ahead with men about it. 
 Before advancing, he carefully examined their appearance
 
 62 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 with his spy-glass, and ascertained that they were not 
 British soldiers. He then advanced and entered the house, 
 which was a tavern; calling for some oats for his horse, and 
 sitting quietly down, listened to their conversation. He 
 soon discovered that they were Whigs, and ascertained the 
 following valuable facts, viz.: that the main army of the 
 British were lying near New Rochelle, distant from White 
 Plains about nine miles, with good roads and an open level 
 country between, and that at the latter place was a large 
 quantity of American stores under the guard of about three 
 hundred militia. That a detachment of the enemy was 
 posted at Mamaronec, only six miles from the Plains, while 
 on the other side was the Hudson river, in which lay five or 
 six of the enemy's armed vessels at a distance of only five 
 miles, so that the main depot of provisions for the American 
 army, which Gen. Washington had ordered here as a place 
 of safety, was inclosed on three sides by his adversaries. 
 Col. Putnam saw at a glance their hazardous position, and 
 hastened back with his all important discoveries. The road 
 from Ward's tavern where he then was, led across the Braux, 
 and was the most direct route for his return, but it passed 
 so near the positions occupied by the enemy that it required 
 great watchfulness to avoid detection. As he approached 
 the highland west of the little river Braux, he saw it was 
 already occupied by armed men, but on applying his spy- 
 glass, ascertained they were American troops, and on his 
 arrival found, it to be Lord Stirling's division, who had taken 
 a position there since he passed in the morning. He 
 announced his discoveries to the general, refreshed himself 
 and horse, and set out for head-quarters, ten miles distant, 
 by the mouth of Saw-mill river, a road he had never traveled 
 before, leading through a noted Tory settlement. It was 
 now dark, but he dare not inquire the way, lest he should be 
 arrested. An overruling Providence guided his steps, and
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 63 
 
 he arrived in safety at Gen. Washington's quarters, near 
 Kingsbridge, about nine o'clock. He found him alone, and 
 ready to receive his report, with a sketch of the country, 
 which he hastily made, showing the relative positions of the 
 different British detachments, and the stores at White Plains. 
 This, like the clue of the labyrinth, at once led him to see 
 the difficulties and dangers of his position, and the path by 
 which he could be extricated. Gen. Washington complained 
 very feelingly of the gentlemen of New York, from whom 
 he had never been able to obtain a plan of the country : 
 that it was by their advice he had ordered the stores to 
 White Plains, as a place of safety. This was a serious dif- 
 ficulty under which he labored through the first years of the 
 war, the lack of correct topographical descriptions of the 
 country in which he was acting, often leading him into the 
 toils of the enemy, when he thought he was escaping or out 
 of danger. Such a man as Putnam was then an invaluable 
 treasure; who was fearless, but cautious in scanning the 
 positions of the foe, and could delineate on paper, what he 
 had seen with his eyes, making his descriptions both intelli- 
 gent and practical. Washington immediately sent a mes- 
 senger for Gen. Greene and Gen. George Clinton, since Vice 
 President of the United States. W'hen the latter entered, 
 Putnam's sketch and report were laid before him, and the 
 question asked as to the correctness of the topographical 
 sketch. He confirmed its accuracy. In a short time he was 
 charged with a letter to Lord Stirling, and orders to proceed 
 immediately to his camp, which he reached by the same 
 route, about two o'clock in the morning. Before daylight 
 his division was in motion, in full march for White Plains, 
 where they arrived about nine o'clock on the morning of 
 the 21st of October, " and thus was the American army saved 
 by an interposition of Providence, from a probable total 
 destruction."
 
 64 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 " It may be asked wherein this interposition of Providence 
 appears ? I answer first, in the stupidity of the British gen- 
 eral,, in that he did not early in the morning of the 20th, 
 send a detachment, and take possession of the post and 
 stores at White Plains ; for had he done so, we must then 
 have fought him on his own terms, and at such disadvan- 
 tage on our part as must, in all probability, have proved 
 our overthrow." "Again, when I parted with Col. Reid, on 
 the 20th, I have ever thought I was moved to so hazardous 
 an undertaking by foreign influence. On my route I was 
 liable to meet with some British or Tory parties, who would 
 probably have made me a prisoner, as I had no knowledge 
 of any way of escape across the Braux, but the one by 
 which I came out ; hence, I was induced to disguise myself, 
 by taking out my cockade, lopping the sides of my hat, and 
 securing my sword and pistols under my overcoat; and 
 then had I been taken under this disguise, the probability 
 is that I should have been hanged for a spy." 
 
 It was as late as the 29th, before the enemy advanced in 
 front of the American lines at White Plains. About 10 
 o'clock, A. M., Col. Putnam had arrived on Chatterton 
 hill, intending to throw up some defenses, just as they 
 came in sight. As soon as they discovered the Americans, 
 they opened a severe cannonade, but without much effect. 
 Gen. McDougal now arrived with his brigade, and seeing 
 the enemy crossing the Braux below in large bodies, placed 
 his men in an advantageous position behind the stone walls 
 and fences to receive them. They were twice repulsed with 
 great loss ; but by bringing up fresh detachments, they so 
 greatly outnumbered the Americans as to turn their right 
 flank, and cause them to retreat. Our loss was great, but 
 it was afterward ascertained that the British loss was much 
 greater; they receiving the same pay as at Bunker hill. 
 After the battle of the 29th, Col. Putnam was employed in
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 65 
 
 examining the topography of the country in the rear of 
 White Plains, toward North Castle, Croton river, &c., with 
 a view to military operations, when, on the 5th of Novem- 
 ber, he received the following letter from Gen. Washington : 
 
 "HEAD QUARTERS, WHITE PLAINS, Nov. 5, 177(5. 
 SIR : You are directed to repair to Wright's mills, and 
 lay out any work there you conceive to be necessary, in case 
 it is not already done. From thence you arc to proceed to- 
 ward Croton bridge, and post the two regiments of militia 
 in the most advantageous manner, so as to obstruct the 
 enemy's passage to that quarter. You are also to give 
 what directions you think proper to those regiments, re- 
 specting the breaking up the roads leading from the North 
 river eastward. After this you are to go up to Peekskill, 
 and direct Lasher's detachment to break up the roads there ; 
 you are likewise to lay out what works will be advisable 
 there, and order them to be set about. 
 
 Given under my hand, 
 
 GEO. WASHINGTON. 
 To Col. Putnam, engineer." 
 
 On the llth of November, Gen. Washington visited 
 Peekskill, and Col. Putnam accompanied him to Fort Wash- 
 ington. On the following day he crossed the North river, 
 instructing him to ascertain the topography of the country, 
 with the roads and passes through the Highlands, which re- 
 port he soon after made. A copy of this report is among 
 his papers, and gives a minute description of the different 
 passes ; pointing out such as would need protection, with a 
 skeleton map, containing valuable information for the de- 
 fense of the passes in the Highlands of the Hudson^a point 
 so important in the contest with Great Britain. On the 8th 
 of December, he addressed a letter to the commander-in- 
 chief, informing him that he had accepted the command of 
 a regiment in the Massachusetts line, of the continental
 
 66 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 army, with his reasons for so doing, assuring him at the 
 same time of his attachment and readiness to execute any 
 service he should be ordered on. The following is an ex- 
 tract from hij answer : 
 
 " BUCKS COUNTY, NEAR CAYFLL'S FERRY, Dec. 17, 1776. 
 DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 8th, from Peekskill, came 
 duly to hand. Your acceptance of a regiment, to be raised 
 on continental establishment, by the state of Massachusetts 
 bay, is quite agreeable to me, and I sincerely wish you suc- 
 cess in recruiting, and much honor in commanding it. 
 
 Your professions of attachment are extremely gratifying 
 to, dear sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 GEO. WASHINGTON.'' 
 
 In a letter to Congress, of December 20th, he thus speaks 
 of Col. Putnam : " I have also to mention, that for want of 
 some establishment in the department of engineer.-?, agree- 
 able to the plan laid before Congress in October last, Col. 
 Putnam, who was at the head of it, has quitted, and taken a 
 regiment in the state of Massachusetts. I know of no other 
 man tolerably well qualified for the conducting of that busi- 
 ness. None of the French gentlemen whom I have seen 
 with appointments in that way, appear to know anything 
 of the matter. There is one in Philadelphia who I am told 
 is clever, but him I have not seen." 
 
 After closing his accounts as engineer, in January, 1777. 
 he returned to Massachusetts to recruit and fill up his regi- 
 ment. In this he was quite successful. As early as May. 
 three companies were filled, and marched from "Worcester to 
 Peekskill ; and in June were ordered up the North river to 
 Fort A$n. Off the 3d of July, Col. Putnam followed with 
 the rest of me regiment, and joined his brigade, at a point 
 four miles above Fort Edward. This gave him an opportu- 
 nity to examine the condition of the old fort, whu-h he had 
 so often visited and worked on in the former war. He found
 
 RUFUSPUTNAM. 07 
 
 that in the last seventeen years, it had greatly decayed, and 
 \vas quite untenable as a work of defense ; nevertheless it 
 was shortly after occupied by the troops of Gen. Burgoyne 
 for a few days, probably the last time the British flag will 
 ever float near its walls. 
 
 The campaign of 1777, was big with events deeply inter- 
 esting to the United States. Burgoyne with a large army 
 had invaded New York from the north, pursuing the old 
 route so often traversed in former years by the hostile bands 
 of France and Great Britain. The hordes of savages which 
 accompanied his army made the resemblance still more 
 striking. A numerous body of men and shipping, under 
 Clinton, assailed the same state on the south, by the way 
 of the North river, intending to unite the invading armies 
 at Albany, and thus divide the eastern from the middle and 
 southern states. Ticonderoga, considered the key to the 
 northern portion of the union, had fallen into the hands of 
 the enemy ; but the lives and the liberty of the army which 
 occupied it, were saved from the hands of the conqueror, by 
 tihe good sense of Gens. St. Clair and Schuyler, who thought 
 it useless to defend an untenable post, and thus served as a 
 nucleus, around which to rally the militia and continentals, 
 who hastened from all parts to arrest the progress of the 
 enemy. New England was electrified at the threatened 
 danger, and poured forth the thousands of her hardy yeo- 
 manry from her granite hills, to meet the coming storm. 
 
 Col. Putnam, with his brave Massachusetts men, again 
 traversed the grounds he had so often visited in the " old 
 French war ; " familiar with every part from Fort Edward to 
 Stillwater, while few if any of his officers or men had seen 
 this part of the country before. Although he was busily 
 engaged in all the military operations of September, in the 
 contests with Burgoyne, his regiment being the earliest on 
 the ground, yet he has left no record of these events, except
 
 68 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 to correct some misstatements made by the historians of that 
 period, in relation to the storming the works of the German 
 reserve, on the 7th of October, and a few other matters. 
 In front of those works was an open field, bounded by a 
 wood, at the distance of one hundred and twenty yards. In 
 the skirt of this wood Col. Putnam was posted with the fifth 
 and sixth regiments of the Massachusetts line, under his 
 command. Both the right and left of their work was cov- 
 ered by a thin, open wood, and the rear by a thick wood. 
 The moment that orders were given to storm, he moved 
 rapidly across the open field, amidst a murderous fire of 
 grape and musketry, and entered the works in front, at the 
 same moment that Learned's brigade, in which Jackson's 
 regiment was stationed, entered on the left and rear. Col. 
 Putnam immediately formed his two regiments, and moved 
 out of the works, which were not inclosed in the rear, and 
 advanced into the wood, toward the enemy's inclosed re- 
 doubts, on the right flank of their main encampment. Gen. 
 Learned, as soon as he had secured and sent off the plun- 
 der taken in the German camp, withdrew all the other 
 troops, without notifying Col. Putnam of his design, leaving 
 him unprotected in the occupancy of the wood. Here he 
 remained until toward morning, when he was reinforced 
 with three regiments from the right wing of the army, under 
 Gen. Glover. 
 
 The historian Marshall's account, varies materially from 
 this. He says, "Jackson's regiment of Massachusetts, led 
 by Lieut. Col. Brooks, turned the right of the encampment, 
 and stormed the works. "' In this account no mention is 
 made of Brig. Learned, who stormed at the same time with 
 the other corps of the brigade, as well as Jackson's ; nor of 
 the two regiments under Col. Putnam, who stormed in front, 
 under much greater exposure than Jackson. Again, Mar- 
 shall says, " Brooks maintained the ground he had gained;"
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 69 
 
 which is entirely contrary to the truth ; for, except the two 
 regiments commanded by Col. Putnam, the troops which 
 entered the works were in great disorder, so far as fell un- 
 der his observation ; nor did he see any of them formed in 
 order for action, before he moved out with the fifth and sixth 
 regiments, as above stated. 
 
 At page 288, of the 3d volume, is a note from the histo- 
 rian Gordon, who says that, " On the morning of the llth 
 of October, a report was spread in the American camp, and 
 believed by the officers, that the main body of Burgoyne's 
 army had marched away in the night for Fort Edward, leav- 
 ing only a rear-guard in the camp, which was to march as 
 soon as possible, leaving only their heavy baggage. On 
 this, it was decided to advance, and attack the camp in half 
 an hour; and the officers repaired to their respective com- 
 mands. Gen. Nixon's being the oldest brigade, crossed the 
 creek first. Unknown to the Americans, Burgoyne had 
 formed a line behind a parcel of brushwood, to support the 
 park of artillery, where the attack was to be made. Gen. 
 Glover was on the point of following Nixon ; just as he en- 
 tered the water, he saw a British soldier making across, 
 whom he called and examined." This soldier was a de- 
 serter, and communicated the important fact, that the whole 
 British army was in their encampment. Nixon was imme- 
 diately stopped, and the intelligence conveyed to Gen. Gates, 
 who commanded the order for the assault, and called back 
 the troops, not without sustaining some loss from the British 
 artillery. 
 
 Col. Putnam's account of this affair is as follows : " Nix 
 on's brigade was put in motion, and marched in close col- 
 umn to the creek, just as the fog broke away, when the 
 whole park of British artillery opened upon us, at not more 
 than five hundred yards distance. Finding we were halted, 
 I rode forward to the head of the brigade, to inquire why we
 
 70 RUF US PUTNAM. 
 
 stood there in that exposed situation. But Nixon was not 
 to be found, and Col. Greaton, who commanded the leading 
 regiment, said he had no orders. I then advised the cross- 
 ing the creek, and covering the troops under the bank, which 
 was done. I then, at the request of Col. Stephens, advanced 
 with my regiment across the plain, and posted them under 
 cover of the bank of an old stockade fort, while Stephens 
 advanced with two field pieces, to annoy the British, who 
 were attempting to take away some baggage wagons stand- 
 ing about midway between us and the British battery. We 
 remained in this situation about an hour, when I had or- 
 ders to retreat, and found Nixon near the church, and after 
 some debate, obtained leave to send a party and cut away 
 the British boats, which lay above the mouth of the creek. 
 Capt. Morse, Goodale, and Gates, with seventy or eighty 
 volunteers, started on this service, and effected it without 
 any loss." This plain statement puts the affair in a differ- 
 ent position, and shows that but for the promptness and 
 bravery of Putnam in this unexpected dilemma, the loss of 
 the Americans must have been much greater. The bold 
 act of cutting loose Burgoync's store-boats, in the face of 
 his army, was of his suggesting, and accomplished chiefly 
 through the fearless activity of Capt. Goodale, who was 
 noted for daring exploits. 
 
 Kosciusko, the philanthropic and brave Polander, who 
 volunteered his services in the cause of American freedom, 
 was placed at the head of the engineering corps in Gates' 
 army, and often consulted Col. Putnam in planning the 
 works of defense and offense, so necessary in the operation.- 
 of hostile armies. lie remained in the northern department 
 until the surrender of Burgoyne, which took place a feu- 
 days after the last adventure, on the 16th of October; thus 
 closing the career of this haughty Briton, who fancied he 
 could march his invincible* from Ticonderoga to Albany, in
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 7J 
 
 defiance of all the efforts of "the rebel*," the common name 
 for the American?, and there unite his triumphant columns 
 with those of Sir Henry Clinton. This was the most glo- 
 rious event that had yet attended the arms of the United 
 States, and infused new life into the desponding portion ol' 
 the community. They learned, by actual experience, that 
 British regulars were not invincible, while their enemies 
 were taught to respect a foe they had heretofore despised. 
 After the cessation of hostilities in this quarter, Nixon's 
 brigade, to which Col. Putnam belonged, went into winter 
 quarters at Albany. 
 
 In January, 1778, he received a message from Gov. Clin- 
 ton and Gien. Israel Putnam, requesting him to repair to 
 West Point, and superintend the fortifications proposed to 
 be erected at this American Gibraltar. He declined the 
 offer, unless his regiment was allowed to go with him, ex- 
 cept at the express orders of Gen. Washington. A French 
 engineer had been sent by Congress, to plan and execute 
 the works proposed to be erected; but his views were not 
 approved by Gov. Clinton and the general officers, as suited 
 to what they deemed necessary, and hence arose the con- 
 fusion and delay, noticed in Gen. Washington's letter to 
 Congress, of the 13th of March, 1778. 
 
 In February he succeeded Col. Greaton in the command 
 of the troops in the northern department, who went home on 
 furlough. It seems that Congress, without consulting the 
 commander-in-chief, had matured a plan for a winter 
 campaign into Canada, which was now left in a manner, 
 defenseless. The chief duty of Col. Putnam was to forward 
 provisions and military stores to Coos, on the Onion river. 
 by which route the army of invasion was to pass, as early 
 as the 20th of February. The sound mind of the Colonel at 
 once perceived the fallacy and impossibility of the project. 
 The country was covered with a deep snow, and the soldiers
 
 72 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 as usual, only half clothed, and entirely unprepared for a 
 winter campaign. This was always a serious difficulty 
 during the whole w r ar ; our armies w T ere never decently clad, 
 and the poverty of the country was seen in their tattered 
 garments and shoeless feet. When men were required by 
 Col. Hazelet, the quarter-master-general, to open a road, 
 he had the firmness to refuse him, on account of the inclem- 
 ency of the weather, and the destitute condition of his men. 
 
 About this time, the 10th or 12th of February, the Marquis 
 Lafayette, who was to command the army of invasion, 
 arrived at Albany, with the Baron de Kalb. After a careful 
 inspection of the troops, he confirmed the views of Col. 
 Putnam, and the expedition was abandoned ; and fortunate 
 for the country was it that they did so, for this was not a 
 war of offense, but of defense ; and whenever the Americans 
 left their own soil, disaster and defeat followed their steps ; 
 but so long as they confined their operations to justice and 
 to right, the God of armies and of justice was on their side. 
 
 In March following, he was ordered with his regiment 
 down to West Point, where his valuable services were re- 
 quired to lay out and superintend the construction of fortifi- 
 cations at that important place, and Gen. McDougal, who 
 had been appointed to the command, arrived about the same 
 time. Of all the foreign engineers who had been sought out 
 and employed, riot one had yet been found, with the .sound 
 judgment and practical skill of this untaught American. 
 The strong mind and calm considerate reflection of Putnam 
 took in at once the commanding points of the positions to 
 bo fortified, and his practical skill soon accomplished what 
 his genius had projected. He found the foreign engineers' 
 main fort laid out on an extreme point next the river, and 
 commanded by the adjacent high grounds. It was aban- 
 doned for this purpose, and a simple battery placed there to 
 annoy the enemy's shipping, should they attempt to turn the
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 73 
 
 point and force the boom placed a little higher up As a 
 defense against an attack by land, a chain of forts and 
 redoubts was laid out on the high ground, bordering the plain, 
 which forms the point that gives name to the place. The 
 principal fort was built by Putnam's own regiment, and 
 named by Gen. McDougal, " Fort Putnam." It stands on 
 an elevated rocky eminence, which commands both the plain 
 and point. This rock slopes gradually on to the plain, on 
 one side, while to the assailants it presents a mural front of 
 fifty feet perpendicular. It was subsequently strengthened 
 with additional works and made a very formidable place. 
 These defenses occupied him until June, when he joined the 
 division of the army under Gen. Gates at Peekskill, and on 
 the 24th of July united with the grand army under Gen. 
 Washington, at White Plains. By his orders he reconnoi- 
 tered the country about Frcdericksburg, Quaker hill, &c., 
 making plans and sketches for the use of the commander. 
 On the IGth of. September, the main army was broken 
 into divisions and posted at different places. The division 
 to which he was attached under Gen. Gates, marched to 
 Danbury, Connecticut. While here he was directed by Gen. 
 McDougal to examine the roads and passes from New Mil- 
 ford, leading eastward, which service he accomplished, and 
 made his report to him. Soon after this he received the 
 following letter from Gen. Washington : 
 
 "HEAD QUARTERS, Oct. 9th, 1778. 
 
 SIR: I have perused your report of this day to Gen. Mc- 
 Dougal. You will continue your examination of the differ- 
 ent roads, &c., reconnoitcr the most convenient halting 
 olaces on each; allowing the interval of one day's march 
 from one to the other, and make report of the whole to me, 
 that I may be enabled to regulate the different routes. The 
 road toward Litchfield offers, from your account of it, to be
 
 74 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 worth attention, and Col. Hall should be directed to proceed 
 on it accordingly. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 G. WASHINGTON. 
 
 Col. Putnam." 
 
 In answer to this letter he made a lengthy and very par- 
 ticular report, exhibiting his tact and sound judgment in 
 such services, for which he was naturally constituted. 
 
 Previous to making the final arrangements for winter quar- 
 ters, he made a tour of reconnoisancc with Gen. Greene, in 
 the vicinity of the Hudson river. Late in December Nixon's 
 brigade took up their winter station in the Highlands, on the 
 road from Peekskill to Fishkill. Nixon left the brigade on 
 furlough, and it was placed under Col. Putnam for the 
 winter. Early in February the brigade was ordered to leave 
 their quarters. Col. Putnam's regiment was directed to 
 march to Croton river, and build a bridge across that 
 stream, which was completed about the last of March, and 
 was all extra service, for which no additional pay was given. 
 
 At this time he had a furlough to visit his family, where 
 he had not been since December, 1777. This was an in- 
 convenience under which the most useful officers labored ; 
 they could not be spared from the service, while the less 
 valuable procured leave of absence more readily. The 
 families of many of the New England officers, high in com- 
 mand, were in poor circumstances, and required all the in- 
 dustry and foresight of their calculating wives to keep then- 
 families in comfortable circumstances during their absence. 
 Mrs. Putnam and the children, the oldest not more than 
 twelve or fourteen years, lived on a small farm of fifty acres 
 of rather sterile land ; while so poor and uncertain was the 
 pay of the soldier, and in 1779, so depredated in value, that 
 had it not been for the assiduous application of the needle
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 75 
 
 by this patriotic woman, her children would sometimes have 
 been very poorly supplied with food. It was common in 
 those days, which tried the souls of women as well as of 
 men, for females in some of the best families, to make gar- 
 ments gratuitously for the soldiers sent from their vicinity, 
 while many of them made also for their neighbors less 
 skilled in the art, for which they received produce or conti- 
 nental paper in exchange. Mrs. Putnam was one of this 
 class ; and let it be remembered to her honor and praise, 
 that she labored diligently with her hands, both at the distaff 
 and needle, like the virtuous woman of old, for the support 
 of her household, while he who should have been their pro- 
 vider was absent, devoting his time to the cause of freedom, 
 and fighting the battles of his country. Many interesting 
 anecdotes are yet remembered and related by the family, of 
 the frugality and industry practiced during this cruel war, 
 for their support. 
 
 During his absence, Fort Fayette, on Yerplank's Point, 
 was taken by the British. It was commanded by Capt. 
 Armstrong, and surrendered to overwhelming numbers. 
 
 Toward the last of June, Col. Putnam returned to camp, and 
 in a few days received the following order from Gen. Heath : 
 "HIGHLANDS, DANFORTH'S HOUSE, June 29, 1779. 
 
 SIR: I am very desirous, if possible, to obtain the exact 
 situation of the enemy on Verplank's Point, and of the ves- 
 sels in the river. As you are well acquainted with the 
 ground on both sides of the river, I would request that you 
 would, to-morrow, reconnoiter the enemy with clue precau- 
 tion, and make such remarks as you may think proper. 
 You will take a part, or the whole of your own light infantry 
 company as a guard. Your knowledge of the country, and 
 abilities, render particular instructions unnecessary. 
 
 Yours, &c., 
 
 WM. HEATH. 
 Col. Putnam."
 
 76 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 To execute this order, he had to march through the moun- 
 tains about twenty miles, by an unfrequented route, and to 
 prevent discovery, conceal his men in the woods. This duty 
 was successfully performed; but the report is mislaid. Soon 
 after his return, he received the following note from his ex- 
 cellency, the commander- in-chief : 
 
 "Col. Putnam has permission to take as many men as he 
 chooses, of his own regiment, or any other, for special ser- 
 vice, and to pass all guards. 
 
 G. WASHINGTON. 
 
 July 9, 1779." 
 
 The "special sen-ice" here intended, was to reconnoiter 
 the posts on Verplank's and Stony Points, previous to the 
 meditated assault on those places. For this purpose, Col. 
 Putnam left Constitution island, opposite to West Point, in 
 the afternoon of the 10th, with fifty men, and landed at 
 Continental village about sunset. Soon after dark, he pro- 
 ceeded, by a back road, to a point near the scene of his 
 intended observations, and concealed his men, as before, in 
 the woods. In a short time it began to rain, and continued 
 all the next day, a part of which time they lay in a barn. 
 On the 12th it was fair, but their ammunition was all wet, 
 and he retired a little distance, to a deserted house, built a 
 fire, and dried their powder, which occupied nearly all day, 
 leaving the party, had they been attacked, entirely de- 
 fenseless. That evening he approached nearer the works, 
 concealed his men, and commenced reconnoitering their 
 condition. With one or two soldiers, who were familiar 
 with the location, he continued his labor until near morn- 
 ing, creeping on his hands and knees, to avoid detection by 
 the sentries, when very near the works. lie ascertained the 
 time of night by the aid of fire-flies, which are abundant 
 at that season, and whose phosphorescent light enabled him 
 to distinguish the hours on his watch. By the approach of
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 77 
 
 early dawn, he had completed his observations, and returned 
 undiscovered to camp, on the 13th. The following day, a 
 full and very intelligent report of the service was made to 
 Gen. Washington; a copy of which is now among his manu- 
 scripts, and no doubt contributed greatly to the success of 
 the attack on Stony Point, which immediately followed. In 
 relation to the statement made by Marshall, that " two brig- 
 ades under the command of Gen. McDougal, had been or- 
 dered to approach the enemy on the cast side of the river, 
 &c.," he doubts whether such an order was ever given, for 
 the reason, that McDougal commanded the post of West 
 Point, and would not be allowed to leave so important a 
 station. He further says, that when he waited on Gen. 
 Washington, to make his report of the reconnoisance on the 
 14th, he told him that he had relinquished the plan of an 
 actual attack on Verplank's, simultaneously with that on 
 Stony Point, but intended only to make a feint; and for that 
 purpose had ordered Nixon's brigade to march, that day, to 
 Continental village. He then instructed Col. Putnam to 
 take as many men from the brigade as he thought proper, 
 and make arrangements to be on the ground, ready to fire 
 on the enemy at Verplank's, the moment he discovered that 
 Wayne had begun his attack on Stony Point. At the same 
 time, he told him that no one was aware of the intended 
 attack, but those who w r ere intrusted with its execution, and 
 that but one of his own family was in the secret. From 
 some error in the orders, Nixon's brigade did not march as 
 expected; but on the evening of the 15th, Col. Putnam left 
 Continental village, with Lieut. Col. Smith, and a detach- 
 ment of men, for Verplank's, and made the feigned attack, 
 by firing on the outer block-house and the guard stationed 
 at the creek, which alarmed the garrison of Fort Fayette 
 for their own safety, and prevented their turning their guns 
 on the Americans in their attack on Stony Point. This was
 
 78 KUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 all that was intended to be done on that night. On the 
 morning of the 16th, he remained in full view of the enemy 
 until eight or nine o'clock, and then returned to Continental 
 village. In the course of that day, Nixon's and Patterson's 
 brigades arrived at the village, but without field pieces, ar- 
 tillery men, axes, or tools. About ten o'clock at night, Gen. 
 Howe arrived, and took the command. He called on Col. 
 Putnam for information, who told him of the need of artil- 
 lery, &c., to attack the block-house in advance of the main 
 works, and that they could not cross the creek without re- 
 building the bridge, which had been destroyed. On the 
 17th, two twelve pounders arrived; but before any attack 
 was made, the approach of a numerous body of the enemy, 
 for the relief the post, caused the Americans to retreat, and 
 Fort Fayette remained in the hands of the British. Stony 
 Point was also abandoned in a short time, and fell into their 
 possession; so that no advantage was gained, but the cap- 
 ture of six hundred prisoners, and the glory of the victory. 
 It infused fresh spirits into the country, and convinced their 
 enemies that no danger was too great, or achievement too 
 difficult for them to overcome. 
 
 In a short time after these events, Col. Putnam was ap- 
 pointed to the command of a regiment of light infantry, in 
 the brigade of Gen. Wayne, composed of four regiments. 
 This body of men was the elite of the army, and the officers 
 selected by the advice of Gen. Wayne, composing as effi- 
 cient a corps as the world ever saw. He continued in ser- 
 vice this year, until the army had generally gone into winter 
 quarters, and did not reach the station in the Highlands, 
 where his regiment was cantoned, until January, 1780; 
 marching through the ice and snow from near Newark, in 
 New Jersey, being a very tedious and fatiguing journey. 
 During 1779, he was ordered on extra service, to erect a 
 battery on the ground of old Fort Montgomery, for the
 
 IIUFUS PUTNAM. 79 
 
 annoyance of the enemy's ships on the Hudson ; and again, 
 in December, by order of Gen. Wayne, he reconnoitcred the 
 position of a British fleet at South Amboy, accompanied by 
 eight dragoons, to learn the time of their sailing. This 
 was promptly performed arnidat the cold and inclemency of 
 December weather, and returned to camp by the way of 
 New Brunswick. A number of letters from Gen. Wayne 
 are on his file. 
 
 The latter part of the winter 1780, he had leave of ab- 
 sence to visit his family, and returned to camp in April. As 
 early as the 6th of May he w y as on command with an ad- 
 vanced detachment on Croton river, watching the movements 
 of the enemy. This was a fatiguing, hazardous duty, re- 
 quiring the utmost vigilance in the commanding Oilicer, and 
 is only intrusted to men of tried courage and cautious 
 watchfulness. It is considered an honorable post, and the 
 ofllcer selected by special appointment of the commanding 
 general. During the early years of the war the Americans 
 suffered severe losses in their detachments on this service, 
 not only at Paoli, but at various other places, from the light 
 dragoons under Tarlton and De Lancy, who acquired great 
 honor by their surprisalb of our advanced posts, although 
 it was not a little lessened by their cruelty. The constant 
 watchfulness of Col. Putnam saved him from any disaster 
 of this kind, as may be seen in his correspondence with 
 Gen. Howe, which is full, minute, and voluminous, and 
 sometimes accompanied with plans and drafts, showing the 
 positions of the different detachments of the enemy. The 
 following letter will serve as a specimen of his style and 
 manner in this line : 
 
 U CAI.L.U;UK<;,* July 1, 1780. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL: By an ofllcer returned from scout laL't 
 
 * This was a station on the cast of the Hudson, near the Hiithhuids.
 
 80 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 evening, and other intelligence, I am informed that the 
 enemy some day this week advanced in force by land from 
 New York, and are noiv encamped, having their left on the 
 North river, one mile above Phillips', and their right on the 
 road from Stephen Wards to Elberts. By this position their 
 right and left wings are about five rniles distant, and from 
 the nature and situation of the country, their camps are 
 detached or separated; their left division being on Phillips' 
 hill between North river and Saw-Mill river; their center 
 division on Valentine's hill, between Saw-Mill river and the 
 Braux ; and their right division between the Braux and 
 East Chester. A sketch of the country which I sent you ; 
 and what I have said, will give you a correct idea of their 
 position. It is said, and I believe it to be a fact, that a 
 number of wagons, with scythes for cutting forage, came 
 out yesterday. I think if it be true that a French fleet is 
 really in the way, Mr. Clinton has come out to give his troops 
 an airing, after their fatigue and other sufferings in a southern 
 climate ; and at the same time, has a design to secure or 
 destroy all the forage in his power, which might otherwise 
 be of advantage to us ; and I should not be surprised if he 
 attempted a general ravage of the country as far as Salem 
 or D anbury. 
 
 I am, dear general, with respect, your humble servant, 
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 To Gen. Howe." 
 
 During the campaign of 1780, no great battle was fought in 
 the northern department. The events along the North river 
 were mostly skirmishes. An invasion of New Jersey was-; 
 made in June, by Gen. Knyphausen, in which he was so 
 valiantly opposed by the American troops, that he retired 
 without accomplishing much but the destruction of buildings 
 and the murder of Mrs. Caldwell, the wife of a clergyman, 
 which foul deed was done by some of the Tory troops of
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 81 
 
 Gov. Try on, who was in the expedition. Early in July, Sir 
 Henry Clinton returned with his army from the conquest of 
 Charleston, S. C., and made demonstrations of an attack 
 on West Point, but nothing was accomplished. 
 
 In September, the foul treason of Arnold took place, by 
 which the enemy thought to obtain possession of this im- 
 portant post, in a more easy way than by hard fighting, but 
 not half so honorable. A kind Providence, which over- 
 looked and directed the American affairs, caused this wicked 
 plan to be discovered in time to prevent its execution ; and 
 the country was thus saved from threatened ruin. Soon 
 after this affair, Col. Putnam had leave of absence, and re- 
 turned to camp early in December. On the 6th of July, 
 1781, the French army, which had been sent to aid us, 
 formed a junction with the Americans near Dobb's Ferry, 
 preparatory to marching for Virginia. 
 
 On the 21st of July, Col. Putnam was ordered by Gen. 
 Heath to take the command of a detachment of three hun- 
 dred light infantry, Col. Sheldon's legionary corps, with two 
 companies of the New York levies, and one piece of light 
 artillery, with which to cover that part of the country. On 
 this duty he was continued until the last of October, and 
 thus did not witness the surrender of Cornwallis at York- 
 town. While here employed, he received the following let- 
 ter from Gen. Waterbury, of Connecticut : 
 
 " HORSE NECK, September 13, 1781. 
 
 SIR: After my compliments, I would inform you that I 
 have received orders from his excellency, Gov. Trumbull, to 
 build some places of security for my troops to winter in, 
 and, at the same time, to ask the favor of your assistance, 
 in counseling with me where to build, &c." 
 
 This service he performed as requested. In November, 
 he joined his regiment at West Point, and on the 14th of that 
 month, received the following order from Gen. McDougal :
 
 82 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 "Sin: Gen. McDougal requests you to repair to Stony 
 and Verplank's Points, and examine minutely into their 
 state in every respect. The sentry boxes at those advanced 
 works should be destroyed ; every building within cannon 
 range of either of those posts, and any cover that would 
 afford a lodgment for the enemy, must be taken down, and 
 removed before you leave the ground. You will please to 
 have the garrisons paraded, and note every person, and the 
 regiments they belong to, unfit for this service, &c." 
 
 This duty was faithfully performed, and was about the 
 last of his military labors; as after this period, hostilities, in 
 a manner, closed between the two nations, in the northern 
 states. The capture of Lord Cornwallis, and the victories 
 of Gen. Greene in South Carolina, discouraged Great Brit- 
 ain from farther attempts at the subjugation of the United 
 States. He was, however, still busily employed, as agent 
 for his brother officers, in interceding with Congress and the 
 Legislature of Massachusetts, for a redress of their griev- 
 ances, which had become very serious. For this duty, his 
 stern integrity, candor, honesty of purpose, and well known 
 character for usefulness in the service of the country, emi- 
 nently fitted him. His first employment of this kind was 
 in 1778. and on the following occasion : 
 
 "At a meeting of the field and other officers of Gen. Nix- 
 on's brigade, September 9, 1778, Col. Rufus Putnam was 
 unanimously chosen representative, to meet in a general 
 convention of the army, to state our grievances to the hon- 
 orable Continental Congress, and endeavor to obtain redress 
 of the same. 
 
 Per order of the meeting : 
 
 TUGS. NIXON, Col., Moderator." 
 
 In the winter of 1778-9, the sufferings of the officers and 
 men had become so intolerable, from the want of pay, 
 clothing, and provisions, that the patience and patriotism of
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 83 
 
 even the Massachusetts men, was put to so severe a trial, 
 that they had well nigh failed under it. Gen. Nixon's brig- 
 ade, then in winter quarters in the Highlands, had formed 
 articles of mutiny, by which, on a certain day, they were to 
 march off in a body. A copy of those articles was some- 
 how obtained by Col. Putnam, and transmitted to Mr. Davis, 
 a member of the Legislature, and an influential man in 
 Boston. Finding his own personal efforts, and those few 
 who assisted him, unavailing in checking this disgraceful 
 design, Col. Putnam made a confidential communication to 
 Gen. McDougal, of their intentio-ns, and requested him to 
 order the several regiments composing the brigade, to sepa- 
 rate, and occupy distant and distinct posts, toward New- 
 York. This the general immediately complied with, and 
 thus put it out of their power to execute the plan they had 
 formed, or at least not so readily as they could have done, 
 when all in a body; and thus, by the integrity and faithful- 
 ness of this honest and upright man, was this sad calamity 
 averted ; and a foul blot on the fair escutcheon of his native 
 state prevented. 
 
 In the winter of 1780, while on a furlough, the larger por- 
 tion of his time was spent in Boston, soliciting the General 
 Court, or Legislature of Massachusetts, for relief in aid of 
 their troops, and especially for the officers who were prisoners 
 on Long island. For the latter a small sum was obtained, 
 for which he received their thanks in a letter of acknowledg- 
 ment, through Col. Thompson, dated May 1st, 1780. While 
 for the officers of the line no provision was made. For this 
 reason, at the close of the year, a committee was appointed 
 to repair to Boston and lay their claims before the Legisla- 
 ture, with the following instructions, which are given, in part, 
 that posterity may judge of the justice of their cause. 
 
 After stating a number of their grievances, as to the man- 
 ner of their pay, clothing, small stores, &c.. under three
 
 84 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 distinct heads, they say, " You will pointedly represent to the 
 Legislature, the great inconveniences and losses, accrued and 
 accruing to great part, nay almost the whole, of both offi- 
 cers and soldiers, from the notes we received the last year, 
 not being negotiable in any manner for any kind of property, 
 on which account many were, for want of almost every kind 
 of clothing, obliged to sell their notes at a very great dis- 
 count, from their nominal value when given ; and by this 
 representation you will endeavor to procure an act that w T ill 
 make the notes already, and those that shall be given, a 
 tender for the confiscated estates when sold ; or that will in 
 some way be equally beneficial to the army and state make 
 them of such value that those who wish it may convert them 
 into current money without loss." 
 
 The whole of these instructions fill two or three pages, 
 and seem to have been signed by all the officers of the Mas- 
 sachusetts line. It is dated West Point, January 1st, 1781. 
 The names of the committee were as follows : Brig. Gen. 
 Glover, Col. Putnam, Lieut. Col. E. Brooks, Col. H. Jackson, 
 Col. J. Graton, Maj. Samuel Darbey, S. Lamed and T. 
 Edwards. 
 
 To fulfill this embassy the committee left West Point early 
 in January and passed two or thee months in Boston, prose- 
 cuting their claims. On their arrival, the recent alarm grow- 
 ing out of the mutiny of the Pennsylvania and Jersey lines 
 had created such an alarm in the minds of the General As- 
 sembly, that they listened favorably to the committee and 
 actually sent on two months' pay in specie to their line of the 
 army, which was about the result of their efforts. It relieved 
 their most pressing wants and pacified the distressed soldiers 
 for a time, and the favorable prospects of a speedy termina- 
 tion of the war closed any further serious difficulties with 
 the Massachusetts men. 
 
 In February, 1782, the state of New York having applied
 
 RUFTJS PUTNAM. 85 
 
 to Congress for remuneration for the forage consumed by 
 the allied army in West Chester county, while encamped 
 near Dobb's Ferry in 1781, he was appointed by Gen. 
 Heath and Gov. Clinton one of the commissioners for set- 
 tling the claim. It was a difficult and troublesome affair, 
 but was closed in July, and shows the confidence of those 
 eminent men in his character, for sound judgment and love 
 of justice. After this, he obtained leave of absence for a 
 short time, and while on furlough, heard of the intention of 
 Congress to reduce the army. 
 
 Being tired and disgusted with much of the treatment he 
 had received in regard to promotion in the Massachusetts 
 line, which had not been made in accordance with common 
 usage in such matters, especially as to the brigadiers, two of 
 which were vacant and neither of them filled, viz: Gen. 
 Learned's in 1777, and Nixon's in 1780, added to which the 
 desire he felt to be w r ith his family which greatly needed his 
 presence, he concluded to quit the service, and made an ar- 
 rangement with Lieut. Col. Brooks, the youngest commander 
 of a regiment in the line, and would of course be deranged 
 in the reduction, to remain, and let Col. Putnam retire, a 
 a mode of exchange heretofore practiced. Under these cir- 
 cumstances he did not return to the army until the receipt 
 of the following letter from Gen. Washington, who had been 
 informed of his intentions by some of his friends. 
 
 "HEAD QUARTERS, NEWBURG, Dec. 2, 1782. 
 
 SIR: I am informed you have had thoughts of retiring 
 from service, upon the arrangement which is to take place 
 on the 1st of January. But as there will be no opening for it, 
 unless your reasons should be very urgent indeed ; and as 
 there are some prospects which may perhaps make your 
 continuing more eligible than was expected, I have thought 
 proper to mention the circumstances, in expectation they 
 might have some influence in inducing you to remain in the
 
 86 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 army. Col. Shepherd having retired and Brig. Gen. Pat- 
 terson being appointed to the command of the first brigade, 
 you will of consequence be the second colonel in the line 
 and have the command of a brigade, while the troops con- 
 tinue brigaded as at present. Besides I consider it expedi- 
 ent you should be acquainted, that the question is yet before 
 Congress, whether there shall be two brigadiers appointed in 
 the Massachusetts line. Should you continue you will be a 
 candidate for this promotion. The secretary at war is of 
 opinion the promotion will soon take place whether it will 
 or not, I am not able to determine, and, therefore, I would not 
 flatter you too much with expectations, which it is not in my 
 power to gratify but if upon a view of these circumstances 
 and prospects, the state of your affairs will permit you to con- 
 tinue in the present arrangement, (which must be completed 
 immediately,) it will be very agreeable to 
 Sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. WASHINGTON. 
 
 Col. Putnam." 
 
 On the receipt of this letter, and one from Gen. Potter, 
 he repaired immediately to camp ; but being determined not 
 to remain in a situation approaching disgrace, as some of 
 his senior officers had done, when Congress neglected to pro- 
 mole them to actual vacancies, on his arrival he wrote a 
 very interesting letter to Gen. Washington, explaining all 
 his views and thanking him for the interest he took in his 
 welfare, but is too lengthy for insertion here. On the Sth 
 of January following, he was commissioned as a brigadier- 
 general in the army of the United States, and then left 
 without any excuse to leave the service until the declaration 
 of peace, which happily took place on the 9th of April, 
 1783. 
 
 Iu June the Massachusetts line was reduced to two regi- 
 ments of which, Gen. Patterson or the oldest officer took the
 
 HUFUS PUTNAM. 87 
 
 command, and the officers and soldiers retired on furlough, 
 and were finally discharged in November. 
 
 During his continuance in the army, he shared largely in 
 the confidence of Gen. Washington, who continued his 
 friendship during his political life, appointing him to various 
 posts of honor and profit, as will appear in the progress of 
 this biography. 
 
 During this year he was consulted by Gen. Washington, 
 as to the best plan of arranging " a military peace establish- 
 ment," for the United States. Into this subject he entered 
 quite largely, drafting a system embracing about thirty 
 manuscript pages, giving in detail the whole arrangement, 
 and must have been quite useful to the commander-in-chicf 
 in forming his final report to Congress. In it is embraced, 
 besides the regular troops, a plan for twenty-four regiments 
 of continental militia, selected from the several states, of- 
 ficered and armed like the standing troops, and ready to be 
 called into service when needed. Also a plan for a chain 
 of military posts, or forts for the defense of the frontiers, 
 in the west, one of which is at the mouth of the Muskingum 
 and was established in 1785. And, as in case of war with 
 Great Britain, they would probably have the ascendancy on 
 the northern lakes, he points out the most eligible routes for 
 supplying the posts with provisions. It is an elaborate 
 work and displays the genius of a great and calculating 
 mind : the original draft of which is now among his manu- 
 script papers. 
 
 In June, 1783, before the final reduction of the army took 
 place at New Windsor, the officers of the army, to the num- 
 ber of two hundred and eighty-three belonging chiefly to the 
 northern states, petitioned Congress for a grant of land in 
 the western country, and Gen. Putnam, in their behalf, ad- 
 dressed a letter to Gen. Washington on the subject, request- 
 ing his influence with Congress in the matter. It explains
 
 88 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 the views and expectations of the officers, and the good 
 results that would accrue to the* United States, in a clear 
 and masterly manner, and being now a rare document is 
 given in full as justly due to his character and name. 
 
 "NEW WINDSOR, June 16th, 1783. 
 
 SIR : As it is very uncertain how long it may be before the 
 honorable Congress may take the petition of the officers of 
 the army, for lands between the Ohio river and Lake Erie, 
 into consideration, or be in a situation to decide thereon, the 
 going to Philadelphia to negotiate the business with any of 
 its members, or committee to whom the petition may be 
 referred, is a measure, none of the petitioners will think of 
 undertaking. The part I have taken in promoting the peti- 
 tion is well known, and, therefore, needs no apology, when 1 
 inform you, that the signers expect that I will pursue measures 
 to have it laid before Congress. Under these circumstances 
 I beg leave to put the petition in your excellency's hands, 
 and ask with the greatest assurance your patronage of 
 it. That Congress may not be wholly unacquainted with 
 the motives of the petitioners, I beg your indulgence while I 
 make a few observations on the policy and propriety of 
 granting the prayer of it, and making such arrangements 
 of garrisons in the western quarter, as shall give effectual 
 protection to the settlers and encourage emigration to the 
 new government, which, if they meet your approbation, and 
 the favor not too great, I must request your excellency will 
 give them your support, and cause them to be forwarded 
 with the petition, to the President of Congress, in order that 
 when the petition is taken up, Congress or their committee, 
 may be informed on what principles the petition is grounded. 
 I arru, sir, among those who consider the cession of so great 
 a tract of territory to the United States, in the western 
 world, as a very happy circumstance, and of great conse- 
 quence to the American empire. Nor have I the least doubt
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 89 
 
 but Congress will pay an early attention to securing the 
 allegiance of the natives, as well as provide for the defense 
 of the country, in case of a war with Great Britain or Spain. 
 One great means of securing the allegiance of the natives 
 I take to be, the furnishing them with such necessaries as 
 they shall stand in need of, and in exchange receiving their 
 furs and skins. They have become so accustomed to the 
 use of fire-arms, that I doubt if they could gain a subsis- 
 tence without them, at least they will be very sorry to be 
 reduced to the disagreeable necessity of using the bow and 
 aiTow as the only means for killing their game ; and so 
 habituated are they to the woolen blanket, &c., &c., that 
 absolute necessity alone will prevent their making use of 
 them. 
 
 This consideration alone is I think, sufficient to prove 
 the necessity of establishing such factories as may furnish 
 an ample supply to these wretched creatures : for unless 
 they are furnished by the subjects of the United States, 
 they will undoubtedly seek elsewhere, and like all other 
 people, form their attachment where they have their com- 
 merce ; and then in case of w r ar, will always be certain to 
 aid our enemies. Therefore if there were no advantages 
 in view but that of attaching them to our interest, I think 
 good policy will dictate the measure of carrying on a com- 
 merce with these people ; but when we add to this the con- 
 sideration of the profit arising from the Indian trade in 
 general, there cannot, I presume, be a doubt that it is the 
 interest of the United States to make as early provision for 
 the encouragement and protection of it as possible. For 
 these, and many other obvious reasons, Congress will no 
 doubt find it necessary to establish garrisons at Oswego, 
 Niagara, Detroit, Michilimackinac, Illinois, and many other 
 places in the western world. 
 
 The Illinois, and all the posts that shall be established
 
 90 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 on the Mississippi, may undoubtedly be furnished by way 
 of the Ohio, with provisions at all times, and with goods 
 whenever a war shall interrupt the trade with New Or- 
 leans. But in case of a war with Great Britain, unless a 
 communication is open between the river Ohio and Lake 
 Erie, Niagara, Detroit, and all the posts seated on the great 
 lakes, will inevitably be lost without such communication ; 
 for a naval superiority on Lake Ontario, or the seizing on 
 Niagara, will subject the whole country bordering on the 
 lakes to the will of the enemy. Such a misfortune will put 
 it out of the power of the United States to furnish the na- 
 tives, and necessity will again oblige them to take an active 
 part against us. 
 
 "Where and how this communication is to be opened, 
 shall next be considered. If Capt. Hutching and a number 
 of other map-makers are not out of their calculations, provis- 
 ions may be sent from the settlements on the south side of the 
 Ohio, by the Muskingum or the Scioto, to Detroit, or even 
 to Niagara, at a less expense than from Albany by the Mo- 
 hawk, to those places. To secure such communication, (by 
 the Scioto. all circumstances considered, will be the best.) 
 let a chain of forts be established : these forts should be 
 built on the bank of the river, if the ground will admit, and 
 about twenty miles distant from each other : and on this 
 plan the Scioto communication will require ten or eleven 
 stockaded forts, flanked by block-houses; and one company 
 of men will be a sufficient garrison for each, except the one 
 at the portage, which will require more attention in the 
 construction, and a larger number of men to garrison it. 
 But besides the supplying the garrisons on the great lakes 
 with provisions, &c. ; we ought to take into consideration the 
 protection that such an arrangement will give to the front- 
 iers of Virginia. Pennsylvania, and New 1 ork. I say New 
 York, as we shall undoubtedly extend our settlements and
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 91 
 
 garrisons from the Hudson to Oswego. This done, and a 
 garrison posted at Niagara, whoever will inspect the map must 
 be convinced that all the Indians living on the waters of the 
 Mohawk, Oswego, Susquehanna, and Alleghany rivers, and 
 in all the country south of the lakes Ontario and Erie, will 
 be encircled in such a manner as will effectually secure their 
 allegiance, and keep them quiet, or oblige them to quit their 
 country. 
 
 Nor will such an arrangement of posts, from the Ohio to 
 Lake Erie, be any additional expense ; for, unless this gap 
 is shut, notwithstanding the garrisons on the lakes, and 
 from Oswego to the Hudson, yet the frontier settlers on the 
 Ohio, by Fort Pitt to the Susquehanna, and all the country 
 south of the Mohawk, w r ill be exposed to savage insult, un- 
 less protected by a chain of garrisons, which will be far 
 more expensive than the arrangement proposed, and at the 
 same time the protection given to these states, will be much 
 less complete ; besides, we should not confine our protec- 
 tion to the present settlements, but carry the idea of extend- 
 ing them at least as far as the lakes Ontario and Erie. 
 
 These lakes form such a natural barrier, that when con- 
 nected with the Hudson and Ohio by the garrisons pro- 
 posed, settlements in every part of the state of New York 
 and Pennsylvania, may be made with the utmost safety; so 
 that these states must be deeply interested in the measure, as 
 well as Virginia, who will, by the same arrangement, have 
 a great part of its frontier secured, and the rest much 
 strengthened ; nor is there a state in the Union, but will be 
 greatly benefited by the measure, considered in any other 
 point of view; for, without any expense except a small 
 allowance of purchase-money to the natives, the United 
 States will have within their protection, seventeen million, 
 five hundred thousand acres of very fine land, to dispose of 
 as they may think proper. But I hasten to mention some of
 
 92 RUF US PUTNAM. 
 
 the expectations which the petitioners have, respecting the 
 conditions on which they hope to obtain the lands. This 
 was not proper to mention in the body of the petition, es- 
 pecially as we pray for grants to all members of the army, 
 who wish to take up lands in that quarter. 
 
 The whole tract is supposed to contain about seventeen 
 million, four hundred and eighteen thousand, two hundred 
 and forty acres ; and will admit of seven hundred and fifty- 
 six townships, of six miles square, allowing to each town- 
 ship, three thousand and forty acres, for the ministry, schools, 
 waste lands, rivers, ponds, and highways ; then each town- 
 ship will contain, of settlers' lands, twenty thousand acres, 
 and in the whole, fifteen million, one hundred and twenty 
 thousand acres. The land to which the army is entitled, 
 by the resolves of Congress, referred to in the petition, ac- 
 cording to my estimate, will amount to two million, one 
 hundred and six thousand, eight hundred and fifty acres, 
 which is about the eighth part of the whole. For the survey 
 of this, the army expect to be at no expense ; nor do they 
 expect to be under any obligation to settle these lands, or 
 do any duty to secure their title in them; but in order to 
 induce the army to become actual settlers in the new gov- 
 ernment, the petitioners hope Congress will make a further 
 grant of lands on condition of settlement; and have no 
 doubt but that honorable body will be as liberal to all those 
 who are not provided for, by their own states, as New York 
 has been to the officers and soldiers that belong to that 
 state; which, if they do, it will require about eight million 
 of acres to complete the army, and about seven million 
 acres will remain for sale. The petitioners, at least some 
 of them, arc much opposed to the monopoly of lands, and 
 wish to guard against large patents being granted to in- 
 dividuals, as, in their opinion, such a mode is very injuri- 
 ous to a country, and greatly retards its settlement; and
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 93 
 
 whenever such patents are tenanted, it throws too much 
 power into the hands of a few. For these and many other 
 obvious reasons, the petitioners hope no grant will be made 
 but by townships of six miles square, or six by twelve, or 
 six by eighteen miles, to be subdivided by the proprietors to 
 six miles square, that being the standard on which they wish 
 all calculations to be made ; and that officers and soldiers, 
 as well as those who petition for charters on purchase, may 
 form their associations on one uniform principle, as to num- 
 ber of persons or rights to be contained in a township, with 
 the exception only, that when the grant is made for reward 
 of services already done, or on condition of settlement, if 
 the officers petition, with the soldiers, for a particular town- 
 ship, the soldiers shall have one right only, to a captain's 
 three, and so in proportion with commissioned officers of 
 every grade. 
 
 These, sir, are the principles which gave rise to the pe- 
 tition under consideration; the petitioners, at least some of 
 them, think that sound policy dictates the measure, and that 
 Congress ought to lose no time in establishing some such 
 chain of posts as has been hinted at, and in procuring the 
 tract of country petitioned for, of the natives ; for, the mo- 
 ment this is done, and agreeable terms offered to the set- 
 tlers, many of the petitioners are determined, not only to 
 become adventurers, but actually to remove themselves to 
 this country ; and there is not the least doubt, but other val- 
 uable citizens will follow their example ; and the probability 
 is, that the country between Lake Erie and the Ohio will be 
 filled with inhabitants, and the faithful subjects of the United 
 States so established on the waters of the Ohio and the 
 lakes, as to banish forever the idea of our western territory 
 falling under the dominion of any European power; the 
 frontiers of the old states will be effectually secured from
 
 94 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 savage alarms, and the new will have little to fear from 
 their insults. 
 
 I have the honor to be, sir, with every sentiment, 
 your excellency's most obedient and very 
 humble servant, 
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Gen. Washington." 
 
 From the suggestions in this communication of Gen. Put- 
 nam, originated the system of laying out and surveying the 
 public lands in townships of six miles square, continued in 
 all the surveys of United States lands to this day. The 
 townships of six miles square, and subdivided among the 
 proprietors, about the average size of the New England 
 farms, as well as the provision made for the support of 
 schools and the ministry, could only have originated with a 
 Puritan mind ; although the latter was confined to the Ohio 
 Company's and Symm's purchase, and not adopted by 
 Congress. 
 
 Gen. Washington, in a letter addressed to the President of 
 Congress, advocated the measure strongly, as advantageous 
 to the United States as well as to the petitioners. Nothing, 
 however, was done by them in the matter as to making any 
 additional grant for United States securities, further than 
 that of September, 1770, and this movement was finally the 
 origin of the Ohio Company. 
 
 After his discharge from the army in 1783, he joined his 
 family in Rutland, Mass., where they then lived, and re- 
 sumed the occupations of farming and surveying. 
 
 In April, 1784, he addressed the following letter to Gen. 
 Washington, on the subject of the projected settlement to be 
 made by the officers and soldiers of the army in the Ohio 
 country, which subject seems to have entered deeply into 
 his heart, and occupied a prominent place in his attention;
 
 R U F U S PUTNAM. 95 
 
 he may therefore well be called the projector and father of 
 the settlements northwest of the Ohio river. 
 
 " RUTLAND, April 5th, 1784. 
 
 DEAR SIR : Being unavoidably prevented from attending 
 the general meeting of the Cincinnati at Philadelphia, as I 
 had intended, where I once more expected the opportunity in 
 person of paying my respe-cts to your excellency, I cannot 
 deny myself the honor of addressing you by letter, to ac- 
 knowledge with gratitude the ten thousand obligations I feel 
 myself under to your goodness, and most sincerely to con- 
 gratulate you on your return to domestic happiness ; to 
 inquire after your health, and wish the best of Heaven's 
 blessings may attend you and your dear lady. 
 
 The settlement of the Ohio country, sir, engrosses many 
 of my thoughts ; and much of my time, since I left the 
 camp, has been employed in informing myself and others, 
 with respect to the nature, situation, and circumstances of 
 that country, and the practicability of removing ourselves 
 there ; and if I am to form an opinion on what I have seen 
 and heard on the subject, there are thousands in this quarter 
 who will emigrate to that country, as soon as the honorable 
 Congress make provisions for granting lands there, and 
 locations and settlements can be made with safety, unless 
 such provision is too long delayed ; I mean till necessity 
 turn their views another way, which is the case with some 
 already, and must soon be the case with many more. You 
 are sensible of the necessity, as well as the possibility cf both 
 officers and soldiers fixing themselves in business some- 
 where, as soon as possible, as many of them are unable to 
 lie long on their oars, waiting the decision of Congress, on our 
 petition ; and, therefore, must unavoidably settle themselves 
 in some other quarter ; which, when done, the idea of re- 
 moving to the Ohio country will probably be at an end, with 
 respect to most of them ; besides, the commonwealth of
 
 90 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Massachusetts have come to a resolution to sell their eastern 
 country for public securities ; and should their plan be 
 formed, and propositions be made public before we hear any- 
 thing from Congress respecting our petition, and the terms 
 on which the lands petitioned for are to be obtained, it will 
 undoubtedly be much against us, by greatly lessening the 
 number of Ohio associates. 
 
 Another reason why we wish to know, as soon as possi- 
 ble, what the intentions of Congress are respecting our pe- 
 tition, is the effect such knowledge will probably have, on 
 the credit of the certificates we have received on settlement 
 of accounts : those securities arc now selling at no more 
 than three shillings and six pence, or four shillings on the 
 pound; which, in all probability, might double, if no more, 
 the moment it was known that government would receive 
 them for lands in the Ohio country. From these circum- 
 stances, and many others which might be mentioned, we are 
 growing quite impatient; and the general inquiry now is, 
 when are we going to the Ohio? Among others, Brig. Gen. 
 Tupper, Lieut. Col. Oliver, and Maj. Ashley, have agreed 
 to accompany me to that country, the moment the way is 
 open for such an undertaking. I should have hinted these 
 things to some member of Congress, but the delegates from 
 Massachusetts, although exceeding worthy men, and, in 
 general, would wish to promote the Ohio scheme, yet, if it 
 should militate against the particular interest of this state, 
 by draining her of inhabitants, especially when she is form- 
 ing the plan of selling the eastern country, I thought they 
 would not be very warm advocates in our favor; and I dare 
 not trust myself with any of the New York delegates, with 
 whom I was acquainted, because that government arc wisely 
 inviting the eastern people to settle in that state; and as to 
 the delegates of other states, I have no acquaintance with 
 anv of thorn.
 
 R U F U S P U T N A M . 97 
 
 These circumstances must apologi/c for my troubling 
 you on this subject, and requesting the favor of a line, to 
 inform us in this quarter, what the prospects are with re- 
 spect to our petition, and what measures have, or are likely 
 to be taken, with respect to settling the Ohio country. 
 
 I shall take it as a very particular favor, sir, if you will 
 be kind enough to recommend me to some character in Con- 
 gress, acquainted with, and attached to the Ohio cause, with 
 whom I may presume to open a correspondence. 
 
 I am, sir, with the highest respect, 
 your humble servant, 
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Gen. Washington." 
 
 In June, he received the following reply from Gen. Wash- 
 ington : 
 
 " MOUNT VERNON, June 2d, 1784. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I could not answer your favor of the 5th of 
 April, from Philadelphia, because Gen. Knox, having mis- 
 laid, only presented the letter to me in the moment of my 
 departure from that place. The sentiments of esteem and 
 friendship which breathe in it, are exceedingly pleasing 
 and flattering to me, and you. may rest assured they are 
 reciprocal. 
 
 I wish it was in my power to give you a more favorable 
 account of the officers' petition for lands on the Ohio, and 
 its waters, than I am about to do. After this matter, and 
 information respecting the establishment for peace, w r ere 
 my inquiries, as I went through Annapolis, solely directed : 
 but I could not learn that anything decisive had been done 
 in either. 
 
 On the latter, I hear Congress are differing about their 
 powers ; but as they have accepted of the cession from Vir- 
 ginia, and have resolved to lay off ten new states, bounded 
 by latitudes and longitudes, it should be supposed that they
 
 98 BUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 would determine something respecting the former, before 
 they adjourn; and yet I very much question it. as the latter 
 is to happen on the 3d, that is to-morrow. As the Congress 
 who are to meet in November next, by the adjournment will 
 be composed from an entire new choice of delegates in each 
 state, it is not in my power, at this time, to direct you to a 
 proper correspondent in that body. I wish I could ; for per- 
 suaded I am, that to some such cause as you have assigned, 
 may be ascribed the delay the petition has encountered; for 
 surety, if 'justice and gratitude to the army, and general policy 
 of the Union were to govern in this case, there would not 
 be the smallest interruption in granting its request. I really 
 feel for those gentlemen, who, by these unaccountable de- 
 lays, (by any other means than those you have suggested.) 
 are held in such an awkward and disagreeable state of sus- 
 pense ; and wish my endeavors could remove the obstacles. 
 At Princeton, before Congress left that place, I exerted 
 every power I was master of, and dwelt upon the argument 
 you have used, to show the propriety of a speed}- decision. 
 Every member with whom I conversed, acquiesced in the 
 reasonableness of the petition. All yielded, or seemed to 
 yield to the policy of it. but plead the want of cession of the 
 land, to act upon; this is made and accepted; and yet mat- 
 ters, as far as they have come to my knowledge, remain in 
 etatu quo.*' 
 
 After speaking of his own lands on the Ohio and Ken- 
 awha, he closes with, 
 
 " I am, dear sir, with very sincere esteem and regard, your 
 most obedient servant, 
 
 G. WASHINGTON." 
 
 The project of an immediate establishment in the wilder- 
 ness, northwest of the river Ohio, having failed, he, on the 
 ( 2d of August of this year, left his home once more, to sur- 
 vey a tract of land for the state of Massachusetts, bordering
 
 RIIFUS PUTNAM. 99 
 
 on tlic hay of Passamaquoddy, and returned from that ser- 
 vice in November. 
 
 Iti the course of this year, the Leicester academy, one of 
 the earliest and most respectable in the state, was incorpo 
 rated, and Gen. Putnam became one of its principal friends 
 and benefactors; giving', for its support, one hundred pound.-, 
 or three hundred and thirty-three dollars, and thirty-three 
 cents, a liberal sum for one in his circumstances. He \vas 
 appointed one of the trustees, in company with the Hon. 
 Moses Gill, Hon. Lcvi Lincoln, Joseph Allen, Seth Wash- 
 barn, Samuel Baker, and several respectable clergymen of 
 the vicinity; thus showing his regard for such institutions as 
 would benefit his country. 
 
 In 1785, the Legislature being well satisfied with his la- 
 bor, and the correct, intelligent report, made to them, of his 
 doings in the preceding year, appointed him on the committee 
 for the sale of their eastern lands, and also superintendent 
 of the surveys to be made this year. In June, while he was 
 in Boston making preparations for the voyage, he received 
 notice of his appointment, by Congress, as one of the sur- 
 veyors of their lands, northwest of the river Ohio, recently 
 ordered to be surveyed for sale, being seven ranges of town- 
 ships, immediately west of the Pennsylvania line. As he 
 could not honorably relinquish his engagement with Massa- 
 chusetts, and also wished to accept the office, he wrote to 
 the secretary an affirmative answer, and at the same time, 
 a letter to the Massachusetts delegation, requesting them to 
 get Congress to appoint Gen. Tuppcr temporarily, in his 
 place, until his present contract was fulfilled. This object 
 was accomplished, and Gen. Tupper proceeded on to Pitts- 
 burg, for this purpose, in 1785. On the 1 1th of June, he 
 sailed, with his company of surveyors, from Beverly, and 
 arrived at Blue Hill on the 20th. This season was occupied
 
 100 EUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 in surveying the coast, islands, and towns westward of Pen- 
 obscot bay, and laid the foundation for a correct chart of 
 that stormy sea-board. He returned late in December, and 
 spent the winter in protracting the results of his labors, for 
 the use of the state. 
 
 In January, 1785, a treaty was made with the Indians 
 claiming the lands now in Ohio, at Fort Mclntosh, but with 
 conditions so repugnant to the Delawares and Shawnoes, who 
 considered themselves as cheated and deceived by the com- 
 missioners on the part of the United States, that they threat- 
 ened with death any who attempted to execute the surveys, 
 and were so manifestly hostile, that it was deemed impru- 
 dent to make the attempt, and the work was abandoned for 
 that year. 
 
 When Gen. Tupper returned in the winter, he made a 
 very favorable report of the fertility and beauty of the 
 country, and as there was no expectation of Congress doing 
 anything more favorable for the officers and soldiers of the 
 late arrny than wsa contained in their ordinance of the 20th 
 of May, 1785, Gen. Putnam concluded to join with Gen. 
 Tupper in proposing an association for the purchase of lands 
 in the western country. Accordingly on the 10th of Jan- 
 uary, 1786, after nearly a whole night spent in conferring on 
 this momentous subject, they issued a public notice ad- 
 dressed to the officers and soldiers, as well as other good 
 citizens disposed to become adventurers in the Ohio country, 
 to meet at Boston, by delegates chosen in the several coun- 
 ties, on the 1st day of March, for the purpose of forming an 
 association by the name of '-The Ohio Company." From 
 that night's conference of these two men, who had long 
 been close, and firm friends, on the 9th of January, 1786. 
 proceeded the first germ of the present great state of Ohio. 
 A full detail of the formation and progress of the company,
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 101 
 
 will be found in " The History of the first Settlement of Wash- 
 ington county, and the Transactions of the Ohio Company," 
 a work which precedes the volume of Biographies. 
 
 In March, 178G, the United States purveyors were ordered 
 to proceed west; and as Gen. Tupper had been at veiy se- 
 rious expense in the last year's journey, without any profit, 
 Gen. Putnam kindly continued him as his substitute, while 
 he occupied the summer in closing the business of the Mas- 
 sachusetts lands. In addition to this, he was appointed by 
 the state a commissioner, in conjunction with Gen. Lincoln, 
 and Judge Paine, of Wiscassct, to treat with the Penobscot 
 Indians, which was accomplished in August and Septem- 
 ber of that year. During the severe weather of January, 
 1787, he joined Gen. Lincoln at Worcester, as a volunteer 
 aid to suppress the Shay insurrection, and continued to as- 
 sist him with his advice and personal presence during this 
 trying period, until the final dispersion of the insurgents at 
 Petersham, in February. In April he was appointed a jus- 
 tice of the peace by Gov. Bowdoin, and in May chosen by 
 the town of Rutland, a member in the General Assembly, 
 and attended the spring and autumn sessions of that year. 
 
 In November, 1789, the directors of the Ohio Company 
 appointed him superintendent of all their affairs relating to 
 the settlement of their lands northwest of the river Ohio. 
 The first division of their pioneers left Danvers, in Massa- 
 chusetts, under the direction of Maj. Haffield White, on the 
 1st day of December. The second assembled at Hartford, 
 Conn., on the 1st of January, 1788, and were led by 
 Col. Sproat; Gen. Putnam being obliged to go by the way 
 of the city of New York, on the business of the company. 
 On the 24th of that month he joined the division at Swatarra 
 creek, Pa., which they crossed with much difficulty, on ac- 
 count of the ice. On that night there fell a deep snow, 
 which blocked up the roads, and with their utmost exertions
 
 102 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 they could get their wagons no further than Cooper's tav- 
 ern, now Strawsburg, at the foot of the Tuscarawas moun- 
 tain, on the 29th of January. Here they ascertained thai 
 no one had crossed the mountains since the last fall of 
 snow, which, with that on the ground before, made about 
 three feet. They therefore abandoned their wagons, built 
 four stout sledges, to which they harnessed their horses in 
 single file, preceded by the men on foot, who broke a track 
 for the teams, and thus, after two weeks of incessant labor, 
 they overcame the mountain ranges, and the numerous dif- 
 ficulties of the way, reaching Simrel's ferry on the Ybugh- 
 iogheny on the 14th of February, where they found the party 
 under Haj. "White, who arrived the 23d of January. 
 
 By the 1st of April, having completed their boats and 
 taken in their stores of provisions, they embarked on the 
 western waters for the mouth of the Muskingum, which 
 place they reached on the 7th of April, and landed at the 
 upper point, where they pitched their camp among the trees. 
 The next day Col. Sproat and John Mathews commenced 
 the survey of the eight acre lots, and in a few days after the 
 city lots and streets, of the town of .Marietta. On his way 
 out, Gen. Putnam procured copies of the several treaties 
 heretofore made with the western Indians, from which he 
 became impressed, that they would not long remain at peace, 
 when they .saw the whites taking actual possession of the 
 country north of the Ohio river, which had for many years 
 been considered the boundary line between their lands and 
 those of the United States. For this reason he directly com- 
 menced the erection of a strong garrison on the margin of 
 the plain, near the Muskingum river, for the protection of 
 themselves and the emigrants soon expected to follow. 
 This fort was called " Campus Alartius," and is fully do- 
 scribed in the preceding history. The pioneers that year 
 planted about one hundred and thirty acres of corn, on the-
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 103 
 
 plain back of the garrison, after girdling the trees, and de- 
 positing the seed, in the loose earth with a hoe, there being 
 no under brush in the forests at this period. The season 
 was propitious, and the yield about thirty bushels to the 
 acre. lie notes, " We had no frost until winter ; I had Eng- 
 lish beans blossomed in December." Previous to taking 
 possession of their lands, the directors and agents of the 
 company had no correct knowledge of the face of the coun- 
 try, or the quality of the soil, on the Muskingum, at and 
 near its confluence with the Ohio, where they had determined 
 on locating their capital, to cover, including commons, four 
 thousand acres ; and contiguous to this, to lay off one thou- 
 sand lots of eight acres each, for the convenience of the 
 proprietors. 
 
 In June, Gen. Parsons and Gen. Varnum, two of the di- 
 rectors, with a sufficient number of the agents, arrived, to 
 form a meeting, on the 2d day of July. On examining the 
 location of the eight acre lots, they were much disappointed 
 to find that no one of them had drawn a lot so near the 
 town as to make it prudent to cultivate them. To remedy 
 this evil, they voted to divide three thousand acres of the 
 land reserved for city commons, into three acre lots; but 
 this unwise division did not mend the difficulty : they were 
 still as little accommodated as before. The project of laying 
 out eight acre lots had been opposed from the first by Gen. 
 Putnam and a few others, who advocated the plan of laying 
 oil' small farms of sixty-four acres of the best lands, to each 
 share bordering on the Ohio or Muskingum ; of which the 
 first actual settlers might take their choice; but they were 
 overruled and the eight acre lots having been drawn, it was 
 too late to adopt the other plan. 
 
 In July, Gov. St. Glair arrived, and a code of laws for the 
 government of the territory promulgated. In September 
 the Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions held their
 
 104 EUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 first session. Of the latter Gen. Putnam was the presiding 
 officer, and gave the charge to the grand jury, in a very ap- 
 propriate and impressive manner. It was an august and 
 ever-to-be-commemorated occasion the iirst opening of 
 the halls of civil justice in a region destined to be filled with 
 millions of happy human beings. Much to the credit of the 
 moral and peaceful habits of the first settlers of Ohio, no 
 suit of a civil or criminal kind was entered on the docket of 
 the session. 
 
 In the course of the year 1788, in addition to the first 
 forty-eight who landed on the 7th of April, there arrived 
 eighty-four men, with several women and children, embra- 
 cing fifteen families, making at its close nearly two hundred 
 souls ; and let it be remembered that at the beginning of 
 the year 1789, there was not a single white family within 
 the present bounds of Ohio, but those in this settlement. 
 Col. Harmer and many of his officers were proprietors in 
 the Ohio Company. Judge Symmes passed down the Ohio 
 during the summer, to his purchase, with a few families, but 
 they spent the winter in Kentucky. The directors and agents 
 early saw the necessity of providing some way to furnish 
 actual settlers not proprietors, with lands, for the prosperity 
 of the settlement. Emigrants were constantly passing down 
 the Ohio river for Kentucky, many of whom were desirous 
 of settling in the Ohio Company's purchase, if they could 
 get lands. For this reason they resolved to donate one 
 hundred acres from each share of land, to any actual settler 
 who would take possession thereof; and a committee was 
 appointed to reconnoiter the purchase, and select suitable 
 spots for the settlements. 
 
 la 1780. the additions to the colony were one hundred 
 and fifty-two men, and fifty-seven families, and settlements 
 wen; commenced at Belpre, Waterford and Wolf creek 
 mills. In this year Gen. Putnam was appointed, by the
 
 RUE US PUTNAM. 105 
 
 governor, judge of probate, for the county of Washington. 
 The insignia on his seal of office was a balance ; an emblem 
 of ihc exact justice that ever balanced his own mind. 
 
 In 1790, he was commissioned as a judge of the United 
 States Court, filling the place on the bench made vacant by 
 the death of den. Parsons. In November of this year, he 
 removed his family to Marietta, consisting of his wife, six 
 daughters, two sons, and two grandchildren. During the 
 autumn the French emigrants, nearly four hundred in num- 
 ber, arrived, and he was at a good deal of expense, on ac- 
 count of Mr. Duer, of New York, in erecting houses and 
 supplying them with provisions, which was never repaid. 
 
 On the '2d of January, 1791, the Indians made their first 
 hostile movements on the settlements of the company, sack- 
 ing and destroying the station at Big Bottom, killing four- 
 teen persons, and carrying five others into captivity. The 
 troops had been withdrawn from Fort Harmer. in the unfor- 
 tunate expedition into the country of the Shawnoes, who 
 were greatly exasperated, instead of humbled thereby; and 
 now with the other tribes who sided with them, threatened the 
 destruction of the new establishments on the Ohio and Mus- 
 kingum. By the return of the muster rolls of the militia at 
 the time, it appears that the whole force amounted to two 
 hundred and fifty men, to which may be added thirty-seven 
 old men and civil officers, all that could be mustered for the 
 defense of the three settlements. In this trying emergency , the 
 wisdom and experience of Gen. Putnam were found to be 
 of the utmost value. lie, with the other old officers of the 
 Revolution, devised the plan of erecting strong garrisons at 
 Belpre and Waterford, while ihosc at Marietta were strength- 
 ened with additional works; to all which the Ohio Company 
 lent their ready assistance, and during the four years of the 
 vrar expended above eleven thousand dollars of their money 
 in provisions, pay, clothing, &c., for the militia, which was
 
 10 6 EUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 never repaid by the United States, although rightly and 
 justly due them. The plan of appointing a company of 
 rangers to scour the woods in the vicinity of the station?, 
 was the suggestion of Cen. Putnam, who had seen the wis- 
 dom of the system in the old French war, and was one of 
 the principal causes of so little loss by the colonists. The 
 principal events of the Avar are detailed in the History of 
 "Washington county, and will not be recapitulated here. 
 
 In May, 1792, while in Philadelphia, on business for the 
 Ohio Company, he was appointed by the senate a brigadier- 
 general in the army of the United States, at the suggestion 
 of his old and firm friend, Gen. Washington. This appoint- 
 ment he accepted with great reluctance, as appears by his 
 letter to the secretary of war. 
 
 In a few days after, he received his instructions from the 
 secretary ; one of the first duties of which was " to attempt 
 to be present at the general council of the hostile Indians, 
 about to be assembled on the Miami river of Lake Erie, in 
 order 1o convince them of the humane disposition of the 
 United States; and thereby to make a truce or peace with 
 them."' lie arrived at Pittsburg on his way home, the 2d 
 of June, and on the 5th sent a speech to the hostile tribes, 
 by two Munsee Indians who had been taken prisoners, and 
 whom lie released for that purpose. 
 
 The purport of the speech was to notify them of the ob- 
 ject of his mission, and ' to request them to open a path to 
 Fort Jefferson, where he expected to arrive in about twenty 
 days ; and that they should r-end some of their young men, 
 with CVtpt. Ilendricks, to conduct him with a few friends to 
 the place they should name for their meeting." 
 
 From unexpected delays, he, however, did not arrive at 
 Fort Washington, or Cincinnati, until the ~2d of July, where 
 he learned that on the very dav he had sent word to the In- 
 dians he should be at Fort Jefferson, a bodv of one hundred
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 107 
 
 Indians, dressed in white shirts, and their leader with a scar- 
 let coat, attacked a party of whites who were making hay 
 in a meadow near the fort, and killed and carried into cap- 
 tivity sixteen men. From the extraordinary dress of these 
 Indian?, there is reason to suppose they were sent out, or at 
 least furnished with their clothing, by the British agent at 
 their post on the Miami, for the express purpose of decoying 
 and taking off Gen. Putnam, which was further strengthened 
 soon after by the murder of Col. Hardy and Col. Trupman, 
 who had been sent out with flags of truce, and were to have 
 accompanied him, but the Providential delays of the journey 
 prevented his being killed or captured with them. From 
 these events and other circumstances, he became satisfied 
 that the grand counsel were determined on war, and there- 
 fore it was useless to make any further efforts to induce 
 them to treat of peace at present. 
 
 By a letter from Maj. Hamtramick, at Post Vincent, ho 
 was led to believe that the Wabash, and more western tribes, 
 would, listen to his proposals of peace. He, therefore, on 
 the 24th, sent a speech to all the western tribes, inviting 
 them to meet him in council, at Post Vincent, on the 20th 
 of September; assuring them that he should bring their 
 friends and relatives with him. now prisoners at Fort Wash- 
 ington. On the IGth of August, he left that post, in his 
 twelve-oared barge, under the escort of Capt. Peters, with 
 t\vo Kentucky boats, the Indian prisoners, sixty in number, 
 with goods, provisions, &c., intending to ascend the Wabash 
 in pirogues. He reached the mouth of that stream in about 
 eighteen days, being retarded by the low stage of the water. 
 Here he met a guard of fifty-one men, and four pirogues, 
 with each a French voyageur, to conduct him to Post Vin- 
 cent, sent on by Maj. Hamtramick, the commander of the 
 post, where they arrived on the 13th of September. At
 
 108 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 the time he left the falls of Ohio, a large drove of cattle 
 was sent across the country, under an escort from Fort Steu- 
 ben, which stood at the head of the falls, intended to supply 
 food for the Indians at the treaty, who were expected to 
 number seven or eight hundred. The commandant at Vin- 
 cennes had sent the commissioner's speech, of the '24th of 
 July, to all the tribes on the W abash, of which, he received 
 notice, by letter of the 31st of August; and the prospect of 
 a*full attendance at the treaty was very flattering. A reg- 
 ular correspondence was kept up with Gen. Wayne and 
 Gen. Wilkerson, some of which letters are very interesting, 
 detailing the progress of events on the frontiers. One from 
 Wilkerson, of the last of September, gives an account of a 
 reconnoisance, just made by him, to the outposts on the 
 Miami and heads of the Wabash, across the battle ground 
 of Gen. St. Clair, where he found two brass field pieces, left 
 on the field by the Indians. 
 
 The treaty was opened on the 25th of September, and 
 concluded on the 27th ; and was strictly a treaty of peace 
 and amity, between eight of the W abash tribes and the 
 United States. It was signed by thirty-one of their kings, 
 chiefs, and warriors. It contained seven articles; the pur- 
 port of which was, that these tribes were taken into the pro- 
 tection of the United States, who warranted to them, the 
 peaceable possession of their lands, and promised never to 
 take them from them, without their consent and a just ecmiv- 
 alent paid therefor. Perpetual peace was to be maintained 
 between the contracting parties. All the white prisoners 
 and negroes in their possession, were to be delivered up at 
 Fort Knox, or Vinccnncs, as soon as possible; and they 
 promised to cease from stealing negroes and horses from 
 the whites. It was witnessed by the officers of the post, 
 and the interpreters William Wells, Rene Codine, and the
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 109 
 
 Rev. John Hackenwelder, who accompanied Gen. Putnam 
 in his journey from Marietta, and was well known to many 
 of the tribes. 
 
 In the journal of the proceedings, several of the speeches 
 of the chiefs are given ; some of which are quite sensible, 
 but none of them equal to those made at the treaty of 
 Greenville, in 1795, by the Shawanoes, Pottawatamies, and 
 Wyandots. Turke, a Wyandot, said, " I now tell you, that 
 no one in particular can justly claim this ground; it be- 
 longs in common to us all; no earthly being has an exclu- 
 sive right to it. The Great Spirit above is the true and 
 only owner of this soil; and He has given us all an equal 
 right to it." He also said, " We will offer our acknowledg- 
 ments to the Great Spirit ; for, it is Him alone who has 
 brought us together, and caused us to agree in the good 
 works which have been done," referring to the treaty. The 
 New Corn, a Pottawatamic chief, and an old man, spoke 
 at this treaty, and at the close, said, "My friends, I am old> 
 but I shall never die. I shall always live in my children, 
 and children's children." A beautiful sentiment, and worthy 
 the best days of Socrates. These few brief specimens of 
 their speeches are given to show that they are not destitute 
 of native genius, brilliant thoughts, and just sentiments. 
 
 The treaty accomplished by Gen. Putnam was of essen- 
 tial benefit to the country ; as it neutralized, and detached a 
 large body of warriors from the hostile tribes, who lived near 
 to the borders of Kentucky, and thus lessened the strength 
 of our enemies. There were in attendance at the treaty, 
 six hundred and eighty-six men, women and children ; two 
 hundred and forty-seven of which were warriors. After its 
 close, a large quantity of clothing and ornaments was dis- 
 tributed amongst, them, which served to confirm their good 
 intentions. On the IGth of September, nine days before the
 
 110 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 opening of the treaty, he issued a proclamation, reminding 
 the inhabitants of Post Vincennes of the law prohibiting the 
 sale of spirituous liquors to the Indians; and forbid any one, 
 whether licensed or unlicensed, from selling any during the 
 continuance of the treaty. This was a wise precaution; as 
 when under the influence of its insane effects, no good could 
 have been accomplished with the Indians. On the 8th of 
 October, the inhabitants of the town made a written address 
 to Gen. Putnam, through Maj. Yanderburgh, in which they 
 congratulate and thank him, for the happy manner in which 
 he had accomplished the treaty of peace, with a part of the 
 hostile tribes, and the benefits which would result to the in- 
 habitants of that territory, from it. Amongst other things, 
 they say, " Your happy success in this arduous enterprise 
 affords another proof, how much you merit the honors which 
 government has conferred upon you, and will remain a me- 
 mento of the justice of Congress, and of your integrity, to 
 the latest times." It was signed by Paul and Pierre Gamelin, 
 and the principal French and English inhabitants of the 
 place, and remains a memorial of their gratitude. To this, 
 he returned a polite answer; and among other things, says, 
 'It must give a man of sensibility, peculiar pleasure, to find 
 that his manner of treating the Indians meets the approba- 
 tion of a people so long acquainted with their customs and 
 manners;"' and closes with wishing them happiness and 
 prosperity, "under a wise administration and the blessings 
 of peace." 
 
 Amidst all this complication of business, he was suffering 
 with severe illness, an attack of intermittent fever of the 
 tertian type, on the 25th of September, the first day of the 
 treaty. This continued to harass him until the Gth of Oc- 
 tober. On the 29th of September, ten of the Indian chiefs, 
 whorii he had invited to visit their father, the President of
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. Ill 
 
 the United States, left Post Vincent, under charge of Lieut. 
 Prior and Mr. Hackemveldcr, who accompanied them as far 
 as Marietta. 
 
 On the 10th of October, Gen. Putnam left the post, by 
 water, being yet weak and feeble. From sickness and va- 
 rious delays, he did not reach his home until the iSth of 
 December. On the way up, he encamped one night in com- 
 pany with some hunters, who had a full supply of bear and 
 other wild meat. This was cooked in their camp-kettle, 
 hunter fashion. Of this, he ate very freely, contrary to the 
 advice of his physician, who had forbidden animal food; and 
 ascribed his recovery to that night's repast, as from that 
 hour, his health was rapidly restored, and ague subdued. 
 As soon as he was able to travel on horseback, he set out 
 for Philadelphia, to make his report to the secretary of war, 
 Henry Knox. Soon after this, he resigned his commission 
 of brigadier-general, he being unfit for actual service, and 
 not wishing to retain an office, the duties of which he could 
 not fulfill with benefit to the government. On the 15th of 
 February, the secretary of war addressed to him the following : 
 "W.\R DEPARTMENT, Feb. 15th, 1793. 
 
 SIR : Your letter of yesterday has been submitted to the 
 President of the United States while he accepts your resig- 
 nation, he regrets that your ill health compels you to leave 
 the army, as he had anticipated much good to the troops, 
 from your experience as an officer. He has commanded me 
 to tender you his thanks, for the zeal and judgment mani- 
 fested in your negotiation with the W abash Indians, and 
 your further endeavors toward a general pacification. 
 I am, sir, with great esteem, your obedient servant, 
 
 II. KNOX, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 Brig. Gen. Rufus Putnam." 
 
 In May, 1793, he was appointed by the directors of the
 
 112 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Ohio Company, superintendent of the surveys of one hun- 
 dred thousand acres of land, donated by Congress to actual 
 settlers,in the purchase, in lots of one hundred acres to each 
 man, on the 21st of April, 1792. For the encouragement 
 of settlers, the surveys were actually begun and carried on 
 in certain allotments, on and near the Muskingum, in the 
 midst of the war, and it was so ordered that no accident 
 befell the surveyors from the Indians, although constantly 
 liable to their attacks. 
 
 In 1794, a more safe and effectual mode of conducting the 
 intelligence between the army assembling on the frontiers 
 and the seat of government, than that by express through 
 Kentucky and Carolina, or the chance and uncertain one by 
 travelers up and down the river, had to be devised. Col. 
 Pickering, the post master general, proposed that of send- 
 ing the mails by water, in packet boats, which was submitted 
 to Gen. Putnam, for his advice. He soon arranged a plan 
 that was adopted, of light boats, manned with five men each, 
 to run from Wheeling to Limestone, with regular relays, and 
 stations of exchange, one of which was Marietta. This 
 system was put under the superintendence of Gen. Putnam, 
 and found on experience to be very useful, safe, and expedi- 
 tious. A full account of which is given in the History of 
 Washington county. 
 
 In 1795, he was appointed by Mr. Walcott, secretary of 
 the treasury, to arrange the distribution and survey of the 
 twenty-four thousand acres of land given by Congress to 
 the French settlers at Gallipolis which tract is known by the 
 name of the " French Grant." The President also, through 
 Mr. Walcott, confided to him the superintendence of the lay- 
 ing out a national road, located by Ebene/.er Zane, from 
 \\ heeling in Va., to Limestone in Ivy. 
 
 In October, 171)6, he was commissioned by the President 
 Gen. Washington, surveyor-general of the United States
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 113 
 
 lands a post of great responsibility ; requiring a thorough 
 knowledge of the principles of surveying, and the higher 
 branches of mathematics, astronomy, &c., to be able to de- 
 tect any errors that might arise in the returns, of the field 
 notes, plats, &c., of the subordinate surveyors. It also re- 
 quired great industry and constant vigilance, in attending to 
 the duties of the office, which embraced large tracts of coun- 
 try in the Northwest Territory, now first ordered to be sur- 
 veyed. The lands granted to the officers of the army for 
 military services were surveyed under his direction, and 
 platted by himself. In this map the width of the streams is 
 given, as well as their direction. The tract contains one 
 hundred and seventy-four townships or sections, of five miles 
 square, in twenty ranges. The lands given to the Moravian 
 Indians, at Shoenbrun, Gnadenhutten and Salem, lie in this 
 tract. This office he continued to hold, with great credit to 
 himself, and entire satisfaction of the government, until 
 September, 1803, when Mr. Mansfield was appointed to 
 his place, by Mr. Jefferson. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson, in his reply to a remonstrance of the New 
 Haven merchants, for some of his removals in that place, 
 says, " How are vacancies to be obtained ? Those by death 
 are few : by resignation none. Can any other mode than 
 removal be proposed? I shall proceed with deliberation, 
 that it may be thrown as much as possible on delinquency, 
 oppression, intolerance, and anti-revolutionary adherence 
 to our enemies/' And yet he was well known to have turned 
 out some of the firmest Whigs of the revolution. Gen. Put- 
 nam consoled himself under this mortifying act, by saying, 
 " I am happy in having my name enrolled with many others 
 who have suffered the like political death, for adherence to 
 those correct principles and measures, in the pursuance of 
 which our country rose from a state of weakness, disgrace, 
 and poverty, to strength, honor, and credit."
 
 114 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 In 1798, he devised a plan for erecting a building, by a 
 company of proprietors, for the purposes of education, to be 
 called the " Muskingum Academy," which is believed to have 
 been the first in the state, for branches of learning higher 
 than those taught in common schools. The stock amounted 
 to one thousand dollars, of which he was one of the princi 
 pal owners. A building was put up in front of the large 
 commons on the Muskingum, which continued to be occu- 
 pied for the purposes of education for more than twenty 
 years. It also served for a place of public worship until 
 the year 1808, for the first Congregational society, who were 
 the principal owners. 
 
 In 1801, he was appointed by the Territorial Legislature, 
 one of the trustees of the Ohio University, established at 
 Athens, and spent a great deal of time in bringing the lands 
 for its support into available use ; and in forming rules and 
 regulations for the government of the college. It was a 
 subject in which he felt the deepest interest, and had been 
 one of the principal movers of the plan, appropriating two 
 full townships of land for its support, in the purchase made 
 by the Ohio Company from Congress in 1789. This land, 
 be it remembered, was not a gift of the United States, but 
 a part of the contract made in the bargain by the agents 
 of the company with the Board of the Treasury. The en- 
 dowment of this institution, and seeing it put in actual oper- 
 ation, were subjects which lay near his heart, and which he 
 lived to sec fulfilled, and a number of young men, now 
 among the most eminent in the state, there educated and 
 receive literary degrees. 
 
 In 1802, he was elected by the citizens of Washington 
 county, then embracing a large territory, a member of the 
 convention to form a constitution for the state of Ohio. It 
 was an arduous and difficult labor, in which many conflict- 
 ing views were to be harmonized, but was finally completed
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 115 
 
 in the best manner the period and times would allow. A 
 history of the parties, and the secret springs put in motion 
 during the formation of this important document, which was 
 to shape the destiny of future millions, for weal or woe, 
 would now be a narrative of peculiar interest, and may be 
 expected from the pen of one the few remaining living mem- 
 bers of that convention, in an article for the Historical Soci- 
 ety of Ohio. 
 
 In January, 1800, the Rev. Samuel Priuce Robbins was 
 settled as pastor over the church and congregation of which 
 he was a member. In 1807, he drafted the plan of a large 
 frame building for a church, which was executed under his 
 superintendence, the funds being raised by the more wealthy 
 members of the society and his own liberal subscription, 
 amounting to fifteen hundred dollars. It was finished and 
 occupied in 1808, and yet remains a monument of his devo- 
 tion and zeal to the cause of religion. Thirty of the pews 
 were reserved by him, and in his will, the annual rents de- 
 voted to the support of the pastor, and a Sunday school ; 
 equally divided between them. In his latter years, when he 
 had retired from the active pursuits of life, his mind was 
 much occupied in devising plans for the promotion of the 
 gospel. In 1812, he was deeply engaged with several others 
 in forming a Bible Society, the first that was organized 
 west of the mountains, and subscribed very liberally for its 
 support. It has continued to flourish until this day, and has 
 been the means of spreading that blessed book amongst 
 thousands of the destitute in this, and the adjacent counties. 
 
 A correspondence, by letters, was kept up with his old as- 
 sociates of the Revolutionary war, and in one of the letters 
 from Gov. Strong of Massachusetts, in 1812, he writes, "By 
 your letter, I am convinced that your sentiments with regard 
 to the present war, are similar to my own. Your old ac- 
 quaintances, Gen. Brooks, (afterward Gov. of Massachusetts,)
 
 116 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 and Gen. Cobb, are of the council. I read to them 
 your letter, and they expressed in the warmest terms their 
 friendship and respect for you." Such manifestations of the 
 regard and friendship of his early associates, served to ani- 
 mate and warm his heart, as old age approached, and 
 console him for the great political changes which were con- 
 tinually going on. 
 
 In his religious character, he was equally faithful and ener- 
 getic, as in his military and civil. In the year 1816, a gen- 
 tleman removed to Marietta from Massachusetts, who had 
 been engaged as a teacher in Sunday schools, and well 
 acquainted with conducting those seminaries of good prin- 
 ciples, in which that state was ever foremost. At that period 
 it was a new thing 1 in the west, and none were in operation 
 in the valley of the Ohio. Gen. Putnam was quite anxious 
 to have one established in Marietta, and made many in- 
 quiries of the teacher as to the manner of conducting them. 
 After one of these interviews, he sent for him one day, and 
 related to him a dream he had the night before. He thought 
 he was standing by a window in a large public building, and 
 saw a procession of children neatly clad, approaching with 
 music. lie asked a bystander the meaning of the show 
 who answered, " These are the children of the Sabbath 
 school.'" After this relation he remarked to the teacher that 
 he thought he should live to see the dream fulfilled. The 
 following spring, a Sabbath school was commenced in the 
 Muskingum Academy, and continued through the summer. 
 The next year, or in 1818, three schools were opened in dif- 
 ferent parts of the town. In the autumn, when the time for 
 closing them arrived, they then being laid aside in the winter, 
 the three schools were assembled at the academy, and a 
 procession formed, which marched from that building on to 
 the bank of the Muskingum, and thence to the Congrega- 
 tional church. As the teacher, before mentioned, entered
 
 IIUFUS PUTNAM. 117 
 
 the hou.se, Gen. Putnam was standing at the window from 
 which he had viewed the approach of the procession, and 
 as the tears flowed from his eyes, exclaimed " Here is the 
 fulfillment of my dream! 1 ' 
 
 In the spring of 1820, a -revival of religion commenced 
 in Marietta, and frequent evening meetings were held for 
 prayer, but being very old and infirm, he was unable to at- 
 tend them. A friend remarked to him that he supposed it 
 was a source of regret to him, that he could not meet with 
 them at this interesting period. " I do meet with you," was 
 his prompt reply ; meaning by this, as was afterward ascer- 
 tained, that he spent the whole time of the meeting in his 
 closet, engaged in secret prayer. 
 
 About the year 1821, a company of missionaries from 
 New England, arrived at Marietta, on their way to the Osage 
 Indians. Two young ladies, who stayed with Mr. William 
 Slocomb, expressed a strong desire of seeing Gen. Putnam, 
 and he accompanied them to his house. After many inqui- 
 ries as to the prospects of the mission, and expressing his 
 ardent desire for its success, he abruptly asked them if they 
 had any fresh meat on board their boat? Finding they had 
 none, he turned to Mr. Slocomb and said, " I now sec 
 through the whole mystery ; I have an ox that has been fat- 
 ting for more than a year, and for several months past have 
 tried to sell him, but could not. I now understand the rea- 
 son: the Lord has designed him for this mission family. I 
 will have him killed and dressed by eight o'clock in the 
 morning, and do you have barrels and salt ready at the 
 boat, for packing what cannot be used fresh." All was done 
 as he directed. 
 
 For some time before his death, being unable to attend 
 public worship, a duty he had never failed to perform, in all 
 weather, while able to walk that distance, it was his weekly 
 practice to rehearse in his own mind, the articles of the
 
 118 RUFUS PUTNAM. 
 
 Assembly's Shorter Catechism, lest from not hearing the 
 preached word, he might lose sight of the great principles 
 and doctrines of the Christian religion : a practice well worthy 
 the attention of modern professors. Many other examples 
 might be given of his devotion to the cause of religion, but 
 these will suffice to show his habitual feelings on this mo- 
 mentous subject. 
 
 He lost his excellent and faithful wife in the year 1820; 
 but his last years were made comfortable and happy by the 
 unremitting and affectionate attention of his pious maiden 
 daughter, Elizabeth. 
 
 His final departure was like that of the righteous, and his 
 last end full of hope and heavenly consolation. Although 
 he was for many years the master of a lodge of Masons, to 
 which he became attached during the war, yet he enjoined 
 it upon his son, as one of his last orders, that his burial 
 should be conducted without any of the forms and ceremo- 
 nies common at the funerals of those the world calls great, 
 but in the most simple manner ever practiced on these oc- 
 casions; choosing rather to be buried as a humble follower 
 of Christ, than with the showy forms of military or Masonic 
 pageantry. He died in May, 1824, in the eighty-seventh 
 year of his age. 
 
 In person, Gen. Putnam was tall, nearly six feet; stout, 
 and commanding: features strongly marked, with a calm. 
 resolute expression of countenance, indicating firmness and 
 decision, so peculiar to the men who figured in the American 
 revolution: eyes grey, and one of them disfigured by an 
 injury in childhood, which gave it an outward, oblique cast, 
 leaving the expression of his face strongly impressed on the 
 mind of the beholder. His manner was abrupt, prompt, 
 and decisive ; a trait peculiar to the Putnam family, but, 
 withal, kind and conciliating. In conversation, he was 
 very interesting; possessing a rich fund of anecdote, and
 
 RUFUS PUTNAM. 119 
 
 valuable facts in the history of men and things with which ho 
 had been familiar; delivered in a straightforward, impress- 
 ive manner, very instructive and pleasant to the hearer. 
 The impress of his character is strongly marked on the 
 population of Marietta, in their buildings, institutions, and 
 manners; so true it is, that nc\v settlements, like children, 
 continue to bear through life, more or less, the impressions 
 and habits of their early childhood.
 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE was a descendant of John Whipple, one 
 of the original proprietors of the Providence plantations, 
 and associate of Roger Williams, who is considered the 
 founder of the colony. He was born in Providence, Rhode 
 Island, in the year 1733. 
 
 His early education was very imperfect; but possessing 
 a naturally strong mind, and great resolution of purpose, 
 he acquired in the course of the sea-faring life which he fol- 
 lowed at an early period, sufficient knowledge of naviga- 
 tion, and the keeping accounts, to conduct the command of 
 vessels in the West India trade, with credit to himself and 
 profit to his employers. The intercourse of the colonists 
 was restricted by Mother Britain to that of her own posses- 
 sions, with an exception in favor of the Dutch port of Surinam 
 on the main, and the Danish island of St. Croix. This busi- 
 ness he followed for many years previous to the war of the 
 Revolution, and several letters from Nicholas Brown, one of 
 the earliest merchants of Providence, and in whose employ 
 he sailed, are on file amongst his papers, containing instruc- 
 tions for the conduct of the voyage. Toward the close of 
 the old French war, after the king of Spain had taken tip 
 arms against England, he was employed as the commander 
 of a privateer called the Game Cock.* During the cruise 
 
 * The following notice of an. early cruise of Com. AYhipple, was procured for me 
 by my friend Dr. P. G. Bobbins, of Roxbury, from an old file of the Boston Post- 
 boy and Advertiser, of February 4th, 17 GO, now in the Historical Society roomj, at 
 IBoston. 
 
 "Last Tuesday returned to Providence, after a successful cruise, Capt. Abraham 
 Whipple, of the Game Cock privateer; who sailed from this place on the 19th of 
 July last, having taken, in said cruise, twenty-three French prizes, many of which
 
 ABRAHAM WHITTLE. 121 
 
 he captured a valuable Spanish ship, by running alongside, 
 and carried her by boarding without much resistance. 
 
 It was during this period of his early life that the follow- 
 ing event took place, while in the southerly portion of the 
 Gulf of Mexico, on his return from a West India voyage, 
 in a large armed ship or letter of marque, the larger portion 
 of whose guns, however, were of wood, technically called 
 " quakers." In a severe gale, he was obliged to throw over- 
 board a part of his armament, especially a number of his 
 metal guns, leaving him in quite a .defenseless condition. 
 Soon after this event a French privateer appeared in chase. 
 She was full of men, as he ascertained by his telescope, and 
 far outnumbered him in guns : although but for the late 
 disaster, as his ship was much the largest, and pretty well 
 manned, he might have made a stout defense, but under pres- 
 ent circumstances his only chance for escape was by flight. 
 Capt. Whipplc, after sailing as close to the wind as possible, 
 and trying the speed of the enemy on that course, found 
 him constantly gaining on him, and that his hope of safety 
 must rest on a ruse de guerre, in which he was always ready. 
 He directed his sailors to set up a number of handspikes, 
 with hats and caps on them, looking at a distance like men 
 at their stations ready for action, which, in addition to his ac- 
 tual crew, appeared quite formidable. Being to the windward 
 of the enemy, he directed the man at the wheel to put the ship 
 about, and bear down directly upon him, showing his broad- 
 side of quaker guns and deck full of men to great advan- 
 tage. The privateer was taken all aback ; and thinking the 
 former attempt at flight only a stratagem to entice her within 
 reach of her shot, instantly put about, and with all haste 
 
 were valuable. Capt. "W. on his passage home on the 2Gth of January, spoke with 
 Capt. Robert Brown, in a sloop from Monte Christo. bound to New York, in lat. 39 
 dcg. 30 min., and long. 72 deg. 40 mm. in great distress for want of water and pro- 
 visions, which he generously supplied him."
 
 122 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 escaped from her cunning antagonist. Capt. Whipple kept. 
 on the chase until the privateer had run nearly out of sight, 
 when, with a shrug of the shoulder, and a hearty laugh at 
 the success of his stratagem, he ordered the steersman to 
 up helm, and bear away on the proper course for his des- 
 tined port. 
 
 His ready and prompt mind was never at a loss for expe- 
 dients in all such emergencies, and generally succeeded in 
 turning them to his own advantage, as will be seen in his 
 after life. This exploit gained him a good deal of credit 
 with his townsmen, and was doubtless the reason of his 
 being selected a few years after to command the company 
 of volunteers who captured and burnt the British schooner 
 Gaspe, the tender of a ship of war, stationed in Narragan- 
 sctt bay, to enforce the maritime laws. These restrictions 
 had become very odious and unpopular to the inhabitants 
 of Newport and Providence: the Gaspe especially, com- 
 manded by Lieut. Buddington, of the navy, with a crew of 
 twenty-seven men, had become the terror of all the shipping 
 entering these ports: not only by overhauling their cargoes, 
 and confiscating the goods, but by pressing the men into 
 the British service. At this time, the commerce of Newport 
 and Providence together, exceeded that of New York, whose 
 retail traders often visited the former town, to purchase dry 
 goods and other merchandise of the importers, as the smaller 
 cities now visit New York. Newport, next to Boston, owned 
 a larger number of vessels than any other port on the coast. 
 The attempts of the king and parliament of Great Britian 
 to enforce the old navigation act, with the stamp act, duties 
 on tea, and quartering large bodies of troops on the colo- 
 nists, to tnrne them into obedience, only served to rouse 
 their jealousy, and excite their disgust. While the inhabit- 
 ants were filled with fears of coming evils, and the public 
 mind roused up to resistance, an event took place in the
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 123 
 
 waters of Rhode Island, which may be considered as the 
 "overt act" to the Revolution which soon followed. 
 
 On the 17th of June, 1772, a Providence packet, that plied 
 between New York and Rhode Island, named the Hannah, 
 and commanded by Capt. Linzee, hove in sight of the man- 
 of-war, in her passage up the bay. She was ordered to bring 
 to, for examination; but Linzee refused to comply; and 
 being favored with a fresh southerly breeze, that was fast 
 carrying him out of gunshot of the ship, the tender was sig- 
 naled to follow. In pursuing the chase, the Gaspe was led 
 on to a shoal, which puts out from Nanquit point, but which 
 the lighter draught of the Hannah enabled her to pass in 
 safety. The tender here stuck fast; and as the tide fell, she 
 careened partly on to her side. The packet reached Provi- 
 dence before dark, and soon spread the news of the chase, 
 and the helpless condition of the hated Gaspe. A muster 
 of the sailors and sea-faring people soon followed; who, 
 after choosing Capt. Whipple for their leader, embarked, to 
 the number of sixty, in eight row-boats. The men were 
 without arms, excepting one musket, which was shipped 
 without Whipple' s consent, as he intended no harm to the 
 crew, unless opposed by force, but only to board the vessel, 
 land the crew, and then set her on fire. They, however, put 
 into each boat a large quantity of pebble stones, intending 
 them as articles of offense, if necessary. As they approached 
 the schooner, about two o'clock in the morning, they were 
 hailed by the sentinel, and asked, "Who commands them 
 boats?" Whipple instantly answered, "The sheriff of the 
 county of Kent;" and, " I come to arrest Capt. Buddington." 
 The captain was by this time on deck, and warned the boats 
 not to approach ; which they not heeding, he fired his pistol 
 at them; at this moment, a boy who had possession of the 
 musket, discharged it, and wounded the captain in the thigh : 
 a volley of pebbles followed the discharge, and Whipple, at
 
 124 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 
 
 the head of his men, boarded the schooner, driving the crew 
 below. After securing them, they were taken on shore, and 
 the Gaspe burnt. The party returned in triumph to Provi- 
 dence, and knowing that their conduct amounted to treason 
 against the king, no one said anything about it; and, al- 
 though the secret was confided to not less than sixty per- 
 sons, so deep was the hatred and indignation of the people, 
 that no one disclosed it, or let any hint drop that could be 
 used as proof against their companions. This bold step 
 naturally excited great indignation in the British officers, 
 and all possible means were taken to discover the offenders. 
 Wanton, the colonial governor of Rhode Island, issued his 
 proclamation, offering a reward of one hundred pounds ster- 
 ling, for the discovery of any of those concerned. Soon 
 after, the king's proclamation appeared, offering one thou- 
 sand pounds for the man who called himself the high sheriff, 
 and five hundred pounds for any other of the party ; with 
 the promise of a pardon should the informer have been one 
 of the party. But notwithstanding these tempting offers, so 
 general was the dislike of the community to their oppress- 
 ors, and their patriotism so true, that i; no evidence was ever 
 obtained, sufficient to arraign a single individual ; although 
 a commission of inquiry, under the great seal of England, 
 sat in Newport from January to June, during the year 1773." 
 Coopers Naval History. Capt. Whipple, however, soon 
 after sailed on a trading voyage to the West Indies, and did 
 not return until 1771, when the event was in a manner 
 forgotten. 
 
 In the meantime, aggressions and restrictions were heaped 
 on the colonists, until they became insupportable, and reac- 
 tion began to take place. After the Boston Port Bill was 
 passed, by which the commerce of that flourishing town was 
 entirely destroyed, as an offset for the destruction of the 
 tea chests of the East India Company, resistance became
 
 ABRAHAM WHITTLE. 125 
 
 more open, especially subsequent to the passage of the act 
 prohibiting the exportation of military stores from England 
 to the colonies. Fully aware of the approaching contest, 
 and the destitute condition of the inhabitants of the materi- 
 als for resistance, they began, in many places, to seize upon 
 the military stores of the crown. Every garrison, fort, and 
 magazine, being in possession of the king's officers, and 
 many of the inhabitants destitute of arms, and still more so 
 of ammunition, it was absolutely necessary to resort to vio- 
 lence for the purpose of arming themselves. At Portsmouth, 
 N. II., a quantity of powder was taken from the castle in 
 the harbor, and the citizens of Providence seized on twenty- 
 six guns at Fort Island, and carried them up to their town. 
 It was to destroy a magazine of provisions and other stores, 
 collected by the inhabitants for the coming contest, at Con- 
 cord, Mass., that the British made their celebrated inroad on 
 the 19th of April, 1775; and the war fairly opened by the 
 slaughter of the militia at Lexington. From this point, the 
 spirit of resistance flew, like an electric shock, from heart to 
 heart, until it pervaded the land. 
 
 The little colony of Rhode Island, ever foremost in the 
 cause of liberty, within one year and one month after the 
 blood shed at Lexington, renounced their allegiance to the 
 king of Great Britain, by a solemn act of their Legislature ; 
 thus preceding, by two mouths, the declaration of indepen- 
 dence by the Congress of the assembled colonies. This 
 simple, but resolute document ought to be preserved in let- 
 ters of gold. It is styled, "An Act of May, 177G, renouncing 
 allegiance to the king of Great Britain ;" and thus proceeds : 
 " Whereas in all states existing by compact, protection and 
 allegiance arc reciprocal ; the latter being only due in con- 
 sequence of the former: and whereas George the Third, king 
 of Great Britain, forgetting his dignity, regardless of the 
 compact most solemnly entered into, ratified and confirmed
 
 126 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 to the inhabitants of this colony, by his illustrious ances- 
 tors, and till of late, fully recognised by him; and entirely 
 departing from the duties and character of a good king, in- 
 stead of protecting, is endeavoring to destroy the good peo- 
 ple of this colony, and of all the united colonies, by sending 
 fleets and armies to America, to confiscate our property, 
 and spread fire, sword, and desolation throughout our coun- 
 try, in order to compel us to submit to the most debasing 
 and detestable tyranny; whereby we are obliged by neces- 
 sity, and it becomes our highest duty, to use every means 
 with which God and nature have furnished us, in support 
 of our invaluable rights and privileges, to oppose the power 
 which is exerted for our destruction." They then go on to 
 repeal a certain act of allegiance to the king, then in force, 
 and to enact a law, whereby, in all commissions of a civil 
 or military nature, the name of the king shall be omitted, 
 and that of the governor and company of the English col- 
 ony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, substituted 
 in its place ; and in all oaths of office, the officers shall 
 swear to be faithful and true to the colony. 
 
 Moved by the same feelings which produced this declara- 
 tion in 1770, the Legislature, in June, 1775, two days before 
 the battle of Bunker hill, purchased and armed two sloops, 
 one of twelve, and the other of eight guns, appointing 
 Capt. "\Yhipple to the command of the larger, and Capt. 
 Grimes to the smaller, who was to act under the orders of 
 Whipplc. The larger vessel was named the Providence. 
 The object of this armament was to clear the bay of the 
 British tenders to the frigate Rose, under the command of 
 Sir James Wallace, who blockaded the mouths of the har- 
 bors and rivers, preventing the getting to sea of numerous 
 vessel's, and the entry of such as were coming into port. 
 On the 15th of June, AYhipple sailed, with his command, 
 down the bay of Narragansct, and attacked two of the
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 127 
 
 enemy's tenders, which he disabled, and forced to retire under 
 the guns of the frigate, and took one other a pri/.e ; while 
 by the light draught of his own vessels he could keep out 
 of the reach of the man-of-war. By this bold act the bay 
 was cleared of these nuisances, and a large number of 
 homeward-bound vessels entered the port. 
 
 Much has been said and written, as to whom was due the 
 credit of firing the first gun on the sea, at the British, in the 
 opening of the Revolutionary war. After the above state- 
 ment, which comes from the pen of Capt. Wliipple himself, 
 in a petition to Congress in the year 1780, little doubt need 
 be felt as to the propriety of assigning to him that honor. 
 It is true that an unauthorized attack was made on the British 
 schooner Margaretta, by the Machias people in May, which 
 for its spirit and bravery deserves great credit, but was a 
 mere private transaction; while Whipplc fired the first gun 
 under any legal or colonial authority. This daring deed 
 was performed at a time, when no other man in the colony 
 would undertake the hazardous employment, lest he might 
 be destined to the halter by Capt. Wallace, who threatened 
 to apply it to all who should be taken in arms against his 
 majesty. The people were not yet ready for open resist- 
 ance to the king, but expected that parliament would finally 
 relent from their rigorous measures, and love and friendship 
 be again restored between their revered parent and her un- 
 dutiful children. 
 
 Since the prospect of an open rupture daily increased, the 
 old a (lair of the daspc was no longer kept in the dark, but 
 the name of the leader in that daring exploit, came to the 
 ears of Capt. Wallace, who sent him the following plain, if 
 not very polite note : 
 
 " You. Abraham Whipple, on the ] 7th of June, 1772, burned 
 his majesty's vessel, the Gaspc, and I will hang you at the 
 yard-arm. JAMKS WALLACE."
 
 128 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 To which the captain returned tliis laconic and Spartan 
 answer : 
 
 " To SIR JAMES WALLACE : 
 
 SIR : Always catch a man before you hang him. 
 
 ABRAHAM WIHPPLE." 
 
 Notwithstanding these threats, he continued to cruise in 
 the Narraganset bay until the 12th of September; during 
 which period he fought several actions with vessels of supe- 
 rior force, beating them off, and protecting the commerce 
 of the state. These spirited combats infused new courage 
 into the inhabitants of the neighboring colonies, as well as 
 his own, and demonstrated that the British were not invinci- 
 ble on the water. Maritime events like these, with those con- 
 ducted by Capt. Manly, led Congress to the consideration of 
 defending themselves and the country on the ocean, as well 
 as on the land; and in October, 1775, a marine committee 
 was appointed to superintend the naval affairs. 
 
 About the 20th of September, he was ordered by the gov- 
 ernor of Rhode Island, to proceed, with the sloop Providence, 
 to the island of Bermuda, and seize upon the powder in the 
 magazine of that place ; this article being greatly needed 
 by the country, which depended altogether on foreign sup- 
 plies, not yet having learned to manufacture for themselves. 
 This order was obeyed with due diligence and bravery, but 
 was unsuccessful, from the circumstance of the powder 
 having been removed before his arrival. "While on this ser- 
 vice, he narrowly escaped capture by two of the enemy's 
 ships of war. which were on that station. lie, however, by 
 his daring and nautical skill, escaped; and arrived at Rhode 
 island on the 9th of December, and resumed his former 
 employment of cruising in the bay, until the 19th of that 
 month. 
 
 \Yhile absent on the voyage to Bermuda, Congress di- 
 rected tin- marine committee to purchase two swift sailing
 
 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 129 
 
 vessels; the one of ten, and the other of twelve guns. Un- 
 der this order the Providence was purchased. Still later in 
 the month, the marine committee were directed to purchase 
 two additional ships, one of thirty-six guns, and the other 
 of twenty. In pursuance of this order, the Alfred and Co- 
 lumbus were bought at Philadelphia, both of them merchant 
 ships. To these were added two brigs, the Cabot, and the 
 Andrea Doria, making a naval force of six vessels, belong- 
 ing to the United States ; of which the little Providence was 
 the only one that had been in active service. 
 
 At this period of the contest, no regular war ships had 
 been built, and the government had to select such vessels 
 as the mercantile service afforded, until ships of war could 
 be constructed. In the month of December, 1775, Congress 
 directed thirteen warlike vessels to be built, and the marine 
 committee increased to thirteen, or one for each state. In 
 177G, two navy boards, consisting of three persons each, one 
 for the eastern district, and one for the middle district, were 
 established, subordinate to the marine committee ; by which 
 arrangement a large portion of the executive business was 
 accomplished. Several letters from these boards will be re- 
 ferred to in the course of this biography. 
 
 On the 19th of December, Capt. Whipple received orders 
 from the marine committee, to proceed with the Providence 
 sloop, now under their direction, to Philadelphia. On his 
 way out, he captured one of the enemy's vessels, and sent 
 her into Providence. 
 
 On the 22d of tin; month, by a resolution of Congress, 
 Dudley Saltonstall was appointed captain of the Alfred frig- 
 ate, Abraham AYhipple of the Columbus, Nicholas Biddle 
 of the Andrea Doria, and John B. Hopkins of the Cabot. 
 Haysted Hacker, lieutenant of the Providence, was promoted 
 to her command. The celebrated John Paul Jones was 
 
 first lieutenant of the Alfred, and Jonathan Pitcher, of the 
 9
 
 130 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 Columbus : Esek Hopkins, an old man, commandcr-in-chief, 
 as they chose to style the leader of their squadron. During 
 the winter, the young flotilla, while fitting for a cruise, was 
 frozen up in the Delaware river. Com. Hopkins, however, got 
 to sea on the 17th of February, 1770, with seven armed ves- 
 sels under his command, the largest of which was the Alfred 
 of twenty-four guns instead of thirty-six, and bore away 
 southerly, in quest of a small squadron under Lord Dun- 
 more ; but not falling in with him, concluded to make a de- 
 scent on the island of New Providence, for the purpose of cap- 
 turing military stores. This service was performed under the 
 conduct of Capt. Nichols, the senior officer of the marines, at 
 the head of three hundred men, whose landing from the boats 
 of the squadron was covered in gallant style, by Capt. Hacker, 
 of the Providence, and the sloop Wasp. The attack was en- 
 tirely successful, an J possession was taken of the fortifications 
 and the town. The main object of the attempt, a magazine 
 of gunpowder, was in part secreted by the governor; but they 
 brought away four hundred and fifty tons of cannon and 
 other military stores, with the governor and some others as 
 prisoners. Having accomplished this victory, they sailed 
 on the 17th of March, for the United States. At one o'clock 
 in the morning of the Gth of April, the squadron fell in with 
 the Glasgow, British man-of-war of twenty guns, off the 
 easterly end of Long Island. The little Cabot of fourteen 
 guns, Capt. Hopkins, being the nearest to the enemy, ranged 
 manfully along side, discharging her broadsides with great 
 spirit, but was soon obliged to haul off from the superior 
 fire of the Glasgow. The Alfred now came up to the rescue, 
 but after a short running fight, had her wheel ropes cut 
 away, and became unmanageable. The Providence, by this 
 time, had passed under her stern, and fired a number of 
 broadsides with great effect. Capt. Whipplc, in the Colum- 
 bus, could not get into action for want of wind, which was
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 131 
 
 light and baffling, sufficiently near to afford much aid, or 
 the Glasgow would have been captured. The darkness of 
 night still continued, when seeing the approach of another 
 antagonist, she spread all sail in flight, with the Columbus 
 in pursuit, but was soon signaled by the commodore to give 
 up the chase ; as they were approaching so near the harbor 
 of Newport, where lay a large fleet, that the report of the 
 cannonade would call them out to the rescue, and thus per- 
 haps the whole American force might fall into their hands; 
 as they were so deeply laden with the captured military 
 stores, as to make them all dull sailers. On his way back, 
 Capt. \Vhipple fell in with, and made prize of the bomb 
 ship of the British fleet, which had long been a terror to the 
 people of Newport. The fleet arrived safely into the harbor 
 of New London ; but were soon after removed to Provi- 
 dence by the commodore, the British having left the bay of 
 Narraganset. 
 
 The escape of the Glasgow from so superior a force, 
 caused no small sensation, with a good deal of censure from 
 the public. As Whipple commanded the second largest 
 ship, and was not actually engaged with the enemy, he was 
 accused of cowardice. This aroused the spirit of the vet- 
 eran, and he demanded a court-martial to inquire into his 
 conduct. It was held in Providence; and after a full exam- 
 ination he was honorably acquitted; it appearing in evi- 
 dence, that his vessel, from the lightness of the wind and 
 her leeward position, could not be brought into contact with 
 the Glasgow, until after her flight, when he pursued her with 
 all the speed in his power, until called off by Com. Hopkins. 
 
 After the close of the trial, he was ordered to take com- 
 mand of the Columbus again; while Com. Hopkins, on the 
 16th of October, was formally censured by a vote of Con- 
 gress, and on the, 20th of March, 1777, dismissed from the 
 service, for disobeying their orders. Capt. Hacker, of the
 
 132 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 Providence, was removed from her command, and the vessel 
 given to John Paul Jones,* who, in the course of the summer, 
 captured no less than sixteen sail of the enemy's ships. In 
 the fall of that year, he was transferred to the Alfred, and 
 sailed, in company with the Providence, on a cruise to the 
 eastward, along the coast. Here they fell in with and cap- 
 tured a number of prizes ; amongst them a transport for Bur- 
 goyne's army, with ten thousand suits of soldiers' uniforms. 
 The Providence was now commanded by Capt. Rathbone : 
 and in 1778, again visited New Providence, unaccompanied 
 by any other vessel, and took possession of the place and 
 six ships lying in the harbor, one of which was a privateer 
 of sixteen guns. On his landing, he was joined by about 
 thirty American prisoners, making with his own crew, eighty 
 men. He kept possession two days, and brought away 
 many valuable stores and four of the prizes. In 1779, the 
 little Providence was restored to her former master, Capt. 
 Hacker, who took the enemy's ship Delinquent, of equal 
 force, after a severe action. In July, with other vessels, she 
 was ordered to convey a body of militia, under Gen. Lowell, 
 to the Penobscot river, where the British had formed a mili- 
 tary station. The expedition proved disastrous ; and the 
 Providence, with the other ships, was lost, by the superior 
 naval force of the enemy, the 15th of August. Capt. 
 Hacker, to keep her from the hands of the enemy, after 
 landing the crew, ordered her to be blown up. Thus per- 
 ished in a blaze of light, the favorite vessel, and first love 
 of Capt. "Whipple. She had been one of the most success- 
 ful cruisers that floated on the ocean, and made more prizes 
 than any other vessel in the service; hurling defiance at 
 Great Britain, in many a well fought action, from June, 
 1775, to August, 1779. Her name was perpetuated in the 
 
 * The history of the last years of the Providence sloop, is taken from Cooper's 
 .Naval Historv. 

 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 133 
 
 navy, by the frigate Providence. In October, 1776, Capt. 
 Whipple was recommended by the marine committee, to the 
 command of the frigate Providence, of twenty-eight guns, 
 then building in Rhode Island, which was confirmed by 
 Congress. 
 
 In November of the same year, Congress " Resolved that 
 a bounty of twenty dollars be paid to the commanders, of- 
 ficers and men of such continental ships, or vessels of war, 
 as shall make prize of any British ship, or vessel of war ; 
 for every cannon mounted on board each prize at the time 
 of capture ; and eight dollars per head for every man then 
 on board, and belonging to such prize." This was a wise 
 and salutary provision, for the encouragement of our sailors ; 
 but as it relates to Capt. Whipple, he says he never received 
 any compensation for guns and munitions of war captured 
 by himself. 
 
 At the same time they passed the following order, regu- 
 lating the comparative rank of officers in the navy with the 
 land service; viz. "An admiral as a general; vice-admi- 
 ral, as a lieutenant-general; rear-admiral, as a major 
 general; commodore, as a brigadier-general; the captain 
 of a ship of forty guns and upward, as a colonel; from ten 
 to twenty guns, as a major; a lieutenant in the navy, as a 
 captain." This arrangement was not only for etiquette in 
 their intercourse, but was also intended to apply in ex- 
 changes of prisoners. The pay of the officers and men in 
 the American navy, " under the free and independent states 
 of America," was established as follows. "The captain of a 
 ship of twenty guns and upward, received sixty dollars a 
 month ; that of a ship of ten to twenty guns, forty -eight dol- 
 lars a month; a lieutenant of the larger vessel, thirty dol- 
 lars a month the smaller, twenty-four dollars; a surgeon 
 twenty-five dollars, and the surgeon's mate, iiftcen dollars, 
 and so on in the descending scale to the common seamen 

 
 134 ABRAHAM WH1PPLE. 
 
 whose pay was eight dollars a month." When we look 
 back on those times of trial and adversity, we admire the 
 prudence and economy, which pervaded every branch of 
 the government : when we consider the poor apology for 
 money in which they were paid, the officers might be said 
 " to serve for nothing and find themselves." But if we re- 
 flect on the deep poverty of the country, and that all the 
 expenses were paid by a direct tax on the people, we arrive 
 at the secret of this seeming parsimony. It was the prudent 
 expenditure of the public money which enabled Congress to 
 carry on the war at all; and as it was, they were often 
 bankrupt and on the verge of ruin. In these days when the 
 public expenses are raised by a tariff on commerce, and 
 money is plenty, the pay of naval officers is very different ; 
 some of the older captains get three hundred and seventy- 
 five dollars a month, and the younger captains of frigates, 
 three hundred dollars being just five times as much as 
 they received in the Revolutionary war. 
 
 On the 10th of August, 1776, he received order? from the 
 navy board to sail on a cruise to the eastward with the Co- 
 lumbus frigate, for the purpose of intercepting the home- 
 ward-bound Jamaica fleet. In his passage out of the bay 
 from Xcwport, he had to "run the gauntlet" through a num- 
 ber of British ships of war, which he fortunately escaped. 
 Off the coast of Newfoundland he fell in with the object of 
 his search, and took five large ships laden with sugar. Two 
 of his prizes reached ports, while the other three were re- 
 taken, as was the fate of more than half of all the Ameri- 
 can pri/.es, which they attempted to run into their own ports, 
 the coast being closely guarded by the enemy's ships. 
 
 In October, Capt. Whipple returned, with the Columbus, 
 to Providence, at which place Congress had directed two 
 frigates to bo built; the Warren, of thirly-two guns, and the 
 Providence, of twenty-eight guns. On the 10th of that
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 135 
 
 month, lie was recommended by the marine committee, and 
 appointed, by Congress, to the command of the Providence, 
 and directed to superintend the fitting out of both frigates. 
 While occupied in this employment, with his own ship 
 nearly ready for sea, so rapidly had the work been prose- 
 cuted, on the 7th of December, the enemy's licet took pos- 
 session of the harbor of Newport, where the Providence had 
 been lying, and landed a large army. To preserve his ship 
 from capture, Capt. \Vhipple run her up the river to Provi- 
 dence harbor, where several other vessels had retreated, pro- 
 tected by the batteries and the army of Gen. Spencer, then 
 assembled on the adjacent main, to guard the country from 
 the inroads of the British troops. In this mortifying durance 
 the new frigates were confined during the whole of the year 
 1777. During this period, several plans were arranged for 
 getting to sea, as appears by the letters of the eastern navy 
 board, composed of James Warren and John Deshon, of 
 September llth and October 28th. In March preceding, 
 there was a plan for burning some of the British vessels by 
 means of fire-ships, in which Capt. Whipple was engaged: 
 as by letter of Esek Hopkins, who was in command at Prov- 
 idence, as late as the 9th of that month. From some cause, 
 it was not successful, although Congress offered large boun- 
 ties to effect it. In October, under the order of Gov. Cook, 
 he dismantled and saved the guns and stores of the ene- 
 my's frigate Syren, which run on shore at Point Judith, K. I., 
 and had been abandoned. While at this employment, he 
 fell over the side of the frigate, amongst the guns and other 
 matters, receiving a serious injury, which caused a lame- 
 ness all his life. On the '20th of March, 1778. orders ar- 
 rived, to fit the Providence for sea with all dispatch, being 
 assigned to carry important dispatches from Congress to 
 our ministers in France. Capt. Whipple made up his crew 
 from the men of the Warren, in addition to his own ship.
 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 
 
 selecting such as were known to be of tried courage, as the 
 passage out to sea was blockaded by a numerous fleet, 
 as well as the outlets of each of the three passages from 
 Providence river, as the long, deep, narrow inlet was called, 
 which connects Narraganset bay with the harbor of the 
 town. They were guarded by frigates and a sixty-four gun 
 ship, expressly stationed to watch these channels, for the 
 American ships. All movements of any importance, about 
 to be made by either of the belligerent parties, \vere certain 
 to be known to the other within a short time after their con- 
 coction, by means of spies, and secret intercourse constantly 
 kept up by men employed for this purpose. The order for 
 the sailing of the Providence was soon known to the British 
 naval commander at Newport, and every preparation made 
 for her capture. Capt. Whipple was perfectly familiar with 
 all the channels, head lands, shoals, and windings of the 
 outlets from his earliest youth ; so that no man could be 
 better fitted to conduct this hazardous enterprize. His well 
 known character for courage and love of daring exploits, 
 gave additional hope to his prospect of success. It could 
 only be attempted in the night, and that night must be a 
 dark and stormy one, adding still more to the grandeur of 
 the exploit. After every preparation was made for sea, he 
 had to wait until the 30th of April, for one of those gloomy, 
 windy nights, attended with sleet and rain, so common on 
 the New England coast, at this season of the year. At 
 length, on the last day of the month, such a night set in, 
 with rain and wind from the northeast, cheerless and dispir- 
 iting on all ordinary occasions, but now more prized than the 
 brightest starlight, and entirely favorable to his wishes. In 
 making his choice of the three outlets, he selected the west- 
 erly one, which passes down between the island of Conanicut 
 ;md the Narraganset shore, which was guarded by the frigate 
 Lark, rated as a thirty-six, but actually mounting forty guns.
 
 ABRAHAM W1IIITLE. 137 
 
 This vessel was moored in the channel against the inland, 
 with her stern up stream, and springs on her cables, ready to 
 get under way at a moment's notice. Some distance below 
 her, and nearer the outlet, was moored in the same manner, 
 the Renown, a ship of sixty-four guns; while, in the bay 
 beyond, lay ten or twelve ships and sloops of war, ready to 
 lire upon the Providence, should she by possibility escape 
 the two ships above. The middle passage led through the 
 harbor of Newport, occupied by the ships of the line, and 
 the easterly one was crooked, and not passable in the night. 
 William Jones, subsequently the governor of Rhode Island, 
 was captain of marines under Whipple. He was a very 
 gentlemanly, noble-looking, and brave man. To him was 
 consigned the charge of the dispatches. As the gallant 
 little frigate, under close reefed topsails, so stiff was the 
 breeze, approached the Lark, every light on deck was ex- 
 tinguished, and the utmost silence maintained by the crew, 
 who were stationed at their guns with lighted matches, while 
 the lanterns in the rigging of the enemy served to show ex- 
 actly her position. Instead of sailing wide of his enemy, 
 and avoiding a conflict, he run within half pistol shot, and 
 delivered his broadside, firing his bow guns when against 
 the stern of the ship, determined that she should feel her 
 enemy, if she could not see her. At the same moment 
 Capt. Jones, with his musketry, poured in a destructive 
 lire on her quarter and main deck, killing and wounding a 
 number of the crew. So sudden and unexpected was the 
 attack, that before the Lark could make an)' return of the 
 broadside, the Providence was out of sight, having by this 
 well directed fire dismounted several of her guns, and killed 
 some of the men. The report of Whipple's cannon awa- 
 kened the sleeping crew of the sixty-four, who, hurrying to 
 their quarters, filled the rigging with lights, ready for the 
 coming conflict. As the gallant ship came rushing on the
 
 138 ABRAHAM AY II I PPL E. 
 
 wings of the wind, enveloped in the mist and darkness of 
 the storm, "Whipple, as he neared the Renown, to put his 
 enemy well on their guard, bellowed forth with his speaking 
 trumpet in a voice louder than the winds, as if addressing 
 the man at the helm, "Pass her on the Narraganset side:" 
 at the same time, as he stood close to the steersman, he bid 
 him luff ship and pass her on the larboard or Conanicut 
 side of the vessel ; thus throwing his antagonist entirely off 
 his guard, on the point he really meant to steer. The order 
 was promptly obeyed, and while the crew were mustered on 
 the Narraganset side of the sixty-four, ready for a discharge 
 of their heavy guns, his starboard broadside was fired into 
 her as he rapidly passed, with great effect ; several shot 
 passing through the cabin, and one directly under the cap- 
 tain's head, as he lay in his berth, knocking his pillow out of 
 place. Another shot unshipped the rudder, and before the 
 Renown was ready to discharge her larboard guns, the Prov- 
 idence was out of reach and out of sight. This very vessel 
 was the leading, or admiral's ship, at the capture of Charles- 
 ton, and the officers related the effects of his lire in a fa- 
 miliar conversation with Capt. V hippie, after the surrender 
 of the place, and he was their prisoner. These two broad- 
 sides aroused the crews of the fleet in the bay below, and 
 put them cm the look out for the rebel frigate, and the Prov- 
 idence received more or less of the fire from eleven different 
 ships of war, before she readied the open sea. Like the 
 king-bird surrounded by a flock of vultures, she glided 
 swiftly among her enemies, veering now to the larboard, 
 and now to the starboard, as fresh ships opposed her way: 
 returning their lire with occasional shots, but anxious mainly 
 to escape too close a contact with any of her foes ; the ob- 
 ject being to run, and not to fight. 
 
 The day following this perilous night, when he had gained 
 the open ocean, and thought all present danger past, he
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 139 
 
 narrowly escaped capture by a seventy-four gun ship, which 
 came directly across his course, but by superior management 
 in sailing, luckily escaped. The damages to the rigging of 
 the Providence, although considerable, were soon repaired, 
 and the little frigate, with a flowing sheet, sped on her way 
 to the port of Nantx, where she arrived in twenty-six days, 
 being on the 2Clh of May, 1778. 
 
 On the voyage out, Capt. Whipplc captured a British 
 brig, laden with one hundred and twenty-five pipes of wine, 
 nine tons of cork and various other articles, which arrived 
 safe in port, near the same time. 
 
 The names of the officers who so nobly aided in sailing, 
 and lighting the Providence, through that host of enemies, 
 and may well be ranked among the most remarkable feats 
 of bravery and daring, as well as nautical skill that took 
 place during the war of the Revolution, were as follows : 
 Thomas Simpson, first lieutenant, and soon after promoted 
 to the command of the Boston frigate of twenty-four guns. 
 Silas Dcvol, second lieutenant. He was the brother of Capt. 
 Jonathan Devol, and the personification of bravery. In a 
 year or two after, he was taken at sea, and perished miser- 
 ably in the old Jersey prison ship, that den of wholesale 
 murder to the Americans. Jonathan Pitcher, third lieuten- 
 ant, George Goodwin, sailing master, William Jones, cap- 
 tain of marines, and Seth Chapin, first lieutenant. 
 
 On the third day of their voyage out, the lieutenants 
 and other officers presented a petition to Capt. \Yhipple, 
 asking him to allow them to draw money for the purpose 
 of purchasing proper uniform dresses, as without them they 
 could not maintain the dignity of their stations, and as they 
 say, " That all may appear alike, as brothers united in one 
 cause." From this circumstance it would seem, that no 
 regular uniform for the navy had yet been established by 
 Congress.
 
 140 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 The appearance of the Providence in the harbor of 
 Nantz, excited a great deal of curiosity, as few if any 
 American frigates had visited that port. On landing, Capt. 
 Jones was charged with the dispatches to the American 
 ministers at the court of Versailles, and proceeded on his 
 way to Paris. Dr. Franklin introduced him to the king and 
 the principal courtiers, who received him with great polite- 
 ness. His noble personal appearance, gentlemanly man- 
 ners, and rich, showy uniform, made him appear to great 
 advantage and highly creditable to the American nation. 
 Owing to unforeseen delays and the cautious policy of the 
 French court, it was as late as August before a cargo was 
 provided and the return dispatches of the American minis- 
 ters ready for Congress. Strange as it may appear, the 
 Providence frigate, was loaded with clothing, arms and 
 ammunition, like a merchantman. Capt. Whipple, although 
 as brave as Caesar, was not too proud to engage in any honest 
 service, which would be useful to his country. He had 
 spent years in the merchant line and felt not that repug- 
 nance to turning Ms ship into a transport, so often expressed 
 by the haughty Britons. The cargo was of immense value 
 and more safe in a frigate than a common ship. On the 
 13th of July, he received notice from the American commis- 
 sioners, B. Franklin, Arthur Lee, and John Adams, that they 
 had ordered Capt. Tucker, of the Boston frigate, to join him 
 on his return voyage. On the IGth, he received the follow- 
 ing letter and order. 
 
 "PASSY, July IGth. 1778. 
 CAIT. WIIIFPLK : 
 
 SIR: We have ordered Lieut. Simpson, to whom the com- 
 mand of the Ranger devolves, by the destination of Capt. 
 Jones, (John Paul.) to another service, to join you and obey 
 your orders respecting his future cruises and voyage to 
 America. We wish you to use all possible dispatch in
 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 141 
 
 getting to sea, with the Boston, Providence, and Ranger. 
 
 You are to use your utmost endeavors to take, burn, sink, 
 and destroy all privateers of Jersey and Guernsey, and all 
 other British cruisers within the command of your force, as 
 you may have opportunity. 
 
 We are, sir, your most humble servants, 
 
 B. FRANKLIN, 
 ARTHUR LEK, 
 JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 P. S. You are to leave all the prisoners in such place 
 and in the custody of such persons as Mr. Shwinghauser 
 shall advise." 
 
 Mr. Shwinghauser was the naval agent for the United 
 States, making purchases, &c. ; a number of his letters are 
 on file among Com. Whipple's manuscripts. From the time 
 of the date of this letter, giving him the command of three 
 public armed ships, he may fairly take the rank of commo- 
 dore ; although he was, in fact, entitled to that distinction 
 while cruising in the Narraganset bay, in June, 1775, with 
 the two armed sloops under his orders. On the 2Gth of Au- 
 gust, having loaded the Providence with arms, ammunition, 
 clothing, and copper, on account of the United States, and 
 taken on board a number of passengers, ordered by the 
 commissioners, he sailed for America, touching at the har- 
 bor of Brest, where he was joined by the Boston and Ranger. 
 On their voyage out, they took six prizes, but how many got 
 into port, is not ascertained. 
 
 While on the banks of Newfoundland, in a dense fog, so 
 common to that misty part of the ocean, he had a very nar- 
 row escape from capture. The Providence being the lead- 
 ing ship, for the purpose of notifying her consorts of her 
 position, every five or ten minutes, a few blows were struck 
 on the ship's bell. A British seventy-four gun ship, hearing 
 the signal, bore up in the direction of the sound, and before
 
 142 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 the crew of the Providence had any notice of her approach, 
 she was close along side. The first appearance of the frig- 
 ate, with her ports all closed, and lying deep in the water, 
 was that of a large merchant ship. On hailing the stranger, 
 the captain, in the usual style of British naval officers, or- 
 dered the " d d rebel to strike his colors, drop under his 
 
 stern, and send the boat aboard.'' It so happened, that his 
 colors were not up at the time. Capt. "Whipple at once saw 
 his danger, and knew that nothing but a bold maneuver 
 could save him. He, therefore, answered the hail ; as if in- 
 tending no opposition, " Aye, aye, sir." With a readiness 
 of thought which none but a master mind can call to his 
 aid, in emergencies which admit of no delay, his plan was 
 instantly formed, and sending some men aloft, to busy 
 themselves with the sails, and prepare for striking the col- 
 ors, as if about to comply with the order, he, at the same 
 time, passed the word below to make all ready for a broad- 
 side, as he passed under the stern of the seventy-four. As 
 he was rather slow in complying with the order to strike, it 
 was repeated by the Briton in a still more commanding 
 tone, threatening to fire into him. Whipple answered, 
 rather peevishly, that " he could not haul down his colors, 
 until he had run them up/' at the same time swearing at 
 the sailor for his bungling manner of performing the duty, 
 having ordered him, when they were up, not to haul them 
 down again, on pain of death. By the time the stars and 
 stripes were fluttering in the breeze, the gunners were at 
 their posts, the frigate had fallen off under the stern of the 
 enemy, when, with a stamp of his foot on the quarter deck, 
 the ports flew open, and a full broadside was fired into her 
 cabin, the tompions of the guns going in with the shot, there 
 bring no time to remove them. When relating the incident 
 in after life, the commodore used to say, he "heard a terri- 
 ble smashing among the crockery ware in the cabin." The
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLK. 143 
 
 Briton suspecting no resistance, and being entirely unpre- 
 pared for such an event, was utterly astonished, provoked, 
 and confounded; but before he could make any preparation 
 to avenge this " Yankee trick," the Providence was envel- 
 oped in the fog, and out of sight on another tack. \Vhipple 
 took good care not to tinkle his bell again, for some time, 
 while his consorts being warned of their danger, by his 
 broadside, escaped discovery, and all reached the harbor of 
 Boston in safety. This, however, was accomplished in al- 
 most a miraculous manner, having to pass through a squad- 
 ron of the enemy's ships, which were blockading that port. 
 The cargo thus saved by the presence of mind, and bold 
 stratagem of Com. Whipple, was of immense advantage to 
 the country; furnishing the army with several thousand 
 stands of arms, ammunition, and clothing; articles of more 
 value to the United States, at that time, than a ship-load of 
 gold. 
 
 Soon after his arrival, which was the 13th of October, 
 Capt. Jones went on to Congress with the dispatches, which 
 were highly gratifying to that body. In November he re- 
 ceived the following congratulatory letter from his excel- 
 lency, Gen. Washington : 
 
 "HEAD QUARTERS, FREDERICKSBURG, Nov. 25th, 1778. 
 
 SIR: Maj. Nicholas handed me your favor of the 12th 
 inst. I am greatly pleased with the gallant circumstance 
 of your passage through the blockaded harbor, and much 
 obliged to you for the detail of your voyage. It was agree- 
 able to hear of your safe arrival with the valuable articles 
 of your invoice. "With my best wishes for your future suc- 
 cess, I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
 
 Gi:o. WASHINGTON". 
 
 To Capt. Abraham Whipple, I^sq., commander of the 
 continental frigate Providence, at Boston/'
 
 144 ABKAHAjVI WHIFFLE. 
 
 During this year the influence of the American commis- 
 sioners at the court of France was so great, especially with 
 the queen, who had taken so deep an interest in the welfare 
 of the young republic, and especially in Dr. Franklin, whom, 
 on all occasions, she treated with as much respect as she 
 could her own father, that the king finally came out openly 
 on the side of the United States, sending a fleet of men of 
 war to the American coast, which entered the harbor of 
 Newport, and forced the enemy from Narraganset bay. 
 Before their departure they sunk several of their ships, to 
 keep them from the hands of the French. Among them 
 was Whipple's old antagonist, the Lark. Near the close of 
 the war some of these frigates were raised by the ingenuity 
 of Griffin Greene, Esq. 
 
 The winter following this never-to-be-forgotten cruise, 
 was passed in refitting his vessel for sea, and in visiting his 
 family. On the 9th of March, 1779, he received orders from 
 James Warren and William Vernon, the navy board in the 
 eastern department, to cruise with the Providence in Boston 
 bay, for the protection of the navigation, and in quest of 
 the enemy's cruisers, which were now numerous on the 
 coast. On the 4th of April he returned to port, and re- 
 mained until the 23d of June, when he again proceeded on 
 a cruise with the Ranger and Queen of France under his 
 command. On this occasion the following letter was ad- 
 dressed to him, giving the outlines of the cruise, and the 
 general orders to be observed while at sea : 
 
 "NAVY BOARD, EASTERN DEPARTMENT, 
 
 BOSTON, June 12th, 1779. 
 
 To AKRAIIAM Wmrru:, Esq., commander of the ship 
 Providence : 
 
 Your ship being ready for the sea, you are to proceed 
 with the ships Queen of France and Ranger, if the last be
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 145 
 
 ready, on a cruise against the enemy. You being the .su- 
 perior officer, will, of course, command the whole : and ours 
 will be, that they obey yours accordingly. You are to pro- 
 ceed with these ships immediately, to the southerly parts of 
 the banks of Newfoundland, and there to cruise ; and to the 
 southward of said banks, as the most likely cruising ground 
 to effect the double purpose of intercepting the enemy's 
 outward-bound transports for New York, &c., and the home- 
 ward-bound West India ships. You will keep that ground 
 steadily, so long as is consistent with your security : taking 
 care to alter your station, when you have reason to suppose, 
 from your long continuance on that ground, or other circum- 
 stances, that the enemy may have gained intelligence of 
 you ; in which case you will proceed to such places as you 
 and the commanders of the other ships shall judge most 
 likely to answer the purposes of the cruise: taking care, 
 also, at proper times, to be on the banks, so that any 
 ships we may hereafter send to join you, may be able to 
 find you. During your cruise you are to take, burn, sink, 
 or destroy as many of the encnty's ships as may fall 
 in your way, directing to the continental agent of any 
 port, such prizes as you may think proper to send in. 
 You are to take proper care of your ship and her stores, 
 and to cause proper returns of the expenditures of all pro- 
 visions and stores, to be made on your return. You will 
 observe the greatest frugality and strict discipline on board, 
 taking care at the same time to use your officers and men 
 well, and your prisoners with humanity. You arc to con- 
 tinue your cruise as long as your provisions and other cir- 
 cumstances will admit, and then return into this, or some 
 other convenient port of the United States, leaving you 
 at liberty, nevertheless, if on consulting the other com- 
 manders, it shall be judged practicable to intercept the 
 
 homeward-bound ships from Hudson's bay, to proceed for 
 10
 
 146 ABKAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 that purpose toward the end of your cruise ; and if you 
 meet with little success and your ships should remain well 
 manned, you may, when your provisions are near expended, 
 proceed and cruise in the West Indies during the winter: 
 Mr. Stephen Ceronia at Cape Francois, or Mr. William 
 Bingham at Martinico, continental agent, will supply you 
 with the necessaries. On your way out you are to see this 
 coast clear of the enemy's cruisers, and particularly range 
 down the eastern shore, and if the Ranger do not sail with 
 
 you, rendezvous at for a few days, where she will 
 
 join you. You are to return lists of your men. and stores 
 on board, and at the end of the cruise cause proper returns 
 to be made of the expenditure. We wish you a successful 
 cruise. 
 
 And are your servants, &c., 
 
 J. WARREN, 
 WM. VERNON." 
 
 In pursuance of the above orders he proceeded on to the 
 eastern coast, to look for the enemy's cruisers, and spend- 
 ing nearly four weeks in cruising on and off the coast of 
 Newfoundland, lie, on the 24th of July, fell in with the 
 homeward-bound Jamaica fleet, of nearly one hundred and 
 fifty sail, convoyed by a seventy-four gun ship and some 
 smaller vessels. He continued with them for two days, 
 under British colors, pretending to be ships from Halifax, 
 joining the convoy. From the first prize captured by board- 
 ing in the night, he got possession of the signals of the 
 commodore, and made use of them to keep up the decep- 
 tion. Some of the prizes were taken possession of by 
 inviting the captain of the Jamaica ship on board the Hali- 
 fax vessels, and while he was below, sending his boat with 
 their own well maimed to secure the balance of the crew, 
 and man the ship with his own men, which wa.s accom- 
 plished without making so much noise as to attract the
 
 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 147 
 
 notice of the convoy. During the night each captured ship 
 slackened sail and altered her course so much as to be out of 
 sight of the (leet in the morning. At night the seventy - 
 four carried a light at her mi///cn-top, as a guide to the course 
 to be pursued by the fleet. \Vhipplc, taking advantage of 
 this, hoisted one at his own mizzcn, and thus decoyed seve- 
 ral ships so far out of their course as to be beyond the reach 
 of aid in the morning, and then took possession of them. 
 This could easily be done amongst one hundred and fifty 
 sail, without their number being missed from the fleet. By 
 these devices he managed to gain possession of ten large 
 Jamaica ships, which were as many as he could man with 
 American crews. Had he attempted their capture in an 
 open manner, by daylight, he might have lost some of his 
 own squadron, and taken less prizes, as he was unable to 
 contend with the seventy-four gun ship w 7 ith all his force. 
 The merchant ships also carried a number of guns, and 
 could have afforded considerable aid in beating him off. His 
 object ever was, like a sensible man, to annoy the enemy as 
 much as he could, with the least possible loss to himself, and 
 gain by ingenuity what he could not do by open force. 
 Eight of his prizes were brought safely into Boston narbor, 
 while two were recaptured. They had on board six thou- 
 sand hogsheads of sugar, besides ginger, pimento, and cotton, 
 being valued at more than a million of dollars. The eight 
 prizes were armed with an average of fourteen guns each, 
 or one hundred and thirteen in the whole. Could these 
 prizes have been sold at their real value, Com. Whipple's 
 share would have been one-twentieth of this sum; the 
 rules adopted by Congress in the distribution of prize money, 
 allowing this portion to the commander of a squadron, and 
 two-twentieths to the captains of single ships, of those cap- 
 tured by them when on a cruise. Yet, from the impoverished 
 condition of the country, and the scarcity of money, it is
 
 148 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 not probable he actually realized more than a moiety of the 
 amount. lie, however, received sufficient to greatly improve 
 his present condition, which was actually that of a poor 
 man. With the avails of this cruise he bought a handsome 
 house and lot in Providence, and a fine farm in the neigh- 
 boring town of Cranston. 
 
 On the 20th of November, he received the following order 
 from the navy board : 
 
 " NAVY BOARD, EASTERN DEPARTMENT, 
 
 BOSTON, November 20, 1779. 
 
 To ABRAHAM WHIFFLE, Esq., commander of the ship 
 Providence : 
 
 Your ship being now ready for the sea, you are, as com- 
 manding officer, to take under your command the ships Bos- 
 ton, Queen of France, and Ranger; and with them you are 
 to embrace the first fair wind, and without any kind of de- 
 lay, proceed to sea; and when the fleet under your com- 
 mand are five leagues to the southward of the light-house, 
 you arc to open the orders inclosed, and follow the direc- 
 tions therein given. If by any misfortune to you, the com- 
 mand of the Providence should devolve on Capt. Hacker, 
 now acting as first lieutenant, he will, as the eldest captain, 
 take command of the fleet, and is to obey the orders given 
 you. We wish you success, and are your servants, &c., 
 
 WM. VERNON, 
 J. WARREN." 
 
 What those sealed orders were, does not appear on rec- 
 ord; but doubtless were for him to proceed with all expedi- 
 tion, to Charleston, S. C., and place himself and fleet under 
 the command of Gen. Lincoln, who was charged with the 
 defense of that place. On the 23d of that month, he sailed, 
 with tin 1 , ships under his command, and when united with 
 those at Charleston, formed the largest American squadron, 
 under the command of one officer, ever assembled during
 
 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 149 
 
 the war. The voyage out was rough and tempestuous, and 
 his ships received considerable damage; nevertheless, he 
 reached the destined port on the 19th of December. On 
 the ',30th of January, being weary of inactivity, he applied 
 to Gen. Lincoln for liberty to make a cruise of observation, 
 and ascertain the position of the enemy's (leet, which had 
 been looked for, a considerable time, on its way from Xew 
 York, with the army of Gen. Clinton, to invest Charleston. 
 On the second or third day out, he fell in with the British 
 fleet, and took four of their transports, laden with troops, 
 provisions, &c., but was himself chased back into port, by 
 four ships of war; and in a short time after, the enemy 
 commenced their preparations for a regular siege of the city. 
 This was his last feat on the ocean ; the brilliant sunshine 
 of success, which had so long brightened his course, now set 
 in clouds and gloomy disaster. Neptune, the ruler of the 
 sea, had befriended him all his life, and when he forsook his 
 service, and entered into battle on the solid land, his good 
 fortune departed, and his beloved ships perished, or fell into 
 the hands of the enemy. Amidst all his exposures and hair- 
 breadth escapes in his numerous sea-fights, he was never 
 wounded ; but, like Washington, bore a charmed life, not to 
 be destroyed by his enemies. 
 
 The defense of Charleston was the first attempt of the 
 Americans to maintain a town against a besieging army: 
 and its disastrous termination taught them, when too late, 
 that their unwalled, open cities, were poorly calculated for 
 defense. The winter of 1780 proved to be one of great 
 severity, even at the south, and the cold nearly as great as 
 that common to the middle states. The sailors in Com. 
 \Vhipple's fleet had been shipped for a six months' cruise 
 in a southern latitudo; and not knowing their final destina- 
 tion, were entirely unprovided with clothing for the severe 
 winter which followed. There was no clothinsr for them in
 
 150 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 the vessels, and no other resource to relieve their wants but 
 from his own funds. The generosity of their commander 
 toward sailors was unbounded; and to alleviate their suffer- 
 i"gs, he advanced several thousand dollars from his own 
 funds, to cover their shivering bodies in garments suited to 
 the season. These supplies were delivered to the pursers 
 of the several ships under his command, and the amounts 
 deducted from their wages, as is customary in such cases ; 
 and yet, from the subsequent loss of the fleet, and perhaps, 
 also, the books of the pursers, he had not, in 1780, received 
 a single dollar for this noble and generous expenditure in 
 the cause of his country, nor did he ever obtain a tithe of 
 the amount justly due him. 
 
 During the siege an almost daily correspondence was 
 carried on with Gen. Lincoln, who constantly consulted him 
 in the disposition of the ships for the defense of the city, 
 and the annoyance of the enemy. A large number of 
 these letters are on the files of his naval manuscripts, pre- 
 served with much care ; but as they relate to no very inter- 
 esting or particular events, they will not be quoted, but the 
 history of the siege given, as related by Dr. Ramsey. From 
 the beginning to the end of this disastrous affair, Com. 
 \Vliipple, with his officers and men, exerted themselves with 
 untiring assiduity and the greatest gallantry, in defending 
 the place, as well after the destruction of their ships as before. 
 The batteries erected from the ship's guns on the banks of 
 the Cooper river, and manned by their crews, were very an- 
 noying to the besiegers, and prolonged the investment until 
 the expenditure of their provisions threatened them with 
 starvation, and did full as much toward their final surrender 
 as tin 1 guns of the enemy. 
 
 'The British licet, with their troops on board, six thou- 
 sand in number, under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, 
 sailed from New York on the !20th of December, 1771).
 
 ABRAHAM WIIII'FLE. 151 
 
 Their outward course was boisterous .and disastrous, losing 
 nearly all their cavalry horses, and it was as late as the 1 1th 
 of February, 1780, before they landed at the distance of 
 thirty miles from Charleston. On the 2<.)th of March, Clin- 
 ton passed over Ashley river, and commenced erecting bat- 
 teries i'or the siege of the town. Gen. Lincoln constructed 
 lines of defense across Charleston neck, from Cooper to 
 Ashley river. On the 12th of April the British batteries 
 were opened. Their fleet under Admiral Arbuthnot, of eight 
 ships, one a sixty-four, crossed the bar on the 20th of March, 
 and anchored in 'five fathom hole;' while the fleet under 
 Com. Chippie, composed of smaller vessels, being unable 
 to prevent their crossing the bar at the mouth of the harbor, 
 retreated up to Charleston, where his ships were disarmed, 
 and the crews and guns of all the fleet but one, were put 
 on shore to reinforce the batteries." Although sailors arc 
 the bravest of men, whether fighting on the land or the 
 water; yet when on shore they are deprived of their favor- 
 ite clement, and lose that esprit de corps so peculiar to 
 them on ship board. The commodore felt the want of sea 
 room, and the fresh breezes of the ocean, by which to ma- 
 neuver hk ships, and to point his guns. When he reluct- 
 antly abandoned his vessels and stepped on to terra firma, 
 he was like an eagle with his wings clipped, unable to soar 
 aloft, or pounce upon his prey; nevertheless, his men be- 
 haved bravely, and did all they could for the defense of the 
 town. u The fire of the British was much superior to that 
 of the Americans ; the former having twenty-one mortars 
 and royals, and the latter only two ; while their battering- 
 cannon were much larger and more numerous, with three 
 times as many men. During the siege Sir Henry Clinton 
 received a reinforcement of three thousand men. making in 
 all nine thousand land forces to oppose, while Gen. Lincoln 
 had less than three thousand. By the 6th of May the
 
 152 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 provisions of the besieged were nearly exhausted, and the 
 inhabitants of the town became clamorous with the Ameri- 
 can commander for a surrender of the place, as they could 
 sustain the siege no longer. On the llth of May the town 
 was surrendered, and the brave defenders became prisoners 
 of war to a man who proved to be a very ungenerous 
 enemy, and treated his captives with all the rigor so preva- 
 lent at that period, when the Americans were considered as 
 rebels, and not as common enemies, and, therefore, not en- 
 titled to the usages of the laws of nations." On the final 
 results of the siege, he remarks, " I faithfully exerted myself 
 to promote the interest and honor of my country ; and al- 
 though the town was surrendered, American honor was 
 triumphant." 
 
 After the capitulation, he made an arrangement with Ad- 
 miral Arbuthnot, into whose charge the seamen luckily fell 
 instead of Sir H. Clinton, for their parole; agreeing that the 
 seamen and marines should be exchanged, when an opportu- 
 nity offered. But none, such occurred, as the British govern- 
 rnent decided on keeping in prison all the American seamen 
 which fell into their hands, until the close of the war. Their 
 depredations had been so severe on their commerce, that 
 they considered this the only effectual mode of restraining 
 them. While their seamen amounted to eighty- five thou- 
 sand, the Americans could at no time muster, probably, more 
 than five thousand. The loss of so large a number of the 
 continental ships, at the fall of Charleston, nearly ruined the 
 American navy, and put a stop to any further effective oper- 
 ations by sea. The presence of the French fleet on our coasts, 
 . upplied in some degree the loss of our own, and caused 
 Congress to think there was not so much need of a navy as 
 in the early years of the war, when they had to contend single- 
 handed with the most powerful marine in the world. Ad- 
 miral Arbuthnot was doubtless acquainted with the name
 
 ABRAHAM WHIi'l'Li;. 153 
 
 and character of Coin. \Yhipple, and i'clt more respect lor a 
 brave man in misfortune than many of the enemy':* com- 
 manders in the land service, who were generally notorious 
 for their cruelty and ungenerous conduct to their American 
 prisoners. Some delay must have taken place in carrying 
 out the capitulation, as he did not reach Chester in Pennsyl- 
 vania, the place of destination for the seamen, until the last 
 of June. 1 Mscase prevailed extensively amongst hi* men, as 
 is almost universally the case in besieged towns, especially 
 the small-pox, which continued to be the scourge of the 
 American troops, from the beginning to the end of the war. 
 At Chester, no regular hospitals were provided for the sick. 
 and with his characteristic generosity, Com. \Vhipple, hired 
 a suitable house for their accommodation at his own ex- 
 pense, furnishing them with all needed supplies for their 
 comfort, whereby he says, " Many useful lives were pre- 
 served to their country.'' At this place he remained two 
 years and seven months, a prisoner, the most dreary of his 
 life, until at the close of the war, he was exchanged for Capt. 
 Gayton, of the Romulus, a forty-four gun frigate. During 
 all this period, he was deprived of the means of earning a 
 subsistence; and himself and family were to be supported 
 out of his former stores, so that at the declaration of peace, 
 he was left in a destitute condition, at the age of fifty years, 
 a period when the energies and ambition of most men begin 
 to fail. 
 
 In 1?R(5, he petitioned Congress for a redress of his griev- 
 ances ; and that they would do him justice, by repaying the 
 amount they justly owed him. At the close of the petition, 
 after stating his services in the cause of liberty, (a paper 
 which has afforded dates for all the interesting events of his 
 life.) he says, " Thus having exhausted the means of support- 
 ing myself and family, I was reduced to the sad necessity 
 of mortgaging my little farm, the remnant I had left, to
 
 154 ABRAHAM WIIIPPLE. 
 
 obtain money for a temporary support. This farm is now 
 gone; and having been sued out of possession, I am turned 
 into the world at an advanced age, feeble and valetudinary, 
 with my wife and children, destitute of a house, or a home 
 that I can call my own, or have the means of hiring. This 
 calamity has arisen from two causes; viz. : First, from my 
 disbursing large sums in France and Charleston. In the 
 former, I expended for the service of the United States, to 
 the amount of three hundred and sixty French guineas ; a 
 large part of that sum was appropriated to the pay of a 
 company of marines; the other part for sea stores to ac- 
 commodate a number of gentleman passengers, sent on 
 board by the commissioners, to take passage for America, 
 for which I have never been recompensed. And secondly, 
 my having served the United States from the 15th of June, 
 1775, to December, 1782, without receiving a farthing of 
 wages, or subsistence from them, since December, 1770. 
 My advances in France and Charleston amount, in the 
 whole, to nearly seven thousand dollars in specie, exclusive 
 of interest. The repayment of this, or a part of it, might 
 be the happy means of regaining the farm I have been 
 obliged to give up, and snatch my family from miser)' and 
 ruin." 
 
 This sum with the interest would, in 1780, amount to at 
 least ten thousand dollars ; add to this, six years' pay and 
 subsistence, at one thousand dollars a year, and there was 
 sixteen thousand dollars due him for time and money, ex- 
 pended in the service of the United States. On the 10th of 
 October, 1780, the commissioner of accounts in the marine 
 department, to whom was referred the petition, reported in 
 its favor, when Congress directed him to refund the money 
 advanced in France, but say nothing about the disburse- 
 ments at Charleston. What the sum allowed to him was, 
 is not stated, but in on application which he made in 1811,
 
 ABRAHAM W II TITLE. 155 
 
 for a pension, he says he was paid in '-final settlements, or 
 United States securities, which, owing to his indigent cir- 
 cumstances at that time, he was obliged to sell for t\vo shil- 
 lings and sixpence in the pound, or a discount of more than 
 eight)' per cent. He had but two choices; cither to do this, 
 or to let his family suffer for the necessaries of life." Thus, 
 the government, instead of paying him in specie, or money 
 equivalent to that which he had advanced for them, paid 
 him in their worthless paper, which, purporting to be val- 
 uable for its face, was little better to him than so many 
 rags, Owing to the low credit of the country, it fell into the 
 hands of greedy speculators, who finally realized, and put 
 into their own pockets, the very money due to Com. Whipple. 
 But he, generous man, was not the only one who suffered 
 from his country's poverty; hundreds of others, both of the 
 army and navy, who had spent years in the service of the 
 republic, received nothing in return but these ''final certifi- 
 cate*'^ the mere shadow of a reality. Soon after his ex- 
 change, he received permission from Robert Morris, one of 
 the board of admiralty, to leave the service of the United 
 States. It is as follows: 
 
 "MARINE OFFICE, PHILADELPHIA, April 23d, 1782. 
 
 Leave of absence is hereby granted to Capt. Abraham 
 Whipple, of the American navy, to go into private service, 
 until called upon. 
 
 ROBERT MORRIS." 
 
 lie now resided, like Cincinnatus, on his little farm in 
 Cranston, and guided a plow instead of a ship. After the 
 peace was fully established in 1781, the merchants of Provi- 
 dence resumed their foreign navigation; and one of the first 
 ships sent to Great Britain, was built and owned by John 
 Brown, of Providence. She was called the " General Wash- 
 ington," and a fine figure of his noble person graced her 
 bows. The command of this vessel was given to Com.
 
 156 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 Whipple, and he had the honor of first unfurling the Amer- 
 ican flag on the river Thames. Her fine model and attract- 
 ive name excited the notice of the cockneys, and hundreds 
 of persons daily visited her, as a rare sight from the new 
 republic. This notice was not a little flattering to the pride 
 of the commodore, who fully sustained the dignity of his 
 country, and answered their numerous questions with pro- 
 priety and kindness. 
 
 After his return from this voyage, he continued to live on 
 his farm, and during the stormy period of the paper-money 
 war in Rhode Island, was elected a representative to the 
 Legislature from the town of Cranston, in 1780. The ad- 
 vocates of the paper-money system were then in power, and 
 chose Othniel Gorton, a clumsy old man, for speaker. 3Ir. 
 John Ilowland, who narrates the following anecdote, says, 
 "It was the habit of Gorton to keep a large quid of tobacco 
 in one side of his mouth, which pressed out one of his cheeks. 
 The most of the debaters were on the opposite side of the 
 hall from that on which the commodore sat, and the speakers 
 face was generally turned that wa}-. Once in the course of 
 the debate, Whipple had cogitated a speech, which he waited 
 for a chance to deliver. At last, out of patience, he rose 
 and called, 'Mr. Speaker!' The speaker, whose face was 
 the other way, did not hear him. He then raised his voice 
 to its utmost limit, ' Mr. Speaker!' The speaker started, 
 and turning to the commodore said, 'I hear you, sir,' rather 
 audibly. Whipple then began as follows: 'I wish, 3Ir. 
 Speaker, you would shift your quid of tobacco from your 
 starboard to your larboard jaw, that it might give your head 
 a cant this way, so that you could sometimes hear some- 
 thing from this side of the house.' He then commenced his 
 speech, wliivh was not a long one, and when through, sat 
 down." This anecdote is in character with the man, who 
 often spoke in nautical phrases, and sometimes in language
 
 ABRAHAM WHITTLE. 157 
 
 rough as the ocean's winds, amidst vvho.se waved he had been 
 cradled. 
 
 On the formation of the OhioCompany, lie emigrated with 
 hid wife and son to Marietta, in company with the family of 
 Col. Sproat, who had married his daughter Catharine. lie 
 was now lifty-five years old, when he left the land of his fore- 
 fathers, to seek a new home in the valley of the Ohio. The 
 fertility of the new world had been so much lauded by its 
 advocates, that it conveyed to the mind the idea of a second 
 Paradise. The first settlers, however, found that the "briers 
 and thorns" of the curse were there, if not in reality, yet 
 under the semblance of the tomahawk and knife of the In- 
 dian. The first six years of his residence here, were passed 
 in constant danger from the savage foe, although, from his 
 age, he was not exposed so much to their attacks as younger 
 men. lie, however, once had a little taste of the feeling 
 which attends the too near approach of the hostile Indian. 
 Col. Sproat, with whom he constantly resided, during the 
 war, had built a log-house about midway between the gar- 
 rison at the Point and Campus Martins, and cleared a piece 
 of ground for a garden. On this land Com. Whipplc had a 
 fine patch of melons, which somebody stole and carried 
 away for several nights. Supposing the boys of the garri- 
 son were the depredators, he one moonlight night concluded 
 to watch for the rogues, by standing sentry in the log-house, 
 a few yards only from the melons. With his old musket well 
 charged, he took his stand by one of the loop-holes in the 
 logs. About midnight three Indians stepped over the fence 
 and commenced searching for ripe melons. Not expecting 
 depredators of this kind, he looked quietly on, in silence. 
 He could have easily killed one or more of them, with his 
 well loaded musket; but he felt no enmity toward them; 
 they had never injured him nor any of his kindred ; but on 
 *he contrary, himself and countrymen were intruding on
 
 158 ABRAHAM WHIFFLE. 
 
 them, and taking the land of their fathers and themselves 
 from them. And as to the melons they were not worth the 
 life of a man, even of a savage. He resolved thus with 
 himself. " If they do not attack me, I will not attack them." 
 Had they been his old oppressors, the redcoats, and in 
 time of war, as it then was with the Indians, his conduct 
 would have been very different. lie did not refrain from 
 any fear of the result, for the report of his shot would have 
 brought instant aid from the garrison, not one hundred rods 
 distant, and the Indians would have fled without any attempt 
 on the house, as they would at once conclude it contained 
 more than one man. When they had selected such melons 
 as suited them, they retired ; and the commodore rested 
 quietly the remainder of the night. At sunrise he returned 
 to the garrison, but did not watch the melons again. 
 
 After the peace in 1790, he moved with his wife on to a 
 small farm of twelve acres, on the bank of the Muskingum 
 river, two miles from its mouth. He was now in his sixty- 
 third year, and had no other means of support than the 
 produce of this land, cultivated with his own hands. On 
 this scanty plantation he continued to live and to labor for 
 fifteen years, raising barely sufficient of the most common 
 necessaries of life to support him and his aged partner in a 
 very frngal manner, but lacking the most of its comforts, 
 especially comfortable clothing, which was scarce and dear 
 in the new settlements. He thus manfully struggled on, 
 without murmuring or complaining, respected and honored 
 by his acquaintance for his perseverance and industry. 
 
 At length in 1811, when he was seventy-eight years old 
 and the powers of nature has so far failed that he could no 
 longer follow the plow, or delve the earth, he applied to 
 Congress, urged thereto by his friends, for a pension. They 
 granted him half-pay of a captain in the navy, or thirty 
 dollars a month. This relieved him from any further anxiety
 
 ABRAHAM WHITTLE. 159 
 
 aa to ft support ill the last days of his life, and rendered the 
 remaining years easy and free from care. 
 
 Once during this agricultural period, he was allowed to 
 visit the sea, snuff its saline, breezes, and again be lulled to 
 sleep in his cot by the dash of the ocean's waves, strangely 
 calling to mind the scenes of his early manhood. 
 
 In the year 1SOO, some of the enterprising men of Marietta, 
 formed a company for building a small vessel, and actually 
 built, rigged, and loaded with produce, a brig of one hundred 
 and four tons, named the St. Clair, in honor of the governor 
 of the northwest territory. Her cargo was made up of pork 
 and Hour, and she cleared from Marietta in May, 1801, that 
 town having been made a port of clearance. She crossed 
 the falls of the Ohio in safety, and early in July was at New 
 Orleans, then in the occupancy of the Spaniards, where the 
 brig lay some days anchored in the stream, from the extrav- 
 agance of the port charges, while she took on board sonic 
 stores for the voyage. In July he sailed for the town of 
 Havana, with a crew composed chiefly of landsmen. His 
 first mate was a good seaman, but entirely ignorant of navi- 
 gation, not being able to take an observation, or ascertain 
 the latitude, so that if any accident had happened to Com. 
 "Whipple, no one on board could navigate the vessel. 
 The second mate was Bennct Cook, a young, active man, and 
 a good sailor, but ignorant of navigation. The St. Clair, 
 however, reached her destined port in safety. Provisions of 
 all kinds were scarce and dear, affording a fine market for 
 her load. The flour sold for forty dollars a barrel, but was 
 subject to a duty of twenty dollars. This port has aluavs 
 been noted for its high duties, which served to enrich the 
 government, but to impoverish the people. \\ ith the pro- 
 ceeds of the cargo, he bought a load of sugar. It was late 
 in August before the brig left the port of Havana on her 
 voyage to Philadelphia, where she was consigned and finally
 
 160 ABRAHAM \YHIPPLE. 
 
 sold. In the meantime the yellow fever broke out in the 
 place and attacked several of the cre\v, some of them several 
 days after leaving the island. Fortunately for Com. Whip- 
 pie, he found his son John, who had been several years on 
 the sea, and a finished sailor, at this port, and engaged him 
 for the voyage as his mate. His health remained firm, and 
 with his aid the brig reached Philadelphia, in distress, from 
 sickness and death amongst the crew. The voyage was a 
 productive one to the owners, and encouraged the inhabitants 
 of Marietta to continue the business. Com. Whipple re- 
 turned to his home by land, but did not navigate any more 
 vessels to the sea. The St. Clair was the first rigged vessel 
 ever built on the Ohio river, and he had the honor of con- 
 ducting her to the ocean. In after life he used to claim the 
 distinction of firing the first gun at the British in the Revo- 
 lutionary war on the ocean, and the navigating the first 
 vessel built on the Ohio river, to the sea. On the latter oc- 
 casion Capt. Jonathan Dcvol, who possessed all the imagina- 
 tion of a poet, if he lacked the harmony of measure, wrote 
 the following lines. 
 
 The scene is laid at the mouth of the Mississippi, and as 
 Com. \Vhipple entered the ocean with the St. Clair, Nep- 
 tune and his Tritons are supposed to welcome him with 
 military honors. 
 
 " The Triton crieth, 
 ' Who comcth now from shore 'i ' 
 
 Neptune replieth, 
 ' 'Tis the old commodore.' 
 Long has it been since I saw him before, 
 In the year seventy-five from Columbia he came ; 
 The pride of the Briton on ocean to tame : 
 And often, too. with his gallant crew, 
 Hath he crossed the belt of ocean blue. 
 
 On the Gallic coast, 
 
 I have seen him tost,
 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 101 
 
 While his thundering cannon lulled my waves, 
 And roused my nymphs from their coral caves ; 
 \\heu he fought for freedom with all hij braves, 
 In the war of the Revolution. 
 
 But now he comes from the western woods, 
 Descending slow with gentle floods, 
 The pioneer of a mighty train, 
 Which commerce brings to my domain. 
 I'p, sons of the wave, 
 Greet the noble and brave ! 
 Present your arms unto him. 
 His gray hair shows. 
 Life nears its close : 
 Let's pay the honors due him. 
 Sea-maids attend with lute and lyre, 
 
 And bring your conehs, my Triton sons ; 
 In chorus blow to the aged sire, 
 A welcome to my dominions." 
 
 For several years after this period, ship-building was car- 
 ried on with great spirit at Marietta; but Com. Whipple, 
 having opened the way to the ocean, left the future guid- 
 ance of the navigation to younger men. Not less than 
 twenty ships, brigs and schooners, from one hundred and fifty 
 to four hundred and fifty tons burthen, were built up to the 
 year 1808, besides some of Mr. Jefferson's gun-boats. Two 
 or three of their number were lost in attempting to tiass the 
 rapids at Louisville, when the water was too low, but at a 
 proper stage no difficulty was experienced. Several of them 
 took in cotton from the plantations on the Mississippi, for 
 Liverpool, in addition to their other lading, as the cotton 
 bales were so loosely packed at that time, that a ship could 
 not be fully loaded with that article. Owing to its bulky 
 nature, ten cents a pound was charged for the freight. 
 
 As has been observed, in 1811, Com. Whipple received 
 from Congress the hall-pay of a captain in the service, or 
 
 11
 
 162 ABRAHAM WHIPPLE. 
 
 thirty dollars a month; which enabled him to cease from 
 laboring with his own hands for the support of himself and ' 
 wife, which he had been obliged to do for the last twenty- 
 three years. 
 
 In early life he married Miss Sarah Hopkins, the sister of 
 Gov. Hopkins, of Rhode Island, a woman every way worthy 
 of him, and with whom he lived to enjoy the smiles, or to 
 bear the frowns, of fortune, for more than fifty years. The 
 fruits of this marriage were two daughters and one son. The 
 oldest daughter was married to Col. Ebenezer Sproat, and 
 the younger to Dr. Comstock, of Smithfield, R. I., where she 
 resided after her father's removal to Ohio. John, his only 
 son, continued to follow the sea, after leaving Marietta, and 
 never married, so that the family name perished at the death 
 of its illustrious founder. Several descendants of the female 
 branches are living in the states of Michigan, Rhode Island 
 and Massachusetts, under the names of Sibley, Comstock, 
 and Fisher. 
 
 In person Com. Whipple was rather short, thickset and 
 stout, with great muscular strength in the days of his man- 
 hood : eyes dark grey, with manly, strongly marked fea- 
 tures, indicating firmness and intrepidity. He was fond of 
 daring exploits, and the more hazardous they were, with so 
 much the greater alacrity he entered into them. For stern, 
 rigid discipline, no man in the American navy exceeded him; 
 and yet from numerous letters on his files addressed to him 
 by his subordinates, he appears to have been loved and 
 highly respected by those under his command. It was often 
 noticed by the sailors, that in fair, pleasant weather, with a 
 smooth sea, he was irritable and surly; but as soon as a 
 severe gale or storm arose, and there was actual clanger, his 
 countenance brightened, while the most cheerful, animated 
 air, took possession of the man. diffusing life and courage
 
 ABRAHAM WHIPPJ.E. 1G3 
 
 into all around him, so that no crew could be cowardly with 
 such a leader. When in the greatest danger, he was the 
 most at his ease. His benevolence and kind feelings lor 
 those under his charge were often put to severe trials, and 
 always shone with brilliant luster. Thousands of dollars 
 were expended by him ro relieve their wants, which were 
 never repaid by the government, and for which he suffered 
 years of privation and labor, at a period of his life when 
 want bears most heavily on the mind of man. It is pre- 
 sumed that no other one amongst the military or naval com- 
 manders of the Revolution, expended as much for the men 
 under their care, with the exception of that extraordinary 
 and good man, the Marquis Lafayette. His success on 
 the ocean was not exceeded by that of any other in the 
 navy; and, although exposed to the greatest dangers and 
 hazards, was never captured or wounded by his enemies, 
 while at sea : but when he stepped on to dry land, his good 
 fortune forsook him, and at the surrender of Charleston, he 
 became a captive for more than two years. His exploits 
 and character will long be remembered by the inhabitants 
 of Rhode Island and Marietta; while his name and portrait 
 ought to -occupy a distinguished place, instead of being 
 passed by in silence, in The American Portrait Gallery, 
 amongst the celebrated men of the Revolution. 
 
 He died after a short illness, on the 29th of May. in the 
 year 1S10. aired eighty-five years, at a small farm, three 
 miles from Marietta, where he had resided for several years. 
 near his widowed daughter, Mrs. Catharine Sproat. whose 
 soothing cares and tender assiduities smoothed her parent's 
 progress to the grave. His wife, Mrs. Sarah \Vhipple. died 
 in October, LS18. preceding him but a few months, aged sev- 
 enty-nine years. They lie buried side by side, in the beau- 
 tiful mound square at Marietta, and his tombstone bears the
 
 164 ABRAHAM W HI PPLE. 
 
 following inscription, written by the Hon. Paul Fearing, his 
 warm friend and admirer : 
 
 SACRED 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 (Hommobore 2lbraljam iUljipple, 
 
 WHOSE NAME, SKILL, AND COURAGE, 
 WILL EVER REMAIN THE PRIDE AND BOAST OF HIS COUNTRY. 
 
 IN THE LATE REVOLUTION, HE WAS THE 
 
 FIRST ON THE SEAS TO HURL DEFIANCE AT PROUD BRITAIN; 
 GALLANTLY LEADING THE WAY TO ARREST FROM 
 
 THE MISTRESS OF THE OCEAN, HER SCEPTER, 
 AND THERE TO WAVE THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER. 
 
 HE ALSO CONDUCTED TO SEA, 
 THE FIRST SQUARE-RIGGED VESSEL EVER BUILT ON THE OHIO, 
 
 OPENING TO COMMERCE 
 RESOURCES BEYOND CALCULATION.
 
 HON. JAMES MITCHELL VARNUM.* 
 
 " Two brothers of the name of Varnum, emigrated from 
 Wales to Boston, just prior to the year 1000, and from 
 thence to Ipswich, where one died without issue. Samuel, 
 the survivor, purchased a large tract of land of the Indians, 
 in the town of Dracut, county of Middlesex, Mass., and 
 settled on it in 1004. He had issue five sons: John, 
 Thomas, and Joseph, and two who were shot in a boat while 
 crossing the Merrimack with their father. The descendants 
 of John and Thomas reside in Dracut and elsewhere. Jo- 
 seph was colonel of the militia, and wounded in the Indian 
 war of 107G. He erected a garrison house, which is still 
 standing as the family mansion, in a good state of preser- 
 vation. Joseph Varnum left two sons, Joseph and Samuel, 
 who inherited a large estate from their father. Joseph had 
 issue, and several families have descended from him. Sam- 
 uel had four sons : Samuel, James Mitchell, Joseph Bradley, 
 and Daniel Varnum. Samuel died in Maine, about twenty 
 years since ; Joseph B. in 1821 ; and Daniel in 1822, on the 
 patrimonial estate, which has remained in the family since 
 the first purchase from the natives. Most of the brothers 
 held prominent official stations in Massachusetts. Joseph 
 B. was elected a member of Congress from his native district 
 in 1795, and successively re-elected till 1811, and then 
 elected senator one term, making his whole service in Con- 
 gress twenty-two years. From 1807 to 1811, comprising 
 
 * The following sketch is chiefly extracted from a full and well written biogra- 
 phy of Gen. Varnum, by "Wilkins Updike, Esq., of Kingston. 11. I., and published 
 in the Memoirs of the Bar of Rhode Island, in 1842.
 
 166 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 two Congressional terms, he was elected speaker of the 
 House of Representatives. 
 
 The subject of this memoir, James Mitchell Varnum, was 
 born in Dracut, the residence of his ancestors, in 1749. He 
 entered Rhode Island College, now Brown University, then 
 established in Warren, and was in the first class that grad- 
 uated from that institution, in 1769, at the age of twenty. 
 He received the first honors of his class, and in a forensic 
 discussion, vindicated the rights of the colonists in their re- 
 sistance to British taxation, with signal ability. He kept a 
 classical school for a short period after he graduated, and 
 always spoke highly of its benefit to a student, to plant 
 deeply in the mind those elements accmired in the college 
 hall ; and his whole life demonstrated that he had profited 
 by it. He was deeply attached to mathematical science, 
 and delighted in its pursuits. His whole life was an evi- 
 dence that he was naturally a mathematician. His habits 
 were those of intense study and boisterous relaxation. He 
 was fond of exhibiting his skill in gymnastics, and ever 
 ready to exercise in that ancient art with any one who 
 would engage with him, noble or ignoble. Strong and ac- 
 tive in frame, and ardently attached to such exercises, he 
 gave his inclination for such sports, the fullest range, to a 
 late period of his life. 
 
 Soon after his college course he entered the office of Oli- 
 ver Arnold, in Providence, then attorney-general of the col- 
 ony. William Channing, Thomas Arnold, John S. Dexter 
 and himself, were students together, at the time of ?Ir. Ar- 
 nold's death, in 1770; and in the succeeding year, Vanium 
 was admitted to the bar. He settled at East Greenwich, 
 where his talents acquired for him an extensive practice ; 
 and he traveled the circuits of the state, reaping the honors 
 and the rewards of his profession. 
 
 3Ir. Varnum had a great taste for military life, and early
 
 j. M. VAUNT: M. 107 
 
 joined the Kentish Guards, and was appointed commander 
 of that company in 1774; a company which, from their ac- 
 quirements in military tactics, became the nursery of so 
 many distinguished officers during the Revolutionary war : 
 Gen. Greene, Gen. Varnum, Col. Greene, Col. Crary, Mnj. 
 Whitemarsh, and others, making thirty-two in all, who en- 
 tered the Revolutionary army as commissioned officers 
 from this company alone. The prominent part Mr. Varnum 
 had taken in the colonial controversy, inspired an ambition 
 to enter the military service of his country. The venerable 
 John Ilowland, president of the Historical Society of this 
 state, in a communication, states, that "When the news of 
 the Lexington battle reached East Greenwich, Yarnum's 
 company mustered, and marched to Providence, on their 
 way to the .scene of action. I recollect seeing them on their 
 arrival ; Nathaniel Greene, of Coventry, afterward the gen- 
 eral, was a private, with a musket on his shoulder; and 
 Christopher Greene, afterward Col. Greene, who defended 
 Red Bank, was also there, a private in the same company. 
 They marched beyond Pawtuckct, and hearing that the 
 enemy had retired to Boston, they returned. The next week, 
 the General Assembly convened, and resolved to raise three 
 regiments of infantry and a company of artillery. Mr. Na- 
 thaniel Greene, then a member of the House of Representa- 
 tives, was appointed brigadier-general, and Varnum, colonel 
 of the regiment to be raised in the counties of Kent and 
 King's ; Daniel Hitchcock to be colonel of the regiment to be 
 raised in Providence, and Church to be colonel of the regi- 
 ment to be raised in the counties of Newport and Bristol. 
 Varnum took rank over Hitchcock and Church, from having 
 commanded in the Kentish Guards, with the rank of colonel. 
 The time for which these troops were called out, expired 
 December 31st, 1775. The state raised two regiments for 
 the year 177(5. Varnum commanded the first, and Hitch-
 
 168 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 cock the second. The officers of these troops afterward re 
 ceived commissions from the president of Congress, when 
 Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. They were 
 then styled continental troops. In January, 1776, the state 
 raised a regiment called state troops, to be stationed in New- 
 port. They remained there until the disastrous battle on 
 Long island. This regiment, commanded by Col. Lippitt, 
 was taken into the continental service, and ordered to join 
 Gen. Washington at New York; they arrived at Harlem 
 after the evacuation of the city. This regiment composed 
 part of the brigade commanded by Gen. John Nixon, which 
 consisted of five regiments, commanded by Cols. Nixon and 
 Little, of Massachusetts ; Yarnum, Hitchcock, and Lippitt, 
 of Rhode Island. Toward the close of the year, Gen. Nixon 
 was dispatched, by the commander-in-chief, on furlough, to 
 Massachusetts, to urge the raising of new recruits for the 
 army, to supply the place of those whose term of service 
 would expire on the 31st of December; as without rein- 
 forcements, Gen. Washington would be left without an army 
 at the commencement of the succeeding year. Gen. Yar- 
 num then succeeded to the command of the brigade. But 
 the necessity of the case, and the perilous situation of the 
 country, induced Gen. Washington soon after to send Gen. 
 Yarnum to the Assembly of Rhode Island, for the same pur- 
 pose ; selecting, for this all-important mission, those officers, 
 for their known influence with their respective legislatures. 
 The command of this brigade of five regiments then de- 
 volved on Col. Hitchcock, as the senior officer. lie com- 
 manded it at a period the most important in our Revolution- 
 ary history, and led his brigade with courage and ability, in 
 the memorable battles of Trenton and Princeton ; and for his 
 signal gallantry, received the special thanks of Gen. Wash- 
 ington, in front of the college at Princeton, and which he
 
 J. M. VAUNTM. 1G9 
 
 was requested lo present to the brigade lie had so ably 
 commanded." 
 
 In February, 1777, Col. Varnum was j)romoted by Con- 
 gress to the rank of brigadier-general. The appointment 
 was announced to him by Gen. Washington, by letter, under 
 date of March 3d, of that year, \vhich contains ample evi- 
 dence that his military bearing had met ihe full approbation 
 of the commander-in-ehicf. The General Assembly of this 
 state in their December session, 1770. having appointed Gen. 
 Varnum, commander of the state force.-?, at their March ses- 
 sion, 1777. entered the following honorable testimonial of ap- 
 probation on their journal : " "Whereas, the appointment and 
 commission of Brig. Gen. James M. Varnum, in the service of 
 this, state, has been suspended by his being appointed by the 
 honorable continental Congress, to the same rank in the 
 continental army : this assembly do. therefore, in grateful re- 
 membrance of his services, vote and resolve, that he is dis- 
 missed from his said appointment, and that he be paid to 
 the time his pay commenced in the continental service." 
 - Under the latter appointment," continues Mr. Howland, 
 Gen. Varnum commanded all that body of troops on the 
 Jersey side of the Delaware, when the British and Hessians 
 took possession of Philadelphia. Gen. Washington's purpose 
 was to prevent the passage of the enemy's shipping up the 
 river, and for this purpose a strong fort was erected on Red 
 Bank, and a regiment of Marylanders on Mud island. Col. 
 Christopher Greene commanded the two Rhode Island regi- 
 ments : Lieut. Col. Samuel Smith, on Mud island, and Var- 
 num the whole line of the coast of Xew Jersey. In October 
 the enemy made a determined attack; but the battery and 
 fort were so valiantly defended, that the invaders were de- 
 feated and compelled to withdraw, and temporarily abandon 
 the enterprise. The gallant defense of Fort Milllin. or Mud
 
 170 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 island, and the defeat of the Hessians at Fort Mercer, on 
 Red Bank, dre\v from Congress, then sitting at Yorktown. 
 a resolution of thanks, and votes of elegant swords to Col. 
 Greene, Lieut. Col. Smith, and Com. Hazlewood, for their 
 intrepid defense of these two forts." " But the British, re- 
 solved on the capture of these posts, so important in their 
 position, renewed the attack in November. They brought 
 up their shipping, the Somerset, of sixty-four guns, and a 
 number of floating batteries, to break up the chevaux de 
 frise, which extended across the river, and our forts opened 
 their fire to prevent it. Col. Smith was wounded on the 
 llth of November, and the command devolved on Lieut. 
 Col. Russell, of the Connecticut line, who, exhausted by 
 fatigue, and destitute of health, requested to be recalled. 
 The moment was critical. The commander -in-chief, Gen. 
 Washington, had no idea of defending the place through the 
 campaign, but wished to retard the operations of the enemy, 
 until the main army should be reinforced by the Massachu- 
 setts brigade, marching from the conquest of Saratoga, when 
 he would be in sufficient force to cover the country, or to 
 meet the enemy's whole force in the field. Upon the 12th, 
 he signified his wish to Gen. Varnum, to defend the island 
 as long as possible, without sacrificing the garrison. Gen. 
 Varnum, considering the imminent danger of the post, im- 
 mediately convened the field officers of Red Brink fort, 
 with a request that one of them would volunteer, as G^en. 
 Washington desired the island to be defended as long as 
 possible, and take command of it in lieu of Smith, who had 
 left. At this momentous crisis, Maj. Simon Thayer imme- 
 diately offered himself, to the inexpressible satisfaction of 
 Gen. Varnum. In the defense, to an officer knowing all 
 the, circumstances, nothing presented itself but death, or an 
 improbable escape, without the possibility of contending on 
 even terms. But Maj. Thayer gallantly defended it day and
 
 J. M. VARNUM. 171 
 
 night from the 12th, to twelve o'clock at night on the Kilh 
 of November, when the breastworks were beaten down, and 
 no cover left for his men, when the general ordered him to 
 abandon it. By those unacquainted with the transaction, 
 all the glory has been ascribed to Col. Smith. If heroic 
 valor was to be rewarded, who should have had the sword? 
 When the swords which were wrought in France, arrived, 
 and were to be presented, Gen. Yarnum published a letter, 
 dated at East Greenwich, August 3d, 178(5, narrating all the 
 circumstances attending the heroic defense of Mud island 
 by Mnj. Thayer. It is written in a natural, straightforward 
 style, and in justice to the memory of this intrepid soldier 
 of Rhode Island, and of his country, ought to be preserved 
 in some durable form. Gen. Yarnum continued in active 
 service during the year 1778, and commanded a brigade in 
 Sullivan's expedition on Rhode Island. 
 
 In 1779 he resigned his commission in the army, there 
 being at that time more general officers in the service than 
 were needful, in proportion to the men, and his talents being 
 more congenial with political life than the duties of the 
 camp ; although he was respected and esteemed as a good 
 and gallant officer. The legislature of this state, in consid- 
 eration of his national services, and effectually to secure 
 them in defense of the state, in May, 1771), elected him ma- 
 jor-general of the militia, to which office he was unani- 
 mously re-elected during the remainder of his life. In April, 
 1780, the people of the state, in grateful recollection of his 
 eminent services in the cause of public liberty, and desirous 
 to throw into the national councils, those distinguished tal- 
 ents which could be spared from the field, elected him their 
 delegate to the confederated Congress of that year. As 
 that body sat with closed doors, his voice could not be heard 
 by the public, but his name appears oftener in the published 
 journals, than many others of that body." Mr. Ilowland
 
 172 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 continues to observe, " The old Congress under the confed- 
 eration, had no power to raise money to carry on the war, 
 either by taxes or imposts, and the states had enough to do, 
 to furnish their own treasuries. Congress, on the 3d of 
 February, 1781, requested the several states to grant them 
 power to levy an impost of five per cent., ad valorem, on 
 all imported goods; and all prizes and prize goods, to be 
 appropriated to the discharge of principal and interest of 
 debts contracted, or to be contracted, on the faith of the 
 United States, for the support of the war. This was thought 
 necessary to the salvation of the country, and to maintain 
 our independence. The granting of this power to Congress, 
 to raise a revenue, was a new question, and divided the pol- 
 iticians in its discussion. To place the case, in its urgent 
 necessity, before the respective legislatures of the states, 
 several of the best speakers in Congress requested, or 
 thought proper to return home, and persuade the people to 
 grant the power. Rufus King advocated it in Massachusetts ; 
 Dayton left his seat to advocate the cause in New Jersey; 
 and Varnum came to Rhode Island for the same purpose. 
 The states which had little or no maritime commerce, readily 
 granted the power. This question brought a new man into 
 the field in Rhode Island. David Howell, knowing the im- 
 porters would generally oppose the power, and that the 
 people at large would unwillingly be deprived of a rich 
 source of state revenue, at a crisis so distressing, came out 
 in the Providence Gazette, and in all public places, with 
 violent declamation against the five per cent., as it was 
 called. He argued, if you once grant them five, they will 
 soon take ten, then twenty, &c. Gen. Varnum vindicated 
 the grant, in the same paper, over the signature of ' Citizen;' 
 Howell, over that of 'Farmer,' knowing the majority of 
 every state were farmers. At length the question came be- 
 fore the General Assembly ; Varnum's speech occupied the
 
 J. M. VARNUM. 173 
 
 forenoon, and, in strength of argument and eloquence, had not 
 been equalled since the settlement of the state. Hovvell occu- 
 pied the afternoon ; the question was then taken, and decided 
 in the negative. It was afterward ascertained, that a ma- 
 jority had predetermined and agreed not to grant the power. 
 Eleven of the states granted the five per cent. New York, 
 headed by George Clinton, never decided one way or the 
 other; and Rhode Island refused. So Congress was defeated 
 in the necessary source of revenue ; all the states not con- 
 curring in the measure. 
 
 After the war, Gen. Varnum recommenced the practice 
 of law at East Greenwich, with increased reputation, and 
 was promptly engaged in all the important causes in the 
 state. At that period great and important cases arose, 
 growing out of the new position in which the state and na- 
 tion were placed. The great case of Trevett vs. Weeden, 
 was one which stirred the community to its very foundations. 
 Upon its issue was involved the destiny of thousands. Pub- 
 lic feeling and anxiety were intense upon its result. The 
 period succeeding the Revolution was the most eventful in 
 our history. The crisis arose, and the experiment was on 
 trial, whether the people were capable of self-government; 
 and upon its issue depended the fate of the nation. The 
 country was exhausted by a protracted contest ; and disap- 
 pointed in the expectation of sufficient national resources, 
 to meet the embarrassments produced by it; insubordination 
 and misrule showed themselves everywhere. The army 
 returned unpaid and discontented, with certificates upon a 
 bankrupt treasury, instead of money, amidst a state popula- 
 tion as impoverished as themselves. The state itself was 
 insolvent, and wholly unable to pay the bills of credit 
 against it. The stock of the farmer was selling at the auc- 
 tion posts, for the payment of taxes. The old Congress 
 was as embarrassed as the states for pecuniary means to
 
 174 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 discharge their engagements. They made requisitions in con- 
 formity to the powers delegated to them under the confeder- 
 ation : owing to inability the states rejected them. The bills 
 which Congress had negotiated in Holland for the payment 
 of the army, were unpaid at maturity, and returned pro- 
 tested : the damages alone amounting to the startling sum 
 of six hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars. At this act 
 of sovereign dishonor and disgrace of the new republic, our 
 ambassadors, Franklin, Jay, and Adams, were in despair. 
 Prompted by exorbitant profit, the merchants shipped to 
 Europe, all the remaining specie that could be obtained to 
 supply the country with fabrics, which the war had ex- 
 hausted. Massachusetts alone exported three millions of 
 specie from the commencement of peace, to July, 1785 ; and 
 we can only judge, by estimation, of the vast amount ex- 
 ported from other seaports for the same purposes : so that 
 in a short period, all the gold brought by the French, and 
 the silver imported from the Spanish West Indies, was 
 drained from the country. The avaricious course pursued 
 by the merchants compelled the borrower to pay twenty per 
 cent, per annum, and some four per cent, per month. Such 
 was the posture of affairs at this momentous crisis. The 
 confederation was powerless. The veteran soldiers, who 
 had exposed themselves to tempests and battles through the 
 whole contest, and whom peace had dismissed with laurels, 
 returned to their families, penniless and clamorous. Neces- 
 sity and distress showed themselves by insurrections and 
 commotions in every quarter. If Shays had possessed cour- 
 age equal to his address and ability, he might have marched 
 in triumph through the nation, gathering to his standard, 
 spirits enough to have insured him victory; such was the 
 perilous condition of the republic. The state threw itself 
 upon its reserved rights ; and the demagogues, who could 
 best live and nourish in turbulent political waters, seizing
 
 J. M. V A KM I'M. 175 
 
 upon the agitated occasion, roused the distressed ol' every 
 class into a phrenzy, and made them believe, that Midas-like, 
 they could touch paper, and convert it to gold. The paper- 
 money party obtained an overwhelming majority, and ex- 
 pressly instructed their representatives Tor the purpose; and 
 in ]\lay, 1?S(>, emitted the enormous sum ol' one, hundred 
 thousand pounds in paper bills. It \vas further enacted, that 
 said bills ' should be a good and lawful tender for the com- 
 plete payment and final discharge of all lines, forfeitures, 
 judgments, and executions, that had become due and re- 
 covered, of every kind and nature whatsoever.' There was 
 no time fixed when, said bills were to be redeemed, nor was 
 their ultimate payment charged upon any fund, nor was it 
 designated how they were to be paid. They were to be 
 loaned for fourteen years upon mortgage, pro rata, to all 
 the people, at four per cent, interest for the first seven years, 
 and to be repaid in the next seven years, in seven equal instal- 
 ments, without interest, and then they were ' to be consumed 
 by fire ;' thus intending to annihilate the merchants, their 
 fancied opponents, at a blow. These bills fell into imme- 
 diate discredit, and those who had property chose rather to 
 retain, than exchange it. They further enacted, that if any 
 one refused to take it in place of specie, he should be fined 
 one hundred pounds, and stand disfranchised. Every citi- 
 y.en was also to swear that he would use his endeavors to 
 give it currency equal to gold and silver, and sell their prop- 
 erly at the same prices for one, as the other Trials under 
 the law could be had at a called court, and the culprit was 
 denied the privilege of a jury. These curious movements 
 of the public mind goto prove that ' the Inquisition 1 may 
 exist in a republic, in civil affairs, as well as in a Roman 
 Catholic country, in matters, of religion. 
 
 The paper-money system gave rise to a celebrated law- 
 suit, in which Gen. Varnum was engaged, and where he
 
 176 J. M. \ARNUM. 
 
 displayed his eloquence and law knowledge in a masterly 
 manner. John Trevett, of Newport, bought meat of John 
 Weeden, a butcher, in the market, and tendered to him bills 
 of the emission of May preceding, in payment, which Wee- 
 den refused. From thence arose this trial, before a special 
 court, in September, 178G. If the complaint was sustained 
 by the judgment of the court, all the commerce and busi- 
 ness of the state would be destroyed, and all previous obli- 
 gations canceled by this irredeemable trash. The whole 
 population were deeply interested, and gathered, in vast 
 numbers, at the court-house. Here Gen. Varnum displayed 
 his vast powers, as an orator, in a manner never developed 
 before, and came fully up to Patrick Henry's famous tobacco 
 case, in exciting the applause and approbation of the 
 people. 'The court adjudged the amended acts of the 
 legislature, unconstitutional, and so void.' The fearless in- 
 dependence of the bench overthrew the tyrrany of the dem- 
 agogues, and the state was saved. But it was eulogium 
 enough on Varnum, that the power of these speeches 
 wrought such a triumphant victory over public opinion, that 
 the dominant party, to save themselves from political pros- 
 tration, were compelled to repeal their arbitrary and uncon- 
 stitutional acts, within sixty days from the time of their 
 passage. Gen. Varnum was not cold and phlegmatic in his 
 eloquence; his temperament was naturally ardent; and 
 when excited or roused by the circumstances or events of 
 his cause, was vehement. None can impart warmth or zeal, 
 that have none of their own ; and to impress an asscmbly 
 wilh the truth or sanctity of our cause, we must ourselves 
 be convinced that it is true. 
 
 In 1780, Gen. Varnum was again elected a representative 
 to the old Congress, and was an efficient member. At the 
 same session, the distinguished William Samuel Johnson 
 was also a representative from Connecticut; an intimacy
 
 J. M. VAKNUM. 177 
 
 was contracted between them, which continued during their 
 lives. This, circumstance is mentioned to show why Dr. 
 Johnson spoke of Gen. Varnum, in tlie case of Smith, of 
 Connecticut, against John Brown, of Providence, in such 
 favorable terms. It was a pri/.e cause, of magnitude, and 
 from the parties concerned, and the eminence of the counsel 
 engaged, it excited unusual interest. It was tried before 
 Judge Foster, judge of the State Admiralty Court at Kings- 
 town. Jesse Root, afterward chief justice of the Supreme 
 Court of Connecticut, nnd compiler of Root's reports, opened 
 the case in behalf of Smith, and William Channing, attor- 
 ney-general of Rhode Island, and Gen. Varnum conducted 
 the defense in behalf of Brown, and the distinguished jurist 
 and Christian, Dr. Johnson, of Stratford, closed for the claim- 
 ant. From the splendor of the talents of counsel, unusual 
 attention was attracted to the scene. The neat, concise, and 
 clear openings by Root and Channing, the brilliant language 
 and thundering eloquence of Varnum, and the calm, placid, 
 unostentatious and classical oratory of Johnson, furnished 
 a legal and intellectual banquet, such as was never seen 
 before, and probably never since, in Rhode Island. To sus- 
 tain himself against such power, was victory enough; but 
 Varnum did more ; he not only sustained the high expecta- 
 tions of his friends, and the reputation of the Rhode Island 
 bar, but drove his adversaries finally to a nonsuit. Dr. 
 Johnson, whose heart was too magnanimous for envy, be- 
 side paying to Gen. Varnum, merited compliments in the 
 close, slated, at a party in the evening, 'That he knew Gen. 
 Varnum in Congress, and that he was a man of uncommon 
 talents, and of the most brilliant eloquence.' We feel as- 
 sured that he was justly entitled to this eulogium, or Dr. 
 Johnson would not have given it. The following is a de- 
 scription of the person and dress of Gen. Varnum at the 
 
 bar : It was the fashion of that day to be very well, or 
 12
 
 178 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 rather elegantly dressed. ' Gen. Varnum appeared with a 
 brick-colored coat, trimmed with gold lace; buckskin small 
 clothes, with gold lace bands; silk stockings, and boots; a 
 high, delicate, and white forehead; eyes prominent, and of 
 a dark hue ; his complexion rather florid ; somewhat corpu- 
 lent; well proportioned, and finely formed for strength and 
 agility; large eyebrgws; nose straight, and rather broad; 
 teeth perfectly white; a profuse head of hair, short on the 
 forehead, turned up some, and deeply powdered and 
 clubbed. When he took off his cocked hat, he would lightly 
 brush up his hair forward, and with a fascinating smile 
 lighting up his countenance, take his seat in court.' This 
 was the last great effort of Gen. Varnum in Rhode Island. 
 At what precise time this trial took place, cannot now be 
 ascertained, as no record of that court can be found. That 
 it was after the confederated Congress of 1787, is presuma- 
 ble ; because he spoke of their intimacy while in Congress 
 together; and Dr. Johnson and Gen, Varnum were not both 
 members of the same Congress before that period. 
 
 Gen. Varnum was a warm and unwavering advocate for 
 a federal constitution ; he knew the inefficiency of the con- 
 federation, and also the selfish considerations that governed 
 the states. If an instrument cementing the Union, was not 
 speedily adopted, he ' felt that future efforts would be una- 
 vailing.' The legal profession, with Gen. Varnum at their 
 head, the mercantile, and the sound portion of the agricul- 
 tural interests, urged the Legislature of Rhode Island, at 
 their June session, 1787, in the strongest terms, to send del- 
 egates to the federal convention, assembled at Philadelphia. 
 But the advocates of the paper-money system, and the rev- 
 enue accruing to the state from imposts, Rhode Island being 
 then the second or third importing state, defeated the meas- 
 ure. The minority in the Legislature, and those friendly to 
 the federal constitution, addressed the convention on the
 
 J. M. VARNUM, 179 
 
 subject, and inclosed it to Gen. Varnum, to be delivered to 
 that body." 
 
 Early in the year 1787, the Ohio Land Company was or- 
 ganized in Boston; it was originated by the disbanded offi- 
 cers of the late army, many of whom were stockholders, 
 while the larger portion was made up from the citizens at 
 large. The ordinance of Congress, establishing the North- 
 west Territory, was passed the 13th of July, 1787; \n August 
 of that year, Gen. Varnum was appointed one of the direc- 
 tors of the Ohio Company. In September, Gen. Arthur 
 St. Clair was appointed governor of the new territory, and, 
 in October following, Gen. Varnum, Samuel H. Parsons, 
 and John Cleves Symmes, judges of the Supreme Court. 
 lie left his home in Rhode Island in the spring of 1788, on 
 his route to the Northwest Territory, by the way of Balti- 
 more, and arrived at Marietta early in June. Gen. Parsons 
 was there on the '26th of May; Gov. St. Clair arrived on 
 the 9th of July, at Fort Harmer, under the escort of Maj. 
 Doughty, who went up with the garrison barge and a party 
 of soldiers to meet him at Fort Mclntosh. On the 4th of 
 July, the American independence was celebrated at Ma- 
 rietta, by the citizens, and the officers of Fort Ilarmer, in a 
 long bowery built near the upper point at the mouth of the 
 Muskingum. Gen. Varnum was invited to deliver an ora- 
 tion, which was done with his usual eloquence. "The ora- 
 tion is short, but contains many beauties both in sentiment 
 and language." ' : It was published at Newport in the same 
 year, by order of the directors and agents of the Ohio Land 
 Company, to which is annexed the speech of Gov. St. Clair, 
 and proceedings of the inhabitants." A copy of the 
 speeches is attached to the appendix of this volume. 
 
 His health was poor when he arrived at Marietta, having 
 for some time been threatened with a lung complaint. The 
 long journey and change of climate, no doubt led him to
 
 180 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 expect would effect a favorable change in his disease ; but his 
 health gradually declined after his arrival, so that by the set- 
 ting in of cold weather, he was quite feeble, and evidently in 
 a deep consumption. During the summer and autumn he was 
 able to attend to the duties of a director in the meetings of 
 that board, and no doubt his fine taste for the beautiful 
 was exerted in promoting the resolution for the preservation 
 of those ancient remains erected on the present site of Ma- 
 rietta, as memorials of that departed race of men who once 
 inhabited the valley of the Ohio. He also had made prepara- 
 tion for opening a farm; and a clearing of several acres, 
 made by him, a mile or two east of the town, was, for many 
 years, known by the name of Varnum's clearing, and now oc- 
 cupies the center of one of the finest farms in this vicinity. 
 He assisted Gov. St. Clair and Gen. Parsons in forming a 
 code of laws for the government of the Northwest Territory, 
 twenty-six of which were promulgated during his life ; the 
 last of them being signed on the 21st of December. About 
 this time he addressed the following letter to his wife. It is 
 written with that entire truth, honesty, and deep sensibility, 
 which all more or less feel at the approach of death; but 
 which few have the ability to express in such fervent and 
 beautiful language. It was published in 1791, in the Amer- 
 ican Magazine, as a fine specimen of elegant composition ; 
 but is now copied from his life, as a memorial of the heart 
 and soul of Gen. Varnum. 
 
 "MY DKARHST AND MOST ESTIMABLE FRIEND: I UOW address 
 
 you from my sick chamber, and perhaps it will be the last 
 letter that you will receive from me. My lungs are so 
 far affected that it is impossible for me to recover, but by 
 exchange of air and a warm climate. I expect to leave 
 tliia place on Sunday or Monday next for the fulls of Ohio, 
 if 1 feel myself mend by the tour, I shall go no farther; but if 
 not, and rny strength should continue, I expect to proceed to
 
 J. M. YAK NUM. 181 
 
 New Orleans, and from thence, by the West Indies, to Rhode 
 Island. My physicians, most of them, think the chances of 
 recovery in my favor; however, I am neither elevated nor de- 
 pressed by the force of opinion, but shall meet my fate with 
 humility and fortitude. I cannot, however, but indulge the 
 hope that I shall again embrace my lovely friend in this 
 world: and that we may glide smoothly down the tide of 
 time for a few years, and enjoy together the more substan- 
 tial happiness and satisfaction, as we have already the de- 
 sirable pleasures of life. It is now almost nineteen years, 
 since Heaven connected us by the tendcrest and the most 
 sacred of ties; and it is the same length of time that our 
 friendship hath been increased by every rational and en- 
 dearing motive ; it is now stronger than death, and I am 
 lirmly persuaded will follow us into an existence of never- 
 ending felicity. But my lovely friend, the gloomy moment 
 will arrive when we must part; and should it arrive during 
 our present separation, my last and only reluctant thoughts 
 will be employed about my dearest Martha. Life, my dear- 
 est friend, is but a bubble ; it soon bursts, and is remitted 
 to eternity. When we look back to the earliest recollections 
 of our youthful hours, it seems but the last period of our 
 rest, and we appear to emerge from a night of slumbers, to 
 look forward to real existence. When we look forward, 
 time appears as indeterminate as eternity, and we have no 
 idea of its termination, but by the period of our dissolution. 
 What particular relation it bears to a future state, our gen- 
 eral notions of religion cannot point out; we feel something 
 constantly active within us, that is evidently beyond the 
 reach of mortality : but whether it is a part of ourselves, or 
 an emanation from the pure Source of existence, or re-ab- 
 sorbed when death shall have linished his work, human wis- 
 dom cannot determine. Whether the demolition of the 
 body introduces only a change in the manner of our being,
 
 182 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 or leaves it to progress infinitely, alternately elevated and 
 depressed, according to the propriety of our conduct, or 
 whether we return to the common mass of unthinking mat- 
 ter, philosophy hesitates to decide. I know, therefore, but 
 one source from whence can be derived complete consola- 
 tion in a dying hour, and that is the divine system contained 
 in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There, life and immortality 
 are brought to light; there, we are taught our existence is to 
 be eternal, and, secure in an interest in the atoning merits 
 of a bleeding Savior, that we shall be inconceivably happy. 
 A firm and unshaken faith in this doctrine, must raise us 
 above the doubts and fears that hang upon every other sys- 
 tem, and enable us to view with a calm serenity, the ap- 
 proach of the king of terrors, and to behold him as a kind 
 and indulgent friend, speeding his shafts only to carry us, 
 the sooner, to our everlasting home. But should there be a 
 more extensive religion beyond the vail, and without the 
 reach of mortal observation, the Christian religion is by no 
 means skaken thereby, as it is not opposed to any principle 
 that admits of the perfect benevolence of the Deity. My 
 only doubt is, whether the punishment threatened in the 
 IVew Testament, is annexed to a state of unbelief, which 
 may be removed hereafter, and so a restoration take place; 
 or whether the state of the mind at death, irretrievably fixes 
 its doom forever. I hope and pray that the divine Spirit 
 will give me such assurances of an acceptance with Clod, 
 through the merits and sufferings of his Son, as to brighten 
 the, way to immediate happiness. Dry up your tears, my 
 charming mourner, nor suffer this letter to give too much 
 inquietude. Consider the facts at present as in theory; but 
 the sentiments such as will apply whenever the change shall 
 come. 1 know that humanity must and will be indulged in 
 its keenest griefs, but there is no advantage in too deeply 
 anticipating our inevitable sorrows. If I did not persuade
 
 J. M. VARNUM. 183 
 
 myself that you would conduct with becoming prudence 
 and fortitude, upon this occasion, my own unhappitless 
 would be, greatly increased, and perhaps my disorder too ; 
 but 1 have so much confidence in your discretion, as to un- 
 bosom my inmost soul. You must not expect to hear from 
 me again, until the coming spring, as the river will soon be 
 shut up with ice, and there will be no communication from 
 belo\v ; and if in a situation for the purpose, I will return as 
 soon as practicable. Give, my sinccrest love to all those you 
 hold dear; I hope to see them again, and love them more 
 than ever. Adieu, my dearest friend; and while I fervently 
 devote, in one undivided prayer, our immortal souls to the 
 care, forgiveness, mercy, and all-prevailing grace of Heaven 
 in time, and through eternity, I must bid you a long, long, 
 long farewell. JAMES M. VARNUM." 
 
 His fast declining health, and the rapid approach of win- 
 ter, prevented his making the, attempt to remove to a warmer 
 climate. It was fortunate he did not, as he would have died 
 amongst strangers, with no one on whom he could lean in 
 his last moments ; while in Marietta he was surrounded 
 with warm and devoted friends who did all in their power 
 to alleviate his sufferings and make his final passage as 
 easy as mortality will allow. He died on the 10th of Janu- 
 ary, 1789, the day after the signing of the treaty with the 
 Indians at Fort Harmer, which accounts for the attendance 
 of the chiefs at his burial, and in less than eight months 
 after his arrival. The funeral took place on the 13th, and 
 was attended with all the ceremony and respect due to so 
 distinguished a person. On this occasion Dr. Drowne from 
 Rhode Island, delivered a funeral oration, a copy of which 
 is attached to the appendix.* 
 
 * The following order of procession is copied from the original manuscript, in the 
 handwriting of 'Wiuthrop Sargeant, secretary of the territory, and found among the 
 papers of Griffin Greene, iii 1846.
 
 184 J. M. VARNUM. 
 
 ''Early in life Gen. Yarnum married Martha, the eldest 
 daughter of Cromwell Childe, of Warren, in Rhode Island, 
 a family of very considerable distinction. Mrs. Varnum 
 was an amiable, virtuous, and high minded lady, and one 
 of the most cheerful, sociable, and best of wives. She sur- 
 vived her husband forty-eight years, and died at Bristol, 
 without issue, October iOth, 1837, at the advanced age of 
 eighty -eight years. 
 
 The career of Gen. Varnum was active, but brief. He 
 graduated at twenty; was admitted to the bar at twenty-two; 
 entered the army at twenty-seven; resigned his commission 
 at thirty-one; was member of Congress the same year; re- 
 sumed practice at thirty-three, and continued four years, 
 
 ORDER OF PROCESSION. 
 
 THE MILITARY. 
 
 MARSHALS. MARSHALS. 
 
 Mr. WHEATON, bearing the sword and Mr. LORD, bearing the civil commission 
 military commission, of the deceased on on a mourning cushion. 
 a mourning cushion. Mr. FKARING, bearing the insignia of 
 
 Mr. MAYO, with the diploma and order masonry on a mourning cushion, 
 of Cincinnati on a mourning cushion. 
 
 PALL-HOLDERS. 
 GRIFFIN GREEN, Esq., 
 Judge TOPPER, 
 THE SECRETARY. 
 
 PALL-HOLDERS. 
 
 Judge CRARY, 
 Judge PUTNAM. 
 
 Judge PARSONS. 
 
 PRIVATE MOURNERS. 
 CHARLES GREENE and RICHARD GREENE. 
 FREDERICK CRARY and PHILIP GREENE. 
 
 Doctor SCOTT and Doctor FARLEY. 
 
 DEACON STORY and DOCTOR DROWNE. 
 
 Private citizens, two and two. 
 
 Indian chiefs, two and two. 
 
 The militia officers. 
 
 Officers of the garrison at Fort Ilarmer. 
 
 The civil officers. 
 
 The Cincinnati. 
 
 The Masons. 
 
 Messrs. Clark and Leech, Mr. Stratton and Mr. Balch, were requested to super- 
 intend the order of the procession. In returning from the grave the order was the 
 same, preceded by the military under Capt. Zeiglcr.
 
 J. M. V A II NUM. 185 
 
 was elected to Congress again at thirty-seven; emigrated 
 to the west at thirty-nine, and died at the, early age of 
 jvi'ty. From what researches have been made, it conscien- 
 tiously can be stated that he was a man of boundless y.eal, 
 of warm feelings, of great honesty, of singular disinterest- 
 edness; and, as to talents, of prodigal imagination, a dex- 
 trous reasoner, and a splendid orator. He was a man made 
 on a gigantic scale ; his very defects were masculine and 
 powerful, ' and, we shall not soon look upon his like 
 again."'
 
 SAMUEL IIOLDEN PARSONS. 
 
 Y HIS GRANDSON, S. II. PARSONS, ESQ., OF HARTFORD, CONN. 
 
 MAJ. GEN. SAMUEL HOLDEN PARSONS was born at Lyme, 
 in the county of New London, and state of Connecti- 
 cut, May 14th, 1737, and was the third son of the Rev. 
 Jonathan Parsons, a distinguished clergyman, who removed 
 from Lyme to Newburyport, Mass., in 1746. His mother 
 was the sister of Gov. Matthew Griswold, of Lyme, lineally 
 descended from Henry Wolcot, of Windsor, the ancestor of 
 all of that eminent name in Connecticut. 
 
 He graduated at Harvard College, in 175G; and after 
 completing his professional studies in the office of his uncle, 
 Gov. Matthew Griswold, he was admitted to the bar of New 
 London county, in February, 1759, and settled at Lyme in 
 the practice of law. [\OTE A.] In September, 1701, he 
 married the daughter of Richard Mather, of Lyme, a 
 lineal descendant of the Rev. Richard Mather, who was 
 born in Lawton, Lancaster county, England, 159G, and set- 
 tled as the first clergyman of Dorchester, Mass., Aug. 23. 
 1630, where he died, April 22d, 1009. In 1702, at the age 
 of twenty-five, he was elected a member of the General 
 Assembly of the colony of Connecticut, and was succes- 
 sively re-elected until his removal to New London in 1774. 
 During this period he received repeated proofs of public 
 confidence in various appointments of honor and trust. 
 
 In May, 1708, he was appointed by the General Assembly, 
 auditor, >: to settle and adjust the colony accounts with the 
 treasurer and all others who have received any of the moneys 
 that belong to the colony." In 1709, the same appointment
 
 S. II . PARSONS. 187 
 
 was continued, with " further powers to renew, and better 
 secure the moneys and estate due on mortgages, bonds, or 
 other securities, belonging to this colony, which are in dan- 
 ger of being lost." 
 
 In October, 1773, under an act of the general court, "con- 
 cerning the western lands, so-called, lying westward of Del- 
 aware river, within the boundaries of this colony," he was 
 appointed and associated with the lion. Matthew Gris- 
 wold, Eliphalet Dyer, Roger Sherman, Wm. Samuel John- 
 son, Silas Dean, Win. "Williams, and Jedediah Strong, Esqrs., 
 a committee with full power to assist his honor, Gov. Trum- 
 bull, in stating and taking " proper steps to pursue the claim 
 of the colony of Connecticut to said western lands ; and any 
 three of said committee were authorized and directed to 
 proceed to Philadelphia to wait on his honor, Gov. Penn, in 
 the subject, and to treat with Gov. Penn and the agent or 
 agents of the proprietaries of Pennsylvania, respecting an 
 amicable agreement between the colony and the aforesaid 
 proprietaries concerning the boundaries of this colony 
 and the province of Pennsylvania, to agree upon and as- 
 certain the boundaries between this colony, and the claim 
 of said proprietaries, and such agreement to lay before 
 the General Assembly for confirmation : but if said pro- 
 prietaries shall prefer joining in an application to his 
 majesty for commissioners to settle said line, then the 
 said committee are directed to join in behalf of the colony 
 in such application. The committee were likewise empow- 
 ered to treat with said Gov. Penn with respect to the peace 
 of the inhabitants who are settled upon said lands, and to 
 agree upon such measures as shall tend to preserve good 
 order, and to prevent mutual violence and contention while 
 the boundaries between this colony and the said province 
 shall remain undisturbed." In January, 1774, the same 
 committee were " appointed and empowered to assist his
 
 188 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 honor, Gov. Trumbull, in collecting and preparing all ex- 
 hibits and documents necessary to pursue and prosecute the 
 claim and title of the colony to the lands lying within the 
 boundaries of the grant and charter of the colony west of 
 the Delaware river, at the court of Great Britain, and to 
 make a proper statement of said cause, to be transmitted to 
 Great Britain for that purpose ; and to report to the General 
 Assembly, from time to time, of their proceedings thereon.'' 
 Mr. Parsons was an active member of this committee, and 
 contributed materially by his abilities and unwearied dili- 
 gence in promoting the important object of the appointment. 
 In May, 1773, he was appointed by the House of Repre- 
 sentatives of the Connecticut colony, one of the " Standing 
 Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry, to obtain all such 
 intelligence, and to take up and maintain a correspondence 
 with our sister colonies respecting the important considera- 
 tions mentioned and expressed in certain resolutions of the 
 patriotic House of Burgesses of Virginia in March last. 
 [XoxE B.] Mr. Parsons was an energetic member of this 
 committee, and entered zealously into the cause of the col- 
 onies. He had previously corresponded on these subjects 
 with the prominent leaders of the sister colony of Massa- 
 chusetts. Among the number was the eminent patriot, 
 Samuel Adams, who, says his biographer, (American Quar- 
 terly Register, February, 1841, p. 2.) originated the sugges- 
 tion of assembling the first Congress, which subsequently 
 met at New York an act which led, at a later period, to 
 the continental Congress, to the confederation, and that 
 great chain of events connected with the war of independ- 
 ence. "The writer of the preceding paragraph was not 
 probably aware that among the manuscripts of Samuel 
 Adams, (in the possession of Hon. Mr. Bancroft.) an orig- 
 inal letter exists, written March 3d, 1773, by Samuel IJolden 
 Parsons to Mr. Adams, originating the suggestion above
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 189 
 
 stated, the honor of which has been heretofore attributed to 
 Mr. Adams a letter so full of fervent patriotism it may not 
 be amiss to insert entire, as follows : 
 
 "Siu: When the spirit of patriotism seems expiring in 
 America in general, it must afford a very sensible pleasure 
 to the friends of American liberty to see the noble efforts 
 of our Boston friends in the support of the rights of America, 
 as well as their unshaken resolution in opposing any, the 
 least invasion of their charter privileges. I was called to 
 my father's on a very melancholy occasion, and designed to 
 have seen you before my return, but some unforeseen diffi- 
 culties prevented. I therefore take the liberty to propose to 
 your consideration whether it would not be advisable in the 
 present critical situation of the colonies, to revive an insti- 
 tution which had formerly a very salutary effect 1 mean 
 an annual meeting of commissioners from the colonies to consult 
 on their general welfare. You may recollect this took place 
 about the year 1036, and was continued to 1084, between 
 the united colonies of New England. Although they had 
 no decisive authority of themselves, yet here everything was 
 concerted which will be easily suggested to your mind. If we 
 were to take our connection with Great Britain into consid- 
 eration, it would render the measure convenient, as at pres- 
 ent our state of independence on one another is attended 
 with very manifest inconvenience. I have time only to sug- 
 gest the thought to you, who I know can improve more on the 
 subject than is in my power, had I time. The idea of in- 
 alienable allegiance to any prince or state, is an idea to me 
 inadmissible; and I cannot see but that our ancestors, when 
 they first landed in America, were as independent of the 
 crown or king of Great Britain, as if they never had been 
 his subjects; and the only rightful authority derived to him 
 over this people, was by explicit covenant contained in the
 
 190 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 first charters. These are but broken hints of sentiments 
 I wish I was at liberty more fully to explain. 
 I am, sir, in haste, with esteem, 
 
 your most obedient servant, 
 
 SAM. II. PARSONS. 
 
 To Mr. Samuel Adams, in Boston. 
 Forwarded by Mr. Howe." 
 
 In November, 1773, he was appointed "king's attorney 
 for New London county," and in May, 1774, was also ap- 
 pointed by the General Assembly, " agent for the governor 
 and company of the colony, to receive, sue for, and recover, all 
 such debts or demands as were due to the governor and 
 company of the colony, on bonds, notes of hand, or mort- 
 gages, deeds, from persons residing in the county of New 
 London ; as also to sue for and recover the possession of all 
 such lands within said county of New London, that belonged 
 to said governor and company and detained from them, with 
 full power to appear before any court or courts of judicature, 
 and represent said governor and company for the purpose 
 aforesaid. All these duties were faithfully and satisfactorily 
 performed. The limits of this brief sketch will just permit 
 a detailed view of his arduous labors as a member of the 
 committee of correspondence. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to the committee of Bos- 
 ton, on the 17th of May, 1774, (original among the manu- 
 scripts of Samuel Adams,) evinces an eagle-eyed vigilance, 
 and a fixed, determined spirit of resistance to oppression, 
 and a bold, daring patriotism, peculiar to the times that 
 tried men's souls. 
 
 ''HARTFORD, May 17, 1774. 
 
 G K\TLEMEN : This moment a post from New York arrived 
 here, on his road to Boston, with intelligence of the spirit 
 and firmness with which the inhabitants of that city concur
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 191 
 
 with the friends of America, in support of the cause of our 
 country : we cannot suffer him to pass, without informing 
 you, who immediately feel the effects of ministerial despot- 
 ism, that the American cause, the state of the town of Bos- 
 ton in particular, and the effect and operation of the late 
 detestable act of an abandoned venal Parliament, were this 
 day brought before our House of Assembly for considera- 
 tion ; and, on discussing the matter, there is no reason lo 
 doubt a hearty, spirited concurrence of our Assembly in 
 every proper measure for redress of our wrongs. A com- 
 mittee is appointed to report proper measures to be pursued, 
 and make drafts for the declaration of our rights, &c., which 
 will probably be reported and passed this week ; a copy of 
 which will be transmitted as soon as possible. We consider 
 the cause the common cause of all the colonies, and doubt 
 not the concurrence of all to defend and support you. Let 
 us play the man for the cause of our country, and trust the 
 event to Him who orders all events for the best good of his 
 people. We should not have written you at this time, and 
 when no more of our committee are present, but that your 
 distressed condition requires the aid of every friend for your 
 relief. We cannot be warranted in having this made pub- 
 lic, as from our committee, there not being a quorum present, 
 but you are at liberty to use it, as from us personally, if it 
 can, in the least, tend to strengthen the hands and encour- 
 age the hearts of those in distress. 
 
 We are, gentlemen, (the post waiting.) your friends and 
 countrymen, the Committee of Correspondence at Hartford. 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 NATHANIEL WALLS, JR. 
 
 To the Committee of Correspondence, at Boston." 
 
 [Superscribed to Samuel Adams, Boston.] 
 
 By a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 
 colony of Connecticut, passed June 3d, 1774, the Committee
 
 192 S. II. PARSONS. 
 
 of Correspondence were empowered, on application to them 
 made, or from time to time, as might be found necessary, to 
 appoint a suitable number to attend a congress, or conven- 
 tion of commissioners, or committee of the several colonies, 
 in Boston, America, to consult and advise on proper mea- 
 sures for advancing the best good of the colonies ; and such 
 conferences, from time to time, to report to the House of 
 Representatives. [NOTE C.] In pursuance of the above reso- 
 lution, the Committee of Correspondence met on the 13th of 
 July, 1774, at New London, and nominated the lion. Eli- 
 phalet Dyer, the lion. Wm. Samuel Johnson, Erastus Wol- 
 cot, Silas Dean, and Richard Law, Esqs., either three of 
 whom were authorized and empowered, in behalf of the 
 colony, to attend the General Congress of the colonies, pro- 
 posed to be held at Philadelphia, the first day of September. 
 Three of the above-named gentlemen, viz. : Messrs. John- 
 son, Wolcot, and Law, by reason of previous engagements 
 and the state of their health, declined the nomination. The 
 committee met at Hartford, the ensuing month of August, 
 [NOTE D,] and nominated, in their place, the Hon. Roger 
 Sherman and Joseph Trumbull. The first-named gentle- 
 man, with the Hon. Eliphalet Dyer, and Silas Dean, Esq., 
 represented the colony of Connecticut in the first Congress, 
 assembled at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, September 5th, 
 1775. 
 
 The passing of the above resolution was immediately 
 communicated, by the Committee of Correspondence, to the 
 committee at Boston and the House of Representatives of 
 Massachusetts; they, therefore, on the 17th of June, adopted 
 a similar resolution, upon the motion of Samuel Adams. 
 [NOTE E.] To the colony of Connecticut, therefore, belongs 
 the honor, (heretofore claimed by Massachusetts,) of first 
 svprrrs/ivzr, mid first acting upon the important subject of the 
 first National Congress of the American colonies. The first
 
 S. 11. PARSONS. 103 
 
 suggestion having been made by Mr. Parsons, in his letter to 
 Mr. Samuel Adams, March, 1773, and the first action taken 
 by the Connecticut Legislature, June 3d, 1774, of which 
 Legislature Mr. Parsons was a prominent member. 
 
 Believing that the possession of Ticonderoga and Crown 
 Point, u'.ul the consequent command of lakes. George and 
 Champlain, were objects of essential importance in the ap- 
 proaching conflict, Mr. Parsons, with a few Connecticut 
 gentlemen, formed the bold design of seizing the fortress 
 by surprise. Accordingly, soon after the battle of Lexing- 
 ton, they borrowed on their individual credit the requisite 
 funds from the colonial treasurer to enable them to carry on 
 the enterprise. As success depended upon secrecy and dis- 
 patch, and it would be difficult to march any number of men 
 through the country without discovering their plans, they de- 
 termined to proceed with a small body of volunteers, whom 
 they dispatched immediately on the 27th of April, under 
 Edward JMott, of Preston, a captain in Col. Parsons' regi- 
 ment. He proceeded to Bennington, where he met Col. 
 Ethan Allen, a native of Connecticut, who readily entered 
 into their views, and agreed to conduct the enterprise. After 
 having assembled at Castleton about two hundred and sev- 
 enty men, Col. Allen assumed the command, and success- 
 fully completed the whole plan; capturing the forts, and 
 making prisoners of the garrison without the loss of a single 
 man. This was the first blow- the first offensive blow struck 
 by the colonies. At Concord and Lexington the Americans 
 acted on the defensive, but this was the first act in which our 
 countrymen were the assailants the first attack planned 
 and successfully executed an enterprise highly important 
 in its glorious results, and tending to inspire the Americans 
 with additional confidence in themselves. It was planned 
 by Connecticut, executed under her instructions, and paid 
 
 for and maintained by her men and treasury. P~OTE F 1 
 13
 
 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 In 1770 Mr. Parsons was appointed major of the four- 
 teenth regiment of militia; and on the 2Gth of April, 1775, 
 was commissioned by the colony of Connecticut as colonel 
 of the sixth regiment, raised " for the special defense and 
 safety of the colony," and soon after marched to and con- 
 tinued at Roxbury, until the British evacuated Boston, when 
 he was ordered to New York. He was actively engaged at 
 the battle of Long Island, August, 177G. In describing this 
 battle, the historian Botta says, " Lord Percy came up with 
 his corps, and the entire columns descended by the village 
 of Bedford from the hights into the plain which lay between 
 the hills and the camp of the Americans. During this time, 
 Gen. Grant, in order to amuse the enemy and direct his at- 
 tention from the events which took place upon the route of 
 Flatland, endeavored to disquiet him upon his right: accord- 
 ingly as if he intended to force the defile which led to it, put 
 himself in motion at midnight, and attacked the militia of 
 New York and of Pennsylvania who guarded it. They at 
 first gave way, but Gen. Parsons being arrived, and having 
 occupied an eminence, he renewed the combat and maintained his 
 position until Brig. Gen. Lord Sterling came to his assistance 
 with fifteen hundred men. The action became extremely 
 animated, and fortune favored neither the one side nor the 
 other. The Hessians, on their part, had attacked the center 
 at break of day, and the Americans commanded by Gen. 
 Sullivan, valiantly sustained their efforts. At the same time, 
 the English ships, after having made several movements, 
 opened a very brisk cannonade against a battery established 
 in the little island of Red Hook, upon the right Hank of the 
 Americans, who combated against Gen. Grant. This, also, 
 was a diversion, the object of which was to prevent them 
 from attending to what passed in the center and on the left, 
 The Americans defended themselves with (x!remc gallantry, 
 ignorant that so much valor was exerted in vain, since victory
 
 S. H. PARSONS. 105 
 
 was already in the hands of the enemy," &c. In Mrs. 
 Williams' life of Olney, she says, " The militia of New 
 York and Pennsylvania were attacked by Percy, and about 
 giving way, when Parsons arrived to their relief, and re- 
 newed the combat, maintaining his position against fearful 
 odds until Sterling came to his relief." President Stiles, in 
 his diary, says " It was said that Grant, (British colonel,) was 
 slain by our Gen. Parsons." 
 
 In August, 177(5, he was appointed by Congress briga- 
 dier-general, and was with the army at Harlem hights, 
 Kingsbridge, and in the battle of White Plains. He was sub- 
 sequently stationed at Peekskill with a portion of the army 
 to protect the important posts upon the North river, and 
 from thence was frequently detached on various expeditions. 
 
 In 1777, about the middle of May, returning to Peekskill 
 from Connecticut with a body of recruits, and learning while 
 passing through New Haven that the enemy had collected 
 a large quantity of forage and provisions at Sagg harbor, 
 for the supply of their army at New York, Gen. Parsons 
 determined to seize the same, and with that view dispatched 
 Lieut. Col. Meigs with about one hundred and sixty men, who 
 completely effected the object of the expedition, and also 
 burnt one of the enemy's armed vessels, took ninety pris- 
 oners, and re-crossed the sound without the loss of a single 
 man. This was the most important operation of the cam- 
 paign of 1777. and proves, by its successful results, great 
 wisdom and judgment in its design, and consummate skill 
 and valor in its execution. It was specially noticed by 
 Congress and by Washington in a very complimentary 
 manner, and is particularly described by Marshall, in his 
 life of Washington, vol. iii, p. 90, as well as in the follow- 
 ing letter from Gen. Parsons to Gov. Trumbull, dated New 
 Haven, May 30th, 1777:
 
 196 S. II. PARSONS. 
 
 " I sincerely congratulate your honor on the success of 
 our arms at Long Island. Col. Meigs left Sachem's Head 
 on Tuesday, at one o'clock, P. M., with a detachment of one 
 hundred and sixty men, officers included, and landed within 
 three miles of Sagg harbor, about one at night ; and having 
 made the proper arrangements for attacking the enemy in 
 five different places, proceeded in the greatest order and 
 silence within twenty rods of the enemy, when they rushed 
 on with fixed bayonets upon the different barracks, guards 
 and quarters, while Capt. Troop, with a party under his 
 command, at the same time took possession of the wharves, 
 and vessels lying there. The alarm soon became general, 
 and an incessant fire of grape and round shot was kept up 
 from an armed schooner of twelve guns, which lay within 
 one hundred and fifty yards of the wharves, for an hour; 
 notwithstanding which, the party burnt all the vessels at the 
 wharf, killed and captured all the men who belonged to 
 them, destroyed about one hundred tons of hay, large quan- 
 tities of grain, ten hogsheads of rum, and other West India 
 goods, and secured all the soldiers who were stationed there. 
 The prisoners are about ninety, among whom are Mr. Chew 
 and Mr. Bell. I have the satisfaction of being informed 
 that the officers and men, without exception, behaved with 
 the greatest order and bravery, and not a man on our side 
 either killed or wounded. Eleven vessels, great and small, 
 were destroyed in the above affair, and the prisoners taken 
 were about one-third seamen ; the others, generally Ameri- 
 can recruits, arc sent to Hartford.'' See letter to Gen. 
 Washington, May 25. 1777. [XorE C.] 
 
 In June. 1777, we find him in ?Scw Jersey, reinforcing the 
 army of Gen. Washington, encamped at Middlebrook, an- 
 ticipating an attack from Gen. Howe, who, it was supposed, 
 had designs on Philadelphia. The following letter, written
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 197 
 
 June 2'2, 1777, by Gen. Parsons, to his wife, describing the 
 locality of a marching army watching the movements of his 
 enemy, may not be uninteresting : 
 
 " 1 have no way to tell you where I am, but by describing 
 the place which has no name. Our camp is about two miles 
 advanced in front of the mountain where the army is posted, 
 on the road to Quibbletown, about one and a half miles 
 north of that town, about two and a half miles northwest 
 of Samptovvn, about three miles west of Browsetown, and 
 about ten miles northwest of Spanktown, about eight miles 
 northeast from Brunswick, six miles from Middlebrook, 
 about one mile from the stream called Bonn's brook, east- 
 ward, but further distant from the village of that name. If 
 you can find me by this description, I shall rejoice to hear 
 from you. I expect to remove from this place very soon. 
 Our neighborhood with the enemy gives us frequent skir- 
 mishes, though nothing very material has occurred since the 
 rascals retreated in so scandalous a manner from Somerset 
 court-house to Brunswick. Their grand encampment seems 
 now to be extended from Brunswick to Amboy. We are 
 induced to believe they are embarking for some other place, 
 and this state will soon be clear of them ; however, this is 
 at present not certain. I think their retreat must have an 
 exceeding good effect in every point of view. If they advance 
 to Millstone or Somerset to try the credit they may give 
 their friends, and see what number will join them, they must 
 be greatly mortified to find almost every man who had re- 
 ceived his majesty's protection and most gracious -pardon in 
 arms against them. Xot the militia only of this state, but 
 almost every man in it able to bear arms, have voluntarily 
 flown to arms on this occasion. If they designed to pene- 
 trate the country to Philadelphia, they are convinced it is 
 impracticable. If they designed to turn the flank of our 
 army, and draw us from our strong grounds, they are 
 disappointed.
 
 198 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 The effect this maneuver will have on their army and our 
 forces, and on the minds of the disaffected in the country, 
 will probably be of great advantage to us. Our army is 
 now respectable, but not such as that we incline to attack 
 them in their strongholds at present; especially as delay is 
 considered as fatal to them, if we prevent their penetrating 
 the country. The general is very well, and in good spirits ; 
 and our affairs have a more promising aspect, than since 
 the war began. Where their next movement will be, is yet 
 uncertain ; perhaps, if I live, I may see you sooner than I 
 expected, when I left home. About one thousand of my 
 brigade have joined us ; more are expected every hour. 
 Col. Butler and Maj. Sill are at Morristown ; I expect they 
 will soon have orders to join their brigades. Every neces- 
 sary of life is exceedingly dear; salt is from ten to twenty dol- 
 lars per bushel, and other things very extravagant. I am in 
 very comfortable circumstances myself, though not very well. 
 
 Since writing the above, the enemy have evacuated 
 Brunswick, with great precipitation and evident signs of 
 fear, and are fled to Amboy. They left Brunswick at ten 
 o'clock, and Gen. Gaines took possession by the time they 
 were out. They left a considerable quantity of flour and 
 other things, but I have not seen the return yet. We pur- 
 sued them, and attacked their rear emdjlank, to Amboy, where 
 they arc going on board their ships. This state is once more 
 delivered from those pests of society; who will next be in- 
 fested with them, is uncertain, but we are in high spirits, 
 and ready to march to any part of the country. I expect 
 orders to march, very soon, perhaps to the North river again, 
 where I shall write you. 
 
 I am, my dear, with love to children, 
 
 your affectionate husband, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS." 
 
 After the retreat of Gen. Howe from ~Vew Jersey, the 
 brigades of Parsons and Varnum were detached froir
 
 S. H. PARSONS. 199 
 
 Middlebrook to Peekskill ; and those continental troops at 
 Peekskill, which had been ordered by Gen. Washington to 
 join him in New Jersey, and had proceeded as far as Pomp- 
 ton plains, now returned to their former station, with direc- 
 tions to hold themselves in readiness to move on the shortest 
 notice. (Marshall, Vol. iii, p. 119.) It was conjectured that 
 the- British Gens. Burgoync and Howe would endeavor to 
 effect a junction of their two armies at* Albany. Orders 
 were therefore given to Gen. Putnam, who commanded at 
 Peekskill, to prepare for such an event, by concentrating 
 at that post the militia of the country, and to guard against 
 any sudden attempt from New York. The importance of 
 defending the Highlands, and the necessity of large rein- 
 forcements, was strongly urged by Gen. Parsons, in a letter 
 to Gen. Washington, July 30, 1777. [NOTE II.] The result 
 shows the wisdom and foresight which prompted the sug- 
 gestion. Large requisitions were made on the militia of the 
 adjoining states, but before effectual measures were con- 
 summated, Gen. Clinton, with a large force, advanced up 
 the North river, captured Forts Montgomery and Clinton, 
 and proceeding above the Highlands, compelled Gen. Put- 
 nam to evacuate the post at Peekskill, and Forts Inde- 
 pendence and Constitution, and return to Fishkill. In the 
 meantime, he visited Connecticut, to urge upon his country- 
 men the importance of prompt and energetic action. The 
 appeal was not in vain. Always ready in the hour of trial, 
 that patriotic state had not forgotten that on the day suc- 
 ceeding the battle of Long Island, eighty- four companies of 
 her volunteers had marched to the relief of Boston : that she 
 had struck the most offensive and effectual blow for liberty, 
 and had sent one thousand of her brave sons to maintain 
 the conquest of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, planned by 
 her wisdom, and achieved by her valor: that more than four- 
 teen thousand of her brave and hardy yeomanry composed
 
 200 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 the army of "Washington at New York, in 1770; yet she 
 was ready, ever ready, with her accustomed energy and 
 undaunted spirit, to shed her best blood in defense of the 
 rights of a bleeding country. A general levy was made, 
 and two thousand men obeyed the call, marched to meet 
 the enemy, and again planted the standard of liberty upon 
 the summit of the Highlands. (P. 30.) 
 
 Among the several military expeditions during the year 
 1777, allusion is made by Gen. Parsons in a letter to Gen. 
 Washington, dated December 29, 1777, to a descent on Long 
 Island for the purpose of destroying the timber and boards 
 prepared at the east end of the island, for barracks in New 
 York to decoy the fleet at Southhold from Rhode Island, 
 loaded with wood, attack a regiment stationed about eight 
 miles eastward of Jamaica, and remove or destroy whatever 
 public stores should be found on the island at Shetocket. 
 With this view Col. Meigs was to have landed at Hempstead 
 harbor, to attack the regiment near Jamaica Col. Webb 
 near Huntington to sustain Meigs, and afford such aid to 
 the division eastward as should be wanted, and destroy 
 whatever was collected in that part of the county of Suffolk 
 for the use of the enemy. The easternmost division under 
 Gen. Parsons landed at a place called Ilockaback, about 
 forty miles from the east end of the island. The licet, (ex- 
 cept the Swan and Harlem sloops of war and four other 
 vessels.) had sailed: one sloop had taken in her cargo of 
 timber and boards ; the other three had taken none, but 
 being light, hauled into the bay under cover of the armed 
 vessels. 
 
 The loaded sloop was captured, and all the limber and 
 boards prepared for New York; also a large quantity of 
 wood cut for another fleet expected from New York. The 
 boats commanded by Capt. Ascough, of the ship Swan, 
 were attacked within twenty yards of the shore: two of the
 
 S. II. PARSONS. VQl 
 
 officers, with their commander, badly wounded, as well as 
 several soldiers, and eight killed. The enemy's ships kept 
 a constant lire, but without execution. The eastern division 
 under Gen. Parsons, after accomplishing their designs, re- 
 turned to the main again, with about twenty prisoners. 
 Col. Aleigs, who was to have crossed irom Sawphs, through 
 the roughness of the water, was unable to pass over in his 
 boats. The other t\vo divisions under Col. Webb, sailed 
 from Norwalk the evening of the i.Hh instant, with fair pros- 
 pects, but unfortunately the next morning, just before light, 
 the sloop in which Col. Webb embarked, fell in with the 
 British frigate Falcon, on her passage from New York to 
 Newport, was forced on shore near a spot called the Old 
 Man's, and captured. 
 
 This expedition was well planned, and would have been 
 fully and most successfully accomplished, but for the adverse 
 elements which prevented the embarkation of Col. Meigs, 
 and the unfortunate capture of Col. Webb by the frigate 
 Falcon, circumstances which could not have been anticipated 
 nor avoided. 
 
 In November, 1777, Gen. Parsons learning that the enemy 
 were practicing a system of warfare inconsistent with the 
 common principles of humanity, by burning the dwelling* 
 and imprisoning the persons of peaceful and unoffending 
 citi/.ens, with many outrageous acts, addressed to Gov. Tryon 
 a letter remonstrating against such savage barbarity. It is 
 written with energy, and that fervent patriotism peculiar to 
 the, author, containing sentiments bold, dignified, and un- 
 answerable, while the reply of Gov. Tryon evinces a mind 
 puerile, ignoble, base and cowardly. 
 
 "MAROXECK, I\ov. ~lst, 1777. 
 
 SIR: Adding to the natural horrors of war the most wan- 
 ton destruction of property, is an act of cruelty unknown to 
 civilized nations, and unaccustomed in war until the servants
 
 202 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 of the king of Great Britain have convinced the impartial 
 world, that no act of inhumanity, no stretch of despotism, 
 are too great to exercise toward those they term rebels. 
 Had any apparent advantage been derived from burning 
 the houses in Phillips' manor last Monday, there would have 
 been some reason to justify the measure ; but when no benefit 
 whatever can be proposed by burning those buildings and 
 stripping the women and children of apparel necessary to 
 cover them from the severity of a cold night, and when 
 captivating and leading in triumph to your lines, in the most 
 ignominious manner, the heads of those families, I know 
 not what justifiable cause to assign for those acts of cruelty, 
 nor can I conceive a necessity for your further orders to de- 
 stroy Tarrytown. You cannot be insensible it is every day 
 in my power to destroy the houses and buildings of Col. 
 Phillips and those belonging to the family of Delancey, each 
 as near your lines as those buildings were to my guards; 
 and notwithstanding your utmost vigilance, you cannot pre- 
 vent the destruction of every house this side of Kingsbridge. 
 It is not fear at is not a want of opportunity has preserved 
 those buildings; but a sense of the injustice and savageness 
 of such a line of conduct, has hitherto saved them; and 
 nothing but necessity will induce me to copy the examples 
 of this sort, frequently set by your troops. It is not my in- 
 clination, sir. to war in this manner, against the inhabitants 
 within your lines, who suppose themselves within your king's 
 protection. But necessity will oblige me to retaliate in kind 
 upon your friends, to procure the exercise of that justice 
 which humanity used to dictate, unless your explicit disa- 
 vowal of the conduct of your two captains Emmerick and 
 Barns, shall convince me that those houses were burned 
 without your knowledge, and against your orders. 
 
 I am, sir, your humble servant, 
 Gov. Tryon. SAMUEL II. PARSONS."
 
 S. H. PARSONS. 203 
 
 The following is Gov. Tryon's reply to the foregoing: 
 "KiNGSimiOGK, November 23, 1777. 
 
 SIR : Could I possibly conceive myself accountable to a 
 revolted subject of the king of Great Britain, I might an- 
 swer your letter, received by the Hag of truce yesterday, re- 
 specting the conduct of the party under Capt. Emmerick's 
 command, upon the taking of Peter and Cornelius Van 
 Tassell. I have, however, candor enough to assure you, as 
 much as I abhor every principle of inhumanity or ungener- 
 ous conduct, I should, were I in more authority, burn every 
 committee-man's house within my reach, as I deem those 
 agents the wicked instruments of the continued calamities 
 of this country ; and in order the sooner to purge this col- 
 ony of them, I am willing to give twenty-five silver dollars 
 for every active committee-man who shall be delivered up 
 to the king's troops. I guess, before the end of the next 
 campaign, they will be torn in pieces by their own country- 
 men, whom they have forcibly dragged, in opposition to 
 their principles and duty, (after fining them to the extent of 
 their property) to take up arms against their lawful sov- 
 ereign, and compelled them to exchange their happy con- 
 stitution for paper-rags, anarchy, and distress. The ruins 
 from the conflagration of New York, by the emissaries of 
 your party last year, remain a memorial of their tender re- 
 gard for their fellow-beings, exposed to the severity of a 
 cold night. This is the first correspondence I have held 
 with the king's enemies, on my part, in America; and as I 
 am immediately undor the command of Sir Henry Clinton, 
 your future letters, dictated with decency, would be more 
 properly directed to his excellency. 
 
 I am, sir, your most obedient servant, 
 
 WILLIAM TRYON, major-general. 
 
 To Gen. Parsons."
 
 204 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 Gen. Parsons to the Hon. Mr. Lauren?, President of 
 Congress : 
 
 " SIR : On the 18th ult, Gen. Tryon sent about one hundred 
 men, under the command of Capt. Emmcrick, to burn some 
 houses within about four miles of my guards, which, under 
 cover of a dark night, he effected, with circumstances of 
 most savage barbarity, stripping the clothing from the 
 women and children, and turning them, almost naked, into 
 the street, in a most severe night: the men were made pris- 
 oners, and led, with halters around their necks, with no 
 other clothes than their shirts and breeches, in triumph to 
 the enemy's lines. This conduct induced me to write to 
 Gen. Tryon upon the subject; a copy of my letter and his 
 answer I have herewith sent you. As the practice of deso- 
 lating villages, burning houses, and every species of unne- 
 cessary distress to the inhabitants, ought to be avoided, I 
 would not wish to retaliate in any instance, but where, in 
 its consequences, the enemy may be injured, or one of our 
 people saved by it. I am aware, if, in any instance, this 
 shall be done, I shall subject myself to censure, unless it is 
 in consequence of some general orders of Congress, by 
 which I may be warranted. As these instances may be fre- 
 quently repeated by the enemy, I wish to know in what, or 
 whether in any instance, Congress will direct a retaliation. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient humble servant, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSOXS." 
 
 Gen. Parsons answer to Gen. Tryon's letter of 23d of 
 November, 1777 : 
 
 "FisnKiLL, January 1st, 1778. 
 
 SIR: Since I received yours of the 23d of November, I 
 have till now been employed in matters of importance, which 
 have not left me at liberty to acknowledge the receipt of 
 vour letter before, and lest you should think me wanting in
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 205 
 
 respect due to your character, I beg your acceptance of 
 this letter, which closes our epistolary correspondence. It 
 will ever be my design 'to dictate with decency' any letters 
 I may send, however remote it may be from my intention 
 to copy the examples of the persons my duty compels me 
 to correspond with. As propriety and decency ought to be 
 observed in every transaction, even with the most infamous 
 characters, I never wish so nearly to assimilate myself to 
 them, as to be found destitute of that respect which is due 
 to my fellow-beings in every station in life. I should not 
 have entertained a thought that you had been deficient in 
 the duty you owe your king m every part of the globe, or 
 that you did not inherit the spirit of his ministry, which has 
 precipitated the present crisis, even if you had omitted to 
 assure me this had been the first correspondence you had 
 held with the king's enemies in America. The conflagra- 
 tion of Xew York you are pleased to charge to Ameri- 
 can troops, under the decent name of a parti/. This de- 
 serves no other answer than to assure you it has not the 
 least foundation in truth, and that we are assured it gains 
 no credit with officers whose rank and candor gives oppor- 
 tunity to know and believe the truth. This, like many 
 other occurrences, is charged to the account of those who 
 were never believed guilty, to excite to rage, and direct the 
 resentment of the ignorant and misruled against very im- 
 proper objects. Perhaps I might with equal propriety and 
 more truth suggest this unhappy event was brought about 
 by your own party, from the same motives which induced 
 them in August, 1770, to mangle the dead bodies of some 
 of the foreign troops, in a most shocking and inhuman 
 manner, and place them in the most conspicuous parts of 
 the road through which their brethren were to pass. 
 
 A justifiable resistance against unwarrantable invasions 
 of the natural and social rights of mankind, if unsuccessful
 
 206 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 according to the fashion of the world, will be termed rebel- 
 lion, but if successful, will be deemed a noble struggle for 
 the defense of everything valuable in life. Whether I am 
 considered as a revolted subject of the king of Great Brit- 
 ain, or in any other light by his subject*, is very immaterial, 
 and gives me little concern. Future ages, I hope, will do 
 justice to my intentions, and the present to the humanity 
 of my conduct. Few men are of talents so very inconsid- 
 erable as to be unalterably excluded from every degree of 
 fame. A Nero and Caligula have perpetuated their memo- 
 ries. Perhaps 'twenty silver dollars' may be motives with 
 those you employ to do great honor to your Machiavelian 
 maxims, especially that which advises never to commit crimes 
 to the halves, and leave lasting monuments of your princi- 
 ples and conduct, which will hand your memory down to 
 the latest posterity in indelible characters. We act on a 
 different scale, and hold ourselves indispensably bound never 
 to commit crimes, but to execute whatever is necessary for 
 our welfare, uninfluenced by sordid, mercenary motives. In 
 the field of conjecture I shall not attempt to follow you. You 
 may have a better talent of 'guessing' than I can boast of. 
 This satisfaction at least you may enjoy, that if you find 
 yourself mistaken in one conjecture, you have an undoubted 
 right to guess again. I shall content myself to wait until 
 the event verifies your prediction, or shows you are mis- 
 taken, assuring you I shall never pursue your measures for 
 restoring peace, whether ' my authority is greater or less,'' fur- 
 ther than necessity shall compel me to retort the injuries 
 the peaceable inhabitants of this country may receive from 
 the hand of violence and oppression. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 
 Gov. Try on." 
 
 During the winter of 1777, Gen. Parsons, suffering under
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 207 
 
 feeble health, and a constitution broken down in the service 
 of his country, expressed to the commander-in-chief a desire 
 to retire temporarily from the active duties of the army, but 
 in consequence, of the urgent solicitation of Gen. Washing- 
 ton, he relinquished the desire, as may appear by the fol- 
 lowing letter, dated 
 
 " lIu;in,AMs, ox HUDSON RIVKR, February 18th, 1778. 
 
 DI:AR GKNKK.U, : 1 had the honor of receiving yours of the 
 l()th of January about eight days since, at this place, where I 
 have returned to take charge of rny brigade. In the present 
 state of the army, I shall continue in my command, lest a 
 different conduct may prove injurious to the cause of my 
 country, at this critical conjuncture of affairs. However 
 my inclination may induce me to retire to the enjoyment of 
 domestic happiness, I cannot think myself warranted to in- 
 dulge my wishes at a time when so many officers under my 
 command are desirous of leaving the toils of war for the 
 pleasures of private life." 
 
 About this time Gen. Putnam went to Connecticut and 
 left West Point, and all the troops stationed at the High- 
 lands, under the command of Gen. Parsons, with the addi- 
 tional duty (if constructing military works at West Point, which 
 had been delayed in consequence of misapprehension in 
 regard to the several resolves of Congress upon the subject. 
 It seems that on the f>th of November, 1777, Congress ap- 
 pointed (Jen. Gates to command in the Highlands, connect- 
 ing that post with the, northern department, and empowered 
 him to make obstructions in and fortifications on the banks 
 of the Hudson river, but as he was made President of the 
 Board of War, he never entered upon these duties. Again, 
 on the 18th of February, Gov. Clinton was requested to 
 take the superintendence of the works, but the multiplicity of 
 his civil employments made it necessary for him to decline
 
 208 S. II . PARSONS. 
 
 the undertaking. Meantime, Gen. Putnam went to Con- 
 necticut, and left the post in charge of Gen. Parsons, 
 \vho entered promptly upon the discharge of his arduous and 
 perplexing duty. 
 
 In a letter of 18th of February, to Gen. Washington, he 
 remarks, "Almost every obstacle within the circle of pos- 
 sibility has happened, to retard the progress of the obstruc- 
 tions in and fortifications on the banks of Hudson river. 
 Preparations for completing them are now in a state which 
 will afford a good prospect of completing them in April, and 
 unless some difficulties yet unforeseen should prevent, 1 
 think we cannot fail, by the forepart of that month, to have 
 them in a good degree of forwardness. Nothing on my 
 part shall be wanting to put them in a state of forwardness 
 to answer the reasonable expectations of the country, as 
 early as possible." 
 
 Again, in a letter to Gen. Washington, dated 7th of 
 March, 1778, explaining the perplexities arising under the 
 resolves of Congress of the 5th of November, and 18th of 
 February, in regard to Gen. Gates and Gov. Clinton, whose 
 powers were deemed strictly personal, he remarks, - C I shall 
 exert myself to have the works in a state of defense as 
 early as possible, by the due exercise of such directions as 
 your excellency shall please to give me. Col. Radierc, find- 
 ing it impossible to complete the fort and other defenses 
 intended at this post, in such manner as to effectually with- 
 stand the attempts of the enemy to pass up the river early 
 in the spring, and not choosing to hazard his reputation on 
 works erected on a different scale, calculated for a short du- 
 ration only, has desired leave 1o wait on your excellency 
 and Congress, which I have, granted him. In justice to Col. 
 Radierc, I ought to say he appears to be a gentleman of 
 science and knowledge in his profession, and disposed to
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 209 
 
 render us every service he is able to do. I shall expedite the 
 building of such works as are most necessary for immediate 
 defense." 
 
 Again, in another letter, dated 
 
 "CAMP WEST POINT, March 16th, 1778. 
 
 On the 14th inst. I had the honor of receiving your letter 
 of the 7th of March, and also one of the 8th, containing a 
 copy of the 5th of March. I shall pay particular attention 
 to forwarding the work of the boats designed for transport- 
 ing over, as well as to those which are to be employed for 
 defense on Hudson river. I have ordered all the boats and 
 other crafts on the river to be collected in different places, 
 and put in the best possible state immediately. When I 
 was last at Poughkeepsie the gun-boats were in such a 
 state as to give hopes of their being fit for use within a few 
 weeks; and as Gov. Clinton has been kind enough to take 
 upon himself the direction of them, I think we may 
 hope to see them completed soon. I will send to Albany, 
 and know the state of the boats there, and as the river will 
 be soon clear of ice, I will order down such boats and other 
 crafts as can be had there, fit for transportation over the river. 
 If the chain is complete, we shall be ready to stretch it over the 
 river next week. A sufficient number of chevaux de frise to 
 fill those parts left open last year, are ready to sink as soon 
 as the weather and the state of the river will admit it to be 
 done. 1 hope to have two sides and one bastion of the fort in 
 some state of defense in about a fortnight. The other sides 
 need very little to secure them. There is a prospect of 
 having five or six cannon mounted in one of our batteries 
 this week. I think the works are going on as fast as could be 
 expected from our small number of men, total want of mate- 
 rials provided, and of money to purchase them. We have 
 borrowed, and begged, and hired money to this time. I have 
 
 several times advanced my last shilling toward purchasing 
 14
 
 210 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 materials, &c.; and I believe this has been the case with 
 almost every officer here. As we still live, I hope we 
 shall accomplish the works in the river in season, if the en- 
 emy move with their accustomed caution and tardiness; 
 when I hope Congress will repay what has been advanced, 
 and cannot think us blamable if we have been compelled 
 to save the public credit, and forward the business intrusted 
 to our care." 
 
 From the above correspondence it appears that the forti- 
 fications at West Point, and upon the Highlands, were built 
 under the superintendence of Gen. Parsons, where he was 
 stationed the principal part of the years 1778 and 1779, but 
 was frequently detached upon expeditions to protect the 
 sea-coast of his native state, near Horseneck, Greenwich, 
 New Haven and New London. Time and space, however, 
 will not permit a full statement of his services. It appears 
 also from his numerous opinions, recorded and preserved 
 among the manuscripts of Gen. Washington, that he was 
 frequently consulted in questions of great moment, and in 
 critical times of public danger. 
 
 On the 23d of June, 1779, Gen. Washington removed his 
 head-quarters in consequence of the enemy having taken 
 possession of Verplank's Point and Stony Point, from 
 Smith's Clove to New Windsor, where he might be contigu- 
 ous to the forts, and better situated to attend to different 
 parts of the army on both sides of the Hudson river. The 
 main body of the army was left at Smith's Clove, under the 
 command of Gen. Putnam. The object now in view was 
 to guard against an attack upon West Point. Gen. 3Ic- 
 Dougall was transferred to the command of West Point. 
 Three brigades were stationed on the east side of the river: 
 Nixon's at Constitution island, Parsons' opposite West Point, 
 with, instructions to assist in constructing the irorks, [Noxi; K,] 
 and Iluntington on the principal road leading to Fishkill.
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 211 
 
 These three brigades were put under the command of Gen. 
 Heath, who had been recently ordered to repair from Boston 
 to head-quarters. 
 
 In July, 1771), Gen. Washington, understanding that Gen. 
 Try on had invaded Connecticut with twenty-six hundred 
 British troops, immediately directed Gen. Parsons, (then 
 stationed near the Highlands,) to hasten to the scene of 
 action, with a view of giving confidence to his countrymen, 
 and guiding their efforts. [NOTE L.] Placing himself at the 
 head of one hundred and fifty continental troops who were 
 supported by the militia under Gen. Erastus Wolcott, he at- 
 tacked the British in the morning of the 12th, so soon as they 
 had landed at Norvvalk; and, although too weak to prevent 
 the destruction of that fort, he harassed and annoyed the 
 enemy throughout the day in such a manner that they re- 
 embarked and returned to Huntington bay for fresh supplies 
 of artillery and reinforcements of men; and soon after 
 abandoned the undertaking of penetrating the Connecticut 
 territory, returned to New York. [NOTE M.] Before in- 
 vading Connecticut, Gen. Tryon addressed to Gens. Putnam 
 and Parsons the following letter : 
 
 "N T E\v YORK, June 18th, 1779. 
 
 SIR: By one of his majesty's ships of war, which arrived 
 here last night from Georgia, we have intelligence that the 
 British forces were in possession of Fort Johnstone, near 
 Charlestown, the first of June. Surely it is time for rational 
 Americans to wish for a reunion with the parent state, and 
 to adopt such measures as will most speedily effect it. 
 
 I am your very humble, obedient servant, 
 
 WM. TRYON*, major-general. 
 
 To Gen. Putnam, or, in his absence, to Gen. Parsons." 
 
 The following is Gen. Parson's reply: 
 
 "CAMP, HIGHLANDS, September 7th, 1779. 
 
 SIR : I should have paid an earlier attention to your
 
 212 S. II . PARSONS. 
 
 polite letter of the 18th of June, had I not entertained some 
 hope of a personal interview with you, in your descents 
 upon the defenseless towns of Connecticut, to execute your 
 master's vengeance upon rebellious women and formidable 
 hosts of boys and girls, who were induced, by insidious pro- 
 clamations, to remain in those hapless places, and who, if 
 they had been suffered to continue in the enjoyment of that 
 peace their age and sex entitled them to expect from civil- 
 ized nations, you undoubtedly supposed would prove the 
 scourge of Britain's veteran troops, and pluck from you 
 those laurels with which that fiery expedition so plentifully 
 crowned you. But your sudden departure from Norwalk, 
 and the particular attention you paid to your personal safety, 
 when at that place, and the prudent resolution you took, to 
 suffer the town of Stamford to escape the conflagration to 
 which you had devoted Fairfield and Norwalk, prevented 
 my wishes on that head. This will, I hope, sufficiently apol- 
 ogize for my delay in answering your last letter. By letters 
 from France, we have intelligence that his Catholic majesty 
 declared war against Great Britain in June last; that the 
 combined fleets of France and Spain, amounting to more 
 than sixty sail of the line, having formed a junction with 
 twenty-five thousand land forces, are now meditating a 
 blo\v on the British dominions in Europe ; and that the 
 grand fleet of old England find it very inconvenient to ven- 
 ture far from their harbors. In the West Indies, Admiral 
 Byron, having greatly suffered in a naval engagement, es- 
 caped, with his ships in a very shattered condition, to St. 
 Christopher's, and covered his fleet under the batteries on 
 the shores, and has suffered himself to be insulted in the 
 road of that island by the French admiral; and Count de 
 Estaing, after reducing the islands of St. Vincent and Gren- 
 ada to the obedience of France, defeating and disabling the 
 British licet, has sailed for Hispaniola, where it is expected
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 213 
 
 he will be joined by the Spanish fleet in those seas, and at- 
 tack Jamaica. 
 
 The storming your strong works at Stony Point, and cap- 
 turing the garrison, by our brave troops ; the brilliant suc- 
 cesses of Gen. Sullivan against your faithful friends and 
 allies, the savages; the surprise of Paulus Hook, by Maj. 
 Lee; the flight of Gen. Provost from Carolina; and your 
 shamefully shutting yourselves up in New York and the 
 neighboring islands, are so fully within your knowledge, as 
 scarcely to need repetition. 
 
 Surely it is time for Britons to rouse from their delusive 
 dreams of conquest, and pursue such systems of future con- 
 duct as will save their tottering empire from total destruction. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 
 To Maj. Gen. Try on." 
 
 On the 29th of October, 1780, he \vas appointed, by Gen. 
 Washington, one of the board of general officers at West 
 Point, for the trial of Maj. Gen. Andre, of the British army, 
 as a spy. 
 
 In the same month he received from Congress, a com- 
 mission as major-general, and succeeded Gen. Putnam in 
 the command of the Connecticut line of the continental 
 army. 
 
 The defenseless inhabitants between Greenwich and New 
 York, having been much annoyed, and suffered great losses 
 by the frequent incursions of Col. Delancey's corps at Mor- 
 risiana, Gen. Parsons determined to destroy the enemy's 
 barracks, which could not be rebuilt during the winter; and 
 thus afford some protection to the inhabitants in that vicinity. 
 For this purpose, he advanced, with rapid marches, to West 
 Chester and Morrisiana, with a few continentals, attacked 
 the British troops, and effectually accomplished his object. 
 
 Gen. Washington, in a letter addressed to the President
 
 214 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 of Congress, January 31st, 1781, thus alludes to this expe- 
 dition : " Inclosed are two reports of Maj. Gen. Parsons and 
 Lieut. Col. Hull, respecting our enterprise againt Delancey's 
 corps at West Chester ; in which, with a small loss on our 
 side, the barracks of the corps, and a large quantity of for- 
 age were destroyed, fifty-two prisoners and a considerable 
 number of horses and cattle brought off, and a bridge across 
 Harlem river, under one of the enemy's redoubts, burnt. 
 Gen. Parsons' arrangements were judicious; and the con- 
 duct of the officers and men employed on the occasion, is 
 entitled to the highest praise. The position of the corps, two 
 or three miles within some of the enemy's redoubts, required 
 address and courage in the execution of the enterprise." 
 
 Congress passed a resolution directing Gen. Washington 
 to present to Gen. Parsons and the officers under his com- 
 mand, the thanks of Congress for his judicious arrangements, 
 and for the courage displayed by the officers and men. 
 
 In the year 1781, he was appointed by the governor and 
 council of Connecticut to command the state troops and 
 coast guards, raised for the protection of the state, and to 
 dispose them in such manner as he should judge expedient 
 to protect the inhabitants from the incursions of the enemy 
 on the sea-coast. 
 
 At the close of the war he resumed the practice of law 
 in Middletown, whither his family had been removed during 
 the Revolution, and frequently represented that town in the 
 Legislature. 
 
 In the prosecution of measures for the formation of Mid- 
 dlesex county, he was more engaged and more influential 
 than any other man. He was an active and influential 
 member of the state convention which assembled at Hart- 
 ford, January, 1781, and adopted the constitution of the 
 United States. lie was a member and for some time presi- 
 dent of the society of Cincinnati, in Connecticut.
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 215 
 
 In the latter part of the year 178f), he was appointed by 
 Congress, a commissioner, in connection with Gens. Richard 
 Butler, of Pittsburg, and George Rogers Clarke, of Ken- 
 tucky, to treat with the Shawanoc Indians, near the falls of 
 Ohio, for extinguishing the aboriginal title to certain lands 
 within the Northwestern Territory. This treaty was held on 
 the northwestern bank of the Ohio, near the mouth of the 
 Great Miami, January 31st, 178G, and the Indians then ceded 
 to the United States a large and valuable tract upon which 
 the flourishing city of Cincinnati now stands. 
 
 Under the ordinance of Congress of 1787, he was ap- 
 pointed judge in and over the territory of the United States 
 northwest of the river Ohio. The commission is dated Oc- 
 tober 23d, 1787, and signed by Arthur St. Clair, president, 
 and Charles Thomson, secretary of Congress. In 1789 he 
 was nominated by Gen. Washington, by and with the consent 
 of the senate, chief judge in and over the same territory, 
 then embracing the present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois 
 and Michigan, which office he held until his death. His 
 associates were Gen. James Yarnum, of Rhode Island, and 
 the lion. John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey. In 1789 
 he was appointed by the state of Connecticut a commis- 
 sioner with Gov. Oliver Wolcott, of Litchfield, and lion. 
 James Davenport, of Stamford, to hold a treaty with the 
 Wyandots and other tribes of Indians, for extinguishing 
 their claim, (the aboriginal title to the lands called the Con- 
 necticut Western Reserve.) and in the fall of 1789 he visited 
 that country with a view to preliminary arrangements for 
 holding a treaty with them. While returning to his resi- 
 dence at Marietta, he was drowned in descending the rapids 
 of the Big Beaver river, the 17th of November, 1789, aged 
 fifty-two years. 
 
 Among the manuscripts of Gen. Parsons in the possession 
 of his grandson, Samuel H. Parsons, of Hartford, are a
 
 216 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 journal of observations and occurrences when he first vis- 
 ited the western country ; a communication to the American 
 Academy of Arts and Sciences in October, 1786, describing 
 the western mounds, manners and customs of the aborigines ; 
 original address to the Shawanoes tribes ; besides a volumin- 
 ous correspondence before, during, and after the Revolu- 
 tionary war, with the distinguished men of that period.
 
 GEN. BENJAMIN TUPPER.* 
 
 GEN. BENJAMIN TUPPER was born at Staughton, Mass., in 
 that part now called Sharon, in 1738, but the precise time 
 is unknown to his descendants in this state. He was the 
 youngest of eight children of his parents, seven sons and 
 one daughter. His brothers' names were Mayhew, Levi, 
 Seth, Simeon, Reuben and Judah. His sister, Joanna, was 
 married to Benjamin Estie, of Staughton. His brothers 
 emigrated to different parts of the country. Mayhew went 
 to New York, Simeon lived in Vermont, and with two of 
 his sons, served in the Revolutionary army. Reuben died 
 at Sharon, Judah came to Marietta with Gen. Tupper, where 
 he died in 1793. Gen. Tupper's father died when he was 
 quite young, and he was apprenticed to a tanner in Dor- 
 chester by the name of Witherton, with whom he lived until 
 he was sixteen years of age. After leaving Dorchester, he 
 worked on the farm of Joshua Howard, of Easton, with 
 whom he continued to reside the most of his time until he 
 was married. 
 
 At the commencement of the French war, he engaged as 
 a private soldier in the army, and was connected with it the 
 most of the time for two or three years, though absent from 
 it during the winter, except in the winter of 1756-7, when 
 he acted as clerk of a company in the eastern army. Whether 
 he was in any engagement during that war, is not known. 
 He kept a district school in Easton two or three winters 
 during the w r ar or soon after. 
 
 * The sketch of the life of Gen. Benjamin Tupr '' was written by his grandson, 
 Anselm Tupper Nye, of Marietta.
 
 218 BENJAMIN TUPPER. 
 
 He was married at Easton, November 18th, 1762, to Hul- 
 dah White, who resided in the same town, and with whom 
 he had long been acquainted. She was a woman of no 
 ordinary talents, and was eminently fitted for the trials and 
 difficulties through which they were called to pass in the 
 latter period of their lives. She died at Springfield, now 
 Putnam, Ohio, on the 21st of February, 1812. She was 
 well known to many of the now oldest inhabitants of Ma- 
 rietta, having survived her husband more than twenty years. 
 
 They resided at Easton for a short time after their mar- 
 riage, when they removed to Chesterfield, in Hampshire 
 county, Mass., which continued to be the residence of his 
 family until they removed to Marietta. 
 
 At the commencement of our Revolutionary war, Gen. 
 Tupper was a lieutenant of the militia, in Chesterfield. Hia 
 first military duty during that war was in stopping the Su- 
 preme Court acting under the authority of the crown, at 
 Springfield. Under the command of Maj. Halley, of North- 
 ampton, a body of men prevented the sitting of the court, 
 thus manifesting the determination of the people of that 
 state to resist the authority of the British government. 
 
 In 1775 he held the rank of major of a regiment of six 
 months men, serving near Boston. While there he collected 
 a number of boats and men for an expedition to Castle 
 island, in Boston harbor. They passed with muffled oars 
 close to the British fleet, then in the harbor, to the castle, 
 burnt the light-house, brought off considerable property in 
 light articles, and returned safe to the main land without 
 any loss of men, or perhaps with the loss of one man. The 
 encrny repaired the light-house, and Maj. Tupper in another 
 expedition with boats, burnt it the second time. After his 
 return from one of these expeditions, he wrote the following 
 letter to Gen. Ward:
 
 BENJAMIN TUPPEK. 
 
 " CHELSEA, Wednesday, 10 o'clock, P. M. 
 
 SIR: By Lieut. Shepherd you will receive two horses and 
 eleven head of cattle taken from the Governor's island. 
 I obeyed my orders in burning the boat. If it should seem 
 that I went too much beyond in burning the house, hope 
 your honor will suspend hard thoughts until I am so happy 
 as to sec you. I was not so lucky as to find any of liberty ; 
 was so unhappy as to leave a number of horses on the 
 island, which I humbly conceive I can give a suflicient rea- 
 son for. My party is all well, in good spirits : the wind very 
 high : shall return to camp as soon as possible : must 
 humbly beg the favor of the sorrel horse, if you judge in 
 your known candor that I deserve him. As the cattle too 
 were not taken in the enemy's camp, I conceive they will 
 belong to the party. 
 
 I am, with the highest esteem, your honor's most obedient, 
 humble servant, BENJ. TUPPER. 
 
 To the Hon. Gen. Ward." 
 
 In Washington's Letters, vol. ii, page 20, the following 
 account of one of these expeditions will be found : 
 
 "August 4th, 1775. 
 
 The other happened at the light-house. A number of 
 workmen having been sent down to repair it, with a guard 
 of twenty-two marines and a subaltern, Maj. Tupper, last 
 Monday morning, about two o'clock, landed there with about 
 three hundred men, attacked them, killed the officer and four 
 privates; but being detained by the tide on his return, he 
 was attacked by several boats ; but he happily got through, 
 with the loss of one man killed, and another wounded. The 
 remainder of the ministerial troops (three of whom are 
 badly wounded) he brought off prisoners, with ten Tories, all 
 of whom are on their way to Springfield jail. The rifle- 
 men, in these skirmishes, lost one man, who (we hear) is a 
 prisoner in Boston jail."
 
 220 BENJAMIN TUPPER. 
 
 In the following winter, an incident occurred, which serves 
 to illustrate the character of Gen. Tupper, for cool, delib- 
 erate courage, which he possessed in an eminent degree. 
 Three men in a boat had been out fishing; while out, the 
 wind shifted, and blew the ice toward the shore, where they 
 must land. The men attempted to return, but found their 
 way completely blocked up with floating ice. Their situa- 
 tion was one of great danger. All their efforts to get their 
 boat through the ice were unavailing; nor were they able 
 to turn back. The wind blew severely cold, and they were 
 in a situation in which they must soon have perished, in 
 view of thousands of spectators, full of consternation, but 
 making no effort to relieve these perishing men. Maj. Tup- 
 per learning their condition, instantly contrived a plan for 
 their relief. Procuring three pair of rackets, or snow shoes, 
 he repaired immediately to the shore, putting one pair on 
 his own feet, and with a pair under each arm, made his way 
 for the boat, over the floating ice. Fixing a pair of rackets 
 to the feet of two of the men, and encouraging the other 
 that he should be relieved in his turn, he succeeded in bring- 
 ing them all to shore. 
 
 In 1776, Gen., then Col., Tupper, commanded a regiment 
 of six months men. With the other troops, they repaired 
 to New York before the battle on Long Island. Tupper's 
 and Nixon's regiments from Massachusetts, and Sage's from 
 Connecticut, were placed on Governor's island in the har- 
 bor. The next morning after the battle, the Roebuck man- 
 of-war was ordered up to summon the garrison on Governor's 
 island, to surrender. An officer, with a flag of truce from 
 the ship, landed from a boat, and held up his flag. An of- 
 ficer from the fort, Maj. Coburn, was dispatched to answer, 
 that " the fort would not be surrendered at any rate." 
 When these officers met, they found themselves to be old 
 acquaintances, having served together during the French
 
 BENJAMIN TUPPEK. 221 
 
 war. After shaking hands heartily, and some little conver- 
 sation, the British oflicer made known his errand; Cob urn 
 told him the fort would not be surrendered, and they parted. 
 The ship soon opened her fire upon the American fort, which 
 was returned by the fort, but to little purpose ; their work 
 was not capable of being defended against the fire of the 
 ship ; hence all were in alarm. During the previous night, 
 the American troops on Long Island had been taken off with 
 boats, with all their baggage, light artillery, and entrench- 
 ing tools. Under the superintendence of Col. Rufus Put- 
 nam, acting then as chief engineer of the army, or of Gen. 
 Israel Putnam, boats were sent to Governor's island, and 
 Tapper's and Nixon's regiments were brought to the city of 
 New York, but Sage's regiment was left behind. While the 
 troops were thus landing in the city, the officer in command 
 hoisted his flag to surrender; upon which the firing ceased. 
 The boats were hurried from the city back to the island, 
 and brought off Sage's regiment, with the loss of one killed, 
 and one wounded. 
 
 The next military event in which Gen. Tupper is known 
 to have been engaged, was in August, 1770, when he was 
 sent in command of a number of gun-boats, or galleys, up 
 the North river. Near Fort Washington an engagement 
 took place between these boats and several ships of war 
 belonging to the enemy. Gen. Washington makes honor- 
 able mention of this engagement, in his letter dated August 
 5th, 1770, as follows: 
 
 " The inclosed copy of a letter from Col. Tupper, who had 
 the general command of the galleys, will inform Congress 
 of the engagement between them and the ships of war up 
 the North river, on Saturday evening, and of the damage 
 we sustained. What injury was done to the ships 1 cannot 
 ascertain. It is said they were hulled several times by our 
 shot. All accounts agree that our officers and men, during
 
 222 BENJAMIN T UPPER. 
 
 the whole of the affair, behaved with great spirit and bra- 
 very. The damage done to the galleys shows, beyond ques- 
 tion, that they had a warm time of it." See Washington's 
 letter, vol. ii, p. 176. In this engagement his eldest son, 
 then thirteen years of age, was with him. 
 
 In the campaign of 1777, Col. Tupper served with his 
 regiment in the northern army under Gen. Gates. What 
 part he took in the battle of Bemig' hights is not known; 
 but he is mentioned by Wilkinson, In his memoir, as attend- 
 ing a council with Gen. Lamed, Col. Wilkinson, Col. Brooks, 
 and others, the day after that battle, in regard to a retreat 
 of the left wing of the American army, which had been pre- 
 cipitated on the enemy when they held a strong position 
 across the Fishkill. The left wing, according to the sugges- 
 tion of Wilkinson, fell back half a mile, which position was 
 held until the surrender of Burgoyne. 
 
 In 1778, Col. Tupper served under Gen. Washington, and 
 w r as in the battle of Monmouth, June 28th, on which occa- 
 sion he had his horse killed under him. 
 
 In 1780, he had charge of the work of preparing and 
 stretching a chain across the Hudson at West Point. The 
 work was completed in April, and placed in the river under 
 his direction. 
 
 In May, 1781, Col. Tupper returned to his family on fur- 
 lough. While at home he took an important part in dis- 
 persing a mob arising out of the arrest and trial of one 
 Samuel Eli, for high treason, at Northampton. 
 
 During the campaign of 1781, the Indian and Tory refu- 
 gees threatened the northern frontier of New York, on the 
 Mohawk and Lake George. A regiment from Massachu- 
 setts was sent up into that quarter. In September or Octo- 
 ber an action took place between these troops and some 
 Tories and Indians, in which the major of the regiment was 
 killed. After the action, Gen. Stark, who commanded on
 
 BENJAMIN T UPPER. 223 
 
 the northern frontier, sent out a scout to Lake George. The 
 officers reported that they had discovered the camp of a 
 large force, by their fire. Stark immediately sent off 
 an express to head-quarters for a reinforcement, and Col. 
 Tapper's regiment, with Col. Kinston's, of New York, went 
 up. While they were waiting for the enemy, the nc\vs 
 from the main army reached them that Cornwallis had sur- 
 rendered at Yorktown. With this event the war was in effect 
 closed. Col. Tupper's regiment, however, remained at the 
 north. About the close of the war he was promoted to the 
 rank of brigadier-general by brevet. After the close of the 
 war he returned to his family at Chesterfield, and soon after 
 was elected by his town as their representative in the Legis- 
 lature of Massachusetts. 
 
 During the darkest period of the Revolutionary war, Gen. 
 Washington had turned the attention of officers and soldiers 
 to the valley of the Ohio, as a place of refuge to which 
 they might retire, should the British army be successful 
 against them. The result of that war rendered such a re- 
 treat unnecessary ; notwithstanding, many of the officers 
 and soldiers of the army looked to the west as a retiring 
 place for themselves and their families, after a war of eight 
 years. Among the most prominent of this class was Gen. 
 Tupper. Indeed, in the foresight of Gen. Rufus Putnam 
 and himself, the enterprise of the settlement at Marietta 
 had its origin. 
 
 The ordinance of 1785 provided for a survey of a portion 
 of the lands northwest of the river Ohio. In the summer 
 of that year the first regiment of United States troops, or 
 one battalion of them, had taken post at the mouth of the 
 Muskingum, under the command of Maj. Doughty, and 
 erected a fort, which received the name of Fort Ilarmer. 
 In that year Gen. Rufus Putnam had been appointed to 
 command the survey of a portion of the lands in Ohio, but
 
 224 BENJAMIN TUPPER. 
 
 being otherwise engaged, Gen. Tupper was appointed in his 
 place. In the summer of that year he came as far west as 
 Pittsburg. The condition of the Indian tribes prevented the 
 execution of that work until the treaty made by Gen. Par- 
 sons, and others, on the Miami, in January, 1786. Gen. 
 Tupper returned to Massachusetts in the winter of 1785-6, 
 but left again for the west in June, 1786, with his eldest son, 
 Maj. Anselm Tupper. That season the survey of the seven 
 ranges was completed, under his direction. During that 
 season he visited Maj. Doughty, at Fort Harmer. 
 
 On Gen. Tupper's return from his first visit to the west, 
 he visited his friend, Gen. Rufus Putnam, then residing at 
 Rutland. In the language of another, "A night of friendly 
 offices and conference between them, gave at the dawn a 
 development to the cherished hope and purpose of Gen. 
 Tupper. They united in a publication which appeared in 
 the public papers of New England, on the 25th of January, 
 1780, headed ' Information,' dated January 10th, 1786, signed 
 Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Tupper." 
 
 As the result of this conference and address, the Ohio 
 Company was formed. Dr. M. Cutter, in connection with 
 Winthrop Sargent, was appointed to negotiate a contract 
 with Congress for land. At the third meeting of the com- 
 pany at Boston, August 29th, 1787, Dr. Cutter reported that 
 the contract had been completed. 
 
 The spirit of disorganization which had manifested itself 
 in Massachusetts in 1781, was not entirely eradicated; on 
 the contrary, it made its appearance in a more formidable 
 and extensive manner in 178(5-7, in what is termed Shays' 
 insurrection. The only officers of the Revolutionary army 
 engaged in this affair were Shays, who had been a captain 
 in Gen. Putnam's regiment, Capt. Wiley, and Ensign Day. 
 Each of them had a party, and their aggregate force 
 amounted to about two thousand men. "When Gen. Tupper
 
 BENJAMIN TUPPER. 225 
 
 returned from the west, after completing the survey of 
 the seven ranges, this insurrection had assumed a formida- 
 ble aspect. Immediately on his return he took an active 
 part in putting it down. The duty of calling out the militia 
 to suppress this rebellion, devolved on Gen. Shepard, who 
 acted under the orders of the governor. Gen. Tupper of- 
 fered his services to him, and acted in the capacity of volun- 
 tary aid. By his advice, and through his influence, the plan 
 of calling out the militia by drafts or in mass was abandoned, 
 and that of calling for volunteers adopted. This was a 
 measure of the first importance, as it served to distinguish 
 between the friends of the government and those who were 
 secretly infected with the spirit of rebellion. Under this 
 plan, out of a company in Chesterfield, fifteen to eighteen 
 offered their services. In the northern part of Hampshire 
 county, an entire regiment was organized for this service, 
 to meet at Chesterfield. Gen. Tupper had been appointed 
 a justice of the peace about two years previous. His ef- 
 forts, in connection with an address to the people, which he 
 had made a short time before, combined with the presence 
 of the volunteers, had made a favorable impression on 
 many persons of good standing. While the regiment raised 
 in the northern part of the county were being assembled at 
 Chesterfield, Gen. Tnpper, as magistrate, administered the 
 oath of allegiance, as prescribed by the laws of the state, 
 to many of the people. This was also a measure which 
 served to distinguish the friends of law from the mob. 
 
 The immediate object of Shays and his party was to get 
 possession of the arms and public stores at Springfield. At 
 that point, therefore, the troops raised by the state were con- 
 centrated. Gen. Tupper, after his arrival at Springfield, 
 acting under the orders of Gen. Shepard, took charge of the 
 organization of the different companies as they arrived. 
 
 He ordered the different fragments of companies into regular 
 15
 
 226 BENJAMIN TUPPEE. 
 
 order, and officered them out of the best officers on the 
 ground, lie also organized a small troop of horse, under 
 Capt. Buffington; and selected all who were in any man- 
 ner acquainted with artillery duty, adding others to them, 
 and had them all regularly trained every day. The men 
 were all armed from the arsenal, the arms being there in 
 good order, and all things were put in the best possible or- 
 der for defense. Shays was not, however, in any hurry to 
 make an attack, as he washed to increase his force. Gen. 
 Shepard's orders from the governor, were simply to defend 
 the stores; however, he made no effort to disturb any of 
 Shays' men. The consequence was that Shays' different 
 parties collected around Gen, Shepard's camp, and cut off 
 his supplies from the country. In the meantime, Gen. Lin- 
 coln had collected a body of men at Bristol, to aid Gen. 
 Shepard. Two weeks elapsed before any movement was 
 made by Gen. Lincoln. An express was sent to him, to in- 
 form him of the situation of Gen. Shepard. \Vhen the 
 express reached Gen. Lincoln, only a part of his troops 
 were ready to march, but he immediately pushed on one 
 division, by forced marches; but before they reached Spring- 
 field, Shays had made his attack, and been defeated. By 
 some means Capt. Buffington had intercepted a letter from 
 Shays to some of his subordinates, directing the manner of 
 attack. On obtaining this letter, Gen. Tuppcr took imme- 
 diate measures to fortify the camp by log forts, commenced 
 like block-houses, at each point of attack, and three brush 
 forts as outworks. This was done with great promptness 
 and dispatch. In the meantime, the troops were supplied 
 with provisions by the people of Springfield. 
 
 Shays finally advanced to attack Gen. Shepard. He was 
 repeatedly warned not to approach any nearer; but he 
 treated all these messages not only with neglect, but con- 
 tempt. Cannon were first fired over his column, but this
 
 BENJAMIN TUftPER. 221 
 
 was disregarded. At last, a field-piece wan brought to bear 
 upon Shays' advance, and the first shot killed four of his 
 men. This was a more effectual hint. They immediately 
 recoiled, broke their ranks, and (led. They were rallied by 
 Shays, at Pclham, where he remained for awhile. In con- 
 sequence of the interception of the letter from Shays to 
 some of his officers, which foil into tli hands of Capt. Buf- 
 fington, Wiley and Day, of Shays' party, were not engaged 
 in the affair at Springfield. Gen. Lincoln arrived from Bris- 
 tol on the second day after the defeat of Shays, and took 
 immediate measures to dislodge Day from West Springfield, 
 and Wiley from Chickopee bridge ; but before the movement 
 could be made, they had fallen back, and joined Shays at 
 Pelham. Some of their men were taken prisoners at West 
 Springfield. Such of them as would take the oath of alle- 
 giance, were sent home, and the rest detained as prisoners. 
 Shays retreated to Petersham, where his adherents were 
 finally dispersed by Gen. Lincoln. Before this, however, 
 Gen. Putnam made an ineffectual attempt to withdraw 
 Shays from his party, but failed to accomplish his object. 
 Shays himself appeared disposed to listen to the advice of 
 Gen. Putnam, but he informed the general that his friends 
 would not suffer him to leave them. 
 
 Within a day or two after the defeat of Shays at Spring- 
 field, Gen. Tapper was discharged, and returned at North- 
 ampton, where he was visited by many of his old friends. 
 Known also as having visited the Ohio country, many per- 
 sons called upon him to inquire about the lands, rivers, <fcc., 
 of the valley of the Ohio. In the spring he went to Worcester 
 to sec Gen. Putnam, and concert measures to set forward the 
 proposed emigration to Ohio. Dr. Cutler having completed 
 the contract for lands, the first thing to be done was to raise 
 the money necessary for their object. Many formidable dif- 
 ficulties which attended the organization of the company
 
 228 BENJAMIN T UPPER. 
 
 were overcome, and Gen. Tupper began his own arrange- 
 ments for moving to the Ohio in the summer of 1787. At 
 that period wagon-makers were not common, even in New 
 England. One, however, was obtained, and two wagons 
 were built, one for the family, the other for their baggage 
 With his own family, including that of Ichabod Nye, his son- 
 in-law, that of Col. Nathaniel Gushing, and Maj. Goodale, 
 they made their way to the Ohio river, which they reached 
 at Wellsburg, then Buffalo, where they were joined by the 
 family of Maj. Coburn and his son-in-law, Andrew Webster. 
 These families formed, in fact, the first settlers of Ohio, and 
 arrived at Marietta on the 9th of August, 1788. The men 
 who came on with Gen. Putnam, had none of them families 
 with them, and had been previously discharged. 
 
 After his arrival at Marietta, Gen. Tupper was actively 
 engaged in promoting the plans and interests of the Ohio 
 company, being intimately associated with Gen. Putnam in 
 the management of its affairs. 
 
 On the 9th of September, 1788, the first civil court in the 
 Northwestern Territory was held at Col. Battelle's, in 
 Campus Martins. This was the Court of Quarter Sessions. 
 Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper were justices of the 
 quorum, assisted by justices of the bar. 
 
 Judge Putnam gave the charge to the grand jury. After 
 one or two sessions Judge Tupper presided, until his death, 
 in June, 1792. 
 
 At an early period in his life, Gen. Tupper made a pub- 
 lic profession of the Christian religion, by uniting with the 
 Congregational church at Eastern. After his arrival at Ma- 
 rietta, lie did not forget his obligation. His efforts were 
 directed to preserve to his family and associates the ben- 
 efits of public and social worship of God. Before the 
 arrival of the Rev. Daniel Story, the first minister, meet- 
 ing.-i for social worship were held on the Sabbath. The
 
 BENJAMIN TUrPER. 229 
 
 usual place of worship was the same room in which the 
 first court was held, near the west corner of the stockade. 
 
 Gen. Tupper had seven children, three sons and four 
 daughters. His sons were Anselm, Edward White, and Ben- 
 jamin Tupper. 
 
 Maj. Anselm Tupper died at Marietta on the 25th of De- 
 cember, 1808. Col. Benjamin Tupper died at Putnam, in 
 February, 1815. Gen. Edward W. Tupper died at Gallipolis, 
 in 1823. His daughter, Miss Rosoma, who married Gov. 
 Winthrop Sargeant, died at Marietta, in 1790. Sophia, who 
 married Nathaniel Willys, Esq., now of Conn., then of Mass., 
 died in October, 1789. Minerva married Col. Ichabod Nye, 
 and died at Marietta in April, 1830. The other daughter 
 died young, before the family emigrated to Ohio. The 
 only representative of the family bearing the family name, 
 is Edward W. Tupper, of Putnam, son of Benjamin Tup- 
 per, jun.
 
 COL. EBENEZER SPROAT. 
 
 COL. EBENEZER SPROAT was born in Middleborough, Mass., 
 in the year 1752. He was the son of Col. Ebenezer Sproat, 
 a respectable yeoman, who owned one of the finest farms 
 in that vicinity, with a large, commodious dwelling-house, 
 which, for many years before, and during the Revolutionary 
 war, was occupied as a tavern. Like his son, he was an 
 uncommonly tall and portly man. He was a colonel in the 
 militia ; and the venerable John Rowland, from whom many 
 of these facts were derived, says, that when the British took 
 possession of Newport and a part of Rhode Island, he per- 
 formed a tour of duty with his regiment in Providence. A 
 brother of Ebenezer w r as a lawyer, and settled in Taunton. 
 
 His early education must have been the best the schools 
 afforded at that day, as he'was familiar with the principles 
 and practice of surveying. During his boyhood and youth, 
 he assisted his father in cultivating the farm ; and when the 
 war of Independence commenced, it found him in the prime 
 of manhood, with a frame invigorated by the toils of agri- 
 culture, and fitted, by labor, to undergo all the perils and 
 hardships of a .soldiers life. He entered the service as cap- 
 tain of a company, and soon rose to the post of major, in 
 the tenth regiment of the Massachusetts line, commanded 
 by Col. Shepherd. In 1778, Glover's brigade of four regi- 
 ments was stationed at Providence, at which time he was a 
 lieutenant-colonel, and said to be the tallest man in the brig- 
 ade, being six feet and four inches high, with limbs formed 
 in nature's most perfect model. In the duties of his station, 
 he excelled as much as in size, being the most complete
 
 EBENEZKR SPKOA.T. '^1 
 
 disciplinarian in the brigade. His social habits, pleas- 
 ant, agreeable manners, and cheerful disposition, rendered 
 him a general favorite with the officers, as well as with the, 
 private soldiers, who always followed with alacrity, wher- 
 ever he led. Of the dangers and perils of the war, he. 
 partook largely, being engaged in the battles of Trenton, 
 Princeton, Monmouth, and many others. His superior tact 
 and excellence in discipline attracted the notice of Gen. 
 Steuben, who appointed him inspector of the brigade, which 
 office he filled with great credit to himself, and the entire 
 satisfaction of the baron. 
 
 Near the close of the war, he was engaged in the follow- 
 ing affair, which is thus related by Dr. Thatcher, in his jour- 
 nal of military events: "In the mutiny which broke out in 
 January, 1781, in the New Jersey line, stationed at Pomp- 
 ton, in New Jersey, a detachment of five hundred men was 
 ordered out to suppress it. In this detachment Col. Sproat 
 was second in command, and Maj. Oliver one of the field- 
 officers. The distance from the main encampment was 
 thirty or forty miles, and the snow two feet deep ; it took 
 nearly four days to accomplish the march. When they 
 came in sight of the insurgents, Gen. Robert Howe, the 
 commander, ordered his men to load their arms; and as 
 some of the officers distrusted the faithfulness of their own 
 men, so prevalent was disaffection in the army, that, before 
 making the attack, lie harangued the troops on the heinous- 
 ness of the crime of mutiny, and the absolute necessity of 
 military subordination; that the mutineers must be brought 
 to an unconditional submission. The men entered fully into 
 the patriotic spirit of their officers, and marching with the 
 greatest alacrity, surrounded the huts so as to admit of no 
 escape. Gen. Howe ordered his aid-de-camp to command 
 the mutineers to parade in front of their huts, unarmed, in 
 five minutes. Observing them to hesitate, a second message
 
 232 EBENEZER SPROAT. 
 
 was sent, when they instantly obeyed, and paraded in a line, 
 unarmed, two or three hundred in number. The general 
 then ordered three of the ringleaders to be selected for con- 
 dign punishment. These unfortunate men were tried on 
 the spot, Col. Sproat being president of the court-martial, 
 standing on the snow, and they were sentenced to be shot 
 immediately. Twelve of the most active mutineers were 
 selected for their executioners. This was a most painful 
 task, and some of them, when ordered to load their guns, 
 shed tears. Two of them suffered death on the spot; the 
 third one was pardoned, as being less guilty, on the repre- 
 sentation of their officers. Never were men more com- 
 pletely humbled and penitent. Tears of sorrow and of joy 
 streamed from their eyes, and each one seemed to congrat- 
 ulate himself that his forfeited life had been spared. The 
 general then addressed the men in a very pathetic and im- 
 pressive manner : showing the enormity of their crime, and 
 the inevitable ruin to the cause of the country, to which it 
 would lead. They remained true and faithful soldiers to 
 the end of the war." 
 
 This was a sorrowful and heart-rending duty to Col. 
 Sproat: with his tender feelings and love for all engaged 
 in the cause of freedom, the effect must have been great. 
 The time made it still more impressive : the depth of winter, 
 the white snow, an emblem of innocence, crimsoned with 
 the blood of his fellow-soldiers, shed by their own comrades, 
 and not in battle, rendered the sight one not to be forgotten 
 while life should last. But order and military subordination 
 demanded this sacrifice to duty, and he could not retreat. 
 These men had served their country faithfully, probably for 
 three or four years ; had suffered hunger, and cold, and 
 nakedness ; had sometimes been without any food, and for 
 weeks lived on a half or a third of a ration of the poorest 
 kind of meat. Their wages were often withheld, and when
 
 E B E N E Z E li S 1' It A T . 233 
 
 paid at all, were in a depreciated government paper, thirty 
 dollars of which, at this time, were worth only one in specie, 
 and there was little prospect of its being any better. Some 
 of them had families at home .suffering like themselves. 
 That men should become desperate under such circumstances 
 is human nature; the greatest wonder was that the whole 
 army had not revolted and turned their arms against Con- 
 gress until they had redressed their grievances. 
 
 It is greatly to the credit of New England that no revolts 
 or mutinies took place amongst her troops. The strict prin- 
 ciples of obedience impressed in early childhood on her sons 
 by their Puritan fathers, gave them a Spartan cast of char- 
 acter, while the intelligence imparted to their minds by their 
 common schools, gave the whole population a decided su- 
 periority of intellect over the common soldiers of the mid- 
 dle and southern states. Nearly every man was a patriot, 
 and they suffered little or nothing compared with these 
 states, from the effects of Tory principles, which were pro- 
 ductive of more real suffering to the inhabitants, where they 
 prevailed, than all the ravages of the British armies. Well 
 might Washington exclaim, on those trying occasions, "God 
 bless the New England troops!" A mighty debt of grati- 
 tude is still owing to the memory of these patriotic men, 
 who stood firm under all these trials, and accomplished the 
 work of independence in spite of foes without and foes 
 within. Their contests with poverty and want were five 
 times more severe than all their battles with the enemy. 
 
 Having served through the war with credit to himself and 
 the regiment to which he belonged, and witnessed the ac- 
 knowledgment of the freedom of his country by the British, 
 and the reception of the United States as an independent 
 sovereignty amongst the nations of the earth, he retired 
 satisfied, to the pursuits of private life. As a proof of his 
 attachment to the common soldiers, and all who were or had
 
 234 EBENEZER SPROAT. 
 
 been engaged in fighting the enemies of his country, the 
 following anecdote is related. 
 
 Col. Sproat was, all his life, fond of keen repartee, and a 
 good joke, whenever an opportunity to exercise it occurred. 
 At an early period of the war, while he was a captain, he 
 was at home on a short furlough. His father, as has been 
 before noticed, kept a house of entertainment, more espe- 
 cially for eating than drinking. While there, three private 
 soldiers, on their way home from the army, called for a cold 
 luncheon. His mother set on the table some bread and 
 cheese, with the remains of the family dinner, which Ebcn- 
 ezer thought rather scanty fare for hungry men, and espe- 
 cially as the bones were already pretty bare. He felt a 
 little vexed, that the defenders of the country were not 
 more bountifully supplied. After satisfying their appetites, 
 they inquired of him, how much was to pay? lie replied 
 he did not know, but would ask his mother; so, going to 
 the kitchen door, where she was busy with her domestic con- 
 cerns, he inquired, " Mother, how much is it worth to pick 
 those bones?" She replied, "About a shilling, I suppose." 
 He returned to the room, and taking from the drawer in the 
 bar. three shillings, with a smiling face, handed each man 
 one. wishing them a good day and pleasant journey home. 
 The soldiers departed, much gratified with their kind usage. 
 Soon after they had gone, his mother came in, and asked 
 Ebenezer what he had done with the money for their din- 
 ners? In apparent amazement, he exclaimed, "Money! did 
 I not ask you what it was worth to pick those bones ; and 
 you replied, a shilling? I thought it little enough for such 
 a job. and handed them the money from the till, and they 
 are gone." It was such a good joke, and so characteristic 
 of her favorite son, that she bore it without complaining. 
 
 After the close of the war, he lived, for some time, in 
 Providence, employing himself occasionally at surveying.
 
 EBENEZER S PR OAT. 235 
 
 Here he became acquainted with Miss Catharine Whipple, 
 the daughter of Com. Abraham Whipple, and was united 
 with her in marriage. Her father presented her, as a mar- 
 riage portion, hi* own dwelling-house and lot, in Westmin- 
 ster street, Providence, and retired to his farm in Cranston, 
 a few miles distant. 
 
 Soon after this marriage, he entered into merchandise; 
 purchasing a large store of goods from Nightingale and 
 Clark, a noted importing house of that day. Being entirely 
 unacquainted with mercantile affairs, fond of company and 
 generous living, with the liberal habits of a soldier, in the 
 full vigor of life, it is not to be wondered at, if he did not 
 excel in trade, as he had done in military matters. Nothing 
 can be more unlike than the two callings ; and out of hun- 
 dreds who tried it, scarcely one succeeded. He had no taste 
 for his new business, and in a short time he failed ; swal- 
 lowing up his wife's patrimony, as well as his own resources. 
 
 About this time, 178G, Congress ordered the first surveys 
 of their lands, west of the Ohio river, to be executed. Seven 
 ranges of townships, beginning on the Ohio, at the western 
 boundary line of Pennsylvania, were directed to be pre- 
 pared for market. Col. Sproat was appointed the surveyor 
 for the state of Rhode Island, and commenced operations 
 in the fall of that year. The hostility of the Indians pre- 
 vented the completion of the work, and his range was not 
 finished until the following season. 
 
 In 1789, the Ohio Company was formed, and he was ap- 
 pointed one of the surveyors of their new purchases, for 
 which his hardy frame and great resolution eminently fitted 
 him. In the autumn of 1780, they resolved to send on a 
 company of boat-builders and artificers to the head waters 
 of the Ohio at Simrel's ferry, for the purpose of preparing 
 boats for the transportation of the provision and men, to 
 commence the colon}' in the spring. Col. Sproat led one of
 
 236 EBENEZER SPROAT. 
 
 these detachments. On their way out the following incident 
 occurred, to lighten the tediousness of the way : The party 
 arrived at the house of a thrifty German farmer, near the 
 foot of the mountains, on Saturday night. He received 
 them with the greatest hospitality, supplying all their wants 
 with cheerfulness, and when Monday morning arrived, wished 
 them a favorable journey; and so pleased was he with his 
 wayfaring acquaintance, that he refused any pay. Col. 
 Sproat not only returned him his sincere thanks, but felt 
 grateful for his kindness. The hospitable German had a 
 beautiful little dog, to which he was much attached and 
 greatly valued. One of the laboring hands, named Danton, 
 had the baseness to put him into the wagon, unknown to 
 any one. When they stopped again for the night, a mes- 
 senger placed in the hands of the colonel the following note 
 from his German friend: "Meeshter Col. Sproat, I dinks 
 I use you w r ell ; den for what you steal my little tog?" The 
 colonel was much mortified and greatly enraged when the 
 dog was found, but met with an opportunity of sending him 
 back the following morning, with a polite, explanatory note, 
 to his master. Danton never outgrew the infamy of this 
 nefarious act, but had it often cast at him in his future life. 
 The detachment, after great fatigue, reached their desti- 
 nation, and spent the remainder of the winter in building a 
 large boat called the May-flower, in remembrance of the 
 vessel that transported their forefathers to a new home, as 
 this was to convey the pilgrims o'f the west to their home in 
 the wilderness. The party arrived at the mouth of the 
 Muskingum on the 7th of April, 1788. Col. Sproat imme- 
 diately commenced his labors as surveyor for the company, 
 and continued them until the breaking out of the war in 
 January, 1791, when all further operations in the woods were 
 suspended. Many of the savages visited the new settlement 
 to see the Bostonians, as they were called, and to exchange
 
 EBENEZER S P U A T . 237 
 
 their moat, skins, and peltry, for goods with the traders at 
 Marietta and Fort Ilarmer. The tall, commanding person 
 of Col. Sproat, soon attracted their attention, and they gave 
 him the name of Hetuck, or Big Buckeye. From tliis, 
 no doubt, originated the name of Buckeye, now applied to 
 the natives of Ohio, as the phrase was familiar to all the 
 early settlers of Marietta. 
 
 On the arrival of Gov. St. Clair and the organization of 
 the county of Washington, he commissioned him as sheriff, 
 which post he held for fourteen years, or until the formation 
 of the state government, when a change in the political 
 measures of the administration threw him out of office. He 
 was also, at the same time, commissioned as colonel of the 
 militia. In the fall of 1790, just before the commencement 
 of the attack on the settlements, he was authorized by Gen. 
 Knox, secretary of war, to enlist a company of soldiers for 
 the defense of the colony, appoint rangers, and superintend 
 the military affairs of the United States in Washington 
 county, with the pay of a major, which post he filled with 
 fidelity, to the satisfaction of the settlers and the government. 
 His experience in military matters, was of great advantage 
 to the inhabitants, while his bold, undaunted manner, in- 
 spired them with courage in times of greatest danger. 
 
 His family arrived here, with Com. Whipple, in 1789. It 
 consisted of his wife and one daughter. After the close of 
 the war she married Solomon Sibley, Esq., of Detroit, who 
 commenced the practice of law in Marietta. 
 
 As sheriff of the county, he opened the first court ever 
 held in the territory, now Ohio, marching with his drawn 
 sword and wand of office, at the head of the judges, gov- 
 ernor, secretary, &c., preceded by a military escort, from 
 the Point to the northwest block-house of Campus Mar- 
 tius, on the 2d day of September, 1788. It was an august 
 spectacle, conducted with great dignity and decorum, making
 
 238 EBENEZER S PR OAT. 
 
 a deep impression on the red men of the forest, many of 
 whom witnessed the ceremonies, and at this time bestowed 
 on him the Indian name, by which they ever after desig- 
 nated him. 
 
 During the whole period of the war he performed his du- 
 ties as superintendent of the military posts at Belpre, 
 Waterford, and Marietta, and paymaster to the rangers 
 and colonial troops. These certificates of dues for services 
 rendered the Ohio Company for they too kept up a mili- 
 tary band at their own expense as well as the United 
 States, served in place of money, and formed nearly all the 
 currency afloat during the five years of the war. They 
 were generally for small sums, and taken in payment for 
 goods at the stores, who received their cash for them in 
 Philadelphia, and also passed as a tender between the in- 
 habitants. Had it not been for these assignats, the suf- 
 ferings of the settlers would have been much greater. It is 
 said by Col. Convers, who resided at Waterford, that he did 
 not believe that settlement, in 1792, could have raised ten 
 dollars in specie' amongst them. They had little or nothing 
 to sell, and experienced the greatest difficulty in producing 
 the common necessaries of life. The Ohio Company ex- 
 pended more than eleven thousand dollars of their funds in 
 defending the settlements, which was never repaid them by 
 the United States, as it in justice ought to have been. 
 
 In disposition and temperament, Col. Sproat was cheer- 
 ful and animated; exceedingly fond of company and jovial 
 entertainments; much attached to horses and dogs; always 
 riding in his long journeys over the country, then embra- 
 cing half the state of Ohio, some of the finest horses the 
 country afforded, and generally accompanied by two or three 
 large dogs, who, next to horses, shared largely in his favors. 
 In executing the sterner requisitions of the law among the 
 poorer classes of society, he has been often known to furnish
 
 EBENEZKIl SPIIOAT. ^39 
 
 the money himself for the payment of the debt, rather 
 than distress an indigent family. His. heart, although full 
 of merriment and playfulness, overflowed with kindness. 
 lie. had no enemies but those of a political kind. In per- 
 sonal appearance, he was remarkable for his tall, majestic 
 figure, and exact proportions; towering like a Said, a full 
 head above the Light of other men. 
 
 The office of sheriff was filled with great dignity and 
 propriety, commanding by his noble presence and military 
 bearing the strictest silence and decorum from the audience, 
 while the court were sitting; and when on duty, wearing his 
 sword as an emblem of justice, as well as of execution in 
 fulfilling the requirements of law. This badge of office was 
 very appropriate, and was kept up in several of the states 
 for many years after the war, but, like many other good and 
 wholesome usages, has given way under the prevalence of 
 ultra democratic principles. 
 
 He was a Federalist of the old school, warmly attached 
 
 "t 
 
 to his country and to the precepts taught by his venerated 
 commander, Gen. Washington, in the times which tried 
 men's souls. 
 
 For several years of the latter part of his life he devoted 
 his leisure time to cultivating the earth, for which lie ever 
 retained a strong predilection, formed in early youth. He 
 was fond of the rougher kinds of labor, such as driving a 
 team of young oxen, r.nd in ascending a hill with a load 
 beyond the strength of liK; team, delighted in applying his 
 shoulder to the wheel, and helping them out; of the difficulty. 
 Gardening was another favorite pursuit. The bank of Ma- 
 rietta now occupies one corner of his garden, which covered 
 nearly an acre. It was laid out in squares and spacious 
 walks, very tastefully, embracing ornamental shrubs, and 
 all the varieties of fruits cultivated in the middle, states. 
 An ancient pear tree is still standing, planted by his hand.
 
 240 EBENEZER S PRO AT. 
 
 The garden was kept in nice order by an old black woman 
 named Suke, who outlived him many years, but always 
 spoke of her kind, old Master Sproat, in terms of exalted 
 admiration. 
 
 The dwelling house is now owned by Capt. Daniel Green, 
 and is a specimen of New England architecture very cred- 
 itable to the period in which it was built, nearly fifty 
 years ago. 
 
 He died suddenly, in the full vigor of health, in February, 
 1805, having his oft-repeated wish of a sudden exit fully 
 answered. His memory is held in grateful remembrance 
 by all who knew him.
 
 CATT. JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 FROM the earliest ages, and even from the first invention 
 of letters, it has been one of the most pleasing duties of the 
 historian to record the lives and actions of distinguished 
 and useful men. In this way a kind of immortality is given 
 to their names, and they live again amidst the descend- 
 ants of future generations; their good deeds stimulating 
 others to imitate their virtuous and praiseworthy examples. 
 Abounding, as the first colony of the Ohio Company set- 
 tlers did, with excellent men, in numbers and qualifications 
 far exceeding those of any other settlement in the valley of 
 the Ohio, yet few of them were more deserving than the. 
 subject of the following memoir. 
 
 Jonathan Devol was born at Tiverton, in the colony of 
 Rhode Island, in the year 175G. His ancestors were of 
 French descent. His father settled in Rhode Island, and 
 was a dealer in West India produce. The mother belonged 
 to the sect called Quakers, who in that day composed a 
 large portion of the inhabitants ; the mild sway of Roger 
 Williams encouraging perfect freedom of conscience, and 
 good-will to all mankind. The family was quite numerous, 
 he being the youngest of seven sons. 
 
 School.- of learning, before the Revolutionary war, were 
 of rare occurrence, and his whole education was embraced 
 in one year's schooling. Jt fortunately happened that his 
 father possessed a small library of choice books, from the 
 perusal of which he reaped vain able instruction, and ac- 
 quired a taste for reading that never forsook him in after 
 
 life. When quite young he learned the trade of a ship 
 16
 
 242 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 carpenter, and in manhood became quite noted for his skill 
 in constructing boats of beautiful model and rapid sailing. 
 One of his boats took a purse of fifty guineas, in a 
 race between some gentlemen amateurs of Newport and 
 Providence, where this manly sport was brought to great 
 perfection. 
 
 When the war for independence broke out between Great 
 Britain and the colonies, he took the side of his country, 
 and before he was twenty years old, received a commission 
 as ensign. In October, 1775, on the first call for troops for 
 the interior defense of the colony, he marched with a part 
 of a company of men, and joined the regiment to which he 
 belonged, on the hights back of the town of Newport. In 
 December following, he was appointed to the same rank, in 
 a regiment enlisted for a year. In June, 1776, he was com- 
 missioned as a lieutenant in the continental service. In 
 December following, he was promoted to the adjutancy of 
 the first regiment in a brigade raised to repel the British, 
 who had invaded Rhode Island. 
 
 In July, 1777, he resigned that post, in consequence of 
 being superseded in the promotion of the adjutant of the 
 second regiment, to the vacancy of brigade-major, to his 
 wrong, and retired to private life, as any spirited man would 
 have done, in a similar case. This disregard to the military 
 rates of promotion, in the early years of the war, was a 
 source of heart-burnings and of serious injury to the cause, 
 until corrected by more just views of this important spring 
 in the service. 
 
 In September of the same year, he acted as a volunteer 
 in the badly conducted expedition of Gen. Spencer, against 
 the British in Rhode Island. After the evacuation of the 
 island, in January, 1780, he retired to Tiverton, and was 
 appointed to a captaincy in the militia. While occupied in 
 the busy scenes of that eventful period, he was often selected
 
 JONATHAN DEVOL. 213 
 
 to conduct hazardous expeditions above his rank, and for 
 several services of this kind, received the thanks of the com- 
 manding general of the troops on this station. Amongst 
 other dangerous exploits, was the following, of cutting out 
 a British brig from under the stern of a twenty gun ship, in 
 the outer harbor of Newport. 
 
 On the evening of the llth of April. 177(5, there arrived 
 in the roadstead of Newport, a sloop-of-war of twenty guns, 
 a transport-ship of eighteen guns, with a brig and sloop a.s 
 tenders ; the latter were moored directly under their sterns. 
 A plan was soon arranged for making an attack on them 
 with the row galleys then in port. To effect this, it was ne- 
 cessary to procure a party of volunteers from the brigade, 
 then quartered in the town of Newport. Lieut. Devol was 
 at that time sick in bed, with an attack of the mumps; and 
 nothing but the certain failure of the measure, from the 
 want of his assistance, could have induced him to leave his 
 room. In a short time he procured twenty volunteers to 
 accompany him in the hazardous attempt. They embarked 
 on board the galley of Capt. Grimes, the commodore of the 
 station, about eleven o'clock, in a dark, rainy night. She 
 was Avorked with oars, and carried one long eighteen- 
 pounder. The captain attempted to lay the galley along- 
 side the brig, intending to carry her by boarding ; but the 
 force of the tide, and the imperfection of the human vision 
 in the darkness of the night, caused the galley to fall upon 
 her quarter. Lieut. Devol. at the head of his boarders, who 
 stood ready to spring up the side of the enemy, as soon as 
 the vessels came in contact, now mounted over her quarter, 
 followed by only five of his men. the others being prevented 
 by the falling off of the galley, before they could get on 
 board. \Vhile in the act of climbing over the quarter, the 
 sentinel on deck hailed, and fired his musket down among 
 the assailant?; the ball passed very near the head of Mr.
 
 244 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 Dcvol, who instantly returned the salute with one of his 
 pistols. Followed by his five brave men, he was soon on 
 the deck of the brig, and, cutlass in hand, drove the midship- 
 man who had command, with ten men, below, and instantly 
 fastened the hatches down upon them. The next act was 
 to cut loose the cable and get their prize under way. In 
 performing this service, they had a tedious time; for the 
 axe and the carpenter were both left in the galley, with the 
 residue of the boarders. In this dilemma, recourse was had 
 to a cutlass, and by repeated and strenuous hacks in the 
 dark, they, at length, after thirty minutes, divided the four- 
 teen inch cable by which she was moored, and the tide soon 
 put her in motion. In the meantime, the twenty gun ship 
 had got under way, and came down on her larboard side, to 
 the rescue of the tender. The galley had now recovered 
 her lost ground by the aid of her sweeps, and came up on 
 the starboard side, just as the cable gave way, so that as 
 the prize swung round she fell foul of the galley. The 
 ship all this time kept firing into her, both with cannon and 
 musketry, but from the darkness and confusion of the night, 
 did but little damage, except to her rigging and spars, with 
 the loss of one man mortally wounded. As soon as the gal- 
 Icy was free, she opened her fire on the ship with her long 
 gun. The enemy soon gave up the pursuit, and the brig, 
 with her crew, was brought in and moored at the wharf in 
 Newport. 
 
 This was as brave and gallant an exploit as was enacted 
 during the war. Had the whole twenty men succeeded in 
 boarding the brig, it would have been a bold achievement, 
 considering how near she lay to the twenty gun ship. But 
 when the number is reduced to five, to oppose ten men on 
 their o\vn deck, it deserves all our praise. And then to 
 stand for twenty or thirty minutes, hacking at the cable with 
 .urh an inrfiicient tool, exposed to the constant fire of the
 
 JONATHAN DEVOL. 245 
 
 enemy, required the utmost coolness and intrepidity. The 
 effects of this night's exposure to the rain and cold, confined 
 Mr. Devol to his bed for a long time, and laid the founda- 
 tion of a disease from which he severely suffered for the last 
 twenty years of his life. 
 
 On the 1st of May, 1777, a party of British and Hessians 
 were seen from the American look-out, at Battery hill, on 
 the main land, about a mile and a half from their lines on 
 the island, in search of deserters that had come off the night 
 before. Lieut. Devol, with twenty men, was ordered over 
 across the inlet, near Rowland's ferry, to attack them. 
 He landed his party undiscovered. Two men were left in 
 charge of the boats, and one sent to an adjacent eminence 
 to give notice of any other body of their foes that might be 
 in sight. With seventeen men he charged at full speed on 
 the enemy. They immediately tied, and their commander, 
 a lieutenant in the twenty-second regiment, fell a prisoner 
 into their hands. The party under his orders consisted of 
 twenty-five men, as confessed by himself. They were hotly 
 pursued as near to the lines as was prudent. Soon after 
 the British took possession of Newport, a number of the 
 disaffected inhabitants of Ilhode Island, called Tories, joined 
 them. These renegades from their country's cause, felt a 
 greater inveteracy to the Whigs than the British themselves, 
 and sought every opportunity to distress and destroy them. 
 One dark night they fitted out a marauding party from New- 
 port, in a swift sail-boat, manned with ten or twelve men, 
 who were well acquainted with the adjacent country along 
 the shores and inlets of the bay which embosom the island. 
 In this expedition they attacked and plundered the house of 
 Job Amy, an old but very respectable citizen, robbing him 
 of a part of his furniture, and considerable valuable plate, 
 taking the old man also with them, hoping to extort money 
 from him by way of ransom. His sou Job, an active young
 
 246 JONATHAN DEYOL. 
 
 man, was so fortunate as to escape by jumping out of a 
 chamber window, and half-dressed as he was, hastened with 
 all speed to Rowland's ferry, where Mr. Devol then lived, 
 knowing that he commanded a party of men and one of the 
 swiftest boats, for the purpose of rescuing the inhabitants 
 and harassing the enemy. The distance he had to run was 
 about ten miles, which he performed in an incredibly short 
 time, along the sandy beach of the shores, lie reached the 
 ferry about midnight, across which he had to swim, and awak- 
 ening Mr. Devol, related the disasters of the night. He di- 
 rected him to go and arouse the boat's crew, while he 
 procured a keg of water and some provisions. In a few 
 minutes all were ready, and Job entered with them as a vol- 
 unteer in the cruise. Knowing the course which the robber 
 boat must pursue in her return to Newport, they concluded 
 that if they could reach Sckonet Point, a noted headland, 
 which she must pass, they could overtake them before they 
 arrived within reach of the protection of the British shipping, 
 and recover the plunder, as well as make prisoners of the 
 crew, and release their own friends whom they had forced 
 away with them. By great exertion in rowing and the ut- 
 most skill in sailing, they hove in sight of the point just as 
 the day dawned, and made out the robber boat a short mile 
 distant. Bill Crowson, the commander of the Tory crew, a 
 violent villain and robber, espied his pursuers at the same 
 time; expecting that lie might, possibly, be intercepted from 
 the escape of Job Amy; and yet the distance was so great 
 that he did not believe he could travel that far in so short a 
 space of time as to bring Devol down upon him by day- 
 light. One of Crowson's prisoners, an active, bold man, as 
 soon as he saw the pursuing boat jumped upon the thwarts, 
 and swinging his hat, shouted with all his might, saying he, 
 knew it was Devol's boat, one of the swiftest in all those 
 waters, and they should surely be retaken. Bill d cl
 
 JONATHAN D E V O L . 247 
 
 him for an impudent rebel, and with a terrible oath, swore 
 if ho did not seat himself quietly in the boat, as the motion 
 disturbed her sailing, he would shoot him on the spot. He 
 boldly answered that he dare not do it, for his friends would 
 shortly be up with him and revenge his death. His predic- 
 tion was soon verified. DevoPs crew, by great exertions 
 with their oar.s, as well as the nicely adjusted sails under his 
 own care, soon ran along side, and on being ordered to sur- 
 render in a tone that meant to be obeyed, they gave up with- 
 out firing a shot, although manned by a more numerous 
 crew. Knowing their cause to be a dastardly one, they 
 could not defend it with the courage of men who have right 
 and justice on their side. After the surrender, the young 
 man who had been ill-treated and abused by Crows on, 
 sprang at him with a sword which he snatched from the hand 
 of one of the men, and would have put him to death but 
 for the interference of Mr. Devol, who could not suffer a 
 prisoner to be injured, however mean and villainous he 
 might be. The boat returned in triumph with her prize, 
 although the British fleet lay at anchor within gunshot of 
 the spot. Crowson was such a. notorious rascal, that the in- 
 habitants of Tiverton were with difficulty restrained from 
 hanging him up without trial. He was, however, sent off 
 under a guard to Taunton jail, and confined as a British 
 prisoner. Job Amy, the young man who gave the alarm, 
 never recovered from the exertions of that night, but died of 
 a consumption before the end of a year. 
 
 In 177(5, Capt. Devol married Miss Nancy Barker, the 
 daughter of Capt. Isaac Barker, for many years a noted 
 ship-master of Xewport. Her father was lost at sea some 
 years before the war, and she, with her widowed mother and 
 several sisters, now resided on a farm, near the center of die 
 island, on the road from Ilowland's ferry to Newport. When 
 the British troops took possession of the place, many of the
 
 248 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 inhabitants were suffered to remain quietly in their houses. 
 Mrs. Barker was one of this number, and three or four of 
 the officers were quartered the winter following at her house. 
 They, however, treated her and the young ladies very po- 
 litely and paid her honorably for their board. The fiery 
 and patriotic spirit of the young lieutenant could not brook 
 the thought of his betrothed remaining in the society of the 
 enemies of his country, lest their fascinating manners and 
 rich dresses should lessen her devotion to the Whig cause. 
 He accordingly, after giving her timely notice, planned an 
 expedition on to the island with a party of men, and one 
 dark wintry night, at the imminent hazard of his life from 
 the sentries, brought off his intended wife in safety. Shortly 
 after this event, they were married at the house of an elder 
 sister, near Fairhaven. This union proved to be a very 
 happy one, though checkered with many vicissitudes. She 
 was the mother of thirteen children, and shared with him 
 the dangers and privations of settling a new country in the 
 wilderness, amidst the horrors of an Indian war. 
 
 After the close of the Revolution, and he had witnessed 
 the triumph of his country over her enemies, he settled down 
 in quiet at Rowland's ferry. Here he carried on the boat- 
 building, and kept a small store of groceries. 
 
 When the Ohio Company was formed in 1789, he became 
 one of the associates. In the autumn of that year, he joined 
 the little band of pioneers who preceded the actual settlers 
 with their families, and spent the winter on the Youghiogheny 
 river, at Simrel's ferry. Here he was employed by Gen. 
 Putnam to superintend the building of a large boat for the 
 transport of the advance guard of the Ohio Company and 
 their provisions to the mouth of the Muskingum. She was 
 named by the adventurers, the May-flower. This is said to 
 have been the first decked boat that ever floated on the Ohio. 
 She was built with stout timbers and knees like a galley,
 
 J N A T II A N 1) K V L . '-MU 
 
 with the bottom raking fore and aft, and decked over with 
 planks. The deck was sufficiently high for a man to walk 
 upright under the beams, and the sides so thick as to resist 
 a riile bullet. The steersman and rowers were thus safely 
 sheltered from the attack of enemies, on the banks. She 
 was forty-live feet in length and twelve in breadth. Subse- 
 quently, gangboards were added on the outside, so that she 
 could be pushed against the current with poles, like a keel- 
 boat; and was used in transporting a number of the colonial 
 families from Buffalo, above Wheeling, to Marietta, in the 
 summer of 1788. It was at first supposed she could be 
 worked up stream with sail, but the variable nature and un- 
 certainty of the winds on the Ohio river, frustrated their 
 arrangement. 
 
 After the pioneer corps had established themselves at the 
 mouth of the Muskingum, he was actively engaged in the 
 erection of the stockaded garrison, called Campus 31artius. 
 This imposing structure answered the double purpose of a 
 fort and for dwelling-houses. Within these walls the col- 
 onists were safe from the attack of Indians. The block- 
 houses, as well as the dwellings which formed the curtains 
 between, were built of planks four inches thick, and eighteen 
 or twenty inches wide, sawed by hand from the huge poplar 
 trees which grew near the ground occupied by the garrison. 
 These were dovetailed together at the corners, and with the 
 smooth surface left by the whip-saw, gave to the exterior a 
 finished and beautiful aspect. The fort, as it, may well be 
 called, was a square of one hundred and eighty feet on each 
 side, as figured in the preceding volume. The settlers were 
 allowed to build a part of the dwelling-houses in the cur- 
 tains for themselves, after the plan laid dov/n by Gen Put- 
 nam. Capt. Devol built one on his own account, forty feet 
 long by eighteen wide, and two stories high, furnished with
 
 250 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 neat brick chimneys, a kiln being made and burned the first 
 season. 
 
 Mrs. Devol, with live children, came on and joined him 
 in December, as narrated in the Pioneer, vol. ii. The fol- 
 lowing winter his house sheltered seventy persons, young 
 and old, so few were the finished dwellings. The summer 
 of 1789 was spent in completing the works at Campus Mar- 
 tius, and in the winter he was employed with two others in 
 exploring the lands of the company for suitable spots for 
 mills, and to commence farming settlements. In February, 
 1790, he moved his family to Belpre, and settled on a small 
 farm, in company with other associates, united together for 
 mutual assistance and protection, as the western tribes, 
 notwithstanding the treaty with Gov. St. Clair, appeared 
 to be hostile, and on the eve of a rupture. During the first 
 six months of the year the settlers suffered very much from 
 a w r ant of food, as more fully noticed in the history of 
 Belpre. 
 
 Early in January, 1791, the Indian war broke out, and 
 the inhabitants were compelled to leave their improvements 
 and go into garrison. The news of the massacre at Big 
 Bottom reached Belppe the day after that event, at a time 
 when nearly all the men, especially the heads of families, 
 were at Marietta, attending the Court of Quarter Sessions. 
 Most wretched was the night following this news, to the 
 women and children, as they watched with trembling hearts 
 in the slender log-cabins in which they dwelt, the approach 
 of the Indians, expecting -every hour to hear their terrific 
 yells. Mrs. Dcvol directed her children to lie down with 
 their clothes on, ready to rush into the woods at the first 
 alarm. The court was soon adjourned, and Capt. Devol, 
 with the others, returned with all speed to their homes, ex- 
 pecting to see their houses in flames, and their wives and
 
 JONATHAN DEVOL. 251 
 
 children slaughtered or taken captives by the savages. A 
 council of the leading men was promptly called, and it was 
 decided to build a strong garrison three miles below the Lit- 
 tle Kenawha, against the center of the island, since known 
 as the island of Blennerhassct. This garrison contained 
 thirteen large block-houses, ranged in two lines, about six 
 rods apart, near the bank of the Ohio, and was very appro- 
 priately called Farmers' Castle. The whole was inclosed 
 with stout palisades, and made a formidable defense against 
 the attack of Indians. It was forty rods long by eight rods 
 wide. Two large gates were placed at the east and west 
 ends, while two smaller ones led down to the river. This 
 work was chielly planned and built under the direction of 
 Capt. Devol, aided by the council of several old and expe- 
 rienced officers of the settlement, in an incredibly short 
 space of time, and sheltered thirty or forty families, be- 
 sides single men, during the war. When we consider the 
 labor of cutting and hauling such a multitude of trees, to 
 afford pickets fifteen feet long, with all the timber for eleven 
 large block-houses, two stories high and twenty feet square, 
 we are struck with admiration at the resolution and enter- 
 prise of this handful of pioneers, about twenty-five or thirty 
 in number. A considerable portion of this timber was 
 dragged on to the ground by men (as they had but few ox 
 teams, and no horses.) on sledges, the snow fortunately 
 being a foot or more deep. All this was accomplished in 
 about six weeks' time, and was acting over again the labors 
 of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth rock. While at this 
 work they had the protection of the t\vo block-houses built 
 on this ground the year before by Col. Battelle and (iriflin 
 Greene, and was the probable cause of their selecting this 
 spot, for their main garrison. 
 
 During the first two years of the settlement, their meal 
 was all ground on hand-mills, with great labor and fatigue.
 
 252 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 Soon after they were settled in the new castle, the active 
 mind of Mr. Devol suggested a remedy for this inconven- 
 ience. Some time previous, in conversation with Mr. 
 Greene, he learned that he had seen floating mills in Hol- 
 land. He directly proposed a project for a grist-mill, to be 
 built on boats, and anchored in the Ohio, at some ripple, 
 within sight of the castle, where it would be safe from their 
 savage foes. A few of the intelligent men joined, and a 
 company was formed for executing the work, and in the 
 course of the year 1791, a mill was completed and put in 
 operation, which ground the meal used by the inhabitants 
 during the war. It was built on two boats : one a large 
 pirogue, formed out of an immense hollow sycamore tree : 
 the other a large flatboat, made of planks fifty feet long and 
 ten wide. This sustained the mill-stones, gearing, hopper, 
 &c., while the other boat supported the outer end of the 
 water-wheel shaft. The boats were connected by stout 
 timbers, to keep them steady against the wind and current 
 of the river, planked over so as to make a floor between the 
 bow and stern of each. The open space was ten feet 
 square, in which the water-wheel worked, and was similar 
 in structure to those of a steamboat. The main boat was 
 secured by a chain cable attached to a rock anchor; the 
 other by a grape vine. The mill was stationed about thirty 
 yards from the shore of the island, nearly half a mile above 
 the castle, as seen in the annexed plate. In a favorable 
 state of the river, she could grind forty bushels in twenty- 
 four hours. A small frame house stood in the main boat, 
 and protected the machinery and grain, as well as the 
 miller, from the rain. During winter it was taken nearer 
 the shore, under some point for protection against the ice. 
 Floating trees sometimes broke it loose from the moorings, 
 but ns there was usually some one on board, timely notice 
 was L'ivcn. and the inmates of the castle turned out and
 
 JONATHAN DEVOL. 253 
 
 towed it back again. Finally, near the close of the war, it 
 broke loose in the night, and floated down the Ohio seventy 
 miles, when the chain cable got entangled in a rock, and 
 brought it up. The distance was too great for towing back 
 again, and it was sold to the French settlers at Gallipolis. 
 This mill not only did the grinding for Belpre, but many 
 canoe loads of grain were brought from Point Pleasant, 
 Graham's Station, and Belville. 
 
 During the period of the war the small-pox and scarlet 
 fever both visited the inhabitants. By the latter disease he 
 lost his oldest son, a lad of fourteen years, and two other 
 children. It was of a malignant type, carrying off from 
 fifteen to twenty children, beside several with the small-pox. 
 
 About this time he executed the work of a complicated 
 piece of machinery, for Esq. Greene, who thought he had 
 discovered the true principle of perpetual motion. The dis- 
 criminating mind of Capt. Devol saw, at once, the fallacy 
 of the principle, and so expressed himself to the inventor ; 
 nevertheless, he was willing to assist him in the experiment. 
 It proved a failure, like all other attempts of the kind. 
 
 The inhabitants feeling the want of saccharine matter in 
 their food, being cut off from their former supplies from the 
 sugar maple, by the watchfulness of their savage foes, he 
 constructed a mill, with wooden rollers worked with oxen, 
 for grinding and pressing out the juice of the stalks of In- 
 dian corn, in the manner lately proposed by the secretary 
 of the patent ollice. Many gallons of syrup were in this 
 way made, that supplied the place of a better article not 
 within their reach. The rich juice of the pumpkin was sub- 
 jected to the same process, and afforded good sweetening 
 for many uses. 
 
 In 171)2, he built a twelve-oared barge, of about twenty- 
 five tons burthen, for Gen. Putnam, of the wood of the red 
 cedar. The materials were collected on the Little Kenawha,
 
 254 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 a few miles aoove the mouth, at the hazard of his life, in the 
 midst of the Indian war. For beauty of model and work- 
 manship, she was said to excel any boat ever seen on the 
 Ohio. 
 
 After Wayne's treaty in 1795, he moved his family to Ma- 
 rietta, and cultivated the lands of Paul Fearing, Esq., who 
 boarded in his family. Here he remained until 1797, when 
 he purchased lands at Wiseman's bottom, five miles above, 
 on the Muskingum river. At this place there was a ripple, 
 or slight fall, which he thought a suitable site for a mill; his 
 mind always running on some mechanical operation, that 
 would be useful to the destitute colonists. In 1798 he built 
 a floating mill at his new home, which for many years did 
 nearly all the grinding for the inhabitants on the Ohio and 
 Muskingum rivers for fifty miles above and below the mill ; 
 the travel being in canoes and larger boats. In 1803 he 
 built a larger mill, which ground a hundred bushels in twen- 
 ty-four hours, and made fine flour. In 1801 he built a ship 
 of four hundred tons, for B. I. Gilman, a merchant of Ma- 
 rietta. The timbers of this vessel were wholly made from 
 the wood of the black walnut, which grew with great luxu- 
 riance in the rich bottoms of the Muskingum, after which 
 stream the ship was named. In 1802 he built two brigs of 
 two hundred tons each; one called the Eliza Green, the 
 other, Ohio. In 1804 the schooner Nonpareil was built, 
 and her voyage down the river is described in the Pioneer, 
 vol. i. In 1807 he built a large frame flouring mill on the 
 spot where the floating mill was moored. The water-wheel 
 was forty feet in diameter, the largest ever seen in that day 
 west of the mountains. During all these busy operations 
 he was improving his farm, planting fruit trees, and making 
 his home comfortable and pleasant. In 1809 he purchased 
 and put in operation machinery for carding sheep's wool, 
 which article had now become so abundant as to need some-
 
 J O N A T II A N 1) K VOL. 2i>5 
 
 thing more than hand cards for its domestic manufacture; 
 some 1 armors owning flocks of several hundred sheep. Still 
 further to aid in the domestic manufactures, he, in 1808, 
 
 erected works for dressing cloth and fulling, both of which 
 operations are believed to have been the lirst ever carried 
 on in this part of Ohio, if not in the state. The machinery 
 for cloth-dre.-sing was procured at McConnelsville, on the 
 Youghiogheny river; these articles were not then manufac- 
 tured in Ohio. 
 
 Amidst the latter period of these operations, when about 
 fifty years of age, he began the study of the French lan- 
 guage ; and solely by the aid of Boyer's dictionary, he in a 
 short time learned to read, and translate as he read, with 
 ease and iluency, any book in that tongue, especially works 
 of history. When master of this subject, he commenced, 
 in 1S11 or 181x2, the study of astronomy, and became quite 
 familiar with this sublime branch of science. He had al- 
 ways a relish for the mathematics, and entered readily into 
 the elements of this deeply interesting study. With the aid 
 of a celestial globe, he constructed a -plan of the path and 
 course of the great comet of 1812, and sent it to Josiah 
 Mcigs, Esq., then at the head of the United States land of- 
 fice, for his examination. It excited his admiration at the 
 genius and skill of Capt. Dcvol, in a branch of science so 
 little understood by a great portion of mankind. His knowl- 
 edge of geography was complete, and superior to that of 
 any other man known to the writer of this memoir. For 
 ihis he was partly indebted to his extensive reading, which 
 \vas always accompanied by a map of the region treated of 
 in the book or newspaper before him. Many years before 
 steam had come into general use as a moving power, he 
 directed a letter to the secretary of the navy, on the advan- 
 tages to be derived from steamships of war. Nevertheless. 
 he was a man of peace; and often at the celebration of the
 
 256 JONATHAN DEVOL. 
 
 Fourth of July was accustomed to say that the reading of 
 certain portions of the Declaration of Independence ought 
 to be omitted on that day, as it served to keep up the old 
 ill-will and hatred, which, as the nations are at peace, ought 
 to be forgotten. 
 
 His house was open to all his friends and accmaintances ; 
 while the hospitality of himself and good wife were prover- 
 bial. So affable and kind were the manners of this worthy 
 couple, that all visitors were made to feel how very welcome 
 they were, and that their company was a favor bestowed on 
 them, instead of a trouble. 
 
 For many years preceding his death, he suffered greatly 
 from a disease of the hip joint, the origin of which he traced 
 to the night of his hazardous enterprise in the harbor of 
 Newport. 
 
 His powers of conversation on nearly all subjects, were 
 unbounded, as well as his magazine of ideas and facts ; of 
 course, when he visited Marietta, as he often did on business 
 matters, he was frequently delayed until long after bedtime, 
 in conversations at the firesides of his friends; nevertheless, 
 he could seldom be persuaded to tarry all night, but climb- 
 ing, with much effort, into his little one-horse wagon, would 
 jog cheerfully along, solitary and alone, the distance of 
 five miles, all the while, if the night was clear, delighting 
 his imagination with studying out the names, and classing 
 the constellations of the heavenly hosts. 
 
 He had six brothers, several of whom settled in Ohio 
 An early example of his kindness may be seen in his treat- 
 ment of the children of his brother Silas. This brother was 
 a trader, and lived in Boston at the beginning of the war 
 of Independence. He joined the infant navy of the coun- 
 try, and acted as captain of marines, under Abraham Whip- 
 pic, during the first year of the war. He was at length 
 taken prisoner, and died in the murderous British prison
 
 JONATHAN D E V L . 257 
 
 ships at New York, with thousands of his countrymen. His 
 wile and three children were left destitute at Boston. Capt. 
 Devol, although then poor, and supporting his own family 
 with his labor, brought the three children to his house, and 
 fed and clothed them as his own, till the daughter was mar- 
 ried, and the t\vo sons old enough to take care of themselves. 
 
 He used sometimes to try his skill in poetry, a small sam- 
 ple of which is given in the life of Com. Whipple. The 
 ideas and imagination of the poet were not wanting, but he 
 lacked one necessary qualification, harmony of verse. 
 
 In person Capt. Dcvol was of a medium size and hight, 
 muscular, and well-proportioned; quick and rapid in his 
 motions like the movements of his mind ; a well formed 
 head; light complexion; reddish-colored hair; blue, transpa- 
 rent eyes, sparkling with good humor and intelligence ; a 
 well-proportioned nose, of a Roman cast; broad, positive 
 chin, indicative of decision and firmness. In his youthful 
 days, in the full, showy dress of the period of the Revolu- 
 tion, he was said to have been, by one who knew him well, 
 the most perfect figure of a man to be seen amongst a 
 thousand. 
 
 Mrs. Devol died in 1823, during the great epidemic fever 
 which pervaded all the valley of the Ohio. 
 
 He died in 1824, aged sixty-eight years, greatly lamented 
 by all who knew him. 
 17
 
 COL. RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS. 
 
 Tins excellent man was one of the choice spirits brought 
 out by the stirring. times of the American Revolution, a sea- 
 son which tried men's souls and purified their patriotism in 
 the furnace of affliction. Some of the best blood of the 
 Puritans warmed his heart, and inspired him at an early 
 day to resist the oppressions of the mother country, and to 
 preserve for himself and his posterity the civil and religious 
 liberty purchased at so dear a rate by his forefathers, who 
 had left their country and homes across the Atlantic to en- 
 joy these rights in the wilderness of North America. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born at Middletown, Conn., 
 in December, 1740. His early education was such as the 
 public schools of that day afforded, lie was a neat penman ; 
 specimens of his writing are seen in the early records of the 
 Court of Common Pleas of Washington county, Ohio, of 
 which he was prothonotary. His knowledge of mathematics 
 must have been considerable, as he was one of the surveyors 
 of the Ohio Company. The larger portion of the active 
 and prominent men at the period of the Revolution, were 
 bred to farming, or some useful mechanical occupation, 
 which gave them healthy, muscular frames, and vigorous, 
 thinking minds. Col. Meigs was bred to that of a hatter: 
 and the old shop may now be seen in a plan of the ancient 
 town, attached to Barber's History of Connecticut. 
 
 At the breaking out of the war, he was thirty -five year- 
 old, a period in the life of man. when his physical and mental 
 powers are full}' developed. For one or two years preceding, 
 the people of 3,liddletown had noticed the gathering storm,
 
 R . J . M E I S . 
 
 and like others of their New England brethren, prepared 
 themselves for its coming by forming volunteer military 
 companies, and rolls of minute men, who had for many 
 months been trained in martial exercises. One of these 
 was organi/.ed in this town, well armed and uniformed, 
 which made choice of Mr. Meigs for their captain. At the 
 first news of the blood shed at Lexington, he marched his 
 company of light infantry to Cambridge, and offered lib 
 services for the defense of the country. Soon after this he 
 was appointed a major by the state of Connecticut. En- 
 couraged by the successes of Allen and Arnold, in their attacks 
 on the British Canadian posts, and believing they had many 
 friends amongst the French inhabitants, who had never be- 
 come fully reconciled to the sovereignty of the English since 
 their conquest by Gen. Wolfe, it was thought advisable by 
 Gen. Washington and a committee of Congress, who visited 
 the camp at Cambridge, to send a body of troops into Can- 
 ada by the way of the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers, to 
 act in concert with the army of Gen. Montgomery, already 
 in the vicinity of Montreal. Benedict Arnold, born iu Xor- 
 wich, Conn., in the same year with Col. Meigs, a bold, active 
 man, was selected to lead the expedition, and commissioned 
 by the commander-in-chief, as a colonel. About eleven 
 hundred men were detached from the main army, composed 
 of ten companies of infantry from the Xew England stale-. 
 and three companies of riflemen from Pennsylvania a:ul 
 Virginia, under Capt. Daniel Morgan. The field oilieers of 
 the infantry were Lirut. Col. Christopher Green, of Rhode 
 Island. Lieut. Col. Enos. and Majs. Higelow and Mei'-xs. 
 
 The troops left the camp near Cambridge, on the llth of 
 September. 177."). in lii^h spirits, looking forward to a glori- 
 ous result with hope and confidence, and arrived at .\e\v- 
 buryport. where they were to embark the following day. On 
 the ISth they entered on board ton transports, and sailed
 
 260 R. J. MEIGS. 
 
 that evening with a fair wind for the mouth of the Kenne- 
 bee, which place they reached the next day, without any 
 accident, or meeting any of the enemy's ships. The vessel 
 proceeded up the river to Coburn's ship-yard, opposite the 
 present town of Gardiner, where the troops embarked with 
 their baggage in two hundred bateaux, already prepared 
 by carpenters, sent on from Cambridge, and proceeded up 
 the river to Fort Western, opposite to the present town of 
 Augusta. Before leaving this place, Arnold dispatched a 
 party of eight men, with two guides, under Lieut. Steel, an in- 
 telligent, faithful man, in birch-bark canoes, to mark out 
 the carrying places and water-courses, to be pursued by the 
 army. This was an arduous duty, but promptly executed, 
 and the route marked out over to the head-waters of the 
 Chaudiere, by the 8th of October, or in seventeen days, as 
 appears from the journal of Judge Henry, of Pennsylvania, 
 who was one of the exploring party. The main army did 
 not reach this point in their march, until the 30th, a differ- 
 ence of twenty-two days. Although every exertion was 
 made, their progress was slow, not averaging more than 
 ten or twelve miles a day. The constant recurrence of rip- 
 ples, falls, and carrying places, across which it required the 
 aid of all the men to carry their heavy bateaux, barrels of 
 pork and flour, with their own arms and baggage. One of 
 these carrying places across a bend, from the Kennebec to 
 the Dead river, a westerly tributary, up which the most 
 direct course led, was fifteen miles, with two or three small 
 ponds, which aided a little. Some of the carrying places 
 were so boggy and deep, that causeways of logs had to be 
 made ; while others were rocky and full of bushes and fallen 
 trees. In these Herculean labors the officers were as deeply 
 engaged as the men ; as where they led, the soldiers would 
 follow. It was the most arduous and laborious enterprise 
 performed (luring the war, where the men suffered not only
 
 II. J. MEIGS. 1261 
 
 from cold and fatigue for nearly forty days, but for the last 
 ten days from actual starvation. As they approached the 
 heads of Dead river, the elevation of the country rendered 
 the nights cold even in summer, and by the 29th of October, 
 so cold as to cover the calm, shallow water, with a thin coat 
 of ice. In proof of the elevation of this region, by referring 
 to a map, it will be seen that the Connecticut, the Andros- 
 coggin, the Kennebcc, and the Chaudiere rivers all take 
 their rise in this vicinity 
 
 Near the head of the Dead river lived the remnants of an 
 ancient tribe of Indians. The leading warrior was named 
 Natanis. For some reason Col. Arnold concluded they were 
 hostile to the Americans, and directed Lieut. Steel to cap- 
 ture or kill him. He visited his cabin, a neat, small struc- 
 ture near the bank of the river, but he had received notice 
 of the intention, and fled. A few miles above his hut, a 
 large westerly branch puts in, which the exploring party 
 were about to ascend as the right course to pursue, when 
 one of the men noticed a stake driven into the water's edge, 
 on top of which was a piece of folded birch bark, secured 
 in a split; on examining this, it proved to be a map of the 
 route over to Chaudiere, rudely marked on the bark, no doubt 
 left there by Natanis for the benefit of the Americans, as he 
 subsequently proved himself to be friendly, and several of 
 the St. Francis Indians joined Arnold's troops. 
 
 The progress of the troops and their laborious march, is 
 fully described in the letters of their leader to Gen. Wash- 
 ington and others, as published in the American archives, 
 extracts from which follow. Fort Western was supposed to 
 be only one hundred and eighty miles from Quebec, but sub- 
 sequently proved to be over three hundred. At this place, 
 for the greater convenience of marching, the troops were 
 separated into five divisions, with the distance of one day's
 
 262 K. J. ME1GS. 
 
 travel between each. The first division was composed of 
 three companies of riflemen, under Capt. Morgan, and was 
 in advance ; second division, three companies of infantry, 
 under Col. Christopher Green; third division, of four com- 
 panies, under Maj. Meigs; fourth division, of two compa- 
 nies, under Maj. Bigelow; fifth, of three companies, under 
 Col. Enos, formed the rear-guard. Norridgewock falls are 
 fifty miles above Fort Western : a little below these falls, 
 was once the seat of a Catholic mission to the Indians, un- 
 der Father Ralle, so basely murdered in the old French war 
 by a party of colonists 
 
 The river being so full of rapids and falls, together with 
 the leakage, and throwing the water over the sides of the 
 boats, caused great damage, and loss of provisions. Near 
 the heads of the Dead river were many small ponds, 
 abounding in salmon trout. The men caught large quanti- 
 ties for food. They were so abundant that one person 
 could take with a hook eight or ten dozen in an hour. In 
 size, they averaged about half a pound, while in some of 
 the ponds they were much larger. This region has within 
 a few years past become a noted resort for sportsmen in 
 trout-fishing. 
 
 On the table lands, between the Kenncbec and Chaudiere, 
 there was considerable flat land, very wet and miry, the 
 men sinking six or eight inches deep at every step. Dead 
 river is described by Arnold as a line, deep stream, with a 
 current hardly perceptible, between the falls and ripples. 
 Two or three log-huts were built on the way for the accom- 
 modation of the sick men. ten or twelve in number. Al- 
 though they were constantly wet, and the labors of the 
 inarch excessive, yet very few of them fell sick. ?So doubt 
 the excitement and novelty of their pursuits in this wild, 
 desolate region, gave a stimulus to their minds, which
 
 R . J . M E I G S . *2G3 
 
 rendered them in a manner insensible to bodily ailment. 
 The moose-deer were quite plenty here, and numbers were 
 killed by Morgan's riflemen. 
 
 The weather, to the middle of October, was very line, 
 which aided the army in its progress very much. On this 
 river a few Indians were found at their fall hunt, and on< 
 of them, named Kvans, was sent by the commander with a 
 letter to his friends in Quebec, notifying them of his ap- 
 proach, of which the enemy had yet no suspicion. This 
 Indian betrayed his trust, delivering the letter to a British 
 oiiicer. By the "JOth of the month heavy rains set in, and 
 raised the river so high as greatly to impede their progress. 
 On the "J 1th they were thirty miles from Chaudiere, with a 
 stock of provisions only sufficient for fifteen days. From 
 this point he sent back all the sick and feeble men. About 
 this period a party of twenty men were sent forward to clear 
 the four mile portage from the head of Dead river over to 
 Chaudiere. and make it easier to pass by the army. It lies 
 across a mountain or high hill. Over this elevation Mor- 
 gan's men carried all their bateaux : while the other troops 
 took only one for each company, for the transport of their 
 baggage. Provisions they had none, or only five pounds of 
 flour to each man, which was baked into cakes in the ashes 
 of their camp-fires. 
 
 The distance to Quebec from this portage, was one hun- 
 dred miles. The Chaudiere, or Boiling Cauldron, as named 
 by the French, was too rapid and full of falls for naviga- 
 tion, and nearly all the boats were stove and sunk in the 
 first day's voyage, to the great peril of the men and loss of 
 baggage. The first night passed on the Chaudiere, being 
 the 31st of October, there fell four inches of snow, so that 
 the men in their bivouac were covered with it. when they 
 awoke in the morning. (Henry.) From this time food 
 became more and more scarce. Previous to this, the rear
 
 264 R. J. MEIGS. 
 
 division had advanced fifty miles up Dead river, where Enos 
 overtook Col. Green's men, entirely out of provisions. Ar- 
 nold had gone forth to seek an interview with the French 
 inhabitants, and get them to furnish supplies for his men. 
 Under these disheartening circumstances, it was concluded 
 by the officers that Col. Enos' men should deliver all their 
 provisions but rations for three days, to Col. Green's di- 
 vision, and return back to the settlements, as they must 
 certainly starve if all went forward. Those who returned suf- 
 fered much from want of food; but those who went on, far 
 more. Several died on the way, from starvation and fatigue, 
 while others barely preserved life, by eating leather, bones, 
 bark of trees, and soup made of the flesh of their dogs. 
 Had not the commander gone on in advance, and purchased 
 provisions of the French, who were very friendly, and got 
 them to carry them up the river to meet the troops, many 
 more would have died. 
 
 In a letter to Gen. Schuyler, dated 8th of November, at 
 St. Marie, two and a half leagues, from Point Levi, he says, 
 "I was not then apprised, or indeed apprehensive of one- 
 half the difficulties we had to encounter of which I cannot 
 at present give you a particular detail can only soy, we 
 have hauled our bateaux up over falls, up rapid streams, over 
 carrying places, and marched through morasses, thick woods, 
 and over mountains, about three hundred and twenty miles; 
 many of which we had to pass several times to bring over 
 our baggage. These difficulties the soldiers have, with the 
 greatest fortitude, surmounted; and about two-thirds of the 
 detachment are happily arrived here, and within two days- 
 march, most of them in good health and high spirits. The 
 other part, with Col. Enos, returned from Dead river, con- 
 trary to my expectation, he having orders to send back only 
 the sick, and those that could not be furnished with provi- 
 sions. The Chaudiere was amazingly rapid and rocky for
 
 11 . J . M E I G S . 
 
 about twenty miles, where we had the misfortune to .stave 
 three of our bateaux and lose their provisions, &.C., but 
 happily no lives. 1 then divided the little stock left, and 
 proceeded on with the two remaining boats and six men, 
 and very fortunately reached the French inhabitants the 
 30th of October, at night, who received us in the most hos- 
 pitable manner, and sent off early the next morning a sup- 
 ply of fresh provisions, flour, &c., to the detachment/' This 
 timely aid, which saved many lives and encouraged the men 
 to proceed, reached them on the 3d of November. 
 
 In all these privations and hardships, Maj. Meigs bore a 
 conspicuous part, suffering equally with his men. Several 
 females, wives of the soldiers, bore the fatigues of this dreary 
 march, wading through bogs and ponds of water coated with 
 ice. (Henry.) Aaron Burr was a volunteer in this heroic, 
 but calamitous expedition. On the 14th of November, in a 
 letter to Gen. Montgomery, he says he crossed the St. Law- 
 rence with about five hundred and fifty men, between the 
 hours of nine at night and four in the morning, without being 
 discovered until they were nearly all over. This was effected 
 in twenty birch-bark canoes, although the river was guarded 
 by two vessels of war. About one hundred and twenty-five 
 more men subsequently crossed, increasing his little army 
 to six hundred and seventy-five. Nearly three hundred had 
 returned with Col. Enos, leaving one hundred and twenty- 
 five as the number lost and left on the way by sickness and 
 death, as the troops at Fort Western amounted to eleven 
 hundred men. 
 
 With this small force of resolute soldiers, he immediately 
 invested the walls of Quebec, hoping by cutting of!' the sup- 
 plies to force them to capitulate. One of the officer:? from 
 his camp wrote as follows: "The difficulties that our de- 
 tachment underwent in the woods are beyond description. 
 For forty days I waded in the water, more or less; my feet
 
 26G R. J. ME1GS. 
 
 constantly wet, except nights ; the most of the time freezing 
 weather. We were at an allowance of half a pint of flour 
 a man for a fortnight, and half that time no meat: passing 
 through morasses, cedar swamps and drowned lands, wading 
 creeks and rivers at the same time. The number that we 
 lost was small, not exceeding three or four, and these with 
 hunger." 
 
 The result of the attack on the city is well known. Maj. 
 Meigs, with his battalion, was attached to that portion of the 
 army which penetrated within the town, where, with Morgan, 
 Dearborn, and others, he was taken prisoner. " The pris- 
 oners within the city were kindly treated by Gov. Carlton. 
 He sent out Maj. Mcigs for their clothes and baggage, al- 
 lowed them to be supplied with money and other convcn- 
 iencies by their friends; and after they were released, they 
 bore a unanimous testimony to the humanity and good usage 
 of the British commander." (Spark's Life of Arnold.) 
 
 During the long and dreary winter which followed their 
 captivity, Mr. Meigs did all he could to alleviate the suffer- 
 ings of the men. which arose more from the lack of warm 
 clothing than of food. To relieve their necessities, he, with 
 Col. Christopher Green, advanced money to the amount of 
 two hundred dollars. This was justly chargeable to the 
 American Congress, but was not repaid until three years 
 after the cessation of hostilities, or nearly ten from the time 
 of advancement, when we ilnd on their journals the follow- 
 ing resolution : 
 
 'September 28th. 1"S5: on the memorial of II. .1. Meigr 
 and Job Green, son and heir of Christopher Green, deceased. 
 
 llcxohcd, That the Board of Treasury take order for 
 paying to 11. .1. Meigs. late a colonel in the service of the 
 United States, and to the legal representative of Christopher 
 Green, deceased, late a colonel in said service, the sum of 
 two hundred dollars, the same having been expended fur
 
 11. J. MEIGS. 267 
 
 the use and comfort of the unfortunate prisoners in Quebec, 
 in the year 1770." 
 
 In the course of this, year he was duly exchanged, and re- 
 turned home; soon after which he received from Congress 
 the commission of colonel, and was authorized to raise a 
 regiment of choice men, which was afterward known in 
 Connecticut as the Leather Cap llegiment. "Col.Meigs, 
 having enlisted a part of his regiment, marched to ]\'ew 
 Haven, to carry into execution a plan projected for the sur- 
 prisal of a party of the enemy at iSagg harbor, on Long 
 Island, where a large amount of stores and forage had been 
 collected for the army in A'ew York." 
 
 The following account of this transaction is from Mar- 
 shall's Life of Washington: " Gen. Parsons intrusted the 
 execution of this, plan to Col. Meigs, a very gallant officer, 
 who had accompanied Arnold in his memorable march to 
 Quebec, and had been taken prisoner in the unsuccessful 
 attempt made on that place by Montgomery. He embarked 
 with about two hundred and thirty men, on board thirteen 
 whale-boats, and proceeded along the coast to Guilford, 
 from whence he was to cross the sound. Here he was de- 
 tained some time by high winds and a rough sea; but on 
 the 23d of May, about one o'clock in the afternoon, he re- 
 embarked one hundred and seventy of his detachment, and 
 proceeded, under convoy of two armed sloops, across the 
 sound to the north division of the island, near Southold. 
 The east end of Long Island is deeply intersected by a bay, 
 on the north side of which had been a small foraging party, 
 against which the expedition was in part directed; but they 
 had marched to Xew York two days before. Here, how- 
 ever, information was received that the stores had not been 
 removed from Sagg harbor, which lies in the northern divis- 
 ion of the island, and that a small guard still remained there 
 for their defense. The boats were immediately conveyed
 
 268 E. J. MEIGS. 
 
 across the land, a distance of about fifteen miles, into the 
 bay, where the troops re-embarked, and crossing the bay, 
 landed within four miles of Sagg harbor, at two o'clock in 
 the morning; which place they completely surprised, and 
 carried with fixed bayonets. At the same time, a division 
 of the detachment secured the armed schooner and the ves- 
 sels, with the forage which had been collected for the supply 
 of the army at New York. These brigs and sloops, twelve 
 in number, were set on fire and entirely consumed. Six of 
 the enemy were killed, and ninety taken prisoners. A very 
 few escaped under cover of the night. Col. Meigs returned 
 to Guilford with his prisoners, having thus completely ef- 
 fected the object of the expedition, without the loss of a 
 single man, and having moved with such uncommon celerity 
 as to have transported his men by land and water ninety 
 miles in twenty-five hours. 
 
 Shortly after this brilliant affair, Congress passed the fol- 
 lowing resolution : 
 
 "July 25th, 1777 Resolved, That Congress have a just 
 sense of the merit of Lieut. Col. Meigs, and the officers 
 and men under his command, who distinguished their pru- 
 dence, activity, enterprise, and valor, in the late expedition 
 to Long Island, and that an elegant sword be provided by 
 the commissary-general of military stores, and presented to 
 Lieut. Col. Meigs." (Jour. Congress.) 
 
 Col. Meigs continued to sustain an active part in all the 
 privations and sufferings of the American army, during the 
 period of 1778 and 1779 ; and in the latter year was en- 
 gaged in one of the most brilliant events in the course of 
 the war the capture of Stony Point. In this heroic adven- 
 ture, Col. Meigs acted a conspicuous part, his regiment be- 
 ing attached to the right column of the attacking forces. 
 
 The following description of the locality, and events con- 
 nected therewith, is from Marshall's Life of Washington:
 
 II. J. MEIGS. 2G9 
 
 " Some miles below West Point, about the termination of 
 the Highlands, id King's ferry, where the great road between 
 the middle and eastern states crosses the North river. The 
 ferry is completely commanded by the two opposite points 
 of land ; the one on the west side, which is a rough elevated 
 piece of ground, is denominated Stony Point ; and the 
 other on the east side, which is a flat neck of land, project- 
 ing far into the water, is called Verplank's Point. The 
 command of this ferry was important to either army : to 
 the British, as it gave them the control of an extensive dis- 
 trict of country in which to forage, and also the advantage 
 of a strong post, which communicated with New York by 
 water : to the Americans it was important, as it afforded 
 a ready and safe intercourse with the stations on both sides 
 of the river, and the loss of it would oblige them to seek a 
 longer and higher route, through a rough and broken coun- 
 try. The last of May, Sir Henry Clinton, strengthened by 
 a large body of British troops from Virginia, under Gen. 
 Vaughan, embarked his army from New York, on the river, 
 and on the 31st landed a numerous division on the east side 
 of the Hudson, eight miles below Verplank's Point, while 
 the remainder landed on the west side, three miles below 
 Stony Point. The works at this place being unfinished, 
 were abandoned. The British, under Gen. Patterson, im- 
 mediately took possession, and erecting a battery of heavy 
 cannon and mortars, were ready next morning to open a 
 fire on Fort Fayettc at Verplank's Point. The river between 
 the two points is about one thousand yards in width. The 
 troops landed below, invested it by land, and some galleys 
 stationed above, prevented the escape of the American gar- 
 rison by water. Capt. Armstrong being unable to defend 
 himself against this superior force, surrendered the post. 
 They immediately proceeded to fortify their acquisitions, 
 and especially Stony Point, in the strongest manner. When
 
 270 II. J. MEIGS. 
 
 fully completed, Sir II. Clinton left strong garrisons in each, 
 and returned to Xew York. The importance of these posts 
 to the Americans, induced Gen. Washington to attempt 
 their recovery. He also wished to achieve some important 
 action to stimulate the courage of the army, and arouse the 
 dormant energies of the country, sinking under a long 
 course of disaster, from the depredations of the British in 
 Connecticut. After carefully reconnoitering these posts, and 
 getting all the information possible, he was satisfied they 
 could only be taken by surprise. His first plan was to at- 
 tack both posts simultaneously ; but as such operations are 
 very difficult of attainment, he decided to turn all his atten- 
 tion to the attack of Stony Point. As the capture of this, 
 from its elevated position, would give it command over the 
 fort atVerplank's Point. To Gen. Wayne, the commander 
 of the American light infantry, was intrusted the conduct 
 of the enterprise. Twelve o'clock on the night of the 15th 
 of July, was chosen for the assault. Stony Point is a com- 
 manding hill, projecting far into the Hudson, which washes 
 three-fourths of its base; the remaining fourth is, in a great 
 measure, covered by a deep marsh, over which there is only 
 one crossing place; but at its junction with the river is a 
 sandy beach passable at low-tide. On the summit of this 
 hill was erected the fort, furnished with an abundance of 
 heavy ordinance. Several breast-works and strong batteries 
 were advanced in front of the principal works; and about 
 half way down the hill were two rows of abatis. The bat- 
 teries commanded the beach and the crossing place of the 
 marsh, and could rake and enfilade any column approaching 
 the fort from either of those points. Several vessels of war 
 were also stationed in the river, so as to command the 
 ground at the foot of the hill. The fort was garrisoned by 
 six hundred men, under Lieut. Col. Johnson. At noon of 
 the day preceding the night of attack, the light infantry
 
 II. J. MKIGS. 271 
 
 commenced their march from Sandy beach, distant fourteen 
 miles from Stony Point, and passing over an exceeding 
 rugged and mountainous country, arrived about eight o'clock 
 1*. M., at Steel's spring, one and a half miles from the- fort, 
 where the dispositions for the assault were made. Jt was. 
 intended to attack the works on the right and left flanks at 
 the same instant. The regiments of Febiger and Meigs, 
 with -Maj. I full's detachment, formed the right column; 
 and Butler's regiment, with the companies under JMaj. 3Iur- 
 free, formed the left; one hundred and iifty volunteers led 
 by Lieut. Col. Fleary and Maj. Posey, constituted the van 
 of the. right ; and one hundred under 3Iaj. Stewart, composed 
 the van of the left. At half past eleven, the two columns 
 moved on to the charge, the van of each with unloaded 
 muskets and fixed bayonets. The)' were each preceded by a 
 forlorn hope of twenty men, commanded by Licuts. (Jibbons 
 and Knox, whose duty it was to remove the abatis and other 
 obstructions, to open a passage for the columns which fol- 
 lowed close in the rear. Proper measures having been taken 
 to prevent notice of their approach, the Americans reached 
 the marsh undiscovered. Here some unexpected difficulties 
 arose, and the assault did not commence until twenty minutes 
 after twelve. Both columns then rushed forward under a 
 tremendous fire of musketry and grape shot; surmounting 
 every obstacle, they entered the works at the point of the 
 bayonet, without discharging a single piece, and obtained 
 complete possession of the fort. The humanity of the enn- 
 querors was not less conspicuous, nor less honorable, ihan 
 their bravery ; not a single individual sulTered after : - e-ist- 
 ance cease;!. All the troops displayed the greaier-t courage, 
 and all distinguished themselves whose situation enabled 
 them to do so. Out of the forlorn hope, led by Lieut. Clib- 
 bons, seventeen were killed or wounded. The loss of the 
 Americans was not in proportion to the apparent danger,
 
 272 R. J. MEIGS. 
 
 and amounted to only about one hundred in killed and 
 wounded. That of the British was one hundred and thirty- 
 one, of whom sixty-three were killed. It was intended to make 
 an attack on Verplank's as soon as Gen. Wayne got posses- 
 sion of Stony Point, but from some mistake that plan failed. 
 Gen. Washington examined the position of Stony Point, 
 and thought it not advisable to maintain it, as it would re- 
 quire at least fifteen hundred men to garrison it, more than 
 he could spare from the army without weakening his means 
 of defense in the Highlands. It was, therefore, reluctantly 
 abandoned. Sir II. Clinton directly took it in possession 
 and fortified it stronger than before. 
 
 The success of this enterprise infused new courage into 
 the country, and revived the drooping spirits of the Ameri- 
 can people. It was a proof that the bravery and enterprise 
 of their soldiers was fully equal to that of their enemies, a 
 fact which the British always stoutly denied, but were now 
 obliged to confess. Col. Meigs shared largely in the honors 
 and dangers of the assault, mounting the breast-work at 
 the head of his men, and with his hand clasped in theirs, 
 assisted many to gain the top of this formidable obstruction, 
 who, with fixed bayonets, leaped down into the fort amidst 
 their enemies. Every man engaged in it, through life, was 
 noticed by his countrymen as one of the heroes of Stony 
 Point. 
 
 From this period to the close of the war, he continued to 
 serve his country \vith fidelity, and at the close shared in 
 the honors and blessings of civil liberty, so dearly bought 
 with the blood and toil of his countrymen. After the war 
 he still lived at Middletown. 
 
 On the formation of the Ohio Company, in which many 
 soldiers of the Revolution engaged, he was appointed one 
 of th'-ir surveyors, and in the spring of the year 1788 he 
 landed at .Marietta, and entered on the duties of his office.
 
 R. J. MEIGS. 273 
 
 " A government for the Northwestern Territory had been 
 prepared by an ordinance of Congress, in 1787. Gov. St. 
 Clair and the judges of the territory had not arrived. 
 The emigrants were without civil laws or civil authority. 
 Col. Meigs drew up a concise system of regulations, which 
 were considered by the emigrants as the rule of conduct 
 and preservation, until the proper authorities should arrive. 
 To give these regulations publicity, a large oak, standing 
 near the confluence of the rivers, was selected, from which 
 the bark was cut off, of sufficient space to attach the sheet 
 on which the regulations were written ; and they were ben- 
 eficially adhered to until the civil authorities arrived in July. 
 This venerable oak was to the emigrants more useful, and 
 as frequently consulted, as the oracle of ancient Delphos, 
 by its votaries."* Soon after the arrival of Gov. St. Clair, 
 he was appointed a justice of the peace, and one of the 
 judges of the Court of Quarter Sessions. He was also 
 commissioned as the clerk of this court, and prothonotary 
 of the Court of Common Pleas. The first session of the 
 latter was held on Tuesday, the 2d of September, 1788. 
 This being the earliest court ever assembled in the North- 
 western Territory, it was honored with all the ceremony due 
 to so important an occasion. A procession was formed at 
 the Point, composed of the inhabitants, with the United 
 States officers from Fort Ilarmer, who escorted the judges 
 of the Court of Common Pleas, with the governor and su- 
 preme judges of the territory, to the hall in the northwest 
 block-house of Campus Martins, distant about half a mile. 
 The procession was headed by the sheriff, Col. E. Sproat, a 
 man six feet and four inches high, and large in proportion, 
 with a drawn sword in his right hand, and wand of office in 
 the left; the whole making quite an imposing appearance, 
 
 * Obituary notice of Col. Mei<;s, by his son, the postmaster-general. 
 18
 
 274 R. J. MEIGS. 
 
 and exciting the admiration of the friendly savages, a num- 
 ber of whom were loitering about the new city. When all 
 were assembled within the hall, the services of the day were 
 opened with prayer by the Rev. Manasseh Cutler, one of 
 the directors of the Ohio Company. The court was then 
 organized by reading the commissions of the judges, the 
 clerk and the sheriff, after which the latter opened it for 
 business, by proclamation. The duties of clerk were exe- 
 cuted by Col. Meigs, with accuracy and fidelity, for a num- 
 ber of years. 
 
 In 1789, he was engaged a part of the summer in survey- 
 ing the meanders of the Ohio river, from the Muskingum 
 down to the mouth of the Big Sandy, which was supposed 
 to be near the line of the western boundary of the purchase. 
 While on this trip by water, in a large flatboat, then in use 
 for traveling up as well as down stream, the Indians made 
 an attack on John Matthews, who was surveying the west- 
 ern range of townships, and killed seven men of his com- 
 pany. He fled to Col. Meigs, who received him on board, 
 and crossed over the Ohio river. A little below Twelve 
 Pole creek he erected a small block-house, for the security 
 of his men, until another party of surveyors, under Mr. 
 Backus, could come in. This they did in a day or two: and 
 having completed his survey of the river, they all returned 
 to Marietta. During the period of the Indian war. the la- 
 bors of the surveyors were suspended: and for several years 
 he suffered all the privations and dangers of that distressing 
 time. 
 
 During the treaty with the Indians at Greenville, in 1795. 
 Col. Meigs was appointed a commissary of the clothing de- 
 partment; issuing the goods furnished to the Indians as well 
 a~ the troops. Here he exercised his benevolent feelings in 
 brhalf of the whites who were prisoners with the Indians, 
 to see that all were delivered up, as stipulated in one of the
 
 R. J. MEIGS. 275 
 
 articles. Amongst those who were known to have been 
 captured, was Joseph Kelly, a lad taken from Belville, Va., 
 in 171)1, and whose widowed mother now lived in Marietta, 
 her husband being killed at the same time. In the autumn 
 of 1795, the Indians had brought in and given up all their 
 prisoners ; yet no account could be had of young Kelly, and 
 it was quite uncertain whether he was dead or alive, as no 
 news had ever been received of him since his captivity. 
 But as the Indians seldom or never put boys to death, after 
 they were prisoners, it was probable he was yet living, and 
 kept back by some family who had become greatly attached 
 to him. Although nearly all hope had ceased of his recov- 
 ery, yet Mr. Meigs continued to inquire of every new In- 
 dian face he saw at the store. At length two Indians said 
 they knew of two white boys on the heads of the Auglaise 
 river, who were kept back by their owners. Hoping that 
 one of these boys might be the widow's son, he immediately 
 applied to Gen. Wayne for a messenger to be sent for them. 
 One of these Indians, as a guide, and a white man were 
 sent out. Joseph had been adopted into the family of an 
 old warrior, named Mishalena, who had lost five sons in 
 the wars with the whites, and had now no child left but a 
 daughter ; and yet he adopted this boy, the son of his mor- 
 tal enemies, as his own, and ever treated him as such. 
 What a lesson for the professors of Christianity ! Mr. Kelly 
 says that the old warrior was one of the most kind and be- 
 nevolent men that he ever met with in his life, as well as 
 of a noble and commanding appearance. He was now too 
 old for war, but in great favor with the tribe, as one of their 
 most able counselors. His adopted mother's name was 
 Patepsa. She never accepted him with the hearty good- 
 will and affection of Mishalena, but always gave him 
 plenty to eat, when she had it. Joseph was only six years 
 old when adopted, but was now eleven. He parted with his
 
 276 li . J . M E I G S . 
 
 Indian parents and the boys of the tribe, with nearly a* 
 much regret as he had formerly done with his white ones. 
 He had lived with them so long, in the wild freedom of the 
 forest, that he had forgotten his native language, and almost 
 his former name ; for his Indian parents had given him a 
 new one, Lalaque, but for brevity, spoken Lala. They 
 accompanied him to Greenville, parting with him very re- 
 luctantly, and poor Mishalena was now left in his old age, 
 like a deadened forest tree, around whose roots no green 
 shoot appears. As a parting gift he presented his son with 
 a beautiful bow and arrows, made with his own hands. The 
 boy who accompanied him was named Bill, from Kentucky, 
 whose family were all killed at the time of his capture. He 
 had forgotten the family name, but had been adopted by a 
 widow woman, who had no children. She loved him with 
 all the tenderness of a natural mother, and parted with him 
 in deep sorrow. On the arrival of the two boys at the fort, 
 Col. Meigs sent for the tailor, and had them fitted out with 
 new warm woolen dresses, after the fashion of the whites, 
 and the blanket and leggins of the Indians laid aside. A 
 short time before, he had written to Mrs. Meigs, that no dis- 
 covery could yet be made of the widow's son, and that he 
 greatly feared he was dead ; cautioning her not to let the 
 afllicted woman know the worst of his fears. Joseph's mo- 
 ther had described his hair, eyes, and looks, so accurately, 
 that at the first glimpse of the two boys, he picked him out. 
 The Indian interpreter soon confirmed his opinion, by talk- 
 ing with him in the Shawanoe dialect. On being ques- 
 tioned, he remembered the names of his brothers and sisters, 
 and that his own name was Joseph Kelly. This satisfied 
 him that he was the lost son of the sorrowing widow, who, 
 for the whole period of his absence, had never omitted him 
 in her daily prayers, or sat down to the table with her other 
 children, without mentioning his name. So anxious was
 
 R. J. MEIGS. 277 
 
 this good and kind-hearted man to restore him to the be- 
 reaved mother, that he started, in February, across the 
 swamps and pathless forests for Marietta. A young, active 
 Shavvanoe Indian, named Thorn, guided the party, which 
 consisted of six soldiers and six or eight horses, through the 
 wilderness, without deviation, and struck the Muskingum 
 river at Big Rock, a noted Indian landmark, twenty-four 
 miles above Marietta. 
 
 While on their journey, an incident occurred which places 
 in a strong light the acuteness of their observation and tact 
 in tracing their way through the woods. During a cloudy 
 and snowy day, the party got bewildered in a thick beech 
 swamp. Col. Meigs took out his pocket compass, and after 
 examination, said the course lay east. Indian Thorn pointed 
 to the southeast. The colonel still insisting on the authority 
 of the compass, and the known general direction of the 
 route, the Indian became vexed, and shouldering his rifle, 
 muttered in broken English, "D n compass," and pursued 
 his own course. In a few minutes travel, Thorn's judgment 
 proved to be right, and the colonel and the compass wrong. 
 
 The party reached Marietta early in March, and the fer- 
 vent, oft-repeated prayer of the widow for the restoration 
 of her lost son, was at length answered, to the great joy 
 and thankfulness of Col. Meigs, by whose unwearied exer- 
 tions and perseverance it had been accomplished, as well as 
 to the delight of the mother. 
 
 In 1798, he, with Col. Robert Oliver, was elected by the 
 people of Washington county, to represent them in the ter- 
 ritorial Legislature, then assembled for the first time. In 
 this body were several able and talented men. Col. Meigs 
 was not excelled by any of them for sound sense or integrity, 
 and performed his duties with credit to himself and to the 
 people who had elected him. 
 
 In 1801, he was appointed by President Jefferson. Indian
 
 278 R. J. MEIGS. 
 
 agent amongst the Cherokees, where he resided until the 
 time of his death, in January, 1823. The inhabitants of 
 Marietta parted with him. very reluctantly, holding his per- 
 son and virtues in the highest estimation. His upright, 
 manly conduct, dignified manners and kind heart, had en- 
 listed all in his favor. " During a long life of activity and 
 usefulness, no man ever sustained a character more irre- 
 proachable than Col. Meigs. He was a pattern of excellence 
 as a patriot, a philanthropist, and a Christian. In all the 
 vicissitudes of fortune, the duties of religion were strictly 
 observed, and its precepts strikingly exemplified* :" In the 
 discharge of his duties among the Cherokees, he acquired 
 their highest confidence. They loved and revered him as a 
 father, denominating him, for his integrity and uprightness, 
 the White Path." 
 
 The family of Col. Meigs was not numerous. By his first 
 wife he had two sons, Return Jonathan and John. The 
 former was one of the governors of Ohio. Timothy was 
 the son of a second wife, and accompanied his father to 
 Georgia. 
 
 In person Mr. Meigs was thin and spare, of a medium 
 hight, with a highly intelligent countenance ; nose Grecian, 
 w r ith a lofty, bold forehead; eyes keen and black, sparkling 
 with benevolence, but striking with awe the boldest heart, 
 when bent in anger on the guilty or undeserving; active 
 and graceful in all his motions, even in old age practicing 
 the athletic sports of the young Indians with the buoyancy 
 of youth. He died suddenly, at the age of eighty-three, 
 full of the Christian's hope, surrounded by the sorrowing 
 Cherokees, who mourned his death with deep and heart-felt 
 grief.
 
 GRIFFIN GREENE, ESQ. 
 
 THE little state of Rhode Island, KO fruitful in eminent 
 and brave men, was the birth-place of Mr. Greene, being 
 born on the 20th of February, 1749, in the town of Warwick. 
 His ancestors were from England, and settled in Rhode 
 Island at an early day. Education, at that period, was a 
 minor concern, and he received no other than such as was 
 afforded by the common or public schools. At an early 
 age he was bred to the smith and anchor-making business ; 
 few men of that day being able to live without the aid of 
 some handicraft or agricultural pursuit. It was the age of 
 honest industry. Of his youth and childhood, little has 
 been preserved. 
 
 At a suitable time of life, he married Miss Sarah Greene, 
 of the same town, but of a family not connected by blood 
 with his own. There were many of this name in the state, 
 who were all wealthy in lands, and ranked high amongst the 
 first citizens of the colony, one of them holding the office of 
 governor. His wife was a sister of Col. Christopher Greene, 
 who commanded the noted black regiment, which was one 
 of the most efficient and brave in the service. The commis- 
 sioned officers were white men, and the privates negroes. By 
 this marriage he had four children, who lived to manhood, 
 viz. : Richard, Philip, Griffin, and Susan. The descendants 
 of Richard are several of them living in Ohio : the others 
 left no issue. 
 
 Previous to the commencement of hostilities between the 
 colonists and the mother country, Jacob Greene, a cousin, 
 and himself erected a forge for the manufacture of iron. 
 Before the discovery of steam-power, a stream of water was
 
 280 GRIFFIN GREENE. 
 
 necessary to work the machinery, and for this purpose a 
 spot was selected on the Pawtuxet, distant about five miles 
 from the head of Greenwich bay, the nearest point where 
 pigs could be landed from vessels. In addition to the ex- 
 pense of wagoning them over a rough road to the forge, they 
 had to be transported from the North river, and when man- 
 ufactured into bar iron, returned to the village for sale. It 
 was carried on during the war, and furnished cannon balls 
 and wrought iron for the use of the country, at a period 
 when such articles w r ere scarce in the colony. The site of 
 the old works is now occupied by cotton factories. 
 
 At the breaking out of hostilities, he acted with his coun- 
 trymen in throwing off the yoke of Great Britain, for which 
 praiseworthy deed he was cast out of the synagogue of the 
 Quakers, to which sect he belonged, at the same time with 
 his cousin, Gen. Nathaniel Greene, and never returned to 
 them again. During the Avar he became acquainted with 
 many leading men of that day, with whom intercourse was 
 kept up in after life. In 1775 he commenced his military 
 career, by serving as commissary to the Rhode Island troops, 
 although, in the previous year, he had been trained to mili- 
 tary exercises, as a volunteer in the company to which 
 Christopher and Nathaniel belonged, with many of the most 
 active and prominent young men in the colony. In 1777 
 he was paymaster to the regiment commanded by Christo- 
 pher Greene, and during the attack on the fort at Red bank, 
 \vas exposed to the shot of the enemy, in taking a supply 
 of powder to his countrymen. This act he performed with 
 great intrepidity, although not in the line of his duty. 
 
 In 1778, his cousin, Gen. Nathaniel Greene, with whom 
 he had been brought up and lived in the closest inti- 
 macy, working with him at the same forge in the manufac- 
 ture of anchors, and also engaged with him in various 
 mercantile pursuits connected with the iron business, was
 
 GRIFFIN (JRKKNK. 281 
 
 appointed, by Gen. Washington, quartermaster-general of 
 the army. Ho found the affairs of that department in the 
 greatest disorder, and needing several deputies, his cousin 
 Griflin Greene was selected as one of them, t'nder their 
 eliicient control, in a few months that branch of the public 
 service, so important to the welfare of an army, was placed 
 in complete order, greatly to the relief and satisfaction of 
 the commander-in-chief. lie was employed in this business 
 until near the time of (Jen. Greene's appointment to the 
 command of the southern army. Connected with his pur- 
 chases of provisions, he also entered into that of merchan- 
 dise : many goods being needed for the use of the troops, 
 large quantities were bought from Clark and Nightingale, a 
 celebrated firm of that day. 
 
 During the whole period of the war, a correspondence 
 was kept up between him and the general : a number of 
 the letters having been preserved among the family papers, 
 extracts will be given, as interesting specimens of the thoughts 
 of the master minds of that trying era. In them are many 
 sensible remarks on men and measures, especially that trou- 
 blesome one of the currency, which, in 1779, had fallen to 
 its lowest ebb, and had well nigh destroyed the country. In 
 April of that year, one specie dollar was worth twenty dol- 
 lars of the paper-money of Congress. This depreciation 
 of the currency, with the heart-burnings of the soldiery and 
 people thereon, was one of the main reliances of the king 
 and his counselors, for the subjugation of the colonies. 
 Money and credit are the sinews of war, and of both these 
 Qongress was destitute. Had it not been for the timely aid 
 of France, it is more than probable that the independence 
 of America would not, at that time, have been achieved. 
 
 The policy of Congress in their finances, is thus com- 
 mented on, in one of his letters, dated at camp, May 18th, 
 1779: "The Congress should appoint a Board for this
 
 282 GRIFFIN GREENE. 
 
 purpose; but they are very fond of reserving all their powers 
 within their own body. It has been clear to me, for a long 
 time, that the business of that House is too complex and 
 multifarious to be digested into method and order. They 
 are always in a hurry, and never bring anything to perfec- 
 tion, until its advantages are lost. I mean not to arraign 
 their intentions, but I am sure their policy is bad. Two things 
 are essential to the interests of these states ; one is that the 
 proceedings of Congress be more generally known ; and the 
 other is that their authority be more generally acknowledged 
 by the states." 
 
 In a short time after this, a board of treasury was estab- 
 lished, and by the aid of that eminent financier, and most 
 excellent man, Robert Morris, their monetary affairs were 
 placed in a more propitious train. In the January preceding. 
 Gen. Greene was in Philadelphia, and thus writes to Griffin: 
 "The luxuries and extravagance of this city exceed any- 
 thing you ever saw. There has been nothing going on here, 
 but entertainments, assemblies, and balls. His excellency, 
 Gen. Washington, has been here about a month, and the 
 citizens have exerted themselves to make him as happy as 
 possible. But I can truly say I feel serious amidst festivity, 
 and gloomy amongst the most joyous. The extravagance 
 of the times is very unfriendly to a republican government, 
 and greatly enervates the national strength." How just 
 and true, this sentiment; and not less true now, than then. 
 The thoughts of Gen. Washington and this excellent man 
 were too much occupied with their country's cares, to enter, 
 with satisfaction, into the amusements of the careless and 
 the gay. 
 
 In April of this year, the French minister visited the 
 American army in their camp at Middlebrook, and was re- 
 ceived with great respect. He is represented as one of the 
 most polite men of the age, and says, "The alliance with
 
 GRIFFIN GIIEENE. 283 
 
 France is a most happy affair, and alleviates a thousand of 
 our distresses." 
 
 In September, 1779, Mr. Greene engaged as a partner in 
 a company for fitting out two brigantines as privateers, the 
 coast at that time being pretty clear of British ships of \var. 
 They were called the Black and the Rattle Snake ; but be- 
 fore the one had time to erect its head, and the other to shake 
 its rattles, in defiance of the British lion, they were driven 
 on shore at Sandy hook, in April, 1780, by the enemy's 
 cruisers, and lost. This was the fate of many American 
 privateers, and in the ultimate, it is probable, as much was 
 lost as won, by the colonists, in this nefarious business. It 
 is certain that the loss of these vessels was seriously felt. 
 
 In the spring of 1780, he writes: " Our public affairs are 
 under great embarrassments. The treasury is entirely with- 
 out money, and the public offices without credit. Our stock 
 of provisions is next to nothing, and the troops frequently 
 upon half allowance for a third part of the time, and many 
 times entirely without. In a word, we are on the high road 
 to starvation, when there is plenty of everything in the 
 country, and only want ways and means to draw it out. 
 Our prospects at the south are in a disagreeable train, and 
 I set down the certain loss of Charleston, unless some very 
 providential intervention occurs, which we have no reason 
 to expect in favor of a people not remarkable for religion 
 or piety." This prognostic proved correct, as the place sur- 
 rendered a short time after. " Upon the whole, our situation 
 in political life is not very eligible, neither will it be soon, 
 unless there is more energy, consistency, and good policy 
 pursued by our civil rulers. We want men of liberality, 
 sound judgment, and attention to business, to conduct our 
 public affairs. Happy is that nation, which has wise and 
 honest men to manage national matters." 
 
 In July, the Marquis de Lafayette visited Rhode Island.
 
 284 GRIFFIN GREENE. 
 
 The general wrote to his cousin Griffin and brother Jacob, to 
 pay him every attention due to his rank and merit. "I hope 
 the inhabitants of the state will exert themselves a little to 
 convince the French officers that we give them a most cordial 
 reception. But such is the state of human nature and the 
 caprices of mankind, that it is ten to one if ever we part 
 with the same good-will toward each other, that we came 
 together." 
 
 Although the treason of Arnold has been written by a hun- 
 dred hands, here is a fresh account of it, not before published. 
 "CAMP TAPPAN, September 29th, 1780. 
 
 Treason, treason ! of the blackest kind, has been most 
 providentially discovered. Gen. Arnold, who commanded at 
 West Point, was in contract with the British adjutant-gen- 
 eral for delivering into the enemy's hands, all the forts and 
 fortifications of that place. The plan was laid, the condi- 
 tions settled, and the time fixed for the execution. Happily 
 for the cause of America, the whole was discovered before 
 the thing was ripe for execution. The adjutant-general had 
 been up to King's ferry to see Gen. Arnold, and on his re- 
 turn to New York, near the White plains, was taken up by 
 three militia-men, who carried him prisoner to Maj. Jame- 
 son, of Sheldon's light-horse; and on his being searched, 
 plans of the works, the strength of the garrison, and a hun- 
 dred other observations necessary to be known in order to 
 favor an attack, were all made out in Arnold's own hand- 
 writing. They were immediately sent to Gen. Washington, 
 who was then on his return from Hartford. But unfortu- 
 nately, Jameson, from a false delicacy, reported to Gen. 
 Arnold, that he had taken prisoner one Anderson, which 
 gave him time to just make his escape before Gen. Wash- 
 ington got to the Point. The adjutant-general and one Mr. 
 Joseph Smith, are now both prisoners in this camp, and 
 doubtless will be hnn<r to-morrow. We have only to lament
 
 GRIFFIN GREENE. 285 
 
 that Arnold is not to grace the gallows with them. It ap- 
 pears, from an inquiry into Arnold's conduct, that he is the 
 most accomplished villain in the world : nothing can exceed 
 his meanness. I am called upon to attend a court-martial, 
 and, therefore, cannot go further into this dark and wicked 
 business. The militia lads that took him, (Mr. Andre,) de- 
 serve immortal honor, and will be most liberally rewarded." 
 
 Treason ! treason ! The sound of this most odious word 
 and hateful act of Arnold, as it pealed through the nation, 
 turned pale the cheeks of every true friend to his country. 
 It was more dangerous to the cause of freedom than the 
 loss of several battles. Washington knew not whom to 
 trust in this alarming crisis, ignorant as he was of the ex- 
 tent of the conspiracy. But a few days reassured him, and 
 with such men as Greene, Putnam, and a host of others to 
 rally around him, in whose patriotism he could safely trust, 
 his confidence was restored, and the affairs of the army 
 resumed their regular train. 
 
 In a letter of October 20th, 1780, on occasion of some 
 losses in Mr. Greene's mercantile business, he says, "We 
 have one consolation, that good men are not always for- 
 tune's greatest favorites. If we are not rich, we will be 
 honest; and if we are not respected for our wealth, we will 
 be for our industry. Your judgment is good in business ; 
 your industry and attention unquestionable. Nothing is 
 wanting but the smiles of fortune : without this all our en- 
 deavors are in vain:" another name for a superintending 
 providence that rules the affairs of men, and not the blind 
 goddess of the Romans. ''I am appointed to the command 
 of the southern army, and am now just setting forward on 
 the journey. It is a most difficult command, and hitherto 
 has proved a disgraceful one to all who have gone that 
 way. I wi&h it may not be my lot. One thing 1 shall avoid
 
 280 GRIFFIN GREENE. 
 
 if possible: that is, giving the public just grounds for 
 censuring me. If I am unfortunate, that I cannot help." 
 The result proved how justly he estimated the difficulties of 
 that weighty affair, and how nobly he conducted the south- 
 ern campaigns, for his own and his country's glory. 
 
 In July, 1781, from the High hills of Santee, he writes, 
 "Thus far I am safe and in good health, though I have had 
 several very narrow escapes. If I can get off with whole 
 bones and a decent reputation, it is more than I expect. 
 New England should rejoice that she has really felt nothing 
 of the war. It rages here like a fire at large, and destroys 
 everything before it. Such destruction and waste, such mis- 
 ery and distress as this country affords, have not been seen 
 in America. The burning of a town, or the plunder of a 
 few farms, are nothing to the cruelties practiced here. But 
 enough of this disagreeable subject." 
 
 In one of his last letters, dated at Charleston, in May, 1783, 
 he writes, "I beg leave to congratulate you upon the happy 
 issue of the war. It affords me the highest satisfaction to 
 find my judgment and opinions confirmed by experience. 
 The Revolution has been important and successful, although 
 not very promising .in the beginning. It has more than 
 once been in doubt, but I always trusted for success in the 
 general prejudices of human nature. It would have aggra- 
 vated my own misfortunes, to have led my friends into ruin 
 and disgrace, in the same manner as it now affords me 
 pleasure in having contributed to their happy deliverance." 
 At the close, he says, "Remember me affectionately to all at 
 Potowamut:" the place where he worked at anchor-making 
 before the war. " Don't forget my old friend, Master Max- 
 well, and ask him what he thinks of 'the mighty power of 
 Britain now?' " 
 
 The handwriting of Gen. Greene was strong, nervous, and
 
 GRIFFIN GREENE. 287 
 
 bold; greatly resembling that of Gen. Washington, whom he 
 more nearly imitated in vigor of mind and excellence of 
 character, than any other of his generals. 
 
 During the time of the war, while the British fleet was 
 lying in the harbor of Newport, they were obliged to put 
 suddenly to sea, on account of the French ileet threatening 
 to blockade them. Some transport ships and a small frig- 
 ate called the Flora, were sunk, to keep them from the 
 enemy. They lay in rather shoal water, and at low ebb 
 tides a part of their hulls was above the surface. In 1780, 
 before the close of the war, the fertile mind of Mr. Griffin 
 Greene devised a plan for raising them from their oozy bed, 
 in which his cousin Jacob assisted him. By the aid of a 
 diving-bell, a man went down and closed up the holes by 
 which they were scuttled. A powerful forcing pump, dis- 
 charging twenty-five hundred hogsheads an hour, worked 
 by horses in a flatboat alongside, enabled him so effectually 
 to heave the water from their holds, that with the assistance 
 of lighters, they rose to the surface, and once more floated 
 on the ocean. After the close of the war, the commerce of 
 the new republic being at a low ebb, and no demand for 
 ships, he took the Flora to France for sale. This transac- 
 tion detained him about two years, in which time he visited 
 Holland and the adjacent countries. 
 
 Soon after his return, the project for settling a New Eng- 
 land colony on the banks of the Ohio, was matured by some 
 of the officers of the Revolution, amongst whom were many 
 of his acquaintance, especially Gen. Varnum, a leading man 
 in carrying out the enterprise. After closing his partner- 
 ship concerns, and selling out to his cousin Jacob, he joined 
 the ctfmpany, and invested a part of his money in their 
 lands. In 1788 he moved his family to Marietta, loading 
 three large wagons with his household goods, and all kinds 
 of mechanical and agricultural implements. Amongst other
 
 88 G II 1 1- 1 FIN G 11 E E N E . 
 
 items, was a large library of valuable books; knowing that 
 the mind needed food, as well as the body, even when sur- 
 rounded by a wilderness. The first anchors made on the 
 Ohio river, for the brig St. Clair, in the year 1800, were 
 made under his direction. Soon after his arrival at Mari- 
 etta, Ciov. St. Clair commissioned him as a justice of the 
 peace, and one of the judges of the Court of Quarter Ses- 
 sions. In 1789 he was appointed, by the agents of the Ohio 
 Company, a director, in the place of Gen. Varnum deceased, 
 which post he continued to occupy until the close of their 
 affairs. In 1790 he joined the colony at Belpre, and was 
 a leading man in that settlement, solemnizing marriages, 
 and settling civil disputes amongst the pioneers. 
 
 In January, 1791, the Indian war commenced, by the de- 
 struction of the settlement at Big Bottom, the news of which 
 arrived while he was at Marietta, attending court, It was 
 directly adjourned, and each man hurried home as fast as 
 he could, expecting to meet the enemy on the way, and find 
 their cabins and families destroyed. But fortunately the In- 
 dians retreated without further mischief. In the erection 
 of Farmers' castle, he took an active part, and lived there 
 with his family five years during the war. For the whole 
 of this period, he regularly attended the sitting of the courts, 
 making his journeys up and down by water, in a canoe, ex- 
 posed to the rifles of the Indians. 
 
 His active mind could not be idle while confined to the 
 castle, but was busily occupied in studying out useful and 
 curious machinery. He assisted Capt. Devol in planning 
 the model of a floating mill, from the recollection of one 
 he had seen in Holland ; probably moved by the tidal cur- 
 rents. He also spent more than a year in planning a self- 
 moving machine, for perpetual motion, thinking it might be 
 applied to the propulsion of boats on the Ohio river. When 
 built, it moved with the accuracy and steadiness of a nice
 
 (I K 1 F F I N G 11 E E N E . 289 
 
 time-piece, but after running a few hours, would finally corne 
 to a .stand-still, in spite of the efforts of its inventor, being- 
 bound by the laws of gravitation, which it had not power 
 to resist. It was reluctantly abandoned, and the curious 
 wheels and levers with which it was made, were in being a 
 few years since, lying in the garret of the old Mansion house 
 in Marietta, amidst the dust and rubbish of by-gone days. 
 
 In 179-1, when salt was worth six or eight dollars a bushel, 
 he projected an expedition into the Indian country, near the 
 Scioto river, for the discovery of the salt springs, said to be 
 worked by the savages, near the present town of Jackson. 
 At the hazard of his own life and all those with him, ten or 
 twelve in number, he succeeded in finding the saline water, 
 and boiled some of it down on the spot, in their camp kettle, 
 making about a table spoonful of salt. While here he 
 narrowly escaped death from the rifle of an Indian, who 
 discovered them unseen by the party, and after the peace 
 related the circumstance of his raising his rifle twice to fire 
 at a tall man who had a tin cup strung to his girdle on the 
 loins, and who was known to be Mr. Greene. As he might 
 miss his object, being a long shot, and be killed himself, he 
 desisted and hurried back to the Indian village, below the 
 present town of Chillicothe, for aid. A party of twenty 
 warriors turned out in pursuit, and came on to the bank of 
 the Ohio, at Leading creek, a few minutes after the whites 
 had left it with their boat, and were in the middle of the 
 river. They were seen by the men in the boat, who felt 
 how narrowly and providentially they had escaped. 
 
 The right of this discovery was sold to a merchant in 
 Philadelphia for fifteen hundred dollars, and divided with his 
 partners. 
 
 In 1795, after the perpetual motion had become an ac- 
 knowledged failure, he turned his attention to the feasibility 
 
 of applying steam to the moving of boats on the western 
 "19
 
 290 GRIFFIN GREENE. 
 
 waters, and invented an engine so perfect in its model as to 
 attract the confidence of Mr. Elijah Backus, a man of dis- 
 cernment, and owner of the inland opposite to Farmers' 
 castle, and since known as Blennerhasset's. He became 
 jointly concerned in the project, and about the year 1796, 
 they visited Philadelphia and employed an ingenious me- 
 chanic to build a steam engine. In this enterprise they ex- 
 pended about a thousand dollars. The man proved to be 
 unskillful or unfaithful, and the work was dropped without 
 being finally put to the test. 
 
 In January, 1802, he was appointed postmaster at Ma- 
 rietta, where he had previously moved his family, in place 
 of David Putnam, Esq., removed by G. Granger. This 
 office he held until his death. In July, 1802, he was ap- 
 pointed collector for the district of Marietta, under the 
 revenue laws of the United States, by Thomas Jefferson. 
 He was also inspector for the port of Marietta, ships being 
 built and cleared from that place. After his decease, his 
 son Philip held the post-office to the period of his death, in 
 180G, when it was given to Griffin Greene, jun. 
 
 He died in June, 1804, aged fifty-five years, after a linger- 
 ing illness which he bore with patience and fortitude, fully 
 persuaded of a happy immortality. 
 
 Mr. Greene was a man of intelligent aspect, quick apprc- 
 nension, and a ready, vigorous application of his mind to 
 any subject before him. In person he was tall, of genteel 
 and accomplished manners, having seen and associated 
 with much refined company and men of talents. His dress 
 was that of the fashionable days of the Revolution, and 
 very becoming to one of his stature. As a man of genius 
 and intellect, he ranked with the first of the Ohio Company \s 
 settlers, abounding a- it did with able men.
 
 II ON. PAUL FEARING. 
 
 Mr. FKARINC. was born in Wareham, county of Plymouth, 
 Mass., the 28th of February, 17(52, and was the son of A r oah 
 and Mary Fearing. His parents were industrious, hon- 
 est people, with no pretensions to distinction above the 
 class of common farmers, who formed the glory and the 
 strength of the country, before and at the time of the strug- 
 gle for independence. He had one brother older than him- 
 self, and one sister younger. Lucy married Mr. Wyllis, an 
 eminent attorney of Massachusetts. 
 
 Of his early childhood but little is known; but as the boy 
 is said to be the father of the man, he was doubtless an up- 
 right, open-hearted youth. The minister of the parish pre- 
 pared him for college, as was common in that day, which 
 he must have entered before the close of the war, as he 
 graduated in 1785, at a time when the resources of the 
 country were at the lowest ebb. From some reverses in the 
 fortune of his father, about the period of his graduation, he 
 was unable to assist his son in the payment of the customary 
 fee on that occasion, and young Fearing was in danger of 
 missing the honors of the university, for the want of a small 
 sum of money. At this unpleasant crisis, Joseph Barrel, a 
 gentleman of Boston, heard accidentally of the circum- 
 stance, and kindly proffered the loan of the requisite sum, 
 which \vas gratefully accepted. Having decided on law, 
 for a profession, he commenced the study in May, 178(3, in 
 the office of Esq. Swift, of Windham, Conn., where he re- 
 mained nearly two years, and was admitted as an attor- 
 ney in the courts of law of that state, on the 19th of Sep- 
 tember, 1787, by Richard Law, judge of the supreme court.
 
 292 PAUL FEARING. 
 
 In July he was enabled to refund 'the money to Mr. Bar- 
 rel, and notes in a brief journal of passing events, "I shall 
 feel under obligation to Air. Barrel, and am to pay the in- 
 terest by forgiving fees to some poor client." This act still 
 further elucidates the benevolent heart of his friend, and 
 proves that he felt good-will toward all mankind. 
 
 During this year the Ohio Company was matured, for es- 
 tablishing a colony in the Northwest Territory, and was a 
 general topic of conversation in New England. The glow- 
 ing descriptions of the country and climate in the valley of 
 the Ohio, caught the fancy of many young men, as well as 
 older persons, and he decided on visiting that distant region. 
 On the 1st of May, 1788, he bid adieu to his friends, and 
 embarked at Boston in a vessel, by the way of Baltimore, for 
 Muskingum, where he arrived on the IGth of that month. 
 Here he put his trunk into a wagon, and commenced the 
 journey across the mountains on foot. When he reached 
 the little village of Fannetsburgh, at the foot of the first 
 ranges, he was inoculated with the small-pox, having "been 
 exposed to the disease in Baltimore. The eruption came 
 out while he was on the journej^, but it does not appear that 
 he laid by, on account of it, although detained two or three 
 days by the breaking down of the wagon. He reached 
 Pittsburg the 10th of June, and embarked the same day, 
 in a boat for Marietta, where he arrived on the 16th. On 
 the 4th of July, he says, Gen. Varnum delivered an ora- 
 tion, and a public dinner was given in honor of the day. 
 At this feast was served up a famous fish, called the Pike, 
 that weighed a hundred pounds. The dinner was spread 
 under a long bowery at the mouth of the Muskingum. 
 Many patriotic toasts were given, and guns fired from Fort 
 Harmer. About twenty families came on from New Eng- 
 land, in the course of the summer and autumn. In May 
 and June, Judges Parsons and Varnum, with Col. Sargent,
 
 PAUL FEARING. 293 
 
 secretary of the territory, arrived, and on the 9th, Clov. St. 
 Clair. The 15th of that month he delivered his inaugural 
 address, in presence of the judges, oillccrs of the fort, and 
 the assembled citi/ens of the territory. It was responded 
 to, on the part of the people, by Gen. Rufus Putnam. On 
 the 20th of July he listened to the first sermon ever preached 
 in the English tongue northwest of the Ohio, by the llev. 
 Mr. Breck from Massachusetts. The Moravian missionaries 
 had preached in the Delaware tongue, at Shoenbrun and 
 their mission stations on the Tuscarawas river, as early as 
 twenty years before this time. On the 2d of September, 
 1788, the first Court of Common Pleas was held in the north- 
 west block-house of Campus Martius, when he was admitted 
 as an attorney, and on the 9th of that month, received the 
 following certificate from two of the United States judges: 
 
 "The undersigned, judges of the territory of the United 
 States, northwest of the river Ohio, make known that they 
 have admitted Paul Fearing, Esq., an attorney at law* of 
 said court, and have given unto him permission to appear 
 before, and practice in, any and all the Courts of Record, 
 and others that are or shall be erected in the said territory. 
 
 SAMUEL H. PARSONS, 
 JAMES M. VARNUM. 
 
 Marietta, September 9th, 1788." 
 
 On the 9th of this month the Court of Quarter Sessions 
 sat for the first time, and he was appointed attorney, or 
 counsel, in behalf of the United States, for the county of 
 Washington, which was the first organized in the territory. 
 But little law business was done this year, the attention of 
 the settlers, as well as that of Mr. Fearing, being given to 
 the clearing of lands, and making preparations for a per- 
 manent home in the wilderness. 
 
 In December the Indians of several tribes came in to 
 Fort Harmer, to make a treaty of amity with the United
 
 294 PAUL FEARING. 
 
 States, under the superintendence of Gov. St. Clair, who is 
 styled commissioner plenipotentiary. It was a slow affair, 
 the Indians being much divided as to the policy of the 
 measure, some declining to treat at all, unless the Ohio 
 river was made the boundary between their possessions and 
 the whites; although, at former treaties, they had ceded to 
 the United States a large portion of the present state of Ohio. 
 They saw with feelings of anger and regret, the gradual 
 encroachments of the whites on their country, and that in a 
 few years they would be driven beyond the Mississippi. 
 They finally made a treaty, agreed to by a portion, only, of 
 the tribes, and these did not adhere to it long. In the fol- 
 lowing year their country on the Miami was invaded by 
 Gen. Harmer, and the war actually commenced by the 
 Americans. It was a disastrous campaign, and terminated 
 in favor of the Indians. 
 
 The last of January, 1789, Mr. Fearing set out on a jour- 
 ney to New England, in company with several persons, 
 amongst whom was Gen. Parsons. They went up the Ohio 
 in a boat, but when about half way to Wheeling, the float- 
 ing ice became so troublesome that they left the river and 
 went up by land. The travel over the mountains was ac- 
 complished on horseback, in twenty-six days, from Wheeling 
 to Middleborough, in Massachusetts, when at this time it can 
 be done in three or four days, so great are the improvements 
 in travel. He returned in August, by way of Alexandria, 
 and being a fine pedestrian, again crossed the mountains on 
 foot. lie readied Red Stone, a famous port for boats, on 
 the Monongahela, on the 1 ith of that month, and from the 
 low stage of water, had to wait until the 20th of November, 
 for a rise in the river, whereas it was usually navigable as 
 early as September. There was no road through the wil- 
 derness, nor any inhabitants, the larger portion of the wa\ . 
 While waiting here in daily expectation of rain, Com
 
 P A U L F ]; A II I N (, . 
 
 Whipplc came on with his family and tliat of his son-in- 
 la\v, Col. Sproat. \Vith them lie embarked in a small boat, 
 and reached Marietta in four days, on the UOth of the 
 month. 
 
 Tlie following year was passed in attending to his law 
 business, which began to increase some, as the emigration 
 this season was very great, being the year before the war 
 began on the Ohio Company settlements. In November he 
 was appointed a deputy contractor for supplying the troops 
 at Fort Ilarmer with fresh meat, at the low rate of thirteen 
 dollars and thirty-three cents a month, and rations. Labor 
 of all kinds was at a depressed state, a common hand on a 
 farm getting only four dollars, and a private soldier three 
 dollars. Money was very scarce. This post he held until 
 the close of the war, and the avails of it aided much in his 
 support, at a time when all were suffering under the pres- 
 sure of want. 
 
 From his first arrival in the country he kept a journal of 
 the weather, freshets in the Ohio, &c., which are valuable 
 in comparing our present seasons with those of the first 
 settlement of the country. From his notes it is ascertained 
 that the weather, previous to the assault on the block-house 
 at Big Bottom, was very cold, and the Muskingum was 
 crossed on the ice from the 22d of December to the llth of 
 January, which gave the Indians every facility for making 
 the attack. In the course of the summer of 1791. Gen. St. 
 Clair invaded the Indian country, and was defeated on the 
 1th of November, the news of which did not reach Marietta 
 until the 4th of December, when it was brought by Maj. 
 Denny, on his way with dispatches to Philadelphia, so dif- 
 ficult and slow was the intercourse between the settlements 
 in the wilderness. There were no mails until 179-1, when 
 packet-boats were established from Wheeling to Cincinnati.
 
 296 PAUL FEA 11 ING. 
 
 The Indians had full command of all the country between 
 the lakes and the river, and no dispatch could be sent 
 that way. 
 
 Mr. Fearing's first attempt as an advocate before the 
 Court of Quarter Sessions, was rather discouraging to his 
 hopes as an orator. He rose with great diffidence, being nat- 
 urally modest, and was only able to say, " May it please your 
 honors may it please your honors " another long pause, 
 when he said, " I have forgotten what I intended to speak," 
 and took his seat. This embarrassment vanished in his 
 next trial, and he was able to deliver himself with fluency 
 and fine effect. His frank, manly civility, and sound dis- 
 criminating mind, soon made him a favorite with the peo- 
 ple, as well as the courts, and he had at his command much 
 of the law business of the county. The Hon. R. J. Meigs 
 was his first competitor at the bar, and for the favor of the 
 public. Many well contested battles were fought, and 
 many knotty cases unraveled by these early combatants for 
 fame. Mr. Meigs was the most prompt and witty, with a 
 ready flow of language, and Mr. Fearing the most indus- 
 trious and patient in investigation, so that, in final results, 
 they were very well matched. They were the only attorneys 
 until 1791. 
 
 The following is a list of the lawyers who practiced at 
 the courts of Washington county, with the time of their ad- 
 mission, until the close of the territorial government, taken 
 from the records of the courts : Paul Fearing, September, 
 1788; R. J. Meigs, 1789; Dudley Odlin, March, 1791; Mat- 
 thew Backus, June. 1793; William Littel, June, 1797; Sol- 
 omon Sibley, September, 1797; David Putnam, autumn, 
 1798; Edwin Putnam, 1799; Wyllis Silliman, June, 1801; 
 Philemon Beecher, March, 1802; Lewis Cass, March, 1803; 
 William Woodbridge, 1804; Charles Hammond, 1804. The
 
 PAUL FKA1UXG. 
 
 names of several of these early attorney's are identified 
 with the history of the country, holding public posts of the 
 first importance. 
 
 The Courts of Quarter Session and Common Pleas were 
 held each four times in a year. The United States Court 
 also held four sessions in a year, but at wide and distant 
 places, viz.: at Detroit, the first Tuesday in May; at Port 
 Vincent, the second Tuesday in June ; at Cincinnati, the first 
 Tuesday in October ; and at Marietta, the *econd Tuesday 
 in November. Mr. Fearing attended regularly in this court 
 at Marietta, and sometimes at Cincinnati, but the distance 
 was so great, and the mode of travel so slow, that it was a 
 tedious labor. 
 
 In 1792, he was admitted an advocate in the Court of 
 Probate. The following is the form of the oath, preserved 
 amongst his papers, in his own handwriting: "I swear that 
 I will do no falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any, in 
 the courts of justice; and if I know of any intention to 
 commit any, I will give knowledge thereof to the justices of 
 said courts, or some of them, that it may be prevented. 
 I will not willingly or wittingly, promote or sue any false, 
 groundless, or unlawful suit, nor give aid or consent to the 
 same, and I will conduct myself in the office of an attorney 
 within the said courts, according to the best of my knowl- 
 edge and discretion, and with all good fidelity, as well to 
 the courts as my clients. So help me, God. 
 
 PAUL FEARING. 
 Washington county, ss." 
 
 " Sworn to in the General Court of Quarter Session. March 
 12th, 171)3, before 
 
 JOSEPH <J U.MAX, commissioner." 
 
 The spirit and letter of the above oath were always kept 
 in good faith while he was an attorney, as well as in all his
 
 298 PAUL FEARING. 
 
 transactions of private life. Honesty, candor, and fair 
 dealing, were cardinal virtues which he never violated. 
 
 When the troops left Fort Ilarmer, Maj. Doughty, an in- 
 timate friend, made him a present of his dwelling-house, a 
 well finished log building, standing in the southwest angle 
 of the fort. To this was also added the contents of his garden, 
 planted with fruit trees; amongst them was a fine peach, 
 still cultivated in Marietta, and called to this day, the 
 Doughty peach. During the war, Mr. Fearing and his father 
 occupied this house, which afforded a safe retreat from the 
 attacks of Indians, who frequently appeared on the hill 
 back of the garrison, where they had a view of the cleared 
 fields in the bottoms, and watch for any one who might be 
 out at work, a distance from the walls. Several were shot 
 at, and one or two killed, within a quarter of a mile. Peace 
 was established in August, 1795. 
 
 Late in November of this year, Mr. Fearing had a narrow 
 escape from drowning. He was coming up from the settle- 
 ment at Belpre in a canoe, which was the usual mode of 
 travel for many years. Although a pretty skillful canocman, 
 yet, having with him in the boat his future wife and her sister, 
 his attention was taken up with them, or from some other 
 cause, in passing by a fallen tree-top which projected several 
 rods into the river, the canoe upset, and threw them all into 
 the water. Xone of them could swim but his boy, Tousant 
 Shoeman, then about fourteen years old, who soon reached 
 the land. In their attempts to hold on to the canoe, it would 
 roll from their grasp. Miss Betsy House, the sister of hi- 
 intended wife, an active, courageous girl, exerted herself so 
 effectually, that she soon reached the shore, after having 
 been at the bottom once or tv.'iee. Cynthia being clad with 
 a large camlet cloak, was more buoyant, and kept upon 
 the surface, sometimes clinging to the canoe, and at others
 
 P A U L F E A RING. 299 
 
 floating near it. After struggling along in this way for sev- 
 eral rods, Mr. Fearing encouraging her with his, voice, and 
 retaining fully his presence of mind, although unable to as- 
 sist her in any other way, they both reached so near the 
 shore as to be able to get hold of the willow bushes, and 
 were helped to the dry land by the boy, nearly famished 
 with the cold, and exhausted with their struggles, as there 
 was considerable ice in the river at the time. Fortunately, 
 a large llatboat, laden with goods, came in sight, and at 
 their request landed and took them on board. By wrapping 
 them in warm blankets, and giving them hot drinks, they 
 were soon restored to comfort. The boat landed them at 
 Farmers' castle; and their next attempt to reach Marietta 
 proved more fortunate, taking with them an experienced 
 canoeman. "When we consider the rare occurrence of flat- 
 boats, and especially one at this particular juncture, with 
 everything on board necessary to the comfort of the ship- 
 wrecked company, and that there was no house between 
 Belpre and Marietta, where they could receive aid, and the 
 fact of their being enabled to escape from the watery ele- 
 ment under such hopeless circumstances, the whole affair 
 may be viewed as one of those plain and manifest interpo- 
 sitions of Providence, in overruling and guiding the destinies 
 of man, while a sojourner in this ever-changing world. 
 
 On the 28th of this month Mr. Fearing was married to 
 Miss Cynthia Rouse, at' his own house at Marietta. The 
 ordinance was performed by the Hon. Joseph Oilman, one 
 of the judges of the territory. The fruits of this marriage 
 were a daughter and two sons. 
 
 In the year 1707 he received the appointment of judge 
 of probate, for Washington county, under the seal and com- 
 mission of \Yinthrop Sargent, then acting as governor of 
 the territory. After the close of the war the country filled 
 up rapidly, and in 1799 the first legislature held its session
 
 300 PAUL FEARING. 
 
 in Cincinnati. In 1800 the second session was held, and in 
 this he \vas a member. During this period he was chosen 
 a delegate, to represent the territory in Congress, which post 
 he filled for 1801 and 1802, with credit to himself and the 
 entire satisfaction of the people. About this time, the two 
 great political parties of Federalist and Republican were 
 organized all over the United States, and even in this remote 
 wilderness the voice of political strife was loud and boister- 
 ous. He was attached to the Federal party, which at this 
 time was the most numerous. 
 
 After his return to private life he resumed the practice of 
 the law, with increased reputation. His manly, open coun- 
 tenance, with his well known character for uprightness and 
 honesty, gave his pleadings great and deserved weight with 
 a jury ; and he was often spoken of and named in a famil- 
 iar manner, by the country people, as "honest Paul," a 
 phrase which gave more weight and popularity to his opin- 
 ions, than any high sounding title. 
 
 On his farm, a little below the mouth of the Muskingum, 
 he erected a neat dwelling-house, and planted an extensive 
 orchard of the choicest fruits, of which he was an intelligent 
 and successful cultivator. The garden was arranged with 
 neatness and taste, and ornamented with shrubbery, flowers, 
 &c., showing a relish for the beautiful as well as the useful. 
 
 He was one of the first in Ohio who paid attention to the 
 raising of merino sheep. His flocks embraced several 
 hundreds of these valuable animals, propagated from a few 
 individuals, bought at enormous prices, a single buck com- 
 manding from six to eight hundred dollars, and a ewe from 
 two to three hundred, anil sometimes much more. He en- 
 gaged in the sheep culture as early as 1M)S. and during the 
 yenning season, passed many wejiry and sleepless nights 
 during the. cold winter weather, in watching and protecting 
 the voting lambs from the effects of frost, so fatal to them
 
 PAUL FEARING. 301 
 
 if long exposed to its chilling 1 influence. By his knowl- 
 edge of their maladies, and discretion in feeding and 
 studying their habits, he became one of the most success- 
 ful growers of merinos, an animal diilicult to rear, and re- 
 quiring a different management from that applied to the 
 common sheep of the country. 11 is practical knowledge, 
 acquired by actual experiment, was freely imparted to 
 others, and was of great use to the fanners of this county. 
 The growth of this valuable animal was for many years 
 extensively conducted in this part of the state, and was profit- 
 able so long as the government, by protecting duties, en- 
 couraged the woolen factories to work up the wool of the 
 country, thereby not only making the nation independent, 
 but the people rich. 
 
 In 1810, he was appointed an associate judge of the Court 
 of Common Pleas. The commission is signed by Samuel 
 Huntingdon, then governor of Ohio. In this office he served 
 seven years, with much credit as a sound jurist and impartial 
 judge. At the expiration of that period, the leaders in po- 
 litical affairs placed the office in other hands, more congenial 
 to their views. In 1814, he received the appointment of 
 master commissioner in chancery. 
 
 From the first entering of the lands of the Ohio Company 
 for taxation by the state, he acted very extensively as an 
 agent for the shareholders in the eastern states, paying 
 their taxes, examining and preparing their lands for sale. 
 In this way, a large portion of his time, not devoted to the 
 care of his farm, was occupied. 
 
 In his disposition, Mr. Fearing was remarkably cheerful 
 and pleasant, much attached to children, and never happier 
 than when in their company. lie had great sympathy for 
 the poor and the oppressed, and was ever ready to stretch 
 forth his hand, and open his purse for their relief. 
 
 He died the 21st of August, IS'^2, after a few days illness,
 
 302 JOSEPH OILMAN. 
 
 a victim to the fatal epidemic fever, which ravaged the 
 country for two or three years, in the sixtieth year of his 
 life. His wife died the same day, a few hours after, in the 
 forty -sixth year of her age. 
 
 HON. JOSEPH OILMAN AND MRS. 
 REBECCA OILMAN. 
 
 JOSEPH OILMAN was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, A. 
 I)., 1736, and was the third generation of the descend- 
 ants of John Oilman, who emigrated from Norfolk, Eng- 
 land, in 1037. He married Rebecca Ivcs, granddaughter of 
 the Hon. Robert Hale, of Beverly, Massachusetts, one of 
 the provincial council, and an intimate friend of Gov 
 Hutchinson. 
 
 \Vhen the struggle for liberty commenced, he took an 
 early and decided part on the side of the colonists. His 
 high standing for integrity, and honorable, upright character, 
 soon attracted the notice and favor of the Whigs, and he 
 was appointed chairman of the Committee of Safety for 
 New Hampshire, a post which none but the most able and 
 influential men were selected to fill. This station brought 
 him into immediate intercourse with a number of the lead- 
 ing men in the adjacent states, especially Massachusetts. 
 In the early periods of the Revolution, these committees of 
 safety were the most important public bodies in the coun- 
 try, transacting much of the business afterward done by 
 the legislatures, in collecting and purchasing arms, ammuni- 
 tions, and clothing for the state troops. Mr. Oilman, as
 
 JOSE P II G I L M A N . 
 
 chairman of this committee, made large advances from his 
 own private, purse, at a very pressing period, for the pur- 
 chase of blankets for the. Xew Hampshire line, which was 
 repaid in continental paper, and became a dead loss, en- 
 tirely ruining his family estate. In proof of the intense 
 feeling and ardor infused into the minds of the leading men 
 of the period, and the deep interest they took in the welfare 
 of the country, it is stated that at the period of the disas- 
 trous events which followed the retreat of the American 
 army from New Jersey, when it seemed as if the cause of 
 liberty was hopeless, Samuel Adams had occasion to visit 
 Mr. Gilman at Exeter, for consultation on the best course to 
 pursue, and to devise ways and means to raise supplies for 
 the starving and naked soldiers. It so happened that Mr. 
 Cilman was abroad, and Mr. Adams was received by his 
 wife. After a few minutes conversation, observing the ab- 
 stracted manner and downcast looks of her guest, she ceased 
 any further attempt to engage his attention, and applied 
 herself quietly to her needle, an occupation then followed 
 by females of the first families. Mr. Adams continued to 
 walk rapidly up and down the room, too uneasy to sit qui- 
 etly in a chair. After a few moments her attention was 
 called to her visitor, by a deep sigh, amounting nearer to a 
 groan. Casting her eyes on hif-> face, the tears were rolling 
 down his cheeks, and wringing his hands in agony, he ut- 
 tered with a broken voice the deep thoughts within him, 
 ' O, ?ny God, must ice give it up!'" 1 How intense must have 
 been the feeling of that great mind, when the physical man 
 thus bowed beneath its sway. Happily for us. the friends 
 of freedom were not long permitted to live in darkness, but 
 the brilliant events which soon followed at Princeton and 
 Trenton, revived their desponding spirits, and covered 
 Washington and his few brave followers with a mantle of 
 glory.
 
 304 JOSEPH OILMAN. 
 
 When the Ohio Company was formed, Mr. Oilman be- 
 came an associate, and moved his family, consisting of a 
 wife and one son, 13. Ives Gilman, to Marietta, in 1789. 
 The country was then a wilderness, and those who entered 
 it had to partake of the hardships, privations, and dangers 
 which attend the forming of a new settlement several hun- 
 dred miles beyond the borders of civilization. The journey 
 was performed in safety, and the family settled down in their 
 new home, established on the lower Point, near Fort Har- 
 mer, determined to be contented, and do their best for the 
 good of the country. 
 
 In 1790 Mr. Gilman was commissioned judge of probate, 
 in place of Gen. Putnam, resigned. He also received com- 
 missions from Gov. St. Clair, as judge of the Court of Quar- 
 ter Sessions, and also of the Court of Common Pleas, which 
 posts he continued to fill during the territorial period. In 
 1796 he was appointed by Congress one of the United 
 States judges for the Northwest Territory, and attended the 
 sittings of this court at Post Vincent, Detroit, Cincinnati, 
 and Marietta. The journeys to these remote points were 
 made through the wilderness on horseback, attended with 
 pack-horses to carry the baggage, in company with the 
 other judges and lawyers, so that the ride through the woods, 
 although tiresome and tedious, was not without many things 
 to make it interesting. The trip to and from Cincinnati 
 was usually made in a canoe or large pirogue, and occu- 
 pied eight or ten days. They slept at night under a hut on 
 the shore, and cooked their food in the woods, there being 
 few cabins at convenient points, for a number of years after 
 the war. 
 
 He was a man whom every body respected and esteemed, 
 for his candor, honesty, good sense, and social qualities. As 
 a jurist his reputation stood deservedly high. lie was a 
 carffi.il student of the laws of nature, as well as those of
 
 REBECCA OILMAN. 305 
 
 his country, and kept a meteorological journal, which for that 
 day was rather rare. He died in 180(5, aged seventy years. 
 Mrs. Gilman was Rebecca Ives, the daughter of Benjamin 
 Ives and Elizabeth Hale. Her education was far superior 
 to that of most females of her time, being chiefly acquired 
 under the direction of her grandfather, the Hon. Robert 
 Hale. By him her literary taste was highly cultivated, and 
 a habit acquired for books and useful reading, that attended 
 her late in life. She was familiar with the best British clas- 
 sics of the days of Queens Ann and Elizabeth; could read 
 French authors with facility and ease, and her acuteness 
 was such in polite literature, that when any disputed point 
 arose amongst the learned visitors and circles at her fire- 
 side, she was often appealed to as umpire, and her decisions 
 were usually decisive of the question, and seldom appealed 
 from. This was often done by men of classical education, 
 few of whom, in matters of history, pure English literature, 
 poetry, or belles-lettres, excelled her in general knowledge, 
 or critical acumen. Her early and youthful associates were 
 generally men of superior minds and talents; amongst 
 whom a favorite one w r as Timothy Pickering, a resident of 
 an adjacent town, and a frequent visitor in the family. 
 These acquirements gave a tone and cast to her conversa- 
 tion, very fascinating and engaging to such cultivated minds 
 as came within the sphere of her influence, and her society 
 was much sought, and highly valued by all her acquaint- 
 ances. In person she was tall and commanding, with the 
 most graceful and dignified manners : her countenance 
 open, prepossessing, and intelligent. Children were much 
 attached to her, us .-lie was fond of giving them useful in- 
 struction and advice, in such a pleasant and agreeable man- 
 ner, a-> to win their attention, and impress it deeply on thel 
 minds. One of the early citizens of Marietta, whose pa- 
 rents lived the next door to her in 1796, says, that he 
 20
 
 306 B. I. GILMAN. 
 
 received, when a boy, more valuable advice from her, than he 
 ever did from his own mother, and she was a woman of no 
 ordinary capacity. In her domestic concerns she was a pat- 
 tern to all good housewives, for industry, frugality, order, 
 and promptness of execution; practices rather rare in lit- 
 erary females. Her dress was always neat, but plain; indi- 
 cating good taste, and purity of principle. After the death 
 of her husband, she lived in her own house at Marietta, sur- 
 rounded by her grandchildren, until 1812, when she moved 
 with her son to Philadelphia, and died in the year 1820, full 
 of peace, and joyful expectation of a blessed immortality. 
 
 BENJAMIN IVES OILMAN AND 
 MRS. HANNAH OILMAN. 
 
 MR. OILMAN was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the 
 year 17G5. His early education was strictly attended to, 
 and he had the advantages of the academy established in 
 that place by Mr. Phillips. As his father was engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits, he was brought up to the same employ- 
 ment. When a small boy, he received the instruction and 
 advice of a very intelligent and highly educated mother, 
 who, having but one son on whom to bestow her care, his 
 moral and intellectual culture were highly finished, and his 
 
 O t> 
 
 whole after life showed the training of this early period. 
 Richly was she rewarded for her labor of love, for no son 
 ever more venerated and respected a mother than did Mr. 
 Gilman. That "the boy is the father of the man," i? an old, 
 but very true axiom; and nothing is more certain lhan that 
 the impressions, whether for good or evil, made on the rnind
 
 B . I . G 1 L M A N . .'H)7 
 
 of youth, retain their hold during the remainder of life. 
 Blessed is that son who has an educated, moral, and relig- 
 ious mother: his happiness for time and eternity depends 
 very much on the instruction received while he is more im- 
 mediately under her care. 
 
 In 17S9 he moved with his parents to .Marietta. In 1790 
 he returned to Xew Kngland, and married Hannah Robbins, 
 the second daughter of the Rev. Chandler Robbins, 1). D., 
 pastor of the lirst church in Plymouth, Mass., the cere- 
 mony being performed by her father. Soon after, in com- 
 pany with his young bride, they returned across the moun- 
 tains on horseback. At that early period, it was a se- 
 rious and laborious journey, occupying from twenty-five to 
 thirty days. The roads were very poor over the Alleghe- 
 nies, and the accommodations for travelers scanty and 
 coarse. From Red Stone, or Pittsburg, the passage was 
 usually by water, in a flat, or Kentucky boat. 
 
 About the year 1792 he commenced the sale of merchan- 
 dise, in a store at Fort Harmcr. From small beginnings 
 his business was gradually enlarged to the most extensive 
 in Marietta. 
 
 During the war Mr. Gilman several times narrowly escaped 
 the rille and tomahawk of the Indians. About eighty rods 
 from the fort, he had commenced a new clearing for agricul- 
 tural purposes. One day, in the spring of the year 1791, he 
 was out in this lot at work with a hired man named Robert 
 Warth. Robert had just cut off a log for rail timber, and was 
 still standing on it. with the axe resting at his feet, when he 
 spoke to Mr. Cilrnan. who was thirty or forty yards distant, 
 but more out of sight, inquiring further about the work. 
 Before he had time to answer, the sharp crack of a rifle 
 caused him to turn quickly in the direction of the shot, when 
 he saw poor Robert falling dead from the log, and t\vo In- 
 dians in the act of jumping over a brush fence, close by.
 
 308 B. I. OILMAN. 
 
 where they had lain concealed. Being unarmed, he in- 
 stantly ran for the fort, with one of the Indians in close 
 chase, while the other was occupied in taking the scalp of 
 Robert. An intervening fence gave his pursuer some hope 
 of overtaking him, but he cleared it at a single leap. The 
 Indian now stopped and fired at his flying foe, but happily 
 missed his mark. The field was so near the block-house 
 where he resided, that his wife and mother both heard the 
 shots and the yell of the savages. Knowing the exposure 
 of Mr. Gilman, they hastened to the window of the house 
 to ascertain his situation, and as he came running up, 
 eagerly inquired who was killed. The young wife of the 
 backwoodsman was standing by the side of Mrs. Gilman, 
 as he answered, " Robert," and thus suddenly heard the fall 
 of her husband. The Indians were instantly pursued and 
 fired at by the rangers, as they ascended the side of the hill 
 which overlooks the alluvions on which the fort stood, but 
 they escaped, although it was thought one of them was 
 wounded. 
 
 In traversing the woods for strayed cattle, and in looking 
 at the quality and boundaries of adjacent lands which he 
 wished to purchase, he had many narrow escapes, but would 
 never send a man where he was afraid to venture himself. In 
 walking and running, few men could excel him ; and unless 
 fired at from a hidden enemy, he did not fear a surprise, as 
 he could escape by his own activity. 
 
 After the close of the war he dealt largely in peltries, 
 especially bear skins, having small trading stations on the 
 Big Sandy and Guyandot rivers, where this animal abounded, 
 and the chief employment of the inhabitants was hunting 
 them for their skins, and the digging of ginseng, a plant 
 which grew in wonderful abundance and great luxuriance 
 on the rich hill-sides of this broken country. Both of these 
 articles, from 1798 to 1S08, were in great demand for
 
 B. I. OILMAN. 309 
 
 exportation, and many largo fortunes realized by persons 
 who dealt in them. 
 
 Mr. Cilman was appointed clerk of the Court of Common 
 Pleas of Washington county in the year 179G, and continued 
 in office until the territory became a state. In 1802, he was 
 one of the delegates at the convention for forming a consti- 
 tution, and was a very active and useful man in completing 
 that instrument. 
 
 In 1801, he commenced the business of ship-building, em- 
 ploying Capt. Devol for the master-builder, and subsequently 
 James Whitney. This was continued from that year to 1808, 
 when the embargo put a stop to all mercantile operations, 
 and ruined a number of the merchants of Marietta, who 
 had embarked in this business. The ships when built were 
 exchanged for merchandise in the Atlantic cities, and were 
 the most profitable returns they could make; and, although 
 the country was thinly peopled, yet the vessels were always 
 loaded with flour, pork, and other produce, in their down- 
 ward voyage, thus yielding a double profit on the investment. 
 But the wisdom of Mr. Jefferson put a stop to all the en- 
 terprising efforts of these western men, and overwhelmed 
 several of them with ruin, especially such as had ships on 
 hand, unsold in 1808. One man who had a ship in New 
 Orleans at the time of the embargo, sunk over ten thousand 
 dollars on her and the cargo. No town in the United States 
 suffered so much as this, according to its capital, by this un- 
 wise measure. Mr. Gilman escaped any serious loss, but 
 all liis plans were deranged, and the place where from four 
 to six vessels were built in a year, giving employment to a 
 large number of men, and increasing rapidly in population, 
 was entirely paralyzed. Three extensive rope-walks, work- 
 ing up large quantities of hemp raised in the country, and 
 furnishing rigging for the ships, were put out of employ, and 
 in a few years fell into ruins. The business of the town did
 
 310 HANNAH OILMAN. 
 
 not revive for many years; and in 1813, Mr. Gilman moved 
 his family to Philadelphia and entered into merchandise, as 
 a wholesale dealer. For this business his clear, calculating 
 mind, enlarged views and industrious habits, eminently fitted 
 him, and for a number of years it was prosecuted with great 
 success. His business operations often called him to visit 
 the valley of Ohio, for which he always felt a warm regard; 
 two of his sons having settled at Alton, 111., and when on a 
 visit to that place in 1833, he was attacked with a fever, and 
 died at the age of sixty-eight years. 
 
 In person, Mr. Gilman was rather above the medium size, 
 very erect, graceful and quick in his motions, with the man- 
 ners and address of the most polished gentleman; eyes 
 black, brilliant and expressive ; nose slightly aquiline ; fore- 
 head broad and high; face full and without a fault. The 
 impression made on a stranger, who saw him for the first 
 time, would be, that he was in the presence of a man of 
 more than ordinary capacity and intellect. His powers of 
 conversation were great and varied, and no one left his 
 company without adding something to his stock of useful 
 information. 
 
 Mrs. Hannah Gilman was the second daughter of the Rev. 
 Chandler llobbins, D. D., for many years the pastor of the 
 first church in Plymouth, Mass. She was brought up with 
 great care and tenderness by her venerable father, and re- 
 ceived as good an education as was customary to bestow on 
 females of the first families in that day. She was a girl 
 of great sprightliness and vivacity; always cheerful, and 
 abounding in kindness to her associates, as well as to her 
 own family. A joyful, kind spirit animated her frame 
 through the whole course 1 of her life. 
 
 In February, 1790. she was married to 13. I. Gilman, a 
 man every way worthy the hand and the heart of .so excel- 
 lent a woman. Nothing marred the joy of this festive
 
 II ANN 7 A II OILMAN. 311 
 
 occasion, l>ut the circumstance of her being removed to HO 
 great a distance from her parents; the location of her future 
 home being on the hanks of the Ohio, far toward the setting 
 sun. The. \e\v Knglanders at this time were; an untravcled 
 people : they had not then learnt to roam into all parts of 
 the earth, but a journey of a hundred miles was a great 
 event in the life of that primitive people, and seldom under- 
 taken by the pious, without the public prayers of the church 
 for its success. How formidable then must have seemed 
 to the old people, this journey of eight hundred miles; so 
 far, that the expectation of seeing her again in this world, 
 was almost hopeless, and the final adieu was affecting and 
 solemn. 
 
 The ancestors of the Robbins family were amongst the 
 first settlers of Massachusetts ; their blood unmixed, and 
 strictly Puritan. 
 
 On their arrival at Marietta, she found many intelligent 
 and kind friends, to greet her with a warm and hearty wel- 
 come, while the society of her husband's mother, in whose 
 family they lived, was itself sufficient to make her home 
 very pleasant, and the loneliness of the wilderness forgot- 
 ten. From her she received all that love and tenderness 
 she could have expected from her own mother, and which 
 the affection of the female heart only knows how to bestow 
 on a beloved daughter. Before many years, the cares of a 
 growing family in some measure divided her regards be- 
 tween her own household and that of her dear father and 
 mother at Plymouth, so that the separation was more easily 
 borne than at first. A frequent intercourse by letters also 
 solaced her uneasy mind, so that she had often occasion to 
 hies.; the happy inventor of this divine mode of an inter- 
 change of thoughts, so wonderful in itself, and which struck 
 with admiration, the savage and untaught mind of Pow- 
 hattan, when he first saw the effects of these mysterious
 
 312 HANNAH OILMAN. 
 
 marks in a letter, sent by Capt. Smith to Jamestown, while 
 a prisoner in his dominions. 
 
 Many of her early letters to her brother, the Rev. Samuel 
 Prince Robbins, while he was a boy, and when in college, 
 also after his settlement as a pastor over the first Congrega- 
 tional church in Marietta, have been preserved by his family. 
 Some extracts from these will be given, to show her talents 
 as a writer, and the amiable and pious feelings which per- 
 vaded her heart, and made her worthy of the parentage of 
 so excellent and noble a stock. The first is written in an 
 easy, playful style, suitable to the subject, when her first 
 child was about six months old, to her brother, then aged 
 ten or twelve years, and dated Marietta, 16th of September, 
 1791. It was in answer to one he had sent to his sister, 
 with a specimen of his drawing: 
 
 " I received the picture you sent me, and was much aston- 
 ished to see how much you had improved in drawing. Did 
 you do it all yourself? I can hardly believe it. I suppose 
 by the time I visit Plymouth with your little niece, you will 
 be able to take her picture. If so, and it is a likeness, it will 
 be the prettiest picture you ever saw." 
 
 To her parents she wrote regularly once a month, when 
 there was an opportunity of sending a letter, which, until 
 1794, was only by private conveyance. In 1798 her brother 
 Samuel graduated at Cambridge University. Her younger 
 brother, Peter Gilman Robbins, was then a freshman. 
 
 In writing to Samuel, she speaks of the rapid passage of 
 time in reference to Peter, who, she did not think, could be 
 old enough to enter college, as she had been absent only 
 seven years, and he was then a very small boy. "How fast 
 time flies. The further you advance in life, the faster time 
 will appear to fly. How important it is, that we improve it 
 to the best purpose." In the same letter she sends a mes- 
 sage to Peter, who was rather disposed to be a little wild:
 
 HANNAH OILMAN. 313 
 
 
 "charging him to refrain from going to the theater, aa it 
 
 would be injurious to his morals." At that period it was a 
 fashionable amusement, and practiced by nearly all classes 
 of society. Her nice sense of propriety saw its hidden evils, 
 and her voice was raised against it. 
 
 After her brother had completed his college course, he 
 studied divinity, under the care of the Rev. M. Hyde, of 
 Stockbridge, in Connecticut. In the spring of 1805, at the 
 urgent request of Mrs. Gilman. he visited Marietta, with an 
 ulterior expectation that he might be settled in the ministry 
 there, over the first Congregational church in this place. 
 The Rev. Daniel Story, who had been their pastor for a 
 number of years, from feebleness, and other infirmities, had 
 resigned his charge, and they were now without a teacher. 
 When he arrived, the society was so small, and the prospect 
 of an adequate support so doubtful, that after preaching a 
 few times he returned to Norfolk, Conn., where he was itin- 
 erating. At that day there was no home missionary society, 
 to aid feeble and newly formed churches, but they had to 
 struggle into existence in the best manner they could. 
 
 In August, 1S05, she wrote to him a very feeling letter, 
 urging it upon him as a duty to return. "For my own part, 
 I feel as if I could not receive a negative answer from you. 
 It was so long since I had been favored with such preaching 
 as I once lived under, that when you were here I got roused 
 up in some manner; but now we are all asleep, and myself 
 among the rest. However, I desire not to trust too much in 
 an arm of flesh : a sovereign God, who orders all events, will 
 provide." After mentioning the names of several of his 
 acquaintances who had called to inquire after him, amongst 
 whom were Gen. Putnam and Dr. True, she says, "I hope, 
 my dear brother, you will write as often as possible, and 
 O that you may be directed to the path of duty." This
 
 314 HANNAH OILMAN. 
 
 prayer was soon answered, for the trustees of the society 
 directly after sent him a call to be their pastor, to which he 
 returned a consenting answer, and the following January he 
 was ordained over the first Congregational church and so- 
 ciety of Marietta. Under his faithful and apostolic min- 
 istry it was soon enlarged, embracing many from the 
 adjacent towns of Belpre and Adams, where he preached 
 about one-third of the time. In 1807, chiefly through the 
 efforts of Gen. Ilufus Putnam, aided by the liberality of 
 several other citizens, especially Mr. Oilman, a large and 
 handsome church was erected, at a cost of about seven 
 thousand dollars: avast effort for so small a society ; and 
 it yet remains a monument to their praise. This was 
 the first house erected specially for public worship ; the 
 Muskingum academy having been occupied for this purpose 
 since the year 1799. No man was ever more diligent and 
 faithful in his Master's service than Mr. Robbins, and his 
 sister now felt an addition to her happiness of a spiritual 
 nature, not before experienced. Earthly comforts had boon 
 showered upon her in rich abundance. A most excellent 
 husband, children "like olive plants sprung up around her 
 table, :> with all the wealth she could desire, made her rich 
 in this world's goods ; but the longings of the immortal 
 spirit could only be satisfied with the bread of everlasting 
 life. During a revival in 1811, she united herself with ihe 
 church, under her brother's care, and while she remained in 
 Marietta, was one of its chief ornaments and supports. In 
 1S90, her soul was tried with one of the sorest afflictions 
 that can befall poor humanity, in the loss of her first-born 
 child, the wife of Mr. J). Woodbridge. This bereavement 
 was sustained with Christian resignation, and by it her spir- 
 itual graces were greatly quickened and refined. The syni- 
 pathy and prayers of her clear brother were now doubly
 
 HANNAH OILMAN. 310 
 
 consoling, and from him she learned that uncomplaining 
 submission to the divine will, so hard to be practiced by the 
 natural heart. 
 
 In 1N13, Mr. Oilman moved his family to Philadelphia, 
 where he could enlarge the sphere of his mercantile opera- 
 tions, more in accordance with his capacious mind, so highly 
 iitted for extensive and wide-spread operations. Xcvcrthe- 
 less, he quitted the scenes of his early manhood with regret; 
 the spot where his life had been often endangered, and the 
 place where the foundations of his early wealth were laid. 
 It was still more trying to his wife, who now bid adieu to 
 the home, where she had lived twenty-three years, amidst 
 many dear and excellent female friends ; but, above all, to 
 that brother beloved, whom she cherished with an ardor only 
 known to those who, to a naturally warm temperament, feel 
 the impulses of the Christian's love, in addition to that of 
 the natural heart. This is the love which abideth and en- 
 dureth when life itself vanishes away. The first letter after 
 her arrival, is dated October 20th, 1S13, and addressed to 
 Mr. Robbins and his wife, who was a granddaughter of Gen. 
 Putnam, and explains the references to persons in Marietta. 
 
 "We arrived here the 25th of September, all well. The 
 dear children were never so hearty. O, what shall I render 
 to the Lord for all his goodness? The city was so healthy, 
 we thought it best to come immediately in. But 0, what 
 noise 1 -what confusion. That evening they had received 
 the intelligence of the victory gained on the lakes : the whole, 
 city was illuminated, and every mark of joy and mirth. 
 I was ready to say, ' God is not in tins place. 1 But surely 
 he is, for the heaven, and heaven of heavens, cannot con- 
 tain him: and I think I can say from sweet experience, since 
 my arrival, ; I have found Him whom my soul loveth,' and 
 I have seen his stately goings in the sanctuary." After de- 
 scribing the public institutions of the the city. Bible society.
 
 316 HANNAH OILMAN. 
 
 Sunday school for the poor children, &c., she says, "So you 
 see there must be some good people here, but I have not 
 been introduced to many as yet. I have not found your 
 good grandmother, your aunt Bet^y, your mother, and many 
 others with whom I used to hold sweet converse. I feel at 
 times exceedingly at a loss what to do about joining the 
 church; I am much attached to our customs at Marietta, 
 and feel unwilling to be dismissed from them. But there is 
 no Congregational church here, and I feel alone : what 
 shall I do?" It would seem that her brother advised her to 
 unite with Mr. Skinner's church, which she did, and sat for 
 many years under his teaching with great profit to her soul. 
 
 In November following she writes, " I have received yours 
 of October 20th, which was a cordial to me." Speaking of 
 a dear Christian uncle who was on his death- bed, she says, 
 " O, that it were possible I could see him ; he could teach me 
 how to live, and show me how to die. O, that my last end 
 may be like his. Surely never were religious privileges so 
 great as those which I now enjoy." 
 
 From this time to 1820, a regular correspondence was 
 kept up with her brother Samuel. Her letters are filled 
 with the reflections of a Christian and pious heart, and the 
 most affectionate expressions for her brother Samuel and his 
 family. In May, 1820, after a visit from one of her Marietta 
 acquaintances, she writes: "Mr. Cram tells me that you 
 have taken a few scholars. Does it not interfere with your 
 studies? It appears to me that clergymen in general, ought 
 to devote more of their time to the cause of Christ : else 
 how can they expect that their preaching will be blessed to 
 the souls committed to their charge?" He, good man, 
 would have been very happy to have given all his time to 
 the work of the gospel ; but the smallness of his salary, a 
 mere pittance, and the increasing wants of a growing fam- 
 ily, compelled him to this extra labor, for their support.
 
 HANNAH OILMAN. 217 
 
 But his time was short, and in about three years after that 
 period he received a summons from his divine Master, to 
 enter into the joy of his Lord. 
 
 From 1820 to 1823 the correspondence is continued, am 1 
 would fill a small volume. They contain evidences of a 
 constant growth in grace, increasing love for her family and 
 all around her, and anxiety for their salvation. During this 
 time many interesting events took place, such as the mar- 
 riage of a beloved daughter, the arrival of her sons to man- 
 hood, and entry into business, in wide and distant parts of 
 the country. "We are all scattered, my dear brother; but, 
 O, if we can all, through grace in the dear Redeemer, meet 
 at last in heaven, what a mercy! When I think of the sep- 
 aration between yourself, Isaac, and myself, it is a comfort 
 to me that we do meet at a throne of grace." 
 
 The epidemic fever which prevailed along the waters of 
 the Ohio in 1822, again visited that region in 1823, with 
 fatal severity. By this visitation Mrs. Gilman lost one of 
 her sons, and also her dearly beloved and venerated brother 
 Samuel, who died in August. Her letter to his widow is 
 full of ardent piety and heavenly consolation, and breathes 
 a depth of affection for the departed, and calm resignation 
 to the divine will, which only the Christian can feel. Its pe- 
 rusal cannot fail to soften the heart of the most obdurate un- 
 believer, and soothe the sorrows of the desponding mourner. 
 It is dated at Cincinnati, November 3d, 1823, where she then 
 was, to attend on her husband in a dangerous illness. 
 
 " With a heart filled with anguish, my dear sister, do 1 
 now address you. My tears had not ceased to (low for the 
 best of sons, when I was called in Providence to weep 
 afresh for the dearest and best of brothers. And is my be- 
 loved brother Samuel gone forever? Shall I never more 
 hear his pleasant voice ? Never more hear him pray ? Never 
 more see him break the bread, bless the cup, and give us all
 
 318 HANNAH OILMAN. 
 
 to drink? O, no! he has gone forever from our view, and 
 the places which knew him shall know him no more, forever. 
 The loss to me is great; but to you my beloved sister, and 
 the dear fatherless children, is irreparable. Permit me then 
 to tell you, how much we all sympathize with you, on this 
 sorrowful occasion. But for your comfort, remember, that 
 although the affliction is great, your heavenly Father is able 
 to support you, and has said, He would never leave you, 
 nor ever forsake you. He has promised to be the widows' 
 God, and a father to the fatherless. Be grateful to Heaven, 
 that you were blest with his society, comforted with his ad- 
 vice, and consoled by his prayers so many years. You have 
 now, my dear sister, a double part to act, that of a father 
 and mother, to the children committed to your care. For 
 their sakes, sink not under this deep affliction. Spread all 
 your wants and trials before your heavenly Father, who will 
 never lay upon you more than you can bear, and will work 
 all things for good to those who put their trust in him. The 
 Lord will not forsake his dear children, and though He cause 
 grief, yet will lie have compassion according to the multi- 
 tude of his mercies; for whom the Lord lovcth, He chas- 
 teneth. 'The mountains shall depart, and the hills be 
 removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither 
 shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord 
 of hosts.' Take these precious words of your God, my dear 
 sister, to yourself. They belong to you. Live upon them; 
 and may our blessed Redeemer comfort you with the conso- 
 lations of his IIolv Spirit. I ani extremely anxious to hear 
 the particulars of my dear brother's sickness and death. I 
 want to know every word that passed from his lips. What 
 were his views in the near approach of the king of terrors? 
 Was his mind clear, or did he sink down under the weight 
 of his disease, without feeling his situation and sufferings?" 
 In February following, she writes, " I received your
 
 HANNAH OILMAN. 319 
 
 communication, my dear sister, and thank you kindly for it. 
 But (), my dear Patty, it was not half so particular as I 
 wished. 1 wanted you to write just as if you were talking 
 with me. I feel very anxious about you, but desire to com- 
 mend you to that merciful Being, who is husband of the 
 widow, and father of the orphan. Look daily to Him, my 
 dear, for comfort under this severe and trying aflliction. I 
 wish you would begin a letter to me soon ; and if you re- 
 collect anything of my brother which you have not told me, 
 add it to the letter from time to time, until you have tilled it. 
 Kiss the dear children for their aunt, and tell them never to 
 forget the advice, the prayers, and dying words of their loving 
 father. From your ever affectionate sister, II. Oilman." 
 
 Mrs. Kobbins was herself sick at the time of her husband's 
 death, and, therefore, could not be so particular in her ac- 
 count of his last moments as Mrs. G. desired. 
 
 The foregoing extracts are sufficient to show the relig- 
 ious and social character of this excellent woman. 
 
 Before her own death, which took place at Xew York, in 
 1836, she was called to mourn the loss of her dear husband 
 and several of her children ; but that God whom she had so 
 faithfully served and trusted in all her life, did not leave her 
 in these trying moments, but was with her and supported 
 her, according to his promise. Like gold tried in a furnace, 
 her Christian graces were purified, and shone brighter and 
 brighter under every new aflliction; and she has gone to in- 
 herit that crown prepared for all those who love and obey 
 him. 
 
 In person, Mrs. Oilman was of a medium hight, with a 
 handsome, well-formed frame; her manners graceful and 
 very attractive, combined with a dignity that always com- 
 manded respect; face full and round; features of the 
 exactest proportions, with a naturally sweet expression; 
 hair black; eyes dark, and full of intelligence. AYhcn
 
 320 MARY LAKE. 
 
 engaged in animated conversation, her face ana eyes were 
 radiant with meaning, giving an interest to her expressions 
 very striking and pleasing to the beholder. Her voice was 
 full of harmony, while her powers of conversation were un- 
 rivaled; having a volubility and flow of language which 
 few could equal, whether male or female. Her love and 
 care for her husband and children were unbounded, and no 
 sacrifice of personal comfort too great for their happiness. 
 Her memory is still dear to many who knew her in Mari- 
 etta, and the history of her life and Christian character, are 
 the rightful heritage of that place. 
 
 MRS. MARY LAKE. 
 
 AMONGST the early pioneers of Marietta, were many excel- 
 lent women. The times of the Revolution tried the temper 
 and spirit of females, as well as the men, and they, by their 
 example and encouragement in the common cause, often 
 accomplished much good for the country. Some showed 
 their patriotic spirit by manufacturing garments for the half- 
 naked soldiers, while others nursed the sick and wounded, 
 soothing the last moments of the dying by their merciful 
 ministrations. The names of deserving females should be 
 preserved with as much care and veneration as those of the 
 men who fought their country's battles. The scripture bio- 
 graphical sketches of Sarah, Deborah, Miriam, Susannah, 
 and many others, may be ranked amongst the most inter- 
 esting of that species of writing. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Lake was a native of Bristol, England. Her
 
 MA11Y LAKE. 321 
 
 father was a silk-weaver, and her maiden name Mary Bird. 
 She was horn in 17-12, and about the year 1702 married 
 Archibald Lake, a sea-faring man, and moved to St. Johns, 
 in Newfoundland. Here lie followed fishing on the Grand 
 Bank, which, at lhat day, was a profitable calling, as the 
 strict observance of lent in Catholic Europe caused a great 
 demand for fish. When that place came into the possession 
 of the French, he moved his family to New York, and 
 worked in the ship-yards. 
 
 At the period of the American Revolution, he was living 
 in the city, and embraced the cause of liberty. After the 
 disasters of Long Island, when Gen. Washington evacuated 
 the city, the family followed the army into their canton- 
 ments up the North river. The general hospitals being es- 
 tablished, first at Fishkill, and then at New Windsor, she 
 was employed as matron, to superintend the nursing of the 
 sick, and see that they were provided with suitable nourish- 
 ment, beds, &c., and the apartments kept clean. Here. 
 under the direction of the surgeons, she became familiar 
 with all the details of treating the diseased, in fevers, small- 
 pox, and various other ailments, acquiring a tact and confi- 
 dence that remained with her the rest of her life, and was 
 of great use to the poor and destitute sick on the frontiers. 
 The more poverty-stricken was the sick family, the greater 
 was her obligation to wait upon them. 
 
 Her meek, quiet spirit was once a little tried by a man in 
 the garrison at Marietta, whose \vife had sickened and died, 
 notwithstanding her unremitting care of her. The family 
 had just moved into the country, and was excessively poor, 
 needing all the common necessaries of life to be supplied 
 to them during her sickness, by her neighbors. In examin- 
 ing an old family chest for articles to lay out the dead in a 
 decent manner, Mrs. Lake discovered a large stocking leg, 
 
 filled with silver dollars, several hundred in number. On 
 21
 
 322 MARY LAKE. 
 
 questioning the man why he feigned such extreme poverty,, 
 with all this money in his possession? he replied, quite un- 
 concerned, " O, that is to buy land with." 
 
 Her husband was appointed a deputy-commissary to the 
 hospital, and ranged the adjacent country, providing vege- 
 tables, and other necessaries suitable for the sick. It is well 
 known that Gen. Washington often visited the hospitals to 
 examine the condition of the sick and wounded soldiers, en- 
 courage those who were in despair by his voice and kind looks, 
 and inquire into their wants, which were always supplied, 
 so far as he had the power to direct. In these benevolent 
 visits, Mrs. Lake more than once received his personal thanks 
 in their behalf, for her tender, vigilant, and unremitting care 
 of the sick ; an evidence that she richly merited praise ; for 
 Washington flattered no one with undeserved commendation. 
 
 After the peace, when the hospital was broken up, and 
 army disbanded, the family returned to New York, and her 
 husband resumed his former occupation. 
 
 She became pious when quite young, and united with Dr. 
 Rogers' church, one of the oldest in the city, of the Presby- 
 terian order, and at the close of the war it contained but 
 two churches of this denomination. Her early piety and 
 religious feelings were no doubt the secret impulses which 
 supported and urged her on in this work of charity and 
 mercy; for her pay while thus employed was no better than 
 that of all the others engaged in their country's cause de- 
 preciated, worthless, continental paper. But love for her 
 divine Master, and charity for the sick and distressed, con- 
 strained her, and she felt it a duty to do all in her power for 
 their relief. 
 
 After the war, ship-building was a poor business, and 
 hearing accidentally from Gen. Putnam, of the new colony 
 forming at Marietta, in the rich country of the Ohio, they 
 became attracted by the glowing descriptions published, of
 
 M A II Y LAKE. .'523 
 
 its advantages and future prospects. Having 1 little- to expect 
 where they \vere, hope pointed them to plenteous and happy 
 days in the west. In 17H9, he moved, his family, consisting 
 of eight children, to Marietta. Three of the sons, James, 
 Thomas, and Andrew, were young men and able to assist 
 in their support. The spring after their arrival, the small- 
 pox broke out amongst the inhabitants, who were chiefly 
 .living in Campus Martins, in such close quarters that it was 
 very difficult to prevent its spreading by contagion. The 
 larger number of the settlers had never gone through with 
 the disease, and were to be inoculated. This was done by 
 the physician, and Mrs. Lake's skill as a nurse was now in 
 full requisition, and was unsparingly applied. Her experi- 
 ence was of great use, even to the surgeons, who were all 
 young men, and had seen but little of this disease except in 
 books, in directing the regimen and treatment during its 
 course. Her services on this trying occasion, when several 
 who took it by contagion died, were often spoken of by the 
 inhabitants in after years, as well as at the time, with grati- 
 tude. The kind, benevolent heart and Christian feeling of 
 Mrs. Lake, led her constantly to endeavor to do good to the 
 souls, as well as the bodies, of her fellow-crcatiu-es. 
 
 Probably one of the first Sunday schools in America \vas 
 taught by her in 1791, and continued for several years during 
 the Indian war, at Campus Martins, in Marietta. Having 
 brought up a family herself, and knowing the advantages of 
 early religious instruction, she took compassion on the 
 younger children of the garrison, who were spending their 
 Sabbath afternoons in frivolous amusements, and established 
 a school in the single and only room occupied by the family. 
 After the regular religious exercises of the day by Mr. Story 
 were closed, which consisted of only one service, or half the 
 day, she regularly assembled as many of the children as she 
 could persuade to attend, and taught them the Westminster
 
 324 MARY LAKE. 
 
 catechism, and lessons from the Bible, for an hour or more. 
 The school usually contained about twenty. She was very 
 kind and affectionate toward them, so that they were fond of 
 assembling and listening to her instructions. Her explana- 
 tions of scripture were so simple and child-like that the 
 smallest of the little ones could understand them, and ren- 
 dered very pleasant by her mild manner of speaking. The 
 accommodations for the children were very rude and simple, 
 consisting only of a few low stools and benches, such an 
 article as a chair being a rarity in the garrison. One of the 
 scholars, then a little boy of four years old, says that one 
 day, being scant of seat, he was placed, by the kind old 
 lady, on the top of a bag of meal that stood leaning against 
 the side of the room. The seed thus charitably sown in 
 faith and hope, was not scattered in vain, as several of 
 her scholars are now prominent members of the church. 
 This school was kept in the lower room of the northeast 
 block-house. 
 
 Soon after the peace of 1795, she moved with the family 
 on to a farm, eight miles up the Muskingum. 
 
 She died in 1802, aged sixty years. 
 
 Her children were all pious, and two of her sons, now 
 very aged men, are reckoned amongst the elders of Israel, 
 adorning that religion instilled into their youthful minds by 
 their pious mother.
 
 REV. DANIEL STORY. 
 
 SOON after the organi/ation of the Ohio Company at Bos- 
 ton, in the year 1787, it seems that the enlightened men who 
 directed its concerns, began to think of making arrangements 
 for the support of the gospel, and the instruction of youth 
 in their new colony, about to be established in the western 
 wilderness. Having been and brought up in a land where 
 more attention was paid to the religious, moral, and literary 
 instruction of the people, than at any other spot on the 
 globe, being the country of the Puritans, and themselves 
 the descendants of the Plymouth colonists, they naturally 
 turned their attention to its vast importance to the settle- 
 ment just budding into existence under their care. Accord- 
 ingly a resolution was passed, at a meeting of the directors 
 and agents, on the 7th of March, 1788, at Providence, R. I., 
 for the support of the gospel, and an instructor of youth ; 
 in consequence of which, the Rev. Manasseh Cutler, one of 
 the directors, in the course of that year engaged the Rev. 
 Daniel Story, then preaching at Worcester, Mass., to go to 
 the west as a chaplain to the settlement at Marietta. 
 
 Mr. Story was born in Boston, in 1755, and graduated at 
 the Dartmouth College, in Hanover, N. II. He was an 
 uncle of the late Judge Story, of Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 After a tedious and laborious journey over the Allegheny 
 mountains, he arrived at Marietta, in the spring of 1789. and 
 commenced his ministerial labors. The settlements were 
 just beginning, and situated at various points, a consider- 
 able distance from each other. Nevertheless, he visited them 
 in rotation, in conformity with the arrangement of the di- 
 rectors, by which he was to preach about one-third of the
 
 326 DANIEL STORY. 
 
 time at the settlements of Waterford and Belpre. His first 
 visit to Waterford was in the summer of that year, and as 
 there was no house large enough to contain all the people, 
 he preached under the shadow of a wide-spreading tree, 
 near the mills of "Wolf creek, a temple not reared by the 
 hands of man. 
 
 During the Indian war, from 1791 to 1795, he preached 
 the larger portion of the time in the northwest block-house 
 of Campus Martins, in Marietta. The upper story in that 
 building was fitted up with benches and a rude, simple desk, 
 so as to accommodate an audience of a hundred and fifty 
 or two hundred persons. It was also used for a school, 
 which was first taught by Maj. Ansclm T upper. 
 
 During this period, a committee appointed by the direct- 
 ors, to report on the religious and literary instruction of the 
 youth, resolved that one hundred and eighty dollars be paid 
 from the funds of the company, to aid the new settlements 
 in paying a teacher, with the condition that Marietta sup- 
 port him for one year, Belpre seven months, and Waterford 
 three months. If they complied with this arrangement, that 
 sum was to be divided amongst them in proportion to the 
 time. Near the same period, twenty dollars were appropri- 
 ated to pay Col. Batlellc for his services on the Sabbath, 
 already performed at Belpre. These testimonials sufficiently 
 prove the interest the directors of the company felt for the 
 spiritual welfare, as well as the temporal comfort of the 
 colonists. 
 
 Mr. Story also preached occasionally at a large room in 
 the upper story of a frame-house in the garrison at the 
 Point, being at the junction of the Muski.ngu.iTi with the 
 Ohio on the left bank ; Fort llarmer being on the right bank. 
 At period- when the Indian-; were quiet, ho \i~iu-d and 
 preached at the settlements of Belpre and Watcrford, iif- 
 i.een ;iiid t'.venly miles from Marietta. These pastoral visits
 
 DANIEL STOIiV. 327 
 
 were made by \valcr, in a log canoe, propelled by the stout 
 arms and willing hearts of the pioneers. There were no 
 roads at that day, by which lie could travel by land, and be.- 
 .-ide there was less danger in this mode, than by the obscure 1 , 
 paths of the hunters. 
 
 In the year 171H5 he united and established a Congrega- 
 tional church, composed of members residing in Marietta, 
 Belpre, W aterford, and Vienna in Virginia. In 17U7 he vis- 
 ited his native state, and remained there until he received 
 a call to the pastoral charge of the church he had collected 
 in the ir/l<h~rn(.xs. lie was ordained on the 15th of August, 
 1707, in Danvcrs, Mass.., there being no clergyman to per- 
 form that oflice on the west side of the mountains, to the 
 care of the church in Marietta and vicinity. It was com- 
 posed of thirty-two members, nine of whom were officers 
 of the Revolution. The ordination sermon was preached 
 by Rev. Manasseh Cutler, and printed at the time, a few 
 copies of which arc yet extant. This relation continued be- 
 tween Mr. Story and the church until the 15th of March. 
 1804, when he was dismissed at his own request, his health 
 being too much impaired for the performances of a pastor 
 any longer. He died the 30th of December following. 
 
 After the Marietta Academy was built in 1797, public wor- 
 ship was held in that edifice, it being constructed and so 
 finished as to answer for that purpose. 
 
 Mr. Story wa? in the ministry for some time before he 
 came to Marietta, and when selected by Dr. Cutler, the 
 choice was much approved by those who knew him. In 
 coming to Marietta, then a wilderness, he sacrificed his in- 
 terest and his comfort ; but knowing the necessities of the 
 people, he was willing to part with many things for their 
 good and the cause of his divine Master. What little wealth 
 he possessed was invested in new lands before coming out. 
 with an expectation of a reasonable support from the Ohic
 
 328 DANIEL STORY. 
 
 Company, until the rents of the lands set apart for the sup- 
 port of the gospel should be available; but this was pre- 
 vented by the Indian war, and no money was raised from 
 that source until the year 1800. The inhabitants were gen- 
 erally much impoverished from the same cause, and most 
 probably his receipts for preaching from 1789 to 1797, could 
 not have paid for his board and clothing. He was obliged 
 to draw upon his former earnings, by the sale of some of 
 his lands. However, the hospitality of one or two kind 
 Christian friends, who gave him a welcome seat at their ta- 
 bles during a part of this period, relieved him from some of 
 his difficulties. At his death, the proceeds from the sale 
 of his remaining lands were insufficient to discharge the 
 debts incurred while laboring in the new settlements; so 
 that, like a faithful servant, he spent not only his life, but 
 all his substance in the service of the cause to which he was 
 devoted. 
 
 In person he was rather tall and slender; quick and active 
 in his movements ; manners easy, with a pleasant address ; 
 cheerful and animated in conversation; and always a wel- 
 come guest in the families he visited. After the war he fre- 
 quently went out to the new settlers, and sometimes spent 
 a week at their houses, in the most familiar and pleasant 
 intercourse. His sermons were practical; logically and me- 
 thodically written after the manner of that day; and were 
 said, in matter and manner, to be fully equal to those of the 
 best preachers in New England. In prayer he was greatly 
 gifted, both in diversity of subject, propriety and fervency, 
 as well as in beauty of language. He was never married, 
 but lived a single life after the manner and advice of St. 
 Paul. Placed as he was, in the midst of a people trembling 
 lor their lives, and filled with anxiety for the support of their 
 families, in the midst of the careless habits and dissolute 
 manners of the soldiery, it is not to be expected that much
 
 J A B E Z T K U E . 329 
 
 could be done, by a humble minister of the gospel, in ad- 
 vancing the spiritual condition of the people; nevertheless, 
 he did what he could for the support of the cause in which 
 he was engaged, and his name is still held in grateful re- 
 membrance, by the fe\v living remnants of the first settlers 
 of Marietta 
 
 DR. JABEZ TRUE. 
 
 DR. JAHKZ TRUK was born in Ilampstead, N. II., in the 
 year 17GO. His father was the Rev. Henry True, a native 
 of Salisbury, Mass., and was for many years the pastor of 
 a church in the former place. \Vhcn a boy he was a student 
 at the old Dammer Academy, and completed his education 
 at Cambridge University. In 1752, he was settled in the 
 ministry after the Puritan order. In the French war he 
 served as the chaplain of a brigade of the colonial troops 
 at Ticondcroga and Fort Edward. lie was a fine scholar, 
 of sound judgment and exemplary piety, "making Revela- 
 tion his guide, and Reason its companion," as is inscribed 
 on his tombstone. 
 
 It was the custom of that day, before many high schools 
 or academies were founded, for the clergymen of -Yew Eng- 
 land to fit young men for college. Mr. True had a class of 
 this kind before the Avar of the Revolution, in which was his 
 son Jabe/. He read a competent share of the classics to pre- 
 pare him for the stud}' of medicine, which, in due time, he 
 pursued under the instruction of Dr. Flagg, of Ilampstead,
 
 330 JABEZ TRUE. 
 
 an eccentric man, but eminent in his profession, and highly 
 esteemed by his friends. lie completed his studies some- 
 time after the commencement of hostilities between the 
 colonies and the mother country, when feeling the spirit of 
 resistance strong upon him, he engaged in the war as a 
 surgeon on board a privateer-ship from Newburyport, a 
 small seaport in the northeast corner of Massachusetts, dis- 
 tant about twelve miles from his home, and sailed for Europe. 
 After a short cruise and limited number of captures, the pri- 
 vateer was wrecked on the coast of Holland, thus abruptly 
 terminating his hopes of a fortune. 
 
 After about two years spent amongst the Hollanders, who 
 were friends of the young republic, at the close of the war 
 he returned to America in a merchant-ship. He now gave 
 his attention to the practice of medicine, and commenced 
 business in Gilmanton, N. II., where he remained two years. 
 
 The Ohio Company was formed in 1787, and feeling a 
 strong desire to visit the enchanting region along the shores 
 of the Ohio, so admirably described by the writers and 
 travelers of that day, he purchased a share of their lands, 
 and concluded to leave the home of his forefathers, and 
 come out to Marietta in company with a family from New- 
 buryport. The emigrants arrived at the mouth of the Mus- 
 kingum early in the summer of 1788. The settlement at 
 that time had but few persons in it; the country was covered 
 with a thick forest, and there was more employment for 
 able-bodied men in clearing lands and building log-cabins, 
 than for physicians. 
 
 In the following year several young men from Boston, 
 who had become enamored with the country from the glow- 
 ing descriptions of its fertility and beauty, came out to the 
 city of Marietta. They built a long, low log-cabin, in which 
 they kept bachelors' hall, on the corner where the Bank of 
 Marietta now stands, and commenced clearing some land.
 
 J A B E Z T R U i; . .'53 1 
 
 It was a new business to those who had been brought up in 
 a city, and when the novelty of the change had subsided, 
 they began to think of the, comfortable homes they had left, 
 and to sigh lor a return. The, breaking out of the Indian 
 war, put a stop to any further progress of the, settlement for 
 the present, and leaving all their improvements, returned to 
 Boston. \ot so with Dr. True; he had come out with the 
 intention of spending his life in the west, and nothing but 
 imperious necessity could turn him from his purpose. His 
 steady habits and good character gained for him the favor 
 of the inlluential men, and in the beginning of the war he 
 was appointed a surgeon's-mate to the Ohio Company's 
 troops, at a salary of twenty-two dollars a month, which 
 wa.s a welcome and timely aid in this season of privation. 
 
 During this distressing, and often perplexing period, he 
 was many times exposed to the attack of the Indians, as he 
 passed up and down the Ohio in his visits to Belpre, and 
 still lower on the river, to minister to the sick and wounded 
 in the garrisons. During the continuance of the small-pox, 
 and then again in the sickness of the scarlet fever, numer- 
 ous trips were made in a canoe, accompanied, generally, by 
 two men. The most hazardous of these, was one made to 
 Flinn's station, or Belville, as it was afterward called, thirty 
 miles below Marietta, the second year of the war, to visit 
 Mrs. Sherwood, who was attacked by the Indians and severely 
 wounded, at the same time her husband was taken prisoner. 
 
 Late in the spring of the year 1792, Stephen Sherwood, 
 an inmate of the garrison, went out very early one morn- 
 ing to feed his hogs, in a pen a few rods above the station 
 on the bank of the river. His wife, a fearless, bold woman, 
 who had always lived on the frontiers, about fifty years old, 
 went out at the same time to milk a cow, standing in the 
 path near the corner of the upper block-house, about twenty 
 yards from the gate. After throwing the corn into the pen.
 
 332 JABEZ TRUE. 
 
 he stepped into the thicket by the side of the road to cut a 
 stick for an ox-goad, intending to plow that day amongst 
 the young corn. While engaged in this employment, eight 
 or ten Indians, who were lying in the bushes, sprang upon 
 him and overpowered him, making him a prisoner. Two of 
 them remained with him, while the others hurried down to 
 the garrison, and seeing the old lady milking the cow, two 
 of them seized upon her, intending to make a prisoner of 
 her also; but she resisted their efforts so stoutly, and 
 screamed so loud to the men in the garrison for help, that 
 they abandoned that plan. One of them knocked her down 
 with a blow of his tomahawk, while the other proceeded to 
 take off her scalp. In the meantime, Peter Anderson and 
 Joel Dewey had just risen from their beds, and were putting 
 their rifles in order for a hunt. Anderson's gun was lying 
 across his knees, with the lock in his hand, having just fin- 
 ished oiling it, when, hearing the screams of Mrs. Sherwood, 
 and readily guessing the cause, he clapped on the lock 
 without fastening the screws, and sprang up the stairway to 
 a port-hole in the block-house. As he was about to fire at 
 the Indians, the lock dropped on to the floor, greatly to his 
 vexation. At this instant, Joel Dewey, whose rifle was in 
 better order, sprang to his side, and taking aim at the In- 
 dian who was in the act of scalping his victim, shot him 
 through the elbow of the very arm that wielded the scalping- 
 knife, before he could complete the operation. Fearing the 
 effects of other shots, the two Indians retreated. Before 
 they had time to rally and repeat the attempt, Anderson 
 and Dewey ran out, and seizing the old lady by the shoul- 
 ders and feet, brought her into the block-house, amidst a 
 volley of rifle shots from the other Indians. It was a foggy 
 morning, and they both escaped injury, although the bulk'ts 
 were left sticking in the logs on each side of the doorway. 
 Mrs. Sherwood remained for a long time without sense, or
 
 J A B E Z TRUE. 333 
 
 signs of life, from the stunning effects of the blow, which 
 gashed her head in the most shocking manner, while the 
 settling of the effused blood about her eyes, gave her a 
 deadly aspect. After a considerable period, signs of re- 
 turning sensibility appeared, and Joshua Dcwey, the brother 
 of Joel, offered his services to go to Marietta for surgical 
 aid. It may seem to us to have been a dangerous offer, but 
 the old borderers knew there was far less danger immedi- 
 ately after an attack of the Indians than at any other time, 
 as they always left immediately, the vicinity of their depre- 
 dations, for fear of a pursuit or an attack on themselves. 
 This journey was performed in a light canoe, with no 
 companion but his trusty rifle, which he pushed to Marietta, 
 a distance of thirty miles, the same day before nightfall, and 
 returned by midnight with Dr. True, whose benevolent feel- 
 ings and kind heart were ever ready to the calls of the dis- 
 tressed. By his judicious treatment, she was finally restored 
 to health, and lived many years with her husband, who 
 effected his escape from captivity in a short time. 
 
 In after life he was celebrated for his sympathy for the 
 sick, having himself suffered much from disease. So tender 
 was he to the prejudices of his patients, that he seldom pre- 
 scribed without first consulting their opinion as to the medi- 
 cine to be taken, and if they had any particular objection 
 to the article which he thought proper, it was changed to 
 suit their taste, unless it was really necessary in managing 
 the disease, that the objectionable remedy should be taken. 
 His attitude by the bedside of the sick was peculiar and 
 striking. Leaning a little forward in the chair, with his 
 long slender legs crossed over each other, his compassionate 
 but single eye intently fixed on the patient, having lost the 
 use of the other irom a long and painful disease of the 
 optic nerve, with one hand on the pulse and the other dili- 
 gently employed in switching about a long cue, for he kept
 
 334 JABEZ TRUE. 
 
 up the good old fashion of wearing the hair carefully dressed 
 with a black ribbon. It was a habit he had insensibly fallen 
 into when his mind was engaged on any subject of deep 
 thought, and no doubt aided in fixing his attention. The 
 result of his calm, deliberate judgment, was generally very 
 correct, and his treatment of disease remarkably successful, 
 which was, doubtless, in part, owing to its simplicity. It is a 
 lamentable fact that many die from the effects of too many 
 and often improper remedies, as well as from disease itself. 
 
 After the close of the war, he built a small dwelling-house 
 and office at the Point, and turned his attention, when not 
 occupied with his profession, to the clearing and cultivation 
 of a small farm, about a mile above the town. He still re- 
 mained a bachelor, boarding for several years in the family 
 of Mr. Moulton, with whom he emigrated to Ohio. He 
 subsequently boarded with Mrs. Mills, the widow of Capt. 
 William Mills, a very amiable and excellent woman, whom 
 he finally married in the autumn of 1806. 
 
 In the year 1799, he became united to the Congregational 
 church in Marietta, the earliest religious society in Ohio. 
 Of this church he was for many years a deacon, fulfilling 
 the duties of that sacred office with great fidelity and 
 propriety. 
 
 His charity for the poor, and especially the sick poor, was 
 unbounded, and only limited by his scanty means, often be- 
 stowing on them, in addition to his own services, the larger 
 portion of the avails of his attendance on richer patients. 
 It was many years after the close of the war before bridges 
 were built and roads opened between the settlements, arid 
 during this period he was the principal physician in Marietta 
 and for the country round. His rides often extended to 
 twenty or thirty miles by bridle paths or old Indian trails, 
 marked out by bla/es on the trees. The people were many 
 of them poor and just beginning life in a new country had
 
 JABKZ TRUE. 
 
 but little to spare for the services of the physician. 'With 
 him, however, it made no difference whether the patient was 
 poor or rich; he was always ready, when his health per- 
 mitted, to attend to the calls, and to divide his last dollar 
 with those who were in want. A practical proof of his 
 equanimity of temper, generosity and forgiving disposition, 
 even to those who had done him an injury, was related by 
 the transgressor himself. 
 
 The doctor was a lover of fine fruit, and had cultivated, 
 with much care, some of the choicest varieties of apples 
 and pears, in a small garden near his house. Amongst them 
 was a tree of the richest kind of summer sweeting apples, 
 to which the neighboring boys paid daily visits whenever 
 the doctor was out of the way. James Glover, a partially 
 blind, near-sighted man, well known to the inhabitants of 
 Marietta, many years since, for his natural, ready, and keen 
 wit, but then a stout boy of fourteen or fifteen years of age, 
 hearing the other lads ^peak of the fine apples in the doc- 
 tor's garden, concluded he would also try them; so, one 
 night, a little after bedtime, he mounted the tree, and began 
 filling his bosom and pockets with the fruit : making a rust- 
 ling among the branches, the doctor happened to hear him, 
 and coming out into the garden, peering up into the trees, 
 he espied James, and hailed him. James was obliged to an- 
 swer, and give his name. "Ah James is that you: why you 
 are on the wrong tree; that one is the summer sweeting. 
 Come down, come down, my lad.'' This was indeed the 
 fact, but in his hurry he had not yet made the discovery of 
 his mistake. James came down very slowly, expecting rough 
 treatment, and the kind language of the doctor only a ruse 
 to get him within his reach. But he was very pleasantly 
 disappointed. Instead of using harsh words, or beating the 
 aggressor, as most men would have done, he took a lon- 
 
 v-j o J o 
 
 pole and beat off as many apples as he could carry, and
 
 33(5 JABEZ TKIIE. 
 
 dismissed him with the request, that when he wanted any 
 more, to call on him, and he would assist him in getting 
 them. James, however, never visited the tree again, and 
 did all in his power to persuade the other boys to do so. 
 
 As the country became more thickly settled, the roads better, 
 and the people more wealthy, other physicians came in, and 
 divided with him the medical business, which he bore with- 
 out murmuring or complaining, willing to see all prosperous 
 and happy, even at his expense. For several of the last 
 years of his life, he held the office of county treasurer, 
 which afforded him a small remuneration without much toil, 
 and enabled him to further extend his charities to benevo- 
 lent societies, and other objects for the support of religion 
 and morals, which came into use about thirty years ago, 
 and of which he was a zealous promoter. Samuel J. Mills, 
 the projector of foreign missions, and other benevolent so- 
 cieties, spent two weeks at his house in 1812, when was 
 formed the Washington County Bible Society, being the first 
 in the valley of the Ohio. His house was the home of all 
 traveling preachers of the Congregational or Presbyterian 
 order, who visited the town, or were engaged in promoting 
 the spread of the gospel. He was the Gaius of Marietta; 
 although, for its population, it numbered many men who 
 were zealous and liberal in all good works. 
 
 In his domestic relations the doctor was very happy. His 
 wife was a cheerful, humble, and sincere Christian, with a 
 lively, benevolent temperament, ever ready to promote the 
 happiness and comfort of her companion, and to aid him in 
 all deeds of charity. By this union he had no issue; but 
 the children of his wife were treated with all the love and 
 kindness he could have bestowed on his own. In person 
 Dr. True was tall, with simple, but not ungraceful manners ; 
 his eyes grey and small, with full, projecting brows, nose 
 large and aquiline; forehead rather low; face mild, and
 
 WILLIAM DANA. 337 
 
 expressive of the benevolence of the mind and heart within. 
 He was a man of whom no enemy could say hard things, 
 and whom every one loved and respected. 
 
 lie died, after a short illness, of the prevailing epidemic 
 fever of 18-23. 
 
 The memory of this good man is still cherished by the 
 descendants of the pioneers, for his universal charity, sim- 
 plicity of manners, and sincere, unaffected piety. 
 
 WILLIAM DANA. 
 
 THE progenitor of the Danas was a French Huguenot, 
 who fled from the Catholic persecutions to England, at the 
 period of the edict of Nantz. Near the middle of the sev- 
 enteenth century, Richard Dana, the son of William Dana, 
 who was the sheriff of Middlesex, under Queen Elizabeth, 
 came to Boston, and settled in that vicinity. He was the 
 great grandfather of Capt. William Dana, the subject of 
 this brief biography. From this man sprang all of that 
 name in New England. He was born at Little Cambridge. 
 now Brighton, Mass., in the year 1745. He had three older 
 brothers, Jonathan, Samuel, and Benjamin, and two younger, 
 Josiah and Ezra, with three sisters. The latter settled in 
 Amherst, N. H., where he held the first rank in society. His 
 son Samuel was a lawyer, and a member of Congress from 
 that state, in the year 1813, and held many public stations 
 in the Democratic ranks. 
 
 Capt. Dana married Miss Mary Bancroft, the daughter of 
 Esq. Bancroft, of Peperil, Mass. She had but one brother, 
 
 QO
 
 338 WILLIAM DANA. 
 
 who was a stanch patriot, and entered the service of his 
 country at the battle of Bunker hill, where he discharged 
 his musket sixteen times ; and when the ammunition was 
 all expended, came off with the retreating troops. That 
 summer he died with the small-pox. After Capt, Dana's 
 marriage, he resided in Charleston; but just before the bat- 
 tle of Lexington, sold his house and lot, and moved his 
 family to the vicinity of Worcester, where he was living, on 
 the Mount Farm, at the commencement of hostilities. This 
 is quite a noted place, and now owned by the Roman Cath- 
 olic College. Here he was chosen captain of a company 
 of artillery, and was stationed with his men a mile or two 
 out of Charleston, at the time of the battle of Bunker hill. An 
 express from Gen. Putnam, near its close, arrived, with orders 
 to hasten on to the hill and reinforce the flagging provincials. 
 He started at fall speed, but met his countrymen on Charles- 
 ton neck, on their retreat. He continued in the service for 
 two or three years, attached to the command of Gen. Knox, 
 who was at the head of the artillery corps. Having a 
 tempting offer, about the year 1778, he sold his possession 
 for continental money, in which he had the fullest, confi- 
 dence. Before he could again invest it, the paper per- 
 ished on his hands, leaving him, like many others of that 
 day, in poverty. Having no means of supporting his young 
 and growing family but his pay in the service, which would 
 not even support himself, he reluctantly resigned his com- 
 mission, and moved his family to Amherst, A r . II. Here lie 
 rented a small farm, which required all his efforts, with the 
 aid of his extra work as a carpenter, to supply his family with 
 food; provisions being both scarce and dear. A portion 
 of the time of his living here, from 1779 to 1788. he was 
 employed as a deputy-sheriff. 
 
 In the spring of the latter year he decided on removing 
 his rapidly increasing family to the banks of the Ohio,
 
 WILLIAM DANA. 
 
 whore the soil was more fertile, and the climate less severe 
 than that of Xew Hampshire. Hither several of his mil- 
 itary associates had already gone. Leaving his wife and 
 family at Amherst until he could visit Ohio, he, after a 
 wearisome journey, arrived with his two oldest sons at Ma- 
 rietta, the last of June, and built a log-cabin on the corner 
 of market-square, where the post-office building now stands. 
 As it was too late in the season to plant a crop of corn, he 
 cleared off a small piece of ground on the land occupied 
 by the female seminary, for a brick-yard, and made and 
 burnt a small kiln that summer, which were the first bricks 
 made in the territory. These were in demand for chimneys, 
 and aided him in supplying his present wants. 
 
 In 1789, he moved out his family and joined the Belpre 
 associates, and drew a lot of land in that wide, beautiful 
 bottom on the Ohio river, just above the head of Blenner- 
 hassett's island. The first labor was chiefly devoted to 
 clearing the land of the immense growth of forest trees 
 which covered it, shutting out the rays of the sun, and in- 
 closing it with fence. This left but little time for the erection 
 of a comfortable cabin, and the winter was passed in a hut 
 built like a large corn-crib, and so small that all the family 
 could not be accommodated at night, and two of the oldest 
 boys slept in a large covered road-wagon. The next year, 
 or in 1790, he built a more comfortable house. That was 
 the year of the famine, in which Capt. Dana's family suf- 
 fered largely with the other settlers. During the Indian 
 war, they lived in Farmers' castle. In a few years after its 
 close, his land was cleared, a convenient frame-house built, 
 orchards of fruit trees in bearing, and smiling plenty crowned 
 his table, around which he could assemble eight sons and 
 three daughters. 
 
 In person Capt. Dana was tall, and in his manhood sus- 
 tained the post and bearing of a sbldier. In disposition
 
 340 NATHANIEL GUSHING. 
 
 cheerful and social, and never happier than when surrounded 
 by his old associates at the festive board. 
 
 He died in the year 1809, and has left a numerous train 
 of descendants, who rank in vigor of mind, intelligence, 
 civil and moral usefulness, with the first families in the 
 community. 
 
 NATHANIEL GUSHING. 
 
 COL. NATHANIEL GUSHING was a branch of the illustrious 
 Gushing family of Boston, which is classed with the first 
 citizens of the cradle of liberty. 
 
 He was born in Pembrook, Mass., on the 8th of April, 
 1753. But little has been preserved of his early life, by his 
 relatives, except that he received a good common school 
 education. At a suitable age he served an apprenticeship 
 to the trade of a house-carpenter, a common occurrence 
 among the New England yeomanry, who often added to the 
 calling of a farmer that of some useful trade or handicraft, 
 giving them vigorous health and strength of limbs, fitting 
 them to wield effectively the implements of war, as well as 
 the tools used in their daily occupations. 
 
 He married Miss Elizabeth Heath, in November, 1775, 
 the year the struggle for independence commenced. The 
 fruits of this union were twelve children, six sons and six 
 daughters, several of whom are now living in Ohio, amongst 
 the most respectable and wealthy of her eiti/.ens. Mrs. 
 Gushing was an accomplished, well educated lady, of refined 
 manners, and accustomed to the best society of that day.
 
 NATHANIEL CUSII1NG. 341 
 
 At the commencement of the war he was living in or 
 near Boston, and offered his services in defense of the 
 country. In July, 177o, while the Americans were investing 
 the town under Gen. Washington, he was commissioned by 
 Congress as a lieutenant in Capt. Trescott's company and 
 Col. Brewer's regiment. In January, 177G, he was commis- 
 sioned as first lieutenant in the same company, but in the 
 sixth regiment of Massachusetts infantry, under Col. Whit- 
 comb. In 1777 he was promoted to a captain, and in this 
 capacity served the remainder of the war, being at its close 
 made a major by brevet. He was engaged in many battles 
 and skirmishes, and noted as one of the most brave and 
 successful of the partizan officers. By his kindness to those 
 under his command, and watchful care for the best interests 
 of his men, he became a great favorite with the soldiers. 
 As a disciplinarian he was very strict, and the men often 
 remarked that they could always depend on his word ; and 
 whether it was to reward them for their good conduct, or to 
 punish them for their faults, it was sure to be accomplished. 
 
 In 1780 Capt. Gushing was attached to Col. Rufus Put- 
 nam's regiment of light infantry, while the main army was 
 stationed on the North river, and the enemy held possession 
 of New York. At this time there was a large district of 
 country between the contending armies, called the neutral 
 ground, that was nearly deserted by the inhabitants, and 
 ravaged by both parties, especially by the Tories, who. from 
 this and the adjacent country, supplied the British in New 
 York with forage and fresh provisions. The Americans, to 
 watch the incursions of the enemy, and keep the Tories from 
 robbing the peacable inhabitants near the lines, kept strong 
 outposts, or detachments of soldiers, on the borders between 
 Kingsbridge and the White Plains. It was a dangerous po- 
 sition for the troops; and none but the most active and 
 vigilant of the partisan officers were ordered on this service.
 
 342 NATHANIEL C US II ING. 
 
 They were not only liable to sudden and night attacks, from 
 the bands of Tories who were born and brought up here, 
 arid familiar with every road and by-path, but also exposed 
 to a corps of light-horse, under the noted partisan officer, 
 Col. Simcoe, who had cut ciF and destroyed several ad- 
 vanced parties of American troops. To avoid the latter 
 casualty, the order of the commanding general was, that 
 they should not advance beyond a certain line into the neu- 
 tral ground, but keep within their own defenses, lest they 
 should be surprised by the light-horse, and cut to pieces. 
 
 Amongst others ordered on this hazardous service, was 
 Capt. Gushing, with a detachment of men in addition to his 
 own company. Soon after arriving and taking up his po- 
 sition, information was brought by some of the Whig inhab- 
 itants, that there was a considerable body of Tories posted 
 at no great distance from him, on the road to New York. 
 The opportunity thus offered, of distinguishing himself and 
 the detachment under his orders, was too great to be re- 
 sisted ; beside, if successful, would be doing a service to the 
 cause, and wipe away some of the disgrace attached to the 
 defeat of other officers who had preceded him in this service. 
 With the main body of his men, he early that night com- 
 menced a rapid march across the country, by an unfre- 
 quented road, and about midnight surprised and captured 
 the whole party. Col. Simcoe, with his mounted rangers, 
 was posted in that vicinity, and received early notice of the 
 event, by some fnond. of the British, and acting with, his 
 usual promptness, immediately commenced a pursuit, with 
 the expectation of cutting to pieces the detachment, and 
 releasing the prisoners. Capt. Cashing, with all haste, posted 
 off the captive Tories in advance, undrr a small guard; 
 charging the officer to rush on toward the Jincs as rapidlv 
 as pos/ible. while hr followed more leisurely in the rear, 
 wiih ih'- 1 main body of his troops. Expecting a pursuit from
 
 N A T 1 1 A N 1 1; L C U S 1 1 I X (1 . 3 13 
 
 Simcoc, he marched in three ranks, and arranged the order of 
 defense if they were attacked by the cavalry ; a kind of troops 
 much more dreaded by the infantry than those of their own 
 class. When about half way back, the clattering hoofs of 
 the rangers' horses were heard in hot pursuit. As, they ap- 
 proached, he halted his detachment in the middle of the 
 road, ready to receive the charge. It fortunately happened 
 that he found, in the house with the captured Tories, a num- 
 ber of long spears or lances, sufficient to arm the rear rank. 
 When called to a halt, and face the enemy, it brought the 
 spearmen in front. Standing in close array, -shoulder to 
 shoulder, with one end resting on the ground, they received 
 their enraged enemies on their points, while the other two 
 ranks poured upon them a deadly fire, leaving many of the 
 horses without riders. This unexpected result threw them 
 into disorder, and their leader directed a retreat. Gushing 
 now renewed his march in the same order. Simcoe, enraged 
 and chagrined at the failure of his charge, again ordered a 
 fresh and more furious onset, but was received by his brave 
 antagonist in the same cool and resolute manner, and met 
 with a still more decided repulse, losing a number of his 
 best men and horses. Not yet satisfied to let his enemies 
 escape, he made a third unsuccessful attempt, and gave up 
 the pursuit, leaving Capt. Gushing to retire at his leisure. 
 lie reached his post unmolested, with all the prisoners, and 
 the loss of only a few men wounded, but none killed. The 
 following day he was relieved by a fresh detachment, 
 and marched into camp with the trophies of this brave 
 adventure. 
 
 The morning after his return, in the orders of the day, by 
 the cornmander-in-cliief, notice was taken of this affair, and 
 any similar attempt by the troops on the lines forbidden, 
 thereby apparently censuring the conduct of Capt. Gushing. 
 This was rather a damper to the feelings of a brave officer.
 
 344 NATHANIEL GUSHING. 
 
 who was peculiarly sensitive, and sustained a nice sense of 
 military honor. Soon after the promulgation of the order, 
 and he had retired to his tent, brooding- over the event of 
 the morning, and half inclined to be both angry and morti- 
 fied at the nice distinctions of the commander, an aid of 
 Gen. Washington entered with a polite invitation to dine 
 with him. He readily complied with the request, and at the 
 table was placed in the post of honor, at Washington's 
 right hand. A large number of officers were present, in 
 whose hearing he highly complimented Capt. Gushing for 
 the gallant manner in which he conducted the assault on 
 the Tories, and the bravery and skill with which he defeated 
 the charges of Simcoe; and that there were few, indeed, 
 who could have conducted the retreat with the coolness and 
 success he had done; but, at the same time, added that for 
 the strict and orderly discipline of the army, it was neces- 
 sary to discountenance every act that contravened the or- 
 ders of the commander-in-chief. This satisfied all his 
 mortified feelings, and increased his love and respect for his 
 revered general. 
 
 After the close of the war he lived in Boston, from 
 whence, on the formation of the Ohio Company, he re- 
 moved with his family to Marietta, in the summer of 1788. 
 Soon after his arrival, in August, he was commissioned by 
 Gov. St. Clair as a captain in the first regiment of territo- 
 rial militia, and in 17 ( J7, by the same, as colonel of the 
 regiment. When the Belpre colony was formed, in 17S9, 
 he joined the association, and was one of the most active, 
 brave, and intelligent men, in arranging and conducting the 
 military and civil affairs of that settlement. After the cap- 
 ture of Capt. Goodale by the Indians, he was chosen to 
 command the garrison of Farmers' castle. At the close of 
 the war he settled on his farm, and pursued agriculture 
 for the support of his family, and was a very successful
 
 JONATHAN II A S K K I, L . :M." 
 
 cultivator, lie paid gre.it attention to the education of his 
 children, who now rank with the most worthy and useful 
 citi/.ens of Ohio. 
 
 Thomas II. Gushing was a younger brother, and faith- 
 fully served his country, not only in the war of 177<>, but 
 also in that of ISl'J. In 1815 he was collector of the United 
 States revenue in the port of New London, Conn., which 
 office he held until his death, in 182^. He is spoken of as 
 a very excellent man. 
 
 In person, Col. dishing was rather short, but very mus- 
 cular and stout-limbed ; eyes black, and of the keenest lus- 
 ter, piercing and intelligent; face well formed, with an ex- 
 pression of firmness and dignity seldom seen; manners 
 gentlemanly and refined; very courteous and affable in 
 his intercourse with mankind, whether poor or rich. lie 
 was highly esteemed by Mr. Blennerhasset, and both him 
 and Mrs. Gushing treated with marked attention. 
 
 They died in August, in the year 1814; but their names 
 will be long cherished by the descendants of the early 
 settlers, as amongst the most worthy of that heroic band. 
 
 MAJ. JONATHAN IIASKELL. 
 
 MAJ. JONATHAN HASKELL was born in Rochester. Mass., 
 the 19th of March, 1775. Like the larger portion of the 
 New Englanders of that day, lie was brought up on a farm, 
 and received only a common school education, which iitted 
 him for conducting the usual concerns of life to which he 
 might be called.
 
 346 JONATHAN HASKELL. 
 
 At the commencement of the \var of Independence, when 
 he was twenty years old, he was engaged in agriculture. 
 How early he entered the army is not known. In 1779 he 
 was aid-de-camp to Gen. Patterson, of the Massachusetts 
 line, and was commissioned as a lieutenant. He continued 
 to serve until the close of the war, either as an aid, or in 
 the line of the army. 
 
 When the Ohio Company was formed, he became an as- 
 sociate, and moved out there in company with Capt. Bevel's 
 family, in the autumn of 1788. In 17S9 he united with the 
 Belpre settlement, and commenced clearing his farm. On 
 the breaking out of the Indian war, in January, 1791, he re- 
 ceived the appointment of captain in the regular service, 
 and went to Rochester, Mass., where he recruited a com- 
 pany, and returned to Marietta in December; where he was 
 stationed for the defense of that, and the adjacent settle- 
 ments ; as the troops had been withdrawn from Fort Ilar- 
 mer in the fall of 1790. After the defeat of Gen. St. Clair. 
 he remained at Marietta until March, 1793, when he was 
 commissioned as a captain in the second sub-legion under 
 Gen. Wayne, and joined the army on the frontiers that sum- 
 mer. He was stationed at Fort St. Clair, where he remained 
 until June, 1794, when he was appointed to the command 
 of the fourth sub-legion, ranking as a major, although his 
 commission was not filled until August, 1795. In a letter 
 to Griffin Greene. Esq., whose relative he married, he gives 
 a sketch of the campaign which defeated the combined 
 forces of the Indians and closed the war. 
 
 " HEAD QUARTERS, MIAMI OF THE LAKE, August 29th, 1794. 
 
 SIR : The 2Sth of July the army moved forward, consisting 
 of about eighteen hundred regulars and fifteen hundred 
 militia, from the state of Kentucky, passing by the way 
 of St. Clair's battle-ground, now Fort Recovery. We then 
 turned more to the eastward, and struck the St. Mary's in
 
 J O X A T II A X 11 A S K K L I. . 347 
 
 twenty miles, where we erected a small fort, and left a sub 
 altcrn's command. We then crossed the St. Clary's, and in 
 four or live days' marching found the Auglai/e river, and 
 continued on down that stream to its junction with the Mi- 
 ami of the lake; distant one hundred miles from Clreenville, 
 by the route we pursued. At this place we built a garrison, 
 and left a major to command it. The army then marched 
 down the river forty-seven miles from the new garrison, and 
 on the 20th inst., at nine o'clbck in the morning, came up 
 with the Indians, who had posted themselves in a position 
 chosen as most favorable for defense. The troops charged 
 upon them with the bayonet, and drove them two miles, 
 through a thicket of woods, fallen timber, and underbrush, 
 when the cavalry fell upon and entirely routed them. Our 
 line extended two and a half miles, and yet it was with dif- 
 ficulty we outflanked them. One of the prisoners, a white 
 man, says the number of the Indians engaged was about 
 twelve hundred, aided by two hundred and fifty white men 
 from Detroit. Our loss in the action was two officers killed, 
 and four wounded, with about thirty privates killed, and 
 eighty wounded. The Indians suffered much; about forty 
 or fifty of their dead fell into our hands. The prisoner was 
 asked why they did not fight better? lie said that we would 
 give them no time to load their pieces, but kept them con- 
 stantly on the run. Two miles in advance of the battle- 
 ground, is a British garrison, established last sprinc'. which 
 we marched round within pistol shot, and demanded a sur- 
 render; but they refused to give it up. Our artillery being 
 too light, and the fort too strong to cany by storm, it was. 
 not attacked; but we burnt their out-houses, destroyed all 
 their gardens, cornfields, and grass, within musket shot of 
 the place, and all below for eight or nine miles, without any 
 opposition. On the 27th we arrived at this place, where we 
 have a fort, and shall halt a few davs to rest. We have
 
 348 JONATHAN HASKELL. 
 
 marched through the Indian settlements and villages for 
 about sixty miles, destroyed several thousand acres of corn, 
 beans, and all kinds of vegetables, burned their houses, with 
 furniture, tools, &c. A detachment has gone into Fort Re- 
 covery for a supply of provisions for the troops, and when 
 it returns, we shall march up the Miami sixty miles, to where 
 the St. Mary's unites with the St. Joseph's, and destroy all 
 the corn in that country." 
 
 This letter describes, in plain terms, the ruin and devasta- 
 tion that marked the course of the American army. It 
 might have been considered a wise policy to devote to de- 
 struction the dwellings, cornfields, gardens, and in fact every 
 species of property that belonged to the hostile savages, but 
 it was also a most cruel policy. The British troops, in their 
 inroads amongst the rebel settlements of the Revolutionary 
 war, never conducted more barbarously. The Indian vil- 
 lages on the Miami and the Auglaize, were snugly and 
 comfortably built were furnished with many convenient 
 articles of house-keeping and clothing. They had large 
 fields of corn and beans, with gardens of melons, squashes, 
 and various other vegetables. Mr. Joseph Kelly, of Ma- 
 rietta, then a boy of twelve years old, and for several years 
 a prisoner with the Indians, who treated him kindly, and was 
 adopted into a family as one of their own children, was 
 living at this time with them at the junction of the St. Mary's 
 and Auglaize, the spot where Maj. Haskell says the army 
 would next go, to complete their work of destruction. Mr. 
 Kelly was there when an Indian runner announced that the 
 American troops had arrived in the vicinity of the village, 
 His friends had not expected them so soon, and with the ut- 
 most haste and consternation, the old men, with the women 
 and children, the warriors being absent, hurried aboard their 
 canoe,-, taking nothing with them but a few kettles and 
 blankets, not having time to collect any provisions from
 
 EBENEZEll BATTKLLE. 349 
 
 their fields and gardens. The sun was only an hour or two 
 high when they departed, in as deep sorrow at the loss of 
 their country and homes, as the Trojans of old when they 
 evacuated their favorite city. Before the next day at noon, 
 their nice village was burnt to the ground ; their cornfields 
 of several hundred acres, just beginning to ripen, were cut 
 down and trampled under foot by the horses and oxen of 
 the invaders, Avhile their melons and squashes were pulled 
 up by the roots. The following winter, the poor Indians de- 
 prived of their stock of corn and beans, which were grown 
 every year and laid up for their winter food as regularly as 
 among the white people, suffered the extreme of want. 
 Game was scarce in the country they retreated to on the 
 west of the Miami, and what few deer and fish they could 
 collect, barely served to keep them alive. It was a cruel 
 policy; but probably subdued their Spartan courage more 
 than two or three defeats, as for many years thereafter, until 
 the days of Tecumseh, they remained at peace. 
 
 After the close of the war, Maj. Ilaskell returned to his 
 farm at Belpre, where he died in December, 1814. He was 
 considered a brave man and a good officer. Several of his 
 descendants are living in Washington county. 
 
 COL. EBENEZER BATTELLE. 
 
 COL. EBENEZER BATTELLK was a descendant of the Puritan 
 race, and the only son of Ebenezer Battelle,Esq., of Dedham, 
 Mass. His father was one of the industrious, honest yeo- 
 manry of the good old bay state, who duly appreciated the
 
 350 EBENEZER BATTELLE. 
 
 value of learning, more farmers' sons being liberally edu- 
 cated in that state than in any other of the Union. At a 
 suitable age he pursued a full college course at Cambridge, 
 and graduated in the year 1775. He was intended for the 
 ministry, as were a large share of the educated men before 
 the Revolution; but the war breaking out in the last year 
 of his course, his attention was diverted from the study of 
 divinity to that of a martial nature, lie held the commis- 
 sion of a colonel under the governor of Massachusetts, in 
 the militia, during or at the close of the war. 
 
 In 17S1, he commenced business in Boston, as the active 
 partner in a bookstore, in company with Isaiah Thomas, of 
 Worcester, a man who delighted in being useful, and assisted 
 many young men in their commencement of life. He re- 
 mained in this occupation six years; and during the time, 
 married Miss Anna Darant, the daughter of Cornelius Dar- 
 ant, Esq., a rich merchant of that place. She was a woman 
 of superior intellect, beautiful person, and great excellence 
 of character, the impress of which descended to her children. 
 This bookstore was the second one ever opened in Boston, 
 the first being kept by Mr. Guile, to which was added a cir- 
 culating library to aid in keeping up the establishment. 
 While here he was elected to the command of the Ancient 
 and Honorable Artillery Company, a noted band of military 
 men, composed of officers of good standing and character. 
 On the formation of the Ohio Company, he became an 
 associate, and was appointed one of their agents. On the 
 sixth of April, 1788, the day before the pioneers landed at 
 Marietta, he left Boston in company with Col. John May 
 and others, by water, for the mouth of the Muskingum, by 
 way of Baltimore. After a six weeks' tour in crossing the 
 mountains, by almost impassable roads, with their heavy- 
 loaded wagon, they reached the place of destination the last 
 of May. During the following summer he was employed
 
 E B E N E Z E 11 B A T T E L L E . 351 
 
 in erecting a dwelling-house, in the front curtain of Campus 
 Martins, for the reception of his family. The first Court of 
 Quarter Sessions, held the 9th of September, was opened 
 in his house, as appears by the old records of that court. 
 In October, 17SS, he recrossed the mountains to meet his 
 family at Baltimore, and guide them over the Allcghenies. 
 He found them under the care of Mr. Daniel Mayo, a young 
 gentleman who had recently graduated at Cambridge, and 
 became a resident of Newport, Ky., after the close of the 
 Indian war. Their journey, at this late season of the year, 
 was very trying to Mrs. Battelle, who had all her life been 
 nurtured in the comforts of a city. At Simrcl's ferry, a noted 
 place of embarkation for emigrants, they met with several 
 other New England families, amongst them, Isaac Pierce, 
 Charles Green, and Capt. Zebulon King, who, the next 
 spring, was killed by the Indians. The last of November, 
 eight families embarked in one boat, and that not a large 
 one, and arrived at Marietta in December. Here they met 
 with a hearty welcome from the five or six females and heads 
 of families who had come on in August preceding. The 
 winter was passed very pleasantly in Campus Martins, in 
 the company of such men as Gens. Varnum, Parsons, and 
 Putnam, with Gov..St. Clair and the officers of Fort Ilarmer. 
 The Indians were yet all friendly, and an abundance of wild 
 game, with a good stock of provisions from Pittsburg. ren- 
 dered this as delightful a season as any that occurred for 
 many years thereafter. 
 
 That winter an association was formed for the settlement 
 at Bclpre, composed almost entirely of the old officers of 
 the continental line. Col. Battelle united himself with 
 these enterprising and intelligent men, and in the spring of 
 1789 proceeded to clear his land and erect a stout block- 
 house for the reception of his family. On the 1st day of 
 May, one of the associates, Capt. King, from Rhode Island.
 
 352 EBENEZER BATTELLE. 
 
 was killed by the Indians, while peaceably at work on his 
 new land. The following day Col. Battelle, with two of his 
 sons and Griffin Greene, Esq., embarked at Marietta in a 
 large canoe, with farming tools, provisions, &c. On their 
 way down they were hailed by some one from the shore, 
 and informed of this sad event. They landed and held a 
 consultation on what was best to be done. Some were for 
 returning; but they finally decided on proceeding. The 
 block-houses of the two emigrants were near each other, 
 and nearly opposite to the middle of Backus' island, on the 
 spot afterward occupied by Farmers' castle. After landing, 
 the other settlers came and joined them for mutual defense, 
 and through the night kept up a military guard, in the old 
 Revolutionary style, the sentinel calling out every fifteen 
 minutes, " All's well," not thinking this would give the skulk- 
 ing Indians notice where to find them. No enemy, how- 
 ever, molested them during the night, and their fears of 
 attack gradually subsided. They were not again disturbed 
 until the winter of 1791. 
 
 Early in April, before any families had moved on to the 
 ground, a party of officers from Fort Harmer, with their 
 wives, and a few ladies from Marietta, made a visit to the 
 new settlement, in the officer's barge, a fine, large boat, 
 rowed with twelve oars. These were the first white females 
 who ever set foot on the soil of Belpre. On their return. 
 Col. Battelle, with several others, accompanied them by 
 water in a canoe, and another party by land. While on 
 the voyage, a large bear was discovered swimming across 
 the river. The landsmen fired at him with their muskets 
 and rifles, but without effect. The canoe then ranged along- 
 side, when Col. Battelle seized him by the tail, and when 
 the bear attempted to bite his hand, he raised his hind parts, 
 throwing his head under water, and thus escaped his teeth. 
 One of hid companions soon killed him with an axe. He
 
 EBENEZER BATTELLE. 353 
 
 weighed over three hundred pounds, and afforded several 
 fine dinners to his captors. In 1790, owing to early frost.-* 
 and late planting the year previous, the inhabitants were 
 left without breadstuff, corn being their chief dependence. 
 Their sufferings were very great, until the crop of 1790 was 
 gathered, which proved to be plentiful, and after that time 
 they did not suffer again for food. During the Indian war 
 his family was sheltered in Farmers' castle, and all escaped 
 injury, though often in danger. Several of the inmates 
 were killed. 
 
 In the plan of Farmers' castle, his block-house occupied 
 the northeast corner. In their lower room of this building, 
 regularly on the Sabbath, divine worship was kept up by 
 the inhabitants. His son Ebenezer, a lad of fourteen years, 
 was drummer to the garrison, and at the hour of service 
 marched with his drum the whole length of the castle, sum- 
 moning the people to worship. Col. Battelle officiated as 
 chaplain, sometimes delivering his own discourses, and, at 
 others, reading the sermons of a standard divine ; so that 
 the Sabbath was honored and generally respected by the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 He died at the residence of his son, in Newport, Washing- 
 ton county, Ohio, in the year 1815. 
 
 He left three sons and one daughter, Cornelius, Ebenezer, 
 and Thomas. Cornelius and Thomas, at the close of the 
 war, went to the West Indies, where a rich uncle put them 
 into lucrative business. Thomas married the daughter of 
 Gov. Livingston, of New York, and Cornelius the daughter 
 of a rich planter. Louisa remained single, and Jived in 
 Boston with her mother's relatives. Ebenezer settled on a 
 farm in Newport, and has a numerous family of children, 
 
 noted for their intelligence and respectability. 
 23
 
 COL. ISRAEL PUTNAM. 
 
 COL. ISRAEL PUTXAM was the eldest son of Gen. Israel Put- 
 nam, of Pomfret, Conn., but was born in the town of Salem, 
 Mass., in 1739. He had three brothers, Daniel, David and 
 Schuyler, whose native place was Pomfret. His early days 
 were passed on the farm, and he was bred to the noble art 
 of agriculture, an art without which all other arts are useless. 
 This gave him a vigorous, healthy frame, and fitted him for 
 the turmoils of the camp or the labors of the field. 
 
 His education was similar to that of the sons of the sur- 
 rounding yeomanry, equal to all the common concerns of 
 life. As a proof that Gen. Putnam highly valued learning 
 and the cultivation of the mind, he collected a large library 
 of the most useful books ; embracing history, belles-lettres, 
 travels, &c., for the benefit of himself and children, called 
 the Putnam family library. After his death they were 
 divided amongst the heirs, and quite a number of them 
 found their way to Ohio, being brought out by his son and 
 grandchildren. 
 
 About the year 17G4, he married Miss Sarah Waldo, of 
 an ancient and honorable family in Pomfret, and a woman 
 of excellent qualities, with whom he passed a long and happy 
 life. 
 
 On the 20th of April. 1775, when the news of the battle 
 of Lexington arrived, flying on the wings of the wind, his 
 father, Col. Putnam, was plowing in the field with four oxen, 
 lie left them standing in their yokes, and hastening to the 
 stable, mounted one of his fleetest horses, without even 
 changing his dress, and started for the scene of action. The 
 distance was one hundred miles, which he accomplished by
 
 ISRAEL PUTNAM. 355 
 
 a relay of horses, in twenty-four hours. Shortly after his 
 departure, his son Israel raised a company of volunteers, of 
 which he wan the captain, and marched to Cambridge, where 
 he remained under his father's orders until the arrival of 
 Gen. Washington. Soon after this time, Col. Putnam was 
 commissioned by Congress as a major-general, and on the 
 22d of July, Capt. Putnam and Lieut. Samuel Webb were 
 appointed his aids. He accompanied his father to New 
 York, where he took command of that division of the army, 
 and to the posts on the Hudson river. Having but little 
 taste for military life, to which calling neither his address nor 
 personal appearance fitted him, being diffident and awkward 
 in his manners, but naturally fearless and brave like all his 
 name, after spending about three years in the army, he con- 
 cluded to quit the service and devote his attention to the 
 farm, for which he was eminently fitted, both by inclina- 
 tion and practice. While absent from his home, his wife 
 took charge of the family of six children. She was a woman 
 of great spirit, and as firm a patriot as the general himself, 
 hating, with all her soul and strength, the British oppressors 
 of her country, who were technically called Redcoats, and 
 loving with equal ardor the American soldiers, supplying 
 them with food and clothing to the extent of her abilities. 
 In the winter of 1779, when the patriot troops suffered so 
 much from the want of warm garments, she had spun and 
 wove in her own house, a number of blankets made of the 
 finest wool in the flock, and sent on for their relief. Numer- 
 ous pairs of stockings were also manufactured by her own 
 hands, and contributed in the same way. No one at this 
 day knows or can appreciate the value of the labors of 
 American females in achieving our freedom. They wrought 
 and suffered in silence, bearing many privations in common 
 with their husbands and sons in the days which tried the 
 patriotism of the colonists. She was a woman of elevated
 
 356 ISRAEL PUTNAM. 
 
 mind and great personal courage, worthy of. the family to 
 which she was allied. In the absence of her husband, when 
 the vultures and hawks attacked the poultry, she could load 
 and fire his light fowling-piece at them, without dodging at 
 the flash. 
 
 While at Harlem Lights, Col. Putnam purchased two fine 
 bulls, to improve his stock of cattle ; one was black, and a 
 full-blooded English animal ; the other, an American, of a 
 mottled color. From these, crossed with his best native 
 cows, was raised a very superior stock, celebrated for size, 
 and their excellent qualities for the dairy. Oxen of this 
 breed were brought out to Ohio in the year 1788, and cows 
 in 1795, which were as famous for milk as the noted Dur- 
 hams of this day. During the period of the Revolution, 
 amidst all their other cares, intelligent American farmers 
 found time to attend to the improvement of their farming 
 operations, as well as to the calls of military duties. 
 
 When the Ohio Company was formed, he became an as- 
 sociate; and with two of his sons crossed the mountains, 
 bringing a wagon load of farming utensils ; but left his wife 
 and other children in Pomfret, until a farm was provided 
 for their comfort in the wilderness. His team was composed 
 of two yokes of oxen, sprung from this famous stock. The 
 adventure in crossing the North river, related in the biogra- 
 phy of his son Waldo, took place on this journey; and his 
 life was saved by one of these fine oxen. At the formation 
 of the settlement in Belpre, in the spring of 1789, he joined 
 that community, locating his farm in the broad, beautiful 
 bottom on the Ohio river, opposite to the mouth of the Lit- 
 tle KenawLa. Here he remained, clearing and fencing the 
 land, until the fall of 1790, when he returned to Connecticut 
 tor hi.s family. The Indian war broke out in January fol- 
 lowing, and he did not return until after the peace of 171)5. 
 
 His wealth, although not great, yet gave him facilities for
 
 ISRAEL PUTNAM. 357 
 
 improving his lands and erecting buildings, rather superior 
 to most of the other associates, who were generally in very 
 moderate circumstances. He was a practical and intelli- 
 gent agriculturist, who, by his example and precepts, was 
 the means of giving a correct tone to the progress of farm- 
 ing in Belpre, thus conferring a direct benefit on the country. 
 In all public improvements on the roads and bridges, so use- 
 ful in new settlements, he \vas a leading and influential 
 man ; also, in the support of schools and the gospel ; read- 
 ing on the Sabbath, in their social meetings, when they had 
 no preacher, the prayers of the Episcopal church, and a ser- 
 mon from the work of some pious divine ; thus doing all in 
 his power for the good of his fellow men. 
 
 He was the father of a numerous family ; five sons and 
 three daughters, viz. : Israel, Aaron Waldo, David, William 
 Pitt, and George Washington. These all settled in Ohio, 
 and three of them as farmers. William Pitt Putnam was a 
 physician, and came to Marietta in 1792, in the midst of the 
 war, and practiced medicine. David Putnam also settled in 
 Marietta, in 1798, as a lawyer, and is now the only survivor. 
 The daughters married as follows : Sarah to Samuel Thor- 
 nily, Mary to Daniel Mayo, and Elizabeth to Joel Craig; the 
 two latter settled in Newport, Ky., opposite to Cincinnati, 
 where their descendants now live. 
 
 Col. Putnam was a man of sound, vigorous mind, and re- 
 markable for his plain, common sense; abrupt and homely 
 in his manners and address, but perfectly honest and up- 
 right in his intercourse with mankind. He was a strict 
 utilitarian; esteeming the useful much more highly than the 
 ornamental. In his life he practiced all the Christian vir- 
 tues, and died in the full hope of a blessed immortality.
 
 MAJ. NATHAN GOODALE 
 
 MAJ. NATHAN GOODALE was born in Brookiield, Mass., about 
 the year 1743. His father died when he was quite young, 
 and his mother married a Mr. Ware, of Rutland, where he 
 was removed to his new home, and passed his early years, 
 to the time of manhood, on a farm, and in learning the trade 
 of a bricklayer ; thus laying the foundation for that vigorous, 
 muscular frame, which enabled him to undergo the fatigues 
 and exposures of a military life, at a time when the army 
 afforded few facilities for the comfort of the soldier. No 
 other set of men could have borne up under the trials of 
 want, famine, and a lack of all the common necessaries of 
 life, for several years in succession, as did the American 
 soldiers, but such as had been inured like the Spartans, in 
 childhood, to bear suffering with patience. His education 
 was rather above that of the common schools of that day, 
 for we find him, at an early period of the war, employed by 
 Gen. Putnam as an assistant engineer. 
 
 At a suitable age he married Elizabeth Phelps, of Rut- 
 land, on the llth of September, 1765. About the year 1770 
 he moved his family to Brookfield, where he purchased a 
 farm two miles from the center of the town. His three old- 
 est children were born in Rutland, as we learn from the 
 town records. 
 
 From this time to the rupture with the mother country, in 
 177f>, he continued to labor on his farm, and to work at his 
 trade of bricklaying; but as nearly all the houses of that 
 day were made of wood, his mechanical work was chiefly 
 confined to chimneys. For some time previous to the first 
 hostilities, he had, with thousands of his countrvmon, been
 
 NATHAN G D A L E . 
 
 preparing for the day of strife, which every thinking man 
 foresaw must soon arrive, by practicing military exercises, 
 and collecting arms and ammunition. Many of these vol- 
 unteer companies were aptly called, by the New England- 
 ers, who are never at a loss for a phrase to express exactly 
 their meaning, "Minute men." They were, indeed, minute 
 men, and when the first notice of alarm echoed from hill to 
 hill, all over the country, at the bloodshed at Lexington, 
 they were ready, at a moment's warning, to pour their thou- 
 sands on thousands into the vicinity of Boston, the strong- 
 hold of the British, which nothing but the lack of battering 
 cannon and ammunition hindered them immediately from 
 storming. Mr. Goodale here first saw the actual movements 
 of military life, and immediately entered into the service of 
 his country, as a lieutenant. It being uncertain how long 
 he might remain in the army, the homestead of his early 
 manhood was sold, and his family resided, during the war, 
 in rented premises. With what spirit and enterprise he en- 
 tered into the sen-ice, and how well his activity and talents 
 were adapted to the trying exigencies of a partisan officer, 
 the most difficult of all military duties, will be best shown 
 by a letter from Gen. Rufus Putnam to Gen. Washington. 
 near the close of the war : 
 
 "MASSACHUSETTS HUTS, June 9th, 1783. 
 SIR : I do myself the honor to inclose a letter I received a 
 few days since from Capt. Goodale, of the fifth Massachu- 
 setts regiment. I confess I feel a conviction of neglect of 
 duty in respect to this gentleman; that I have not, till t\\i< 
 moment, taken any measures to bring his services to public 
 view, has been owing to the confidence I had, that Gen. 
 Gates would have done it, as the most extraordinary of them 
 were performed under his own orders, and as he gave re- 
 peated assurances that they should not be forgotten. I am
 
 360 NATHAN GOODALE. 
 
 sorry that Gen. Gates is no\v out of camp, for we're he not, 
 I should appeal to him on the subject, but as I am sure so 
 worthy a character, and such important services, ought not 
 to be buried in oblivion, or pass unrewarded, I beg your 
 excellency's patience a few moments, while I give a short 
 detail of them. Capt. Goodale was among the first who 
 embarked in the common cause in 1775. He served that 
 year as a lieutenant in the same regiment with me. I had 
 long before known him to be a man of spirit, and his probity 
 and attention to service soon gained him the character of a 
 worthy officer. In 1776, he entered again as a lieutenant, 
 but served with me the most of the year as an assistant 
 engineer, and the public are much indebted to him for the 
 dispatch and propriety with which several of the works about 
 New York were executed. In the dark month of November, 
 1776, Mr. Goodale entered the service as a captain in the 
 regiment under my command, and was in the field early the 
 next spring; but, although he always discovered a thirst for 
 enterprise, yet fortune never gave his genius fair play till 
 August, 1777. It is well known into what a panic the 
 country, and even the northern army, were thrown on the 
 taking of Ticonderoga. When Gen. Gates took command 
 in that quarter, our army lay at Van Shaick's island; and 
 Mr. Burgoyne, with his black wings and painted legions, lay 
 at Saratoga. The woods were so infested with savages, that 
 for sometime none of the scouts who were sent out for the 
 purpose of obtaining prisoners or intelligence of the enemy's 
 situation, succeeded in either. Gen. Gates being vexed at 
 continual disappointment?, desired an officer to procure him 
 a man that would undertake, at all hazards, to perform this 
 service. Capt. Goodale being spoken to, voluntarily under- 
 took the business under the following orders from Gen. 
 Gates. 'Sir: You are to choose out a sergeant and six
 
 NATHAN GO 01) ALE. 301 
 
 privates, and proceed with them to the enemy's camp, unless 
 you lose your life or arc captured, and not return until you 
 obtain a full knowledge of their situation.' 
 
 Capt. Goodale, in hi.s report of this scout, nays it was not 
 performed without great fatigue, as the party was much 
 harassed by the Indians, which occasioned their being in the 
 woods three days without provisions. However, he suc- 
 ceeded beyond expectation; first throwing himself between 
 their out-guards and their camp, where he concealed his 
 party until he examined their situation very fully, and then 
 brought oil' six prisoners, which he took within their guards, 
 and returned to Gen. Gates without any loss. This success 
 induced Gen. Gates to continue him on that kind of service. 
 A full detail of all the art and address which he discovered 
 during the remainder of that campaign, would make my 
 letter quite too long. It may be enough to observe that 
 before the capture of the British army, one hundred and 
 twenty-one prisoners fell into his hands. But as Capt. 
 Goodale is no less brave and determined in the open field, 
 where opposed to regular troops, than he is artful as a 
 partizan of the woods, I beg your patience while I recite 
 one instance of this kind. A day or two after Mr. Burgoyne 
 retreated to Saratoga, in a foggy morning, Nixon's brigade 
 was ordered to cross the creek which separated the two 
 armies. Capt. Goodale, with forty volunteers, went over 
 before the advance guard. He soon fell in with a British 
 guard of about the same number. The ground was an 
 open plain, but the fog prevented their discovering each 
 other till they were within a few yards, when both parties 
 made ready nearly at the same time. Capt. Goodale, in 
 this position reserving 1 his lire, advanced immediately upon 
 the enemy, who waited with a design to draw it from him; 
 but he had the address to intimidate them in such a manner, 
 by threatening immediate death to any one that should fire,
 
 362 NATHAN GOODALE. 
 
 that not more than two or three obeyed the order of their 
 own officer, when he gave the word. The event was, that 
 the officer and thirty-four of the guard were made prisoners. 
 These, sir, arc the services which Capt. Goodale and his 
 friends conceive have merited more attention than has been 
 paid to them; and, at least, merit a majority as much as 
 Maj. Summers' unsuccessful command of a boat a few 
 months on Lake Champlain. But if the tables are reversed, 
 and the ill luck of a brave man should be the only recom- 
 mendation to promotion, Capt. Goodale, I believe, has as 
 great pretensions as most men, for he is the unfortunate 
 officer who commanded about forty white men, and being 
 joined by about the same number of Indians, fought more' 
 than one thousand of the enemy below Valentine's hill in 
 1778, until near two-thirds were killed, himself and most of 
 the rest made prisoners. But I mention this not so much 
 to show his bravery, for he takes no merit from that action, 
 but always lamented the necessity he was under from the 
 orders he received, to do what he did. In writing to me on 
 the subject, he says: 'At this time a number of brave men 
 were sacrificed to bad orders; but, as they were not my 
 order.-, I hope the candid will not censure me.' Having 
 stated these facts, I beg leave to request your excellency 
 will lay them before Congress, &c. lie goes on to say, 
 Gen. Washington forwarded my letter to the secretary of 
 war; but as about this time Congress came to a resolution 
 to raise the rank of all officers one grade who had not been 
 promoted since their entrance into service, the 1st of January, 
 1777, Maj. Goodale received promotion with the rest, and 
 thus never had that justice done him which he so highly 
 merited/' 
 
 Thus far Gen. Putnam testifies to the valuable services 
 of this brave and noble-minded man. Had Gen. Gates, as 
 in duty bound, given notice to Congress of the heroic exploits
 
 NATHAN GOODALE. 363 
 
 of Capt. Goodalc, in collecting information of the move- 
 ments of Burgoyne, so essential to the welfare of the Ameri- 
 can army, he would no doubt have received the promotion 
 so justly his due. But Gates was a selfish, proud man, who 
 cared little for the interest of others, provided his own per- 
 sonal wishes were accomplished. 
 
 From another hand a more detailed account is given of 
 the action at Valentine's hill. It seems that the commander 
 of the troops to which he was attached, had ordered him to 
 keep possession of a certain pass, important to the Ameri- 
 cans, at all hazards, without any discretionary power as to 
 contingencies. His command consisted, as above-stated, of 
 about forty light-infantry and a number of Indians, who 
 stood the attack of a large body of the enemy and a com- 
 pany of cavalry, until there were only seventeen men left 
 alive out of the forty. Near the close of the combat, the 
 officer who led the charge rushed upon him with his sword. 
 Capt. Goodale, with a loaded musket which he had probably 
 picked up from one of his fallen men, shot the Briton dead 
 from his horse as he approached. In a moment, another 
 of the enemy, seeing the fall of his leader, sprung at him in 
 desperation, with full purpose to revenge his death. The 
 musket being discharged, the only resource was to parry the 
 descending blow, aimed at his head, in the best manner he 
 could, with the empty piece. It fell obliquely, being turned 
 a little from its course by the musket, and instead of splitting 
 the skull of its intended victim, glanced on the bone, peeling 
 up a portion of the scalp several inches in length. The 
 stunning effects of the blow felled him to the earth, but di- 
 rectly recovering, he rose to his feet. In the meantime, the 
 cavalry man, who had leaned forward in the saddle further 
 than prudent to give a certain death-stroke, lost his balance, 
 when the heavy sword glanced from the skull and fell to the 
 earth. The bayonet of Capt. Goodale instantly pinned him
 
 364 NATHAN GOODALE. 
 
 to the ground, and left him dead by the side of his leader. 
 Thus two of the enemy fell by his hand in a space of time 
 less than a minute. Seeing all prospect of further resistance 
 useless, he retreated with the balance of his men to an open 
 woodland, near the scene of action, and secreted himself 
 under a pile of brush. An Indian had hidden under another 
 heap, where they might have remained in safety until dark 
 and then escaped; but the savage having an opportunity to 
 shoot one of the enemy who approached their hiding-place, 
 he could not resist the chance of adding another scalp to 
 his trophies, and shot him. The report of the shot revealed 
 their hiding-place, and being discovered, were made pris- 
 oners. How long he remained in durance does not appear 
 from the imperfect memorials left of his military life. It is 
 probable he was shut up in the old Jersey prison-ship at 
 New York, as his children have a tradition that he was 
 poisoned, from the fact of a long sickness he suffered after 
 his return home. But it is more probable that the poison 
 was that of human malaria, received in that pest-house of 
 British cruelty, which killed more Americans than all those 
 who fell in battle during the whole war, being estimated at 
 twelve or fourteen thousand. It is one of the foulest stains 
 on the English nation, that ever disgraced their character. 
 
 During the war he received one other wound in the leg, 
 from a musket or grape shot. Could all his adventures be 
 collected they would make one of the most interesting of 
 biographies; but time, and a fire which destroyed his papers 
 at Belpre some years after his death, have put this matter 
 to rest, and these scanty gleanings are all that are left of 
 his military life. 
 
 At the close of the war he entered into mercantile busi- 
 ness, in company with Col. Gushing, a brother officer. Not 
 succeeding in this to his expectations, he sold out. and 
 bought a farm on Coit's hill, in the north part of the town
 
 NATHAN GOOD ALE. 305 
 
 of Brookfield. In the pursuits of agriculture he was a.s 
 much at home as in military matters, having a natural taste 
 for cultivation, and engaged in this primitive employment 
 with his characteristic ardor and perseverance, at a time 
 when improvements of all kinds were at a low ebb; the 
 country during the war having retrograded, amidst the trials 
 of that eventful period. Mr. Goodale \vas remarkable for 
 his industry, and thorough, neat manner in which he con- 
 ducted all the operations of the farm. The forecast and 
 wisdom of the man may be seen before setting out on his 
 journey to Ohio, in the course he pursued in preparing for 
 it. Knowing that a superior breed of neat cattle is all-im- 
 portant to the farmer, and more especially to one beginning 
 in a new country, instead of taking a team of oxen, or 
 horses, as all other men did, to haul their wagons, he, after 
 deciding on joining the new colony, selected three of the 
 best cows and one of the finest bulls to be found in that vi- 
 cinity, and trained them to work together in a team. With 
 this novel working power, he drew on the wagon, with a 
 part of his family and household goods, to Marietta, per- 
 forming the journey with as much ease, and in as short a 
 time, as the best of oxen. He had also the profit of their 
 milk for the use of the family along the road. The stock 
 from this breed of cattle has been spread through the 
 county, and is held in high estimation at this day, for their 
 perfect forms, gentle dispositions, and great abundance of 
 rich milk ; constituting them, on all accounts, the best dairy 
 stock ever introduced to the country. They are known as 
 the " Goodale breed," still retaining many of their original 
 characteristics. 
 
 Maj. Goodale arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum on 
 the 2d of July, 1788, in company with several other families 
 from Massachusetts, descending the Ohio, from \Vheeling, 
 in a ilatboat. In August he was appointed, by Gov. St.
 
 366 NATHAN GOODALE. 
 
 Clair, who soon organized the militia, captain of a company 
 of light-infantry, selected from amongst the most active men 
 of the colony. This company held regular musters, until 
 the commencement of the war, when each man was con- 
 fined to the defense of his own garrison, in the settlement 
 where he lived. His experience in military affairs rendered 
 him a very able and efficient officer, familiar with all the 
 details of actual service. 
 
 In April, 1789, he moved his family to Belpre, being a 
 leading associate of the colony. During the short period 
 he was permitted to live in that place, he was considered to 
 be one of the most industrious, persevering, and thoroughly 
 educated farmers in the county; clearing his land in the 
 most rapid manner, fencing and cultivating it in the best 
 style. In the famine of 1790 his family suffered, with the rest 
 of their neighbors, for wholesome bread-stuff. When the war 
 broke out in 1791, he was one of the most active and reso- 
 lute men in planning and erecting the fortified village called 
 Farmers' castle, in which they all resided during the first 
 two years of the war. In making the arrangements for the 
 defense and military government of the garrison, he was the 
 leading man; and the command was, by unanimous con- 
 sent, given to him, as the most experienced in warlike mat- 
 ters. In the winter of 1793 the place had become too strait 
 for the numerous families congregated within its walls, and 
 it was decided to erect two additional stockades; one a mile 
 and a half below, on Maj. Goodale's farm, and one on Capt. 
 Stone's land, just below the mouth of the Little Kenawha, 
 called the "Upper settlement." 
 
 He had been but a week in his new garrison, when the 
 colony met with the most serious loss it had yet sustained 
 from their Indian enemies, in the captivity and death of 
 Maj. Coodale. On the first day of March, 1793, he was at 
 work in a clearing on his farm, distant about forty or fifty
 
 NATHAN GOOD A L E . 30? 
 
 rods from the garrison, hauling rail timber with a yoke of 
 oxen. Jt lay back oi' the first bottom, on the edge of the 
 plain, in open view of the station. An Irishman, named 
 John Ma gee, was at work, grubbing or digging out the roots 
 of the bushes and small trees, on the slope of the plain, as 
 it descends on to the bottom, but out of sight of Maj. Good- 
 ale. The Indians made so little noise in their assault, that 
 John did not hear them. The first notice of this disaster, 
 was the view of the oxen seen from the garrison, standing 
 quietly in the field, with no one near them. After an hour 
 or more they were observed to be still in the same place, 
 when suspicion arose that some disaster had happened to 
 Mr. Goodale. John was still busy at his work, unconscious 
 of any alarm, when one of the men sent up from the gar- 
 rison, passed him to inquire what was the matter. In the 
 edge of the woods there was a thin layer of snow, on which 
 the messenger discovered several moccasin tracks. It was 
 now apparent that Indians had been there, and taken him 
 prisoner, as no blood was seen on the ground. A small 
 party followed the trail some distance, but soon lost it. The 
 following day a larger body of men, with some of the rang- 
 ers, were sent in pursuit, but returned without making any 
 discovery. The Ohio river at this time, with many of the 
 smaller streams, was at nearly full banks, and less dan- 
 ger was apprehended on that account; it was also rather 
 early in the season for Indians to approach the settlements. 
 The uncertainty of his condition left room for the imagina- 
 tion to fancy every thing horrible in his fate : more terrible 
 to bear, than the actual knowledge of his death. 
 
 Great was the distress of Mrs. Goodale and the children, 
 overwhelmed with this unexpected calamity. His loss threw 
 a deep gloom over the whole community, as no man was 
 so highly valued amongst them, neither was there any one 
 whose council and influence were equally prized by the
 
 368 NATHAN GOO DALE. 
 
 settlement. lie was, in fact, the life and soul of this isolated 
 community, and left a vacancy that none of his companions 
 could fill. One of the early colonists thus speaks of him: 
 " His memory was for many years fresh and green in the 
 hearts of his cotemporary pioneers, now all passed away, and 
 is still cherished with respect and affection by their descend- 
 ants." (Judge Barker's notes.) So greatly depressed w r ere 
 the inhabitants at his loss, that they awoke with new feel- 
 ings in regard to their dangerous position on the outer verge 
 of civilization. While he was living amongst them a cer- 
 tain degree of safety was felt, that vanished at his loss. 
 
 On the 14th of March they forwarded a petition to Gen. 
 Washington, whom they regarded with parental veneration, 
 a copy of which has been preserved, setting forth their ex- 
 posed situation and losses by the Indians. It is stated that 
 six of their number have been killed, besides the recent loss 
 of Maj. Goodale ; that one-third of their cattle, and produce 
 of their lands, had been destroyed by the Indians, and they 
 were fearful of a total breaking up of the settlement, unless 
 the government afforded them a larger number of men for 
 protection, their usual United States guard being only a 
 corporal and four privates, detailed from the post at Mari- 
 etta. The number of the settlers at the three stations were 
 fifty-two men, and one hundred and forty-nine women and 
 children. 
 
 At the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, when the captives 
 were given up by the Indians, some intelligence was ob- 
 tained of nearly all the persons taken prisoners from this 
 part of the territory, but none of the fate of Maj. Goodale. 
 A deep mystery seemed to hang over his destiny, never to 
 be revealed. At length, about the year 1799, Col. Forrest 
 Meeker, since a citizen of Delaware county, Ohio, and well 
 acquainted with the family of Maj. Goodale, and the cir- 
 cumstances of this event, when at Detroit, fell in company
 
 NATHAN G O D A L E . 309 
 
 with three Indians, who related to him the particulars of 
 their taking a man prisoner at Belpre, in the spring of 1793. 
 Their description of his person left no doubt on the mind of 
 Col. Meeker, of its being Maj. Goodale. They stated that 
 a party of eight Indians were watching the settlement for 
 mischief; and as they lay concealed on the side of the hill 
 back of the plain, they heard a man driving, or talking to 
 his oxen, as they expressed it. After carefully examining 
 his movements, they saw him leave his work and go down 
 to the garrison, in the middle of the, day. Knowing that he 
 would return soon, they secreted themselves in the edge of 
 the woods, and while he was occupied with his work, sprang 
 out and seized upon him, before he was aware of their 
 presence, or could make any defense, threatening him with 
 death if he made a noise or resisted. After securing him 
 with thongs, they commenced a hasty retreat, intending to 
 take him to Detroit and get a large ransom for him. Some- 
 where on the Miami, or at Sandusky, he fell sick and could 
 not travel, and that he finally died of this sickness. A Mrs. 
 Whitaker, the wife of an Indian trader at Lower Sandusky, 
 has since related the same fact. She says the Indians left 
 him at her house, where he died of a disease like the pleu- 
 risy, without having received any very ill usage from his 
 captors, other than the means necessary to prevent his 
 escape. This is probably a correct account of his fate; 
 and although his death was a melancholy one, amongst 
 strangers, in captivity, and far away from the sympathy and 
 care of his friends, yet it is a relief to know that he did not 
 
 perish at the stake, nor by the tomahawk of the savages. 
 24
 
 MAJ. ROBERT BRADFORD. 
 
 MAJ. ROBERT BRADFORD was born in old Plymouth, Mass., 
 in the year 1750. He was a lineal descendant of Gov. 
 Bradford, of about the fifth remove. His wife was Kezia 
 Little, the daughter of Capt. Nathaniel Little, of Kingston, 
 Plymouth county. 
 
 He entered early, and with all his heart, into the service 
 of his country during the Revolutionary war, and for the 
 larger portion of that period commanded a company of 
 light-infantry. His military life commenced at the battle 
 of Bunker hill, and ended with the capture of Cornwallis at 
 Yorktown, being actually engaged in nearly all the pitched 
 battles fought in the eastern and middle states. With many 
 others of the American officers, he received the gift of an 
 elegant sword, from the Marquis Lafayette, as a mark of 
 his esteem, which yet remains in the hands of his only sur- 
 viving son, O. L. Bradford, of Wood county, Va. lie also 
 has in his possession, as family relics, some of the old fur- 
 niture that came over in the May-flower. Amongst them 
 was a pair of hand-irons, one only now being preserved; 
 the other was destroyed accidentally a few years since. 
 Being of an ardent temperament, and ambitious to excel in 
 military exercises, and to do his whole duty, Lafayette one 
 day witnessed the exactness of the evolutions of his com- 
 pany, and spoke in the warmest terms of their merits. 
 When he was in Marietta, in the year 182G, he inquired 
 particularly after Maj. Bradford; and when told that he was 
 dead, he expressed his regret with much feeling. The lap.se 
 of more than forty years had consigned the larger portion
 
 ROBERT BRADFORD. 371 
 
 of his old comrades to their graves, and his inquiries after 
 his Revolutionary associates, were often answered with that 
 short and melancholy phrase, " He is dead!" 
 
 At the close of the war he received an honorable dis- 
 charge, and the brevet rank of major. With others of his 
 brother officers, he suffered great loss by the depreciation 
 of the United States securities, and the worthlessness of the 
 paper currency, in which his long and arduous services were 
 paid. But the main object of his taking up arms was se- 
 cured, the liberty of his country, which he lived to enjoy 
 for many years. 
 
 When the Ohio Company was formed, he became an as- 
 sociate, and moved his family to Marietta, in the year 1788. 
 In 1789 he joined the band of old officers who settled Bcl- 
 pre, where he suffered the privations of famine, and the 
 dangers of the rifle and scalping-knife of the Indians, 
 having several narrow escapes from these wily sons of the 
 forest. During the prevalence of the putrid sore throat in 
 1792, he suffered a greater loss of children than any other 
 family. Out of four or five, all died but one, with that 
 disease. 
 
 In 1794, during the Indian war, he went out into the Indian 
 country, about eighty miles from the settlements, in com- 
 pany with Griffin Greene, and others, to discover the site 
 of the Scioto Salt Springs, of which vague rumors had 
 been heard from the reports of white prisoners. After sev- 
 eral days' search, they were found by following the Indian 
 and buffalo paths which led to them, and by long use had 
 been worn to a depth of more than a foot, for several miles 
 in extent. Another indication was the remains of the fires, 
 where the squaws had recently boiled the brine collected 
 from a cavity in the rock, cut with their tomahawks, in the 
 bed of the creek, and now full of saline water. On their 
 return, they narrowly escaped pursuit from a large party of
 
 372 A. W. PUTNAM. 
 
 Indians, who came in sight on the bank of the river, a few 
 minutes after their boat had left the shore. Mr. Bradford 
 and the inmates of Farmers' castle never expected to see 
 them again amongst the living. 
 
 He died in the year 1823, during the period of the great 
 epidemic fever, which removed a number of the old soldiers, 
 aged seventy-two years. 
 
 Maj. Bradford was a man of a warm heart, cheerful, lively 
 temperament, and sound judgment. He ranked with the 
 most worthy cultivators of the soil in the settlement. In 
 person he was rather tall, erect, and active; strongly marked 
 and bold features, indicative of courage and resolution; 
 with the bearing of a soldier. He was a man whose virtues 
 and name are worthy of preservation, amongst the defend- 
 ers of an infant colony, and the pioneers of the valley of 
 the Ohio. 
 
 AARON WALDO PUTNAM. 
 
 AARON WALDO PUTNAM, the second son of Col. Israel Put- 
 nam, was born in Pomfret, Conn., the 18th of April, A. D. 
 1767. 
 
 During his boyhood and youth he assisted his father in 
 cultivating the farm ; the larger portion of that name being 
 tillers of the earth. In the summer of 1788, when he was 
 twenty-one years old, he accompanied his father on his long 
 and tedious journey to Marietta, where the Ohio Company 
 had just commenced a settlement. Col. Putnam did not, 
 at this time, move his family, taking only a few household
 
 A. W. PUTNAM. 373 
 
 goods, with agricultural implements and mechanical tools, 
 the heavy load being transported by a team of t\vo yoke of 
 oxen, this patient but steady animal being well suited to the 
 difiicult passes of the mountains, and when at the journey's 
 end less likely to be stolen by the Indians than horses . 
 
 In crossing the A'orth river, at Fishkill, a serious accident 
 happened, which served to display the coolness and pres- 
 ence of mind of the Putnam race, in cases of unexpected 
 danger. The oxen were crossed in a flatboat, separate from 
 the wagon, under the care of young Waldo. The river is 
 here a mile wide, or more. A sudden gale of wind raised 
 such a sea, that the boat filled and began to sink. In this 
 extremity, seeing that the oxen must leave the boat, he un- 
 yoked them, that they might swim more freely, putting the 
 iron pins of the bows carefully into his pocket. Being un- 
 able to swim himself, he selected one of the most active of 
 the oxen, and seizing him by the tail with one hand, and 
 brandishing the whip with the other, he directed him, with 
 his voice and an occasional touch of the lash, to the west- 
 ern shore, distant full half a mile. The wind and the tide 
 carried them down about a hundred rods below the landing, 
 where they reached the solid earth in safety, after a voyage 
 of more than a mile. The other oxen having no mcnm- 
 brance, made the land higher up. Finally all were collected 
 without any loss of yokes, pins, or team. 
 
 The rest of the journey to the Ohio was accomplished 
 without further accident, but with immense labor and fatigue 
 in crossing the mountain ranges, by roads which, in these 
 days, would be called impassable; but the persevering, bold 
 men of that day, overcame all difficulties but absolute im- 
 possibilities. The following winter was passed in Campus 
 Martins, and in making preparations to begin the settle- 
 ment in Belpre, where they moved the following spring. 
 Waldo Putnam's land fell to him in the Middle settlement,
 
 374 A. W. PUTNAM. 
 
 where he immediately commenced clearing and putting up 
 a small log-cabin. In the fall of 1790, his father, Col. Put- 
 nam, returned to Pomfret for his family. That winter the 
 war began, and he did not return until after the peace. 
 
 In 1791, the settlers had to leave their houses and go into 
 garrison, which they all united in building for their common 
 defense. In this Mr. Putnam passed the time during the 
 five years that followed, boarding in the family of Judge 
 Loring, and performing the duties of a soldier in the defense 
 of the castle, every able-bodied man and boy of sixteen 
 years being enrolled. During this period he became ac- 
 quainted with Miss Bathsheba Loring and was united to her 
 in marriage amidst the dangers and perils of the savages 
 who constantly watched the garrison for prey. In the spring 
 of the year 1791, for the better security of their cattle from 
 the Indians, the settlers ferried a part of them across the 
 Ohio into Virginia, above the head of the island, where they 
 roamed in safety. 
 
 On one of these occasions Mr. Putnam was in a flatboat 
 with his negro boy Kitt, who had been brought up in the 
 family, and two other men. The cattle became alarmed, 
 and running to one end of the flat, sunk it. They directly 
 swam to the shore without his having an opportunity to 
 seize one by the tail, as on North river, leaving him and the 
 others, as the boat party rose to the surface, standing up to 
 their breasts in the water. A small canoe was sent out to 
 their rescue that carried but two persons. The black boy 
 became much alarmed, as the water was up to his chin, and 
 was eager to go first to the shore, but to this the two whites 
 objected. Between the effects of the cold water and fear, 
 Kitt's teeth chattered at a great rate, and he must have 
 perished but for the stern rebukes and encouragement of Mr. 
 Putnam, who bid him rise on to his toes, if the water came 
 too near his mouth, and that he must not disgrace the family
 
 A. W. PUTNAM. 375 
 
 name by any symptoms of fear, although in the greatest 
 extremity. At the third trip, Kilt, almost exhausted, was 
 helped into the, canoe, with great diiliculty by Mr. Putnam, 
 who, now that the others had left him, felt quite safe, as the 
 boat became more buoyant. He was finally relieved, after 
 floating two or three miles, without, any harm but the chilling 
 effects of the cold water; and thus, by his calm, collected 
 manner, were all saved, while in similar circumstances, 
 many timid men have been drowned. 
 
 Mr. Putnam's improvement lay about half a mile below 
 the garrison. Here the stacks of grain and fodder for the 
 cattle were deposited, and every day during the winter 
 months lie had to visit the yard to feed them, and to milk 
 the cows. In these trips, one or more men usually went with 
 him for the same object, and for greater safety. 
 
 On one of these occasions, he had just sat down to milk 
 when Nathaniel Little, who was with him and on the look- 
 out, caught sight of an Indian in the edge of the clearing, 
 in the attitude of firing at him. lie instantly cried out 
 "Indians!" At the alarming sound, Mr. Putnam sprang to 
 one side as the gun cracked, and the ball struck the ground 
 a few feet from him, passing across the spot where he sat. 
 The}" instantly fled to the garrison and escaped, though 
 hotly pursued by two or three other Indians. 
 
 At the second narrow escape, the year after, he was on 
 the top of the stack, throwing down hay for the cattle. A 
 small dog that they had with them began to growl and show 
 signs of alarm. At this juncture, in the still calmness of a 
 frostv morning, he heard the well-known click of a gun 
 lock. Turning his head in the direction of the sound, he 
 saw, at the distance of forty or lift)' yards, an Indian behind 
 the fence, in the act of re-cocking his gun, it having missed 
 fire. lie instantly sprang to the ground and ran. The In- 
 dian now fired, but missed his mark. With a tremendous
 
 376 A. W. PUTNAM. 
 
 yell, he gave chase, in which two others joined from the 
 edge of the woods, trying to cut them off at a ravine they 
 had to pass on a log. The fleetness of the whites disap- 
 pointed their hopes, and the log was crossed before their 
 pursuers reached it. A sally was made from the garrison 
 on the report of the Indian's rifle, and a gun fired at them 
 by a spirited little fellow named Bull ; on w T hich they re- 
 treated back to the fodder-yard, and out of sheer spite at 
 their defeat, shot down a fine large yoke of oxen belonging 
 to Capt. Benjamin Miles, from Brookfield, Mass. These 
 cattle were the pride of the settlement, being eight feet in 
 girt, and of proportionate hight, vicing with the best breeds 
 of modern days. 
 
 Thus were the settlers in constant danger, and their lives 
 in jeopardy, from a skulking, invisible foe, every time they 
 left the walls of the garrison to follow the labors of the 
 farm. In cultivating their crops, for the first years of the 
 war, they worked in common, on each man's land, in parties 
 of thirty or forty men, well armed ; and in the autumn di- 
 vided the crop amongst the laborers, in proportion to the 
 days' work done, of which a regular account was kept by a 
 stated clerk. Generally, before the laborers left the garri- 
 son, the rangers made a circuit in the woods adjacent to the 
 field, or scene of their labor that day. With this precau- 
 tion, it was seldom that Indians came very near the set- 
 tlement, without leaving some signs of their approach, 
 discoverable by the rangers. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1793, after the green feed had 
 become good in the forests, the oxen and cows of Mr. Put- 
 nam one night failed to come home as they usually did. 
 The following morning he took his gun and sallied out into 
 the woods in search of the absent animals. Expecting' to 
 find them in the adjacent hills, he did not ask the aid of any 
 one to accompany him. After a little examination lie
 
 A . VV . I' U T N A M . 'Ml 
 
 discovered their trail, and followed it that day to Fort Har- 
 mer, distant fifteen miles from Farmer--.' cat-lie. Jlere he 
 as-cortained that lliey had been seen the evening- before, and 
 parsed the night. In the morning he again discovered their 
 trail up the Muskingum, and followed it all that day, alone 
 in the woods, not choosing to ask any one to risk his life 
 with him in this dangerous enterprise. That evening he 
 reached Tyler's block-house, at Waterford, twenty miles 
 from Marietta, where, to his joy, he found the strayed ani- 
 mals. Here he passed the second night, very uneasy at the 
 alarm and distress his young wife and friends would feel at 
 his long absence. In the morning he took the precaution 
 of removing the clapper from the bell of the leading ox, 
 whose noisy tinkle might give notice of his approach to some 
 watchful Indian, and commenced his return to the castle, 
 across the country between the waters of Wolf creek and 
 Little Hocking, by an obscure trail frequented by the ran- 
 gers, and reached home, eighteen or twenty miles, just 
 before dark. His long absence, three days and two nights, 
 had caused him to be given up as a prisoner, or killed by 
 the savages, his well known, daring character rendering the 
 latter the most, probable, and all the agonies of reality were 
 suffered by his young and lovely wife, now the mother of 
 one child, who, in the last sleepless night, had time to give 
 full scope to her imagination, and picture all the cruelties 
 practiced by the savages on their foes. His return was so 
 unlocked for and unexpected, that he was like one risen 
 again from the dead, and all sorrow was turned into joy at 
 his providential preservation. 
 
 After numerous difficulties and dangers, borne for live years 
 by the stern pioneers of Fanners' castle, with the greatest 
 fortitude and equanimity, peace was at length established; 
 and in 1700 Mr. Putnam was permitted to resume the clear- 
 in ' and cultivating his farm, unmolested; a privilege which
 
 378 A. W. PUTNAM. 
 
 none in these days can understand, or fairly appreciate. In 
 a few years he had a large plantation under fence, and di- 
 vided into fields, several acres of orchard, composed of the 
 best varieties of the fruits of the New England and Middle- 
 states, sent out in 1795, by his brother Israel, who selected 
 them with great care, and packed them with bees-wax, so 
 that few, if any of the scions failed to grow. A young man 
 named Waldo, and a relative, brought them over the moun- 
 tains on horseback, in a large pair of saddle-bags. Fruit trees 
 in the virgin soil of the Ohio bottoms, grew with astonishing 
 rapidity, and in six or eight years were loaded with apples. 
 The peach often produced the second year from the pit, bear- 
 ing fruit of a size and quality not now seen in Ohio. The 
 depredations of the peach insect, were unknown for more 
 than twenty years, and the tree flourished and grew, undis- 
 turbed by the yellows or any other enemy. Before temper- 
 ance societies were known, large orchards of fifteen or 
 twenty acres, were devoted to the manufacture of peach 
 brandy, which bore a liberal price on the borders of the Mis- 
 sissippi, and was an article of export. As early as 1802, 
 or 1803, the log cabins of several of the farmers at Belpre, 
 were abandoned, and large, commodious houses of wood or 
 brick, built in their place. Mr. Putnam was one of the first 
 to make improvements of this kind; and his capacious, 
 white house, surrounded by orchards, on the margin of the 
 plain, or second bottom, became a conspicuous and beauti- 
 ful object to travelers on the "Belle riviere," who saw little 
 else but the wilderness and the log huts of the new settlers, 
 from Pittsburg to Cincinnati. Belpre, at this period, was 
 like an oasis in the desert, the only spot where the eye could 
 rest with delight. A thriving dairy was added to his other 
 operations, composed of the cows raised from his father's 
 famous Harlem breed, and celebrated for their rich milk. 
 A numerous family of boys and girls grew up around him,
 
 A . W. PUTNAM. 379 
 
 and every thing prospered under his wise and thrifty admin- 
 istration. After Mr. Blennerhasset settled on the island, he 
 became one of his most intimate and useful friends, giving 
 him much valuable information in the management of his 
 new and untried farming operations. The genteel, easy 
 manners, and beautiful person of Mrs. Putnam early at- 
 tracted the attention of Madam Blennerhassctt, and she 
 became one of her most intimate associates, visiting each 
 other with the familiarity of sisters. When this unfortunate 
 woman, after the flight of her husband, in December, 1800, 
 left the island in the midst of winter, he was the last to visit 
 her in the boat, and furnished her with many necessaries, to 
 make her voyage comfortable, denied her by the military 
 posse from Wood county, who had taken forcible possession 
 of her house. 
 
 Mr. Putnam and his wife both died in the fatal epidemic 
 of 1822, aged forty-five years, in the midst of his usefulness. 
 
 In person he was of a medium size, with dark, expressive 
 eyes, and a countenance beaming with intelligence and kind 
 feelings. For public stations he had little inclination, the 
 highest post being a major in the militia. His delight was 
 centered in his domestic relations, and in his farm. The 
 elder son, William Pitt, born in Farmers' castle, possesses 
 the homestead. His children, six of whom are now living, 
 are settled at various points in the valley of the Mississippi, 
 and rank with the most reputable of its citizens.
 
 CAPT. JONATHAN STONE. 
 
 CAPT. JONATHAN STONE was born in New Braintree, Mass., 
 in the year 1751. He was the son of a soldier, Francis 
 Stone, who lost his life in the service of the king during 
 the period of the colonial vassalage, while serving as a pri- 
 vate soldier in the army of Gen. Wolfe, at the conquest of 
 Quebec. Large numbers of the provincials sacrificed their 
 lives for the good of their country during the period of the old 
 French war, and especially at the seige of Havana in 17G2. 
 His father was killed when he was eight years old. After 
 the death of his parent, his mother married a Mr. Pearson, 
 by whom she had several children. Francis, the elder 
 brother, inherited the patrimonial estate, and pursued the 
 occupations of farming and tanning leather, which had been 
 followed by his father before him. 
 
 The education of Jonathan extended only to reading, 
 writing, and arithmetic, for which latter study he had prob- 
 ably a decided relish, as in after life he became an accom- 
 plished land surveyor. At a suitable age he was bound as an 
 apprentice to his brother Francis. Connections of this kind 
 between near relatives, are seldom fortunate or happy, and 
 are much more likely to be agreeable with a stranger. Dr. 
 Franklin has given us a sample of this kind, with its un- 
 pleasant results, in his apprenticeship to an elder brother. 
 There seems to be a disposition on one side to act the tyrant, 
 and on the other to render obedience with reluctance, as it' 
 the tender tie of relationship was severed when forced bv 
 the indenture of apprenticeship to perform certain duties, 
 whether willing or not. In this they conflicted so roughly 
 with each other, that before the expiration of the term of
 
 JONATHAN STONE. 381 
 
 service, Jonathan left his brother, and entered on board a 
 whale-ship at Newport, II. I., and was absent two years. 
 What adventures he experienced in this voyage, are un- 
 known ; but, doubtless he learnt one salutary thing, that he 
 must obey his new master, both in foul and fair weather ; 
 and that he could not leave the ship so easily as he did the 
 house of his brother Francis. 
 
 Soon after his return, hostilities commenced between the 
 colonies and Great Britain, and he entered the service of his 
 country as a volunteer, being an orderly-sergeant in Col. 
 Learned's regiment. By his letters of the 29th of May, 
 1775, he was then at Roxbury with the army, besieging the 
 town of Boston, then the head-quarters of the king's troops 
 in America. He seems to have possessed the true spirit of 
 patriotism, for he says that himself and each one of the 
 company to which he belonged, "Are animated with the 
 glorious cause in which they are engaged, hoping to deliver 
 the country from vassalage and slavery, tyranny and oppres- 
 sion, that those blood-thirsty hirelings may not again be 
 allowed to imbrue their filthy hands in the innocent blood of 
 our neighbors," referring, no doubt, to the Lexington murders 
 of the 19th of April, which had filled the whole country 
 with the spirit of resistance and revenge. In August of this 
 year he was sick with a fever, and he observes that the 
 "camp distemper," as the dysentery was called, prevailed 
 amongst the troops, and extended into the country towns, 
 as was thought by contagion from the sick soldiers. 
 
 As a testimony of his bravery and good conduct during 
 the year 1775, he was appointed a lieutenant, for on the 
 llth of March, 1776, in writing to a female correspondent, 
 he directs her to put Lieut, after his name, in Col. Learned's 
 regiment. He also says, " We have had a great deal of 
 cannonading lately. Last Saturday night I was on Dor- 
 chester hights, and of our party, one surgeon and three
 
 382 JONATHAN STONE. 
 
 soldiers were killed by one shot. They are now firing from 
 Boston, and not less than thirty or forty cannon have been 
 discharged since I have been writing this letter;" and it was 
 but a brief one. It was at this time that the celebrated 
 fascine battery was erected by Col. Putnam, on the hights, 
 that soon after forced the British to evacuate the town, as 
 the American guns commanded the inner harbor, and en- 
 dangered the shipping. In all these stirring scenes. Lieut. 
 Stone took an active part, but the particular incidents are 
 not noticed in his letters, and none of his old comrades are 
 living to narrate them. 
 
 In the course of the year 1776 he was married to Susan- 
 nah Mathews, of New Braintree, a young lady to whom he 
 had for several years been attached. She was a daughter 
 of Daniel Mathews, and her mother a sister of Gen. Rufus 
 Putnam. She possessed an agreeable person, good, sound 
 sense, plain, country manners, and industrious habits, being 
 the child of a farmer. She displayed great energy of char- 
 acter, and after her husband's death, in 1801. conducted the 
 affairs of a large dairy farm with judgment and profit. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1777, Lieut. Stone was commis- 
 sioned as paymaster in Col. Putnam's regiment. In Au- 
 gust of that year he was with the army at Saratoga, and 
 in September at Stillwater, quartering with Capt. Goodale, 
 some of whose partisan exploits are noticed in his letters to 
 his wife. He remained with the troops, partaking in all the 
 dangers of the numerous engagements with the enemy, 
 until the surrender of Burgoyne. In 1778 he was stationed 
 at West Point, attached to Col. Putnam's regiment. In 1779 
 he received a lieutenant's commission in the fifteenth regi- 
 ment, and in 1781 that of captain, in which post he served 
 to the close of the war. Several of these commissions are 
 signed by John Hancock, in that strong, bold hand so 
 conspicuous among the signatures of the Declaration of
 
 JONATHAN STONE. 383 
 
 Independence. The .seals attached are remarkable for hav- 
 ing a huge rattlesnake figured over the cap of liberty, a.s if 
 threatening his enemies with death, and to defend it against 
 all opposers ; the other emblems are implements of war. 
 Under the new constitution, of 1788, the United States se- 
 lected the eagle to represent their dignity and .sovereignty 
 to the nations of the earth ; and if less terrific, is a much 
 more beautiful and noble emblem of the grandeur and mag- 
 nanimity of the republic. 
 
 After the close of the war he returned to the peaceful oc- 
 cupations of agriculture, and purchased a farm, with the 
 remains of his seven years' hard service in the cause of lib- 
 erty, in the town of Brookfield, Mass., then the home of Gen. 
 Putnam, with whom he had been intimate during this long 
 period. Having become familiar with the science of field- 
 surveying, he was employed by (Jen. Putnam, in 178G and 
 1787, to assist him in surveying the lands of the state of 
 Massachusetts, on the eastern shore of the District of Maine, 
 then a part of her territory. 
 
 It was during the winter after the first year of this survey, 
 or that of 178G, that he found, on his return, the adjacent 
 counties deeply involved in an insurrection against their 
 own government, commonly known as " Shays' insurrection." 
 It was one of the strangest anomolies in nature, that a peo- 
 ple who had just escaped from the thraldom of a tyrannical 
 monarch, and had established a government of their own 
 choosing, should so turn against it, and like the shark, or the 
 alligator, devour their own progeny. So wide-spread and 
 universal was this spirit of disaffection, that nearly one-third 
 of the inhabitants of the counties of Hampshire, Berkshire, 
 and Worcester, were engaged in it. beside many in all other 
 portions of the state. The saying of our Savior in regard 
 to the reception of the gospel amongst mankind, in the di- 
 vision of families, households, and neighborhoods, was here
 
 384 JONATHAN STONE. 
 
 exemplified, in relation to their political sentiments, the father 
 being opposed to the son, and the brother against his brother. 
 In the family of Capt. Stone, his brother Francis was a 
 Shays man, and his wife's father was on the same side ; 
 while he enlisted, with all his powers of body and soul, 
 in aid of the government, in opposition to the principles 
 of the insurgents. In support of the laws and good order, 
 were found nearly all the officers of the Revolutionary army, 
 and most of the well-informed and substantial citizens. 
 
 The cause of this unnatural outbreak seems to have 
 arisen from the general oppression felt from the immense 
 load of public and private debt, contracted dining the war. 
 The debt of the state amounted to more than five million 
 dollars, and their portion of the national debt, to nearly as 
 much more. During the war stay laws had been enacted 
 to prevent the regular collection of debts, by which the 
 amount had greatly accumulated. Paper-money, their hope 
 and stay during the war, had run down to a mere nominal 
 value, and state bonds had depreciated to a few shillings on 
 the pound. "What specie the French troops had left in the 
 country, was gathered up by the merchants, and sent to 
 Europe, to purchase merchandise, of which the states were 
 woefully destitute at the close of the war. The country was 
 so much exhausted by their long struggle, that they had no 
 produce to send abroad to buy either goods or specie. Their 
 fisheries and whaleries, which, before the w r ar, had brought 
 millions into the provinces, were ruined by that event, and 
 had not yet revived. 
 
 In tins wide-spread distress, a general clamor arose against 
 the merchants, and against the courts ; but more especially 
 against the lawyers who executed the decrees of the courts, 
 in collecting the debts due to the more wealthy portion of the 
 people. Private contracts, as early as 1782, had been made 
 to give place to the payment of public taxes, from an idea
 
 JONATHAN STONK. 385 
 
 that the scarcity of specie did not admit of the payment of 
 both. The former, therefore, were made payable in oilier 
 property than money, by an act called "the Tender act." 
 By this, executions issued for individual demands, might be 
 satisfied by neat cattle and other personal property, on an 
 appraisement by impartial men. This only suspended the 
 payment of debts; as many would not collect under it, but 
 waited for its expiration, in a year from its origin. It was 
 the first signal for hostilities between creditors and debtors, 
 the rich and the poor, the few and the many. 
 
 With such high- wrought notions of freedom, in a people 
 just escaped from the fetters of the mother country, it was 
 a difficult matter for their rulers to make laws that satisfied 
 them. They, therefore, commenced holding conventions, of 
 the disaffected, in which they censured the conduct of their 
 public officers. They voted the senate and the judicial 
 courts to be grievances, and called for a revision of the 
 constitution, which they had so lately formed, and was con- 
 sidered one of the best in the Union. Advantage was taken 
 of these commotions to clamor against lawyers, and in their 
 public addresses to say, that this class ought to be abolished, 
 and none of them returned as representatives in the General 
 Court for 1786. So far was this principle carried, that in 
 the House of that year a bill was passed, ' : to admit all per- 
 sons of a moral character into the practice of the law, be- 
 fore the judicial courts;" also to fix their fees, and oblige 
 them to take an oath, previous to their pleading, not to re- 
 ceive more than the lawful fees, of their clients. When the 
 bill came to the Senate, they laid it over, for examination, to 
 the next Assembly. As this body had continued to act with 
 wisdom and dignity, opposed to the wild, Jacobin princi- 
 ples of the disaffected people, they, at a convention of dele- 
 gates from fifty towns in the county of Hampshire, held at 
 
 ITattield. on the '2'2(\ of August, published a statement of 
 25
 
 386 JONATHAN STONE. 
 
 their grievances in twenty articles ; the first of which was 
 "the existence of the Senate," as if this body was one cause 
 of their troubles ; fifth, " the existence of the Courts of Com- 
 mon Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace;" so that 
 every man might do what was right in his own eyes. In the 
 eighteenth they voted that their representatives be instructed 
 to use their influence in the next General Court, to emit 
 paper-money, subject to a depreciation, making it a tender 
 in all payments, equal to silver and gold, to be issued in 
 order to call in the state securities; thinking, no doubt, 
 that an abundance of paper-money would relieve all their 
 embarrassments. The state of Rhode Island was then try- 
 ing this experiment, and its results only added to their trou- 
 bles instead of relieving them. 
 
 The last of August, a body of more than a thousand of 
 these misguided people, led on by designing demagogues, 
 assembled at Northampton, took possession of the court- 
 house, and prevented the sitting of the court. The same 
 thing was attempted at Worcester, and the courts adjourned 
 without doing any business. Amidst these scenes of com- 
 motion and misrule, the inhabitants of Boston and several 
 of the adjacent counties remained firm and true to their 
 government, constitution, and laws ; supporting their excel- 
 lent governor, Mr. Bowdoin, in all necessary measures for 
 the public weal, and advancing money from their private 
 resources, when the time came for calling out an armed 
 force in aid of the laws. 
 
 A similar effort was made to put down the court at 
 Springfield, by a body of men under Daniel Shays, but it 
 was prevented by an assembly of six hundred well armed 
 citizens, from the most respectable and influential inhabit- 
 ants of the county of Hampshire, who took possession of 
 the court-house, and protected the judges in their official 
 duties, so that, although this was the stronghold of the
 
 JONATHAN STONE. 387 
 
 insurrection, there was yet patriotism enough amongst them 
 to save from utter ruin the forms of civil society. 
 
 The General Court met at Boston in October, and finding 
 that the opposition to the courts of la\v, and the necessary 
 restraints of government were increasing, rather than di- 
 minishing, they authorized the governor to call out the 
 militia for their protection. Accordingly, four thousand four 
 hundred men were assembled and put under the command 
 of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, who marched to Worcester and 
 protected the sitting of the court. Gen. Shepherd also col- 
 lected nine hundred of the militia at Springfield, where was 
 the arsenal of the state, and principal deposit of arms. On 
 the 25th of January, Shays, with eleven hundred men, well 
 armed, attempted to drive Gen. Shepherd from the town, 
 but was defeated without any serious attack, by discharging 
 one round of artillery amongst the insurgents, by which 
 three men were killed and one badly wounded. Well know- 
 ing the badness of their cause, the main body broke and 
 fled. They were pursued by the state troops a short dis- 
 tance, without overtaking them, and took up their quarters 
 in the town of Hadley, from the inclemency of the weather, 
 being in the midst of a severe winter. A company of 
 men from Brookfield, amongst which was Capt. Stone, vol- 
 unteered in putting down this rebellion, in which was en- 
 gaged his brother Francis Stone, and some of the connections 
 of his wife. " The morning after the arrival of the army 
 at Hadley, information was received that a small number 
 of Gen. Shepherd's men had been captured at Southamp- 
 ton, and that the enemy's party still continued there. The 
 Brookfield volunteers, consisting of fifty men. commanded 
 by Col. Baldwin, were sent in sleighs with one hundred 
 horse, under Col. Crafts, to pursue them. They were soon 
 found to consist of eighty men with ten sleigh?, and at 
 twelve o'clock the same night, were overtaken at Middlefield.
 
 388 JONATHAN STONE, 
 
 They had quartered themselves in separate places, and 
 about one-half of them, with one Luddington, their cap- 
 tain, being lodged in a house together, were first sur- 
 rounded. It was a singular circumstance, that among the 
 government's volunteers happened to be Gen. Tupper, who 
 had lately commanded a continental regiment, in which 
 Luddington had served as corporal. The general, ignorant 
 of the character of his enemy, summoned the party to sur- 
 render. How astonished was the corporal at receiving the 
 summons in a voice to which he had never dared to refuse 
 obedience ! A momentary explanation took place, which 
 but hightened the general's commands. Resistance was no 
 longer made, the doors were opened, and a surrender was 
 agreed upon. By this time the rest of the party had paraded 
 under arms, at the distance of two hundred yards, where 
 they were met by a number of men prepared for their re- 
 ception. Both sides were on the point of firing, but upon 
 an artful representation of the strength of the government's 
 troops, the insurgents laid down their arms, and fifty-nine 
 prisoners, with nine sleigh loads of provisions, fell into the 
 hands of the conquerors, who returned to the army on the 
 day following."* 
 
 The insurgents under Shays having taken a strong posi- 
 tion on the hills of Pelham, were summoned by Gen. Lincoln 
 to lay down their arms, and subscribe the oath of allegiance 
 to the state, or he should be obliged to attack them and ap- 
 prehend their leaders, thus occasioning much bloodshed. 
 To this they replied that they were willing to disband, but 
 could not until they heard from the General Court on the 
 matter, to which body they had sent a messenger with a 
 petition. 
 
 * Minot's History of the Rebellion.
 
 JONATHAN STONE. 389 
 
 "On the next day three of the insurgent leaders came to 
 head-quarters with the following letter: 
 
 'Tin: HONORABLE GKN. LINCOLN: SIR: As the officers of the 
 people, now convened in defense of their rights and privi- 
 leges, have sent a petition to the General Court, for the sole 
 purpose of accommodating our present unhappy affairs, we 
 justly expect that, hostilities may cease on both sides until 
 we have a return from our Legislature. Your honor will, 
 therefore, be pleased to give us an answer. 
 
 Per order of the committee for reconciliation. 
 
 FRANCIS STONE, chairman, 
 DANIEL SHAYS, captain, 
 ADAM WHEELER. 
 
 Pclham, January 31st, 1787.'"* 
 
 To this communication, Lincoln returned a decided nega- 
 tive. The Legislature met on the 3d of February, and de- 
 clared the commonwealth in a state of rebellion, approved 
 the governor's doings, and proceeded in earnest to put down 
 the insurrection. The insurgents did not wait for the return 
 of their messenger from Boston, but on the 3d of February, 
 left the hills and marched to Pelham, where provisions were 
 more plenty. They were pursued by Lincoln, through a 
 tremendous snow-storm and excessive cold, to Petersham, a 
 distance of thirty miles without halting, a march unequaled 
 in the American annals. About one hundred and fifty were 
 taken prisoners, and the rest dispersed over the country, 
 some to their own homes, but the leaders and the most vio- 
 lent of their followers, fled from the state into Xew York 
 and Vermont. 
 
 In both these states they found many abettors, and during 
 the following spring, occasionally made inroads into the 
 
 * Minofs Historv of the Rebellion.
 
 390 JONATHAN STONE. 
 
 commonwealth for plunder and the capture of persons par- 
 ticularly obnoxious to them. It was late in the year before 
 order was entirely restored in the disaffected portions of the 
 state. The leniency of the government finally pardoned 
 nearly or quite all who were concerned in the rebellion, and 
 thus ended one of the most dangerous and singular insur- 
 rections that ever happened amongst a free people. 
 
 On the formation of the Ohio Company, Capt. Stone sold 
 his farm in Brookfield, and invested the proceeds in two 
 shares of the Ohio Company lands, being about two thou- 
 sand acres. To this he was doubtless the more readily in- 
 duced from the ill conduct of several of his near connections 
 in the late insurrection, and that he might still be favored 
 with the society of such men as Gen. Putnam, Tupper and 
 Goodale, with whom he had been so long and so intimately 
 associated. In the fall of 1788, he visited Marietta and 
 made preparations for the reception of his family. On the 
 4th of July, 1789, he left Brookfield with a wagon drawn by 
 four oxen, containing his household goods and three ohil- 
 dren. Two cows were driven on ahead, while his wife 
 traveled the whole distance on horseback to Simrel's ferry, 
 the western rendezvous for emigrants to Marietta. At Buf- 
 falo, or Charleston, he bartered one yoke of the oxen for 
 provisions to support his family until he could raise a crop 
 himself. He reached Belpre the 10th of December, and 
 put up a log-cabin on his lot, drawn the winter before, 
 making the floors and doors from the planks of the boat in 
 which he descended the river. His farm lay in the wide 
 bottom, opposite and a little below the mouth of the Little 
 Kenawha, and is now in the possession of his son, Col. John 
 Stone. In the Indian war he moved his family into Farmers' 
 castle, and was one of the most active and ellicient de- 
 fendi.Ts of that garrison. In the spring of 1793, he, with 
 several others, erected a palisade and several block-houses
 
 110 BERT OLIVER. :}<J1 
 
 on his own farm, and remained there until the peace of 1795. 
 In 17i)t, he was appointed treasurer of the, county of Wash- 
 ington, by Winthrop Sargent, then acting as governor of the 
 Northwest Territory. After the peace he wa.s employed by 
 the Ohio Company, with Je fiery Mathewson, to complete 
 the surveys of their lands, which was done in a masterly 
 manner. 
 
 He died after a short illness, on the '25th of March, 1801, 
 aged fifty years. 
 
 Capt. Stone was a man with a well-formed, agreeable 
 person, gentlemanly manners and social habits. By his 
 coternporaries he was highly esteemed, and his early death 
 greatly lamented. A number of his children and grand- 
 children are living in Ohio, holding respectable stations in 
 society. 
 
 COL. ROBERT OLIVER. 
 
 COL. ROBERT OLIVER was born in the vicinity of Boston, in 
 the year 1738. His parents were emigrants from the north 
 of Ireland . When he was quite young they moved to the town 
 of Barre, Worcester county, Mass., and purchased a farm. 
 His early years were devoted to agriculture, which gave him 
 a hardy, vigorous frame, fitted to meet and sustain the fatigues 
 of the camp. His education was good for that period, em- 
 bracing reading, writing, and arithmetic, which, added to his 
 naturally strong mind, prepared him for transacting any 
 ordinary public business, as well as his own private affairs, 
 in a creditable manner.
 
 392 ROBERT OLIVER. 
 
 About the year 1775, he married Miss Molly Walker, by 
 whom he had a large family of children. 
 
 At the commencement of the Revolution, he entered the 
 service as a lieutenant, marching with a company of minute 
 men to Cambridge, where he was advanced to a captaincy 
 by the provincial government, in the third Massachusetts 
 regiment. In 1777, he was commissioned as a major, and 
 in 1779, promoted to a lieutenant-colonel of the tenth regi- 
 ment, and at the close of the war a colonel by brevet. In 
 the campaign which humbled Gen. Burgoyne, he was en- 
 gaged in all the principal battles, and especially in storming 
 the German lines on the 7th of October, under Col. Rufus 
 Putnam, to whose regiment he was attached. He was cele- 
 brated as a disciplinarian, and for a time acted as adjutant- 
 general of the northern division of the army. Baron Steuben 
 highly applauded his superior tact in the discipline and 
 evolutions of the troops. 
 
 At the close of the war, having served through ^;he whole 
 period, he returned to his family and purchased a farm in 
 the town of Conway, Mass. Nearly eight years of the most 
 valuable period of his life were spent in the service of his 
 country, for which he received payment in final settlement 
 securities, which, in the market, were w r orth about ten cents 
 on the dollar. 
 
 In the fall and winter of 1786-7, true to the cause of 
 liberty and the country he had assisted in gaining its inde- 
 pendence, he volunteered in suppressing the insurrection in 
 Massachusetts, under Shays and others, which came nigh 
 overturning the government, then barely established, in tu- 
 mult and ruin. 
 
 The Ohio Company was soon after formed, and he invested 
 the remains of his property in two shares of their land, and 
 moved his family to Marietta in the summer of 1788, where 
 he was united with many of his old friends and companions
 
 KOBKRT L I V KK. a<J3 
 
 in arms. In 1789, in company with Maj. Haflieid White 
 and ('apt. John Dodge, both Massachusetts* men, he erected 
 a saw and grist-mill on Wolf creek, in Waterford, about a 
 mile from its mouth. These were the first mills ever built 
 in the present slate of Ohio. The situation is very pictur- 
 esque and beautiful, with solid limestone banks, overhanging 
 cedar trees, and other evergreens. There is a considerable 
 rapid, or falls, at this spot, making a suitable site for a mill. 
 The drawing which accompanies this memoir, is a good rep- 
 resentation of the mills and scenery, with the log-cabins of 
 the three proprietors as built in 1780. 
 
 In 1790, after the death of Gen. Parsons, he was elected 
 a director of the Ohio Company, and was a very active and 
 efficient member of that important hoard. In forming the 
 settlements at Wolf creek and Watcrford. he was one of the 
 principal leaders, giving energy and zeal to these frontier 
 establishments, and by his military knowledge, directing the 
 best models for their works of defense against the attacks 
 of the hostile tribes. So formidable and strong was the 
 post at Waterford, that the Indians did not venture a serious 
 attack upon it, but only killed their cattle and such of the 
 inhabitants as they found outside of its walls. After the 
 destruction of the Big Bottom settlement, in January, 1791, 
 and the war was fairly commenced, he removed his family 
 to Marietta, where his services were constantly needed as a 
 director of the company; who, for the first year or two of 
 the war, provided the means, and were at all the expense 
 of defending the country, so that their continual watchful- 
 ness was as much required as that of the civil government 
 of a province in the time of actual war or invasion. Some 
 estimate may be formed of their duties, when it is stated 
 that they expended upwards of eleven thousand dollars 
 of the company funds in providing for and protecting the 
 colonists.
 
 394 EGBERT OLIVER. 
 
 In the formation of the first territorial Legislature in 
 1798, he was elected a representative from Washington 
 county. Out of the assembled representatives, the gover- 
 nor selected five men who were to act as a legislative 
 council, performing the duties of a Senate. Col. Oliver 
 was one of this number, and in company with Jacob Burnet, 
 James Findlay, H. Vanderburg, and David Vance, was 
 commissioned by John Adams, then president of the United 
 States, on the 4th day of March, 1799. In 1800 he was 
 elected president of the council, and continued in that post 
 until the formation of the state government in 1803. When 
 the standing and character of the men who constituted the 
 council is considered, it was no ordinary honor to be elected 
 as their presiding officer. 
 
 Col. Oliver possessed a clear, discriminating mind, and 
 was truly dignified in his manners ; had a perfect command 
 of his passions, and was very amiable in his intercourse 
 with his associates. He had a good fund of anecdote, 
 which he related in a very interesting manner. 
 
 After the close of the Indian war, he returned to his farm 
 at the mills, where he resided until his death. He was ap- 
 pointed by Gov. St. Clair lieutenant-colonel of the first 
 regiment of territorial militia, and colonel of the second 
 regiment, in 1795. He also appointed him one of the 
 judges of the Court of Common Pleas in the same year, 
 and made a very efficient magistrate. He was a man of 
 great activity and usefulness, both as a civil and military 
 officer. Soon after the territory became a state, the men 
 whose eyes had grown dim, and their heads gray in their 
 country's service, were " laid upon the shelf," if they differed 
 in political opinion from the ruling powers. Col. Oliver was 
 a disciple of Washington, and followed his political pre- 
 cepts ; therefore he received no more favors from the govern- 
 ment. The inhabitants of his township, however, thought
 
 ROBERT OLIVER. 395 
 
 him still a worthy man, and elected him a justice of the 
 peace, and kept him in office as long as he lived. 
 
 In person, he was about five feet ten inches high, stoutly 
 built, and commanding appearance; face full, mild, and 
 bland, with a pleasant expression when in conversation 
 with his friends, but severe and terrible to the vicious and 
 undeserving. His head was finely formed, but early be- 
 came bald. Once, at Chillicothe, in a convivial party, one 
 of the company, an influential and noted man of that day, 
 being rather full of wine, laid his hand familiarly and some- 
 what roughly on the bald head of the colonel. With one 
 of his stern looks he thus addressed him: " General, you 
 must not lay your hand on my bald pate, which has many 
 times stood where you would not dare to show your face." 
 
 In early life he became a professor of religion, and 
 although his calling exposed him to the dissolute habits of 
 an army, and was not calculated to promote his growth in 
 grace, yet he was always a consistent follower of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and at the formation of the first Congregational 
 church in Marietta, in 179G, he was a member, and re- 
 mained an ornament to the profession of a Christian. 
 
 He died in May, 1810, aged seventy-two years. 
 
 The impress of his character still remains on the early 
 settlement he formed, and it is hoped will long remain for 
 their best good.
 
 MAJ. HAFFIELD WHITE. 
 
 MAJ. HAFFIELD WHITE was a native of Danvers, Mass. 
 
 At the commencement of the war, on the 19th of April, 
 1775, by the attack of the British troops on the militia, at 
 Lexington, and the destruction of the stores at Concord, he 
 was an officer in a company of minute men. The news of 
 that attack was spread through the country with great rap- 
 idity ; and men who in the morning were thirty miles from 
 the scene of action, were on the ground before night, in time 
 to harass the jaded and retreating Britons, from their first 
 inroad into the possessions of the Massachusetts yeomanry. 
 The result of that day taught them to be cautious in ven- 
 turing far beyond the cover of the guns of their navy, into 
 the land of these modern Spartans. The alarm reached 
 Danvers in time for Lieut. White, with the company of 
 minute men, to reach the flanks of the flying enemy, and, 
 from behind the stone walls, throw several destructive fires 
 into the ranks of the British. His own men suffered con- 
 siderably; losing eight killed out of the company. Soon 
 after this affair he was commissioned as a captain, and 
 raised a company of men, which was among the most effi- 
 cient and active in the service, especially at the crossing of 
 the Delaware, and battle of Trenton, in December, 17G1 ; 
 many of them being sailors, and very useful in manning the 
 boats to cross the army. lie was with Gen. St. Glair in the 
 retreat from Ticonderoga; and under Col. Francis fought 
 manfully at the battle of Hubbardstown ; thereby checking 
 the pursuit of the British troops, and enabling the Ameri- 
 cans to reach Stillwater, and form the nucleus of that army 
 which soon after conquered Burgoyne, and turned the tide
 
 II A F FIELD AY HIT!!. 'Ml 
 
 of conquest against our foes. He was engaged in many of 
 the battles that preceded this overthrow, and thus shared in 
 the glories and triumphs of Saratoga, on the l.'lth of Octo- 
 tober. 1777. At the time of the retreat from Ticonderoga, 
 he \vas paymaster of the regiment, and in that disastrous 
 affair lost a large sum of money, which was not allowed 
 by the United States. When Col. Pickering took charge, of 
 the commissary department of the army, being acquainted 
 with the integrity and activity of Capt. White, living in the 
 same town, he was selected for one of his assistants, and 
 remained in that branch of the service until the close of the 
 war, when he was made a major. 
 
 At the formation of the Ohio Company, he became one of 
 the proprietors, and was appointed, by the directors, com- 
 missary and conductor of their first detachment of pioneers, 
 which left Danvers in December, 1787. On their arrival at 
 Marietta, he was continued as their steward for the first 
 year; after which that office was no longer needed. His 
 son Pelatiah was one of the forty-eight who landed from 
 the May-flower at Marietta, on the 7th of April. In 1789 he 
 engaged with Col. Oliver and Capt. Dodge, in erecting mills 
 on Wolf creek. When the war with the Indians commenced, 
 he left the mills, as they were much exposed to hostile at- 
 tacks, and came to Marietta, where lie remained until after 
 the peace of 1795. He then resumed his possessions, a 
 farm, near the mills, and lived with his son until his death. 
 
 In person Maj. White was below the medium si/.e, but 
 thickset and robust; very active, and brisk in his motions; 
 prompt to execute any business on hand in the mor-t expe- 
 ditious manner; complexion florid, and sanguine tempera- 
 ment. He was a brave soldier, and a very useful and 
 industrious citizen.
 
 DEAN TYLER. 
 
 DEAN TYLER, ESQ., was a native of Haverhill, Mass., and 
 liberally educated at one of the New England colleges. 
 He possessed a brilliant mind, an agreeable person, and 
 refined manners. 
 
 In early life he formed an attachment to a young lady, 
 who returned it with equal affection. But the wayward 
 course of lovers sometimes crosses all their purposes; a 
 misunderstanding occurred, which induced Tyler to embark 
 for Europe, to flee from that which had really become 
 necessary to his happiness. He took passage in a letter 
 of marque for Bourdeaux. On the voyage out and back, 
 he met with some fighting, some storms, and had sev- 
 eral narrow escapes. These incidents probably helped to 
 cure him of his jealousy, or whatever it was that caused 
 him to go on this adventure. He returned with a full de- 
 termination to confess his fault, and unite himself with her 
 whom he had so abruptly parted from. But it was too late ; 
 he had broken the heart of his loved one, and the first news 
 he heard on landing, was, that she was dead had died of a 
 broken heart. The shock entirely overcame him; he was 
 attacked with a violent illness, followed with delirium, and 
 narrowly escaped that death he would willingly have suf- 
 fered, could it atone for his error. His recovery was slow 
 and tedious ; and it was a long time before he could attend 
 to any business. 
 
 As soon as he was able to travel, he joined the Ohio Com- 
 pany adventurers, then in the opening of their enterprise to 
 occupy the great west, and redeem it from the wilderness. 
 lie attached himself, in 1789, to the settlement of Waterford, 
 and, with them, drew a donation lot of one hundred acres.
 
 W I L L I A M G 11 A Y . 399 
 
 He was a brave and active pioneer; exposing himself to 
 danger on every occasion, and doing all he could for the 
 benelit of the inhabitants. During the, winter months, he 
 taught school; and on the Sabbath officiated as chaplain, 
 reading the sermons of some able divine, and conducting 
 the public devotions, which were regularly kept up during 
 the period of the war, as well as subsequently. 
 
 As a man, he was much respected by the pioneers, and 
 the garrison built for their protection, was called Fort Tyler. 
 He never married, but continued a bachelor to the end of 
 his days. His habits were rather studious and sedentary; 
 except when danger threatened the inhabitants from an In- 
 dian attack, when he was alert and active. In his latter 
 years he became rather intemperate, probably hoping to 
 drown his melancholy reflections in the inebriating bowl. 
 His name is still fondly cherished by the descendants of his 
 pioneer companions. 
 
 CAPT. WILLIAM GRAY. 
 
 CAPT. WILLTAM GRAY was born in Lynn, Mass., on the 20th 
 of March, 1761. 
 
 Being of a warm, active temperament, and the struggle 
 for independence occupying the thoughts and conversa- 
 tion of all around him, he became early inspired with the 
 determination of doing all in his power to aid the cause of 
 his country, and entered the service of the United States, as 
 a private soldier, at the age of seventeen years, or in th<> 
 year 1778, and served to the close of the war. At the
 
 400 WILLIAM GRAY. 
 
 attack on Stony Point, he had been promoted, for his good 
 conduct, to a lieutenant, and was among the first who scaled 
 the walls of that fortress. 
 
 At the close of the war he returned to his home, and 
 married Miss Mary Diamond, of Salem. His uncle, the 
 rich merchant, William Gray, for whom he was named, lived 
 at that time in Salem, and from a humble situation in life, 
 being bred a shoemaker, rose to be one of the richest mer- 
 chants in Boston. He treated his nephew with great kind- 
 ness ; and for many years, even after he moved to Ohio, 
 annually sent him a sum of money, sufficient to aid very 
 materially in the support of his family. Soon after his mar- 
 riage he resided in Danvers, where his two oldest children 
 were born. 
 
 In the autumn of 1787 he joined the Ohio Company, and 
 had the charge of one of the wagons that transported the 
 first band of pioneers on to the waters of the Ohio. On this 
 wagon was written, in large letters, "For Ohio.'' 1 His family 
 was left in Danvers, and did not come out until 17'JO, in 
 company with Maj. Ezra Putnam, from the same place. 
 He joined the settlement at Waterford, and when the war 
 of 1791 broke out, was chosen commander of the garrison 
 erected for its defense, called Fort Tyler. By his good con- 
 duct and prudence, this fortress was preserved unharmed, 
 although several times in great jeopardy. The situation 
 was a very exposed one, on the extreme frontier. On the 
 head waters of the Muskingum, which washed its founda- 
 tions, were seated numerous tribes and villages of the hos 
 tile Indians, who, at almost any season of the year, could 
 embark their whole force in canoes, and in forty-eight hours 
 land at the garrison. Their approach might have thus 
 been made in the most secret manner, without even the 
 knowledge of the rangers, who constantly scoured the coun- 
 try, watching for signs of the Indians. But an overruling
 
 WILLIAM STACEY. 401 
 
 Providence diverted their attention to other quarters, and they 
 pa?.ed the four years of war with hut little loss of life, but 
 much of property. Soon after the peace, and men could 
 till the earth in safety, he bought a farm near the present 
 town of Beverly, and lived there, highly respected, until the 
 time of his death, in July, 1812. 
 
 He was the father of ten children, nearly all of whom 
 married, and their descendants are living in this county. 
 
 COL. WILLIAM STACEY. 
 
 COL. STACEY was a native of Massachusetts, and a propri- 
 etor in the Ohio Company. He came early to the North- 
 west Territory, and settled in Washington county. 
 
 In the forepart of his life he lived on the sea- coast, proba- 
 bly Salem, and was engaged in sea-faring business. Find- 
 ing himself surrounded by a rapidly increasing family, he 
 removed to New Salem, in the county of Hampshire, Mass., 
 and entered on the life of a farmer. He was much re- 
 spected by his fellow townsmen, and was promoted in the 
 military service. In Barber's Historical Sketches of Mas- 
 sachusetts, is the following notice of Col. Stacey, copied 
 from the Barre Gazette. 
 
 " The news of the battle of Lexington flew through New 
 England like wild-fire. The swift horseman with his red 
 flag proclaimed it in every village, and made the stirring call 
 upon the patriots to move forward in defen.-c of the rights 
 so ruthlessly invaded, and now sealed with the martyrs' 
 
 blood. Putnam, it will be recollected, left his plow in the 
 
 26
 
 402 WILLIAM STAGEY. 
 
 furrow, and led his gallant band to Cambridge. Such 
 instances of promptness and devotion were not rare. We 
 love the following instance of the display of fervid patri- 
 otism, from an eye witness, one of those valued relics of 
 the band of '76, whom now a grateful nation delights to 
 honor. 
 
 When the intelligence reached New Salem, in this state, 
 the people were hastily assembled on the village green by 
 the notes of alarm. Every man came with his gun and 
 other preparations for a short march. The militia of the 
 town were then divided into two companies, one of which was 
 
 commanded by a Capt. G . This company was paraded 
 
 before much consultation had been held on the proper steps 
 to be taken in the emergency, and while determination was 
 expressed on almost every countenance, the men stood 
 silently leaning on their muskets, awaiting the movement 
 of the spirit in the officers. The captain was supposed to 
 be tinctured with Toryism, and his present indecision and 
 backwardness were ample proofs, if not of his attachment 
 to royalty, at least of his unfitness to lead a patriot band. 
 Some murmurs began to be heard, when the first lieuten- 
 ant, William Stacey, stepped out of the line, took off his 
 hat, and addressed them. He was of stout heart, but of 
 few words. Pulling his commission from his pocket, he 
 said, ' Fellow soldiers, I don't know exactly how it is with 
 the rest of you, but for one, I will no longer serve a king 
 that murders my own countrymen ; ' and tearing the paper 
 in a hundred pieces, he trod them under his feet. Sober as 
 were the people by habit and natural disposition, they could 
 not refrain from a loud huzza, as he stepped back into the 
 ranks. Capt. G still faltered, and made a feeble en- 
 deavor to restore order, but they heeded him as little as 
 the wind. The company was summarily disbanded, and a 
 re-organization took place on the spot. The gallant Stacey
 
 WILLIAM STAGEY. 403 
 
 was unanimously chosen captain, and with a prouder com- 
 mission than was ever borne on parchment, he led a small 
 but resolute band to Cambridge. He continued in service 
 during the war, reaching, before it? close, the rank of lieu- 
 tenant-colonel, under the command of Putnam." 
 
 In 1778, Capt. Stacey had risen by his merits to the rank 
 of a lieutenant-colonel, not in Col. Putnam's regiment, but 
 in Col. Ichabod Alden's, of the Massachusetts line. 
 
 The first of July, that year, the Indians and Tories sacked 
 and destroyed the settlement of Wyoming, on the Susque- 
 hanna river. They now threatened, and had partly de- 
 populated, the settlement of Cherry valley, which lies on 
 the head waters of the eastern branch of that stream, fifty- 
 two miles northwest of Albany, in the present county of 
 Otsego, but then Tryon county, N. Y. It was a beautiful val- 
 ley, noted for its fertility and picturesque scenery, being first 
 settled as early as 1739, but greatly harassed by the Tories, 
 who formed nearly half of the inhabitants of that county, 
 and were friends to the crown, to which they were partly 
 induced from the popularity and high standing of Sir Guy 
 Johnson, who lived in the northern part of the county, and 
 probably from respect to the governor of the state, while 
 under the king, for whom it was named Late in the sum- 
 mer of 1778, Col. Alden's regiment was ordered up to 
 Cherry valley, for the protection of the inhabitants. A 
 stockaded garrison had been previously built around their 
 little church, and the regiment of about two hundred men 
 took possession of it. Being rather straitened for quarters, 
 several of the officers lodged at the houses of the adjacent 
 inhabitants. Alden and Stacey, with a small guard of sol- 
 diers, quartered in the house of a Mr. Wells, not more than 
 a quarter of a mile from the garrison. On the (5th of Xo- 
 vembcr, Col. Alden received a letter from Fort Schuyler. now 
 in Oneida county, distant about forty miles northwest, near
 
 404 WILLIAM STAGEY. 
 
 the head of the Mohawk, saying that an Oneida Indian, 
 whose tribe was friendly to the United States, had told them 
 that the Indians and Tories, under a son of Col. Butler, 
 were assembling on the Tioga river, a northerly branch of 
 the Susquehanna, which passes through the country of the 
 Seneca Indians, for the purpose of attacking the fort and 
 settlement of Cherry valley. Butler had been a prisoner 
 with the Americans, and confined in Albany jail, a short 
 time before, but had escaped, and was now seeking revenge. 
 Being notified of this intended attack, he sent out scouting 
 parties to watch their approach, although he did not actually 
 apprehend any danger, even after this timely warning. The 
 inhabitants, better aware of their peril, made application 
 to the commander to be admitted within the fort, but as it 
 was only large enough for his own men, he declined, saying 
 it would be time enough when they were certain of the ap- 
 proach of the enemy. Being unacquainted with Indian 
 warfare, he did not take shelter within the fort himself. 
 The scout, which was sent down that branch of the river 
 which waters the valley, having kindled a fire, were surprised 
 in their camp and taken prisoners, so that they could not 
 give the alarm of the advance of the Indians as he had 
 expected. From these prisoners, Butler and Brant learned 
 the condition of the settlement and the houses where the 
 officers slept, being themselves familiar and acquainted in 
 the valley before the war. 
 
 Early on the morning of the llth of November, an army 
 of five hundred Indians and two hundred Tories entered the 
 settlement undiscovered, and began the attack on the scat- 
 tered dwellings near the fort. Before they reached Wells', 
 the house where he quartered, a man on horseback gave 
 notice of their approach. He was still persuaded there was 
 only a small body of Indians, but on their coming in sight 
 he directly ran for the fort, closely pursued by an Indian,
 
 WILLIAM STAGEY. 405 
 
 who after calling on him to surrender, which he refused, 
 snapping his pistol at him, he threw his tomahawk, striking 
 him on the head and felling him to the ground. The Indian 
 then scalped him, " and thus he was the first to puffier from 
 his criminal neglect."* Before Col. Stacey could leave the 
 house, it was surrounded by the Indians, and he was taken 
 prisoner with a few of the guard, while all the women and 
 children were killed, it was a damp, rainy morning, and 
 the powder of the out-door guards was wet, so that their 
 arms vvere useless, which was one reason of there being so 
 little resistance. After a feeble attack on the fort, they de- 
 parted with their scalps and prisoners, killing about forty of 
 the inhabitants. Joseph Brant, who commanded the Indians, 
 saved the lives of a number of families, making them pris- 
 oners, while Butler and the Tories under his command, 
 spared very few that fell into their hands. 
 
 The Indians, in their return to their own country on the 
 Genesee river, passed down the Cherry valley branch of the 
 Susquehanna to its junction with the Tioga fork, and up 
 that stream over to the Seneca lake, and onward to an In- 
 dian town that stood near the present beautiful village of 
 Geneva, distant more than two hundred miles, by the route 
 they traveled, from Cherry valley. Here the revengeful 
 savages who had taken Col. Stacey prisoner, after holding 
 a council, decided on burning him at the stake. It has for 
 ages been the practice of the Indians in their attacks, to 
 take some prisoners for this purpose, that the young Indians 
 and squaws may shore in their revenge on their enemies. 
 Being devoted to this dreadful death, he was tied to the 
 stake, the fire kindled, and he thought- his last hour was 
 come. Seeing the noble-minded Brant in the throng, and 
 having probably heard that he was a Freemason, he made 
 
 *Annals of Trvoii countv.
 
 406 WILLIAM STAGEY. 
 
 the well known sign of the fraternity, which was instantly 
 recognized by the quick eye of the Indian. His influence 
 was almost unlimited amongst the northern tribes of New 
 York, and he persuaded them to release their victim, thus 
 adding one more to the number of lives saved by his 
 humanity. 
 
 Soon after this he was adopted into an Indian family. At 
 the time of the invasion of the country of the Senecas in 
 1779, by Gen. Sullivan, when their villages, orchards, and 
 crops of corn, were totally destroyed, many of them retreated 
 to Fort Niagara, then in the hands of the British. Amongst 
 others, Col. Stacey was taken there by the family to which 
 he was attached. While here, Mr. Campbell, the author of 
 the history of Tryon county, from whom some of these 
 events are copied, says, "Lieut. Col. Stacey, who had been 
 taken prisoner at Cherry valley, was also at the fort. Molly 
 Brant, the sister of Joseph, and former mistress of Sir Wil- 
 liam Johnson, had, from some cause, a deadly hostility to 
 him. She resorted to the Indian method of dreaming. She 
 told Col. Butler that she dreamed she had the Yankee's head, 
 and that she and the Indians were kicking it about the fort. 
 Col. Butler ordered a small keg of rum to be painted and 
 given to her. This, for a short time, appeased her, but she 
 dreamed a second time that she had the Yankee's head, with 
 his hat on, and she and the Indians kicked it about the fort 
 for a foot ball. Col. Butler ordered another keg of rum to 
 be given to her, and then told her, decidedly, that Col. Stacey 
 should not be given up to the Indians. Apart from this 
 circumstance, I know nothing disreputable to Molly Brant. 
 On the contrary, she appears to have had just views of her 
 duties. She was careful of the education of her children, 
 and some of them were respectably married. 
 
 Col. Stacey remained a prisoner over four years, and was 
 then '-x changed. lie returned to his home in New Salem,
 
 WILLIAM STAGEY. 407 
 
 and in 1789 moved with his family, consisting of liis wife, 
 five sons, and a son-in-law, with their families, to the, Ohio, 
 and settled in Marietta. Two of his sons, John and Phile- 
 mon, joined the settlement in Big Bottom, formed in the fall 
 of 1790. The 'Jd of January, following, the block-house 
 was taken by surprise, and fourteen of the inmates were 
 killed; amongst the slain was his son John, while, Philemon, 
 a lad of sixteen years, was taken prisoner, and died in cap- 
 tivity. Col. Staccy feeling anxious for the safety of the new 
 settlement, and the welfare of his sons, visited the post the 
 day before the attack ; and although the Indians pretended 
 to be friendly, well knowing their wiles from former expe- 
 rience, gave the young men strict orders to keep a regular 
 guard, and strongly bar the door of the house at sunset, 
 and not open it again until sunrise, even although it was 
 the depth of winter. They neglected his advice, and per- 
 ished. During the war he lived in a small block-house, 
 at the Point in Marietta, on the bank of the Ohio, and is 
 figured in the drawing of that place, in the preceding vol- 
 ume. He had the charge of overseeing the construction of 
 these works in January, 1791. His remaining sons and son- 
 in-law settled in this county, and left a numerous posterity, 
 who still reside here. His youngest son, Gideon, settled in 
 New Orleans, and established a ferry across Lake Pontchar- 
 train, and was there lost. 
 
 After the death of his first wife, Col. Stacey married Mrs. 
 Sheffield, a widow lady from Rhode Island, and owned four 
 shares of land in the Ohio Company. She was the mother of 
 the wife of Maj. Zeigler, Mr. Charles Green, and Isaac Pierce, 
 Esq., a woman of highly cultivated mind, lady-like manners. 
 and agreeable person. 
 
 He died in Marietta, in the year 1804, and was a man 
 greatly esteemed for his many excellent qualities.
 
 THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF ATHENS COUNTY. 
 
 WITH BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF SOME 
 
 OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 
 
 BY EPHRAIM CUTTER, ESQ. 
 
 THE Indian war, which was brought to a close by the 
 treaty of Greenville, in August, 1795, had caused an almost 
 entire stop to the wave of population, which, by the settle- 
 ment of Marietta and Cincinnati, had begun to swell and 
 move. It was not until 1797 and 1798, that the symptoms 
 of what has astonished the whole civilized world, began 
 again to appear in the west. In those years, that kind of 
 boats to which the pioneers gave the cognomen of broad- 
 horns, were seen continually floating down the Ohio. Many 
 of these contained the families of persons of strong, adven- 
 turous minds, and hardy frames, but generally of little or 
 no property. They of course sought for opportunities to 
 locate themselves on lands that they could obtain on easy 
 terms. 
 
 In the early part of 1797, Marietta was crowded with 
 this kind of population, seeking for some place to make a 
 home. It is well known that in the purchase of the Ohio 
 Company's lands, they made it a condition that two town- 
 ships of land should be conveyed which were to be forever 
 for the use and benefit of a university. These lands were 
 in the trust of the directors of the Ohio Company, and were 
 thus to remain until they should resign that trust to the 
 future Legislature. Gen. Putnam, who was the superin- 
 tendent of the surveys of the land of the Ohio Company, 
 had these two townships surveyed into sections in 1796.
 
 S E T T L K M E N T () F A T 1 1 i; N S COT N T V . -101) 
 
 The trustees were convinced that it \vouhl be good policy to 
 early make these lands productive, and thus provide a land 
 to commence an institution, which they foresaw would soon 
 be much needed, and if established, promised most import- 
 ant results. They believed that the public interest would be 
 served by encouraging substantial men to occupy these 
 lands, make improvements, and wait until a more perma- 
 nent title could be made to them by an act of Legislature, 
 which, it was expected, would soon (as was the case.) be 
 acquired as the second step provided for by the ordinance 
 of 1780, providing for the government of the territory north- 
 west of the river Ohio. 
 
 These lands, with a large surrounding region, were one 
 of the most favorite portions of the hunting ground which 
 the Indians had surrendered in their several treaties ; and 
 the treaty of 1795 seemed to close the last fond hope of 
 ever after enjoying them. Yet the hunters living about 
 Sandusky, and on the difFerent branches of the Muskingum, 
 continued not only to visit there, but until the winter before 
 the last war with Great Britain commenced, they were in 
 large parties during the hunting season, coursing through 
 that extensive range of country, comprising the lands watered 
 by the Raccoon, Monday, Sunday, and the heads of Federal 
 creek. It was here they formerly found the buffalo, the 
 elk, and the bear. The buffalo and elk were not extermi- 
 nated until the year 1800. The bear continued in consid- 
 erable abundance until their last great hunt in the winter 
 of 1810-11. That winter was a favorable season for them 
 to effect the object they seemed to have in view, which was 
 to destroy the game, the weather being cold, with several 
 falls of snow. The carcasses of many deer were found in 
 the woods bordering the settlements in Washington and 
 Athens counties, which appeared to be wantonly destroyed 
 by the savages. A young buffalo, believed to be the last
 
 410 SETTLEMENT OF ATHENS COUNTY. 
 
 seen in this part of the country, was taken a few miles west 
 of Athens, on a branch of Raccoon, in the spring of 1799, 
 brought to the settlement, and reared by a domestic cow. 
 The summer after it was two years old, it was taken by its 
 owner over the mountains, and for a considerable time ex- 
 hibited from place to place. At first it was easily managed, 
 but at length became ungovernable, and gored its owner, 
 who died of the wounds, and the animal was then killed. 
 
 Gen. Putnam probably would not, at this time, have en- 
 couraged the commencement of this settlement, had he not 
 foreseen that these lands would soon be occupied, and that 
 it was important, in order to establish a peacable and re- 
 spectable settlement, to select, from the emigrants already 
 at Marietta, men possessing firmness of character, courage, 
 and sound discretion. He accordingly gave every facility 
 in his power, relating to the surveys, &c., to Capt. Silas 
 Bingham, Judge Alvin Bingham, John Wilkins, Esq., Capt. 
 John Chandler, John Harris, Robert Lindsey, Jonathan Wat- 
 kins, Moses Hewit, Isaac Barker, William Harper, Barak, 
 Edmond and William Dorr, and Dr. Eliphaz Perkins. Some 
 of these individuals, with their families, and some others, 
 made their way up the Hockhocking, in pirogues, early in 
 the spring of 1797; and were the first in felling the inter- 
 minable forest, and to erect dwellings. Immediately after 
 the settlement commenced, as was anticipated, large num- 
 bers came to take possession of these lands, many of whom 
 seemed disposed to practice the principle that, might makes 
 right; this soon occasioned a state of things which required 
 much courage and prudence to counteract. Alvin Bingham 
 was commissioned a magistrate, and Silas was appointed a 
 deputy-sheriff. The cases of taking forcible possession of 
 the land and improvements had commenced, and it required 
 no common share of prudence and firmness to keep the 
 peace, and give an effectual check to these outrages. Add
 
 SETTLEMENT OF ATHENS COUNTY. 411 
 
 to these, a Canadian Frenchman, by the name of Menour, 
 who had resided with the Indians, was in the habit of steal- 
 ing horses from the savages, and bringing them into the set- 
 tlement, on the college lands, where he had men ready to 
 take them and convey them away to some settled region, 
 and dispose of them. The Indians found no difficulty in 
 tracing their horses to this point, but could follow them no 
 further. They, of course with great justice, made their 
 complaints. Menour had collected around him quite a num- 
 ber who were well armed, and showed a determination to 
 defend him. Judge Bingham issued a warrant for his ap- 
 prehension, and intrusted it with Silas, who made an 
 attempt to perform his duty, but found quite a party of des- 
 perate characters in arms to protect him. He very adroitly 
 retired; giving out the idea, that he should not venture to 
 arrest him, unless he could obtain assistance from Marietta. 
 Menour's house was a strong building for those times ; the 
 only access to the chamber was a small opening in the ga- 
 ble-end. Menour and his wife, who used it for a lodging 
 room, ascended a ladder, then drew it up after them, and 
 closed the aperture. The lower part of the house was, at 
 this time, occupied by a large party of desperate men, horse- 
 thieves, and outlaws, who slept on their rifles, and were 
 ready at any moment to do their leader's bidding. In the 
 meantime, Bingham, with the utmost secrecy and dispatch, 
 collected the well-disposed citizens of Athens and Ames, 
 and proceeded that night to make the arrest. The night 
 was very dark, and they approached and surrounded the 
 house, without, being discovered by its inmates. K. Cutler 
 burst open the door, and the citi/.ens rushed in upon the des- 
 peradoes, and secured them before they were fairly awake. 
 Robert Lindsey and Edmond Dorr broke into the opening 
 that formed the entrance to the chamber, and captured Me- 
 nour; who was taken to Marietta, where he was convicted
 
 412 SETTLEMENT OF ATHENS COUNTY. 
 
 of the offense, on the testimony of the Indians, and pun- 
 ished; he, however, afterward went to Sandusky, and it was 
 said, was there killed by an Indian. 
 
 Judge Bingham was not lax in punishing breaches of the 
 peace. Some cases of forcible entry and detainer took place, 
 which required a jury and two magistrates to decide them; 
 and at this time there were but two in this portion of the 
 country, Judges Bingham and Cutler. These cases some- 
 times showed a threatening aspect; a certain number of 
 disorderly persons were always ready to attend such courts. 
 At one of these trials the leaders of this class came forward, 
 and threatened violence; the magistrates ordered them to 
 leave the room ; they retired ; but expressed an intention to 
 put a stop to such courts. The magistrates issued warrants, 
 and ordered the sheriff to apprehend them immediately, and 
 take them to Marietta. He was not slow in arresting them. 
 It is not easy to conceive of men more frightened ; the idea 
 of being taken to Marietta, to be tried by a court that had 
 established its character for firmness and strict justice, filled 
 them with terror. Silas Bingham, (who, to great shrewdness 
 and dispatch in business, united an unconquerable love of 
 fun,) did nothing to allay their fears, but told them the bet- 
 ter way would be to come into court, and, on their knees, 
 ask forgiveness, and promise amendment. The prominent 
 man of the offending party replied, that " it was too bad to 
 be compelled to kneel down, and ask forgiveness of two 
 Buckeye justices;" but he would submit rather than be 
 taken to Marietta. This anecdote was often repeated by 
 the facetious Col. Sproat and Bingham, and might have 
 aided in fixing the cognomen on the state. 
 
 The Binghams were natives of Litchfield county, Conn., 
 and although quite young, they were volunteers at the cap- 
 ture of Ticonderoga, by Ethan Allen, in 1775. Silas was 
 with the army which invaded Canada, and both served most
 
 SETTLEMENT OF ATHENS COUNTY. 413 
 
 of the time during the Revolutionary war. Judge Bingham 
 was a substantial, clear-headed man, sober and dignified in 
 his manners, stern and uncompromising in his sense of right. 
 Silas was full of anecdote and humor, social and kind in his 
 feelings, a man of excellent sense, and a terror to evil doers. 
 The promptness with which these men acted in enforcing 
 the laws and in protecting the rights of the weak, had the 
 effect to rid the settlement of a large portion of this disor- 
 derly population: and Athens, many years ago, established 
 its character as an orderly and respectable community, em- 
 bracing as much intelligence and refinement as any other 
 town of equal size. For this happy result, it was in no 
 small degree indebted to Dr. Eliphaz Perkins. Few men 
 were better calculated to introduce a mild and refined state 
 of manners and feelings. He was a native of Norwich, 
 Conn., born in 1753, graduated at an eastern college, and 
 removed to Athens in 1800. the time when a disposition to 
 trample on the laws prevailed. The services of a physician 
 were greatly needed in the settlement, and hia arrival was 
 hailed with joy. By his attention to the sick, skill in his 
 profession, and by his urbanity and kindness, he at once be- 
 came popular. The influence thus acquired, he exerted in 
 the most salutary and unostentatious manner, while he 
 frowned upon every breach of law and decorum. His own 
 deportment was a bright and living example of purity and 
 benevolence. He w r as truly a patron of learning. He did 
 much to establish and sustain common schools in that region. 
 He contributed liberally to the Ohio University, was early 
 appointed a trustee, and for many years was treasurer of 
 the institution. lie died, much lamented, on the iiOth of 
 April, 18-28, in the lively exercise of that. Christian faith of 
 which he had been many years a professor. His descend- 
 ants are numerous and highly respectable; seven of them 
 have graduated at the Ohio University.
 
 414 JEKVIS CUTLER. 
 
 Soon after the settlement of Athens and Ames, the ven- 
 erable Elder Quinn, then a young man, found his way 
 through the wilderness, with little more than blazed trees to 
 guide his steps, induring like a true soldier of the cross, ex- 
 treme toil and privation. He may be regarded as the 
 founder of the Methodist church in that county. 
 
 MAJ. JEIiVIS CUTLER. 
 
 " MAJ. JERVIS CUTLER was the son of the Rev. Manasseh 
 Cutler, who for fifty-two years was pastor of the Congre- 
 gational church in Hamilton, Mass. He was also the ne- 
 gotiator with Congress in the year 1787, for the purchase 
 of a million and a half of acres for the Ohio Company, by 
 means of which the settlement of the now great state of 
 Ohio was effected. From the year 1800 to 1804, Dr. Cutler 
 was a representative in Congress from the Lynn district in 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Maj. Cutler was born at Edgarton, on Martha's Vineyard, 
 in the year 1768. Being educated for the mercantile busi- 
 ness, he was placed, at the age of sixteen years, under the 
 care of Capt. David Pearce, of Gloucester, who sent him 
 on a voyage to Havre de Grace, in France. If the father 
 deserves the credit of paving the way for the settlement of 
 this then savage wilderness, the son is entitled to be con- 
 sidered a pioneer of the settlement itself. In the year 
 1788, when only nineteen years old, he joined the little 
 band of forty-eight, who emigrated from New England, 
 under Gen. Ru.fus Putnam, and pitched their tents at
 
 JERVIS CUTLEIl. 415 
 
 Marietta, in the center of the Indian country. lie ha.> been 
 often heard to say that he was the first to leap on shore at 
 the mouth of the Muskingum, on the se\enth of April, and 
 actually cut the first tree to make a clearing for a habita- 
 tion in the new settlement. Of that little band of hardy 
 pioneers, not more than one or two are now li\ing." The 
 following summer he taught a school about four miles from 
 Simrel'ri ferry, on ilie Youghiogheny river, and was there 
 when his father made his visit to Marietta in Augu-t, 1788. 
 In 1780 lie returned to Marietta, and aided in forming the 
 settlement of Waterford, being one of the first associates, 
 but did not long remain there. 
 
 In the autumn of that year he joined a party of the Ohio 
 Company land surveyors, not as a regular hand, but out of 
 curiosity to see the country, who were running the cast and 
 west township lines of the fourteenth and fifteenth ranges, 
 between the Big Hockhocking and Raccoon creek. It con- 
 sisted of twelve men, of whom Daniel Mayo, of Boston, 
 was one, and Benoni Hurlburt, afterward killed by the Indi- 
 ans, was the hunter. The following interesting sketch of 
 his being lost in the woods, was taken from his own lips, 
 about three years before his death, and is a specimen of the 
 exposures to which the early settlers were all liable. 
 
 Having quite a relish for hunting, and expert with the 
 rifle, he one day went out with Hurlburt in quest of provis- 
 ions for the party, whose supply was nearly exhausted. He 
 ascended one side of a large creek, and his companion tha 
 other, which would give them a chance for mutual assist- 
 ance in killing the game, as it crossed from bank to bank. 
 Mr. Cutler, not being accustomed to the woods, presently 
 left the main stream, and followed up a large branch. He 
 soon discovered his mistake, and retraced his steps, but 
 
 * American Almanac
 
 416 JERVIS CUTLER. 
 
 could find no signs of his trail. Just at night he met a fine 
 bear, which he shot at and wounded. A small dog, now 
 his only companion, gave it chase, but as the bear declined 
 taking a tree, as they usually do, he soon gave up the pur- 
 suit. Finding that he was actually lost, he fired his gun 
 several times, in hopes the party would hear it and answer 
 his signal of distress.' Night now rapidly approaching, he 
 prepared to encamp, and selected a dead, dry beech-tree, 
 the top of which was broken off about twenty feet from the 
 ground, against which he kindled the fire. He laid down 
 on some leaves before it, and being excessively tired, 
 dropped into a sound sleep. The flame soon ran to the top 
 of the dry beech, and a large flake of the burning wood, 
 aided by the current of air, dropped on to the breast of his 
 hunting-shirt, burning his skin severely. With some effort 
 he succeeded in extinguishing his burning garment, and 
 slept at intervals during the night. He rose at daylight, 
 directing his course eastvvardly, with the hope of striking 
 the Hockhocking, which he knew lay in that direction. All 
 that day he traveled diligently, with the little dog by his side, 
 without discovering the object of his search. That night he 
 encamped near a small stream of water, but without fire, as 
 he dreaded a repetition of the last night's accident; besides, 
 he had nothing to cook for supper, and the weather was not 
 cold. The night was passed quietly, with the little dog coiled 
 up at his feet. The third morning he started early, and saw 
 many signs of buffaloes, but no animals; and traveled all 
 day without seeing any game. Toward evening the little 
 dog, which seemed aware of his masters necessities as well 
 as his o\vn, ranged either to the right or left of the course, 
 in search of game; and toward night, barked vehemently 
 at something he had discovered. Mr. Cutler hastened up 
 to the spot in expectation of at least seeing a fat bear, but 
 only found a little, poor, starved opossum. Thinking this
 
 JERVIS CUTLER. 417 
 
 better than no meat, he killed and dressed it, roasting it by 
 his camp fire. A part of it was offered to the dog, but he 
 declined partaking such poor fare, and his master consumed 
 the whole of it. It was now three days since he left his 
 companions, and this was his only meal. On the fourth 
 morning, after a sound night's sleep by his fire, he felt quite 
 refreshed, and pushed manfully onward, as he thought on an 
 easterly course, but doubtless making many deviations from 
 a right line. Soon after getting under way, his faithful 
 companion started up a flock of turkeys, the sight of which 
 greatly animated his spirits. His gun was soon leveled and 
 discharged at one of the largest, not more than thirty feet 
 distant. In the agitation and eagerness of the moment, he 
 missed his mark, and the bird flew unharmed away, much 
 to the chagrin of the little dog, which looked quite astonished 
 and mortified at his master. His first impression was that 
 his gun had been bent or injured, and would not shoot with 
 any accuracy. Despair now succeeded to his recent joy, as 
 he thought he must inevitably starve before he could escape 
 from the woods. After shedding a few tears over his hopeless 
 condition, and resting awhile on a log, he carefully wiped 
 out his rifle and loaded it with great nicety. In the mean- 
 time the turkeys had all disappeared but a solitary one, 
 perched on the top of a high tree. He now rested his gur. 
 against the side of a tree, and taking deliberate aim, he 
 fired once more, and to his great joy the turkey came 
 tumbling to the ground. A fire was soon kindled, the 
 feathers pulled, and the bird roasted on the coals. A 
 hearty meal was then made, of which the little dog now 
 readily partook. This food was the sweetest he had ever 
 tasted, and put fresh courage into the wanderers. The 
 remains of the turkey were stowed away in the bosom of 
 his hunting-shirt, and he pursued his solitary way more 
 
 cheerfully. Soon after, in passing up a ridge, a fine deer 
 27
 
 418 JERVIS CUTLER. 
 
 came round the point of the hill, which he shot. From the 
 skin of the animal he formed a kind of sack, which he slung 
 to his shoulders, with strips of leatherwood bark, filled with 
 the choicest pieces of the meat. He now traveled on quite 
 cheerily, in which the little dog also participated, knowing 
 he had food for several days, or until he could reach the 
 settlements. That night he camped by the side of a little 
 run, made a cheerful fire, roasted his venison, and ate his 
 supper with a fine relish. After sleeping soundly, he awoke 
 with renovated strength and spirits. This was now the fifth 
 day of his wandering, and luckily, a little before noon, he 
 came on to the Hockhocking, at a place which he at once 
 recognized as being about a mile and a half below the 
 point from w T hich the surveying party had started out on 
 their work. He felt so much animated at the successful 
 termination of this adventure, that instead of going down 
 stream to the cabin of John Levins, seven miles below, he 
 determined to go up to the line of the surveyors, and follow 7 
 that until he found them. It was easily distinguished by 
 the blazes, or marks on the trees, and before night reached 
 the camp they had left two weeks before, and found a little 
 fire still smoking in a dry sugar tree, which retains fire 
 longer than any other wood. Feeling weary and low spir- 
 ited, he proceeded no further that night, but slept on the 
 old camping ground. In the morning, knowing where he 
 was, and freed from the harassing feelings known only to 
 those who have been lost in the woods, he started with 
 fresh vigor on the trace. His little companion seemed to 
 understand their more hopeful condition, and capered along 
 ahead, barking heartily for joy. He now killed as much 
 game as he needed, without leaving the trail, and on the 
 eighth day of his solitary ramble, came tip with the sur- 
 veyors. There was great joy in the party at meeting their 
 lost companion, but as they supposed he had gone back to
 
 JERVIS CUT LEU. 419 
 
 the settlement, not being a regular hand, they were not so 
 much alarmed at his long absence. 
 
 Soon after this adventure he returned to New England, 
 and resided for some time with his brother Kphraim, at Kil- 
 lingly, Conn., where lie married Miss Philadelphia Cargill, 
 the daughter of Benjamin Cargill, who owned, at that time, 
 valuable mills on the Quinebog river, the site of the present 
 Wilkinson factories and village in Pom fret. His roving pro- 
 pensities led him to spend some months in Carolina and 
 Virginia; but his brother having removed to Ohio, he came 
 again to Marietta, in the year 1802, with the intention of 
 establishing a tin manufactory ; but meeting with little en- 
 couragement at that early day, he went to Chillicothe, and 
 finally established himself at Bainbridge, on Paint creek, 
 and engaged in the fur trade. 
 
 Tn the years 1806 and 1807 there was great excitement 
 respecting Louisiana, and Aaron Burr's expedition ; the mi- 
 litia were organized, and he was elected a major in Col. 
 McArthur's regiment. His fine personal appearance, and 
 some experience in military affairs in Connecticut, enabled 
 him to fill the post with great credit. When additional troops 
 were raised for the purpose of taking possession of New Or- 
 leans, he received the appointment of captain, and soon 
 enlisted a full company of men. He was stationed at New- 
 port, Ky., and for some time had the command of the post at 
 that place. In the spring of 1809 he was ordered, with his 
 company, to New Orleans. A French gentleman, engaged 
 in the fur trade on the Missouri, and toward the Kocky 
 moimtains, was taken on board his boat, as they descended 
 the Mississippi, as a passenger. Being able to speak the 
 French language fluently, he obtained from him much val- 
 uable information, which he carefully noted down, respect- 
 ing these regions. In 1812 lie published a work, being a 
 a topographical description of that country, including much
 
 420 JEEVIS CUTLER. 
 
 of Ohio, with an account of the Indian tribes residing therein. 
 His two subaltern officers, Jessup and Cutler, have since 
 attained the rank of general officers in the army of the 
 United States. At New Orleans he had a severe attack of 
 yellow fever, which reduced his strength and health so much, 
 that he left the army, and returned to New England, where 
 he remained until 1818, when he removed his family to 
 Warren, near Marietta. Here he lost his wife, in 1822. 
 
 Two years after he married Mrs. Eliza Chandler, of Evans- 
 ville, Indiana, and soon after moved to Nashville, Tenn., 
 where he was engaged in engraving copper-plates for bank 
 notes, for the banks of that state, and for Alabama. He 
 possessed great taste for the fine arts ; sketched remarkably 
 well, and made some very creditable attempts at sculpture. 
 With much versatility of talent, he lacked that singleness 
 of purpose, and perseverance in one pursuit, necessary to 
 success. He possessed a well cultivated mind, and was an 
 acute observer of men and things. 
 
 He died at Evansville, the 25th of June, 1844, aged sev- 
 enty-six years.
 
 A HISTORY OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF 
 
 AMESTOWN, IN ATHENS COUNTY, OHIO, 
 
 WITH SKETCHES OF THE EARLY 
 
 INHABITANTS. 
 
 BY EPHRAIM CUTLER. 
 
 IN the summer of 1797, Ephraim Cutler, the proprietor of 
 several shares in the Ohio Company's purchase, ascertain- 
 ing that a considerable amount of his lands were situated 
 on the waters of Federal creek, in the sixth township of the 
 thirteenth range, accompanied by Lieut. George Ewing, ex- 
 plored a way through the wilderness, and cut out a pack- 
 horse path, twenty miles in length, from Waterford to Federal 
 creek. They returned, and accompanied by Capt. Benjamin 
 Brown, made a second and more thorough exploration. 
 They found the lands exceedingly fertile, with rich limestone 
 hills and valleys, and chestnut ridges ; which afforded a plen- 
 tiful supply of food for animals of every description, and 
 promised an abundant reward to the labors of the farmer. 
 The Indians had not yet quite exterminated the buffalo and 
 elk ; the bear, deer, wolf, and panther abounded, while the 
 wild turkeys were innumerable. Mr. Cutler proposed to fur- 
 nish them with land, if they would unite with him in form- 
 ing a settlement. They accordingly made their selection ; 
 and about the 1st of March, 1798, Lieut. Ewing removed his 
 family, and in April, 1799, Cutler and Brown went over to 
 build their cabins, and make preparation for the accommo- 
 dation of their families. On their way back to Waterford, 
 they found Wolf creek impassable, from recent heavy rains.
 
 422 AMESTOWN. 
 
 They cut a large bitter-nut hickory tree, that stood on the 
 bank, peeled thirty feet of bark from the trunk, sewed up 
 the ends with leatherwood, and launched it upon the stream; 
 when themselves, with two young men, who accompanied 
 them, embarked in this frail vessel. They had proceeded 
 bnt a short distance down stream, when they discovered a 
 large bear on the bank of the creek, which was shot, and 
 taken on board. This Indian canoe, with its passengers 
 and freight, performed the voyage of fifteen miles, to \V>.ter- 
 ford, in safety. The goods and furniture of the two families 
 were put on board pirogues, and sent down the Muskingum 
 and Ohio rivers, to the mouth of the Big Hockhocking and 
 up that stream to Federal creek, a distance of eighty miles; 
 while the women and children were taken on horseback, 
 through the wilderness, and over the rough hills, to their 
 woodland abodes. The creeks were much swollen, and dif- 
 ficult to pass. One large stream was crossed on a raft of 
 drift-wood, at great peril. They reached the place of des- 
 tination on the 6th of May. About the year 1800, Deacon 
 Joshua Wyatt and family, with Sylvanus Ames and his ac- 
 complished and intelligent wife, joined them, making a very 
 pleasant addition to the little colony. Other settlers also 
 came, but the increase was small until 1804. 
 
 After the arrival of Deacon Wyatt, public worship on the 
 Sabbath was established, by reading a sermon, and prayer. 
 The settlers very early entered into an agreement, not to use 
 ardent spirits on any public occasion, such as raisings, 4th 
 of July, &c., which was strictly adhered to for several years. 
 Schools of an elevated character were soon established. 
 Two gentlemen, graduates of Harvard University, Moses 
 Everett, son of the Rev. Moses Everett, of Dorchester, Mass., 
 and Charles Cutler, taught successively for several years. 
 During a number of years, the youth enjoyed no other means 
 of acquiring knowledge. But one newspaper was taken,
 
 A M E S T W N . 423 
 
 the United States Gazette, and that, except by accident, did 
 not arrive much oftencr than once in three months. 
 
 In the autumn of 180-1, the settlers of Dover. Sunday 
 creek, and Ames were convened in public meeting, to devise 
 means to improve the roads. At this meeting the intellec- 
 tual wants of the settlement became a subject of remark. 
 In their isolated position, the means of acquiring informa- 
 tion were extremely limited. It was suggested that a library 
 would supply the deficiency. But the difficulty of obtaining 
 money, to make the purchase of the books, presented an 
 insuperable obstacle. Josiah True, Esq., of Dover, proposed 
 that they should collect furs, and send on to Boston, to ef- 
 fect the object. This project was acceded to by acclamation. 
 The young men of the colony had become expert hunters. 
 Surrounded by a vast wilderness, with a boundless ocean 
 of woods and prairies, inhabited by savages, who still re- 
 garded it as their favorite hunting grounds, their fatherland ; 
 amidst dangers and privations, unknown in more cultivated 
 regions, a hardy and adventurous character was early devel- 
 oped. John Jacob Astor employed agents in this country, 
 to purchase furs, especially bear skins. At the commence- 
 ment of winter, the bear seeks a hollow tree, or a cavern 
 amongst the rocks, for his winter's sleep. The entrance of 
 those cavities in which this animal takes refuge, is generally 
 small. These were often entered by the hunters, and the 
 bear dispatched, by shooting, or stabbing with the knife. 
 In one instance the bear being wounded, determined to sur- 
 render his fortress, and retreat. The young man who had 
 entered the narrow aperture, had no other resource than to 
 lie flat upon his face, and let the animal squeeze his passage 
 over him. At the outlet of the den, another hunter stood 
 with his rifle, and shot him through the head ; young Brown 
 soon crawled out, covered with blood from the wounded
 
 424 A M E S T W N . 
 
 bear, saying, that " Bruin had given him a harder squeeze 
 than he ever had before." 
 
 In order to obtain the proposed library, the settlers, 
 during the ensuing winter, procured a sufficient quantity 
 of raccoon and other skins to make the desired purchase. 
 Samuel Brown, Esq., who was returning to New England 
 that spring in a wagon, took charge of the skins. He was 
 furnished with letters to the Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, and 
 the Rev. Dr. Cutler, who accompanied Mr. Brown to Boston, 
 and selected a valuable collection of books. It is worthy 
 of note, that this w r as the first public library in Ohio, and per- 
 haps the first west of the mountains, and certainly was the 
 first incorporated in the state. It has since been divided, 
 after accumulating several hundred volumes, and part taken 
 to Dover. Both branches are still in a flourishing condition. 
 About sixty youth have been reared under these influences, 
 and gone forth to the world with fully developed physical 
 powers, uncorrupted morals, and well cultivated minds ; but 
 as most of them are now in active life, it would appear in- 
 vidious to mention them. It may perhaps be proper to say 
 that ten of them have graduated at the Ohio University. 
 Many others have received more or less instruction at that 
 institution. Two have been professors in colleges, three 
 ministers of the gospel, and five lawyers, of established 
 reputation. All of them occupy respectable, and many of 
 them responsible stations in society. 
 
 The Hon. Ambrose Rice, son of Mr. Jason Rice, of Ames, 
 attended the institution at Athens in its earlier stages. He 
 manifested great aptness in mathematical science, solving 
 the most difficult problems, almost by intuition. He settled 
 in the northwest part of this state, where he occupied sta- 
 tions of trust and profit. His reputation as a man of pro- 
 bity and talent was high. He died leaving a large fortune.
 
 A M E S T O W N . 425 
 
 The first physician in Amos was Dr. E/.ra Walker, a na- 
 tive of Killingly, Conn. lie still lives, at an advanced age. 
 
 Mrs. Cutler was a woman of uncommon fortitude and 
 great excellence of character. Though in feeble health, 
 and reared amidst the quiet and peaceful scenes of a A T ew 
 England village, she never shrunk from the dangers and 
 hardships of frontier life. In the early days of the settle- 
 ment the Indians were in the habit of encamping within a 
 mile of her house. Her husband was obliged to be absent 
 four times in a year, to attend the courts at Marietta. On 
 one of these occasions several Indians came to her house. 
 Two hired men, or striplings, being alarmed, caught up 
 their guns and ran over to Capt. Brown's, leaving her 
 and the children unprotected. One of the Indians ap- 
 proached Mrs. Cutler with threatening gestures, brandishing 
 his tomahawk, and pointed to a decanter of brandy upon the 
 cupboard. She knew if they tasted the liquor her life was 
 in danger. With the spirit of a veteran, she seized the fire- 
 shovel and ordered him to set down the bottle and leave the 
 house. The Indian told her, "She was brave squaw; he 
 would give her some meat." They left the house and re- 
 turned to their camp. She was much relieved by the speedy 
 arrival of Capt. Brown, who came immediately on hearing 
 of the unwelcome visit of the Indians. This incident is 
 mentioned to show the trials and dangers to which the fe- 
 males of this settlement were exposed. She was a member 
 of the Congregational church in Marietta, and an exemplary 
 Christian. She died of consumption, in 1809. 
 
 Mrs. \Vyatt \vas an intelligent, pious woman. Her maiden 
 name was Shaw. She died some years after Mrs. Cutler. 
 
 Mrs. Ames was the daughter of a Xc\v England clergy- 
 man. She still lives, honored and cherished by her numerous 
 and respectable family. 
 
 It may be proper to give some sketch of the lives of Lieut.
 
 426 A M E S T W N . 
 
 Ewing and Capt. Brown, men whose history belongs to that 
 of their country. It was the efforts of such men, under 
 the blessing of God on their labors and daring, that brought 
 our country into existence as a distinct nation of the earth. 
 They have already been mentioned as the individuals who 
 first commenced the settlement at Ames, a movement which, 
 considering the attendant difficulties and perils, required no 
 little courage and perseverance. It seemed like plucking 
 an inheritance from the mouth of the lion, situated as it 
 was, in the heart of the Indian hunting grounds, much valued 
 and often visited by them in large parties until 1812: lit- 
 erally a frontier settlement, isolated and unsupported. 
 
 Lieut. George Ewing was a native of Salem county, N. J., 
 and though but a youth at the commencement of the Revo- 
 lutionary war, when his native state was invaded, and the 
 sound of battle heard, he took his stand to defend it to the 
 last. He was soon noticed for his bravery and good con- 
 duct, and received the commission of a first lieutenant in 
 the Jersey line of the army, a proud mark of distinction 
 thus to be placed in that noted corps, the Jersey Blues. He 
 continued in the army until the return of peace, when it 
 was disbanded. He soon, with his wife and young family, 
 left New Jersey for the west, and resided a few years near 
 Wheeling, Ya. In 1793, with other families of that vicinity, 
 he removed to Waterford, the frontier settlement on the 
 Muskingum, in the midst of the Indian war. They were 
 entitled to lands on the tract donated by Congress to those 
 who, at that period, ventured their lives to defend the 
 frontiers from the savage foe, and made a selection about 
 four miles above Fort Frye, at the mouth of Olive Green 
 creek, on the bank of the Muskingum river. They prepared 
 a stockade garrison, to which they removed, and commenced 
 improving their lands. The Indians watched them closely, 
 and one of their number was killed by them, but with
 
 AMESTOWN. 427 
 
 prudence and vigilance they maintained their post without 
 further loss. 
 
 As a member of the new settlement of Ames,* Mr. lowing 
 was ever ready to promote schools, the library, and every 
 measure calculated for the general good. He was fond of 
 reading; was intelligent; possessed a fund of sterling sense, 
 combined with lively wit and good humor. He sometimes 
 indulged in a natural propensity for poetic and sarcastic 
 descriptions: often served on juries at the freehold courts, 
 held to settle the conflicting claims on the college lands at 
 Athens. There were one or two individuals sometimes em- 
 ployed as advocates, demagogues, who frequently made sad 
 havoc with the king's English. He could not help versifying 
 some of these bombastic speeches, which he did in a mas- 
 terly manner, but always in a vein of good humor. He 
 finally removed to Indiana, and died about the year 1830. 
 He was the father of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, well known 
 for his talents and Ihe public stations he has held. 
 
 * The name of the township was suggested by Gen. II. Putnam, in honor of 
 Fisher Ames, of Massachusetts. It is now one of the richest farming townships 
 in the Ohio Company's purchase.
 
 CAPT. BENJAMIN BROWN.* 
 
 CAPT. BENJAMIN BROWN was born in Leicester, Worces- 
 ter county, Mass., on the 17th of October, 1745. He was 
 the son of Capt. John Brown, who served with distinction 
 among the colonial troops in the French war, and before 
 and subsequently to the Revolution, for twenty years, rep- 
 resented the town of Leicester in the General Court of 
 the state. His grandfather, William Brown, while a youth, 
 came from England to America, and was the first settler in 
 the town of Hatfield, on the Connecticut, at the mouth of 
 Deerfield river, and was often engaged in the Indian wars 
 of that early period. The maiden name of his mother was 
 Elizabeth Jones, a near relative of John Coffin Jones, a man 
 somewhat distinguished during and after the Revolution. 
 His father's family was large, numbering nineteen children : 
 five by a former wife. 
 
 At the age of twenty-seven, he married Jane Thomas, 
 who survived him, and died at Athens, in 1840, aged eighty- 
 six years. Soon after his marriage he settled on a farm in 
 the town of Rowe, then in the northwest corner of Hamp- 
 shire county, but now in Franklin, Mass. 
 
 In February, 1775, he connected himself with a regiment 
 of minute men, as they were then called, commanded by 
 Col. Barnard, filling the post of quaster-master. This regi- 
 ment, under the command of Lieut. Col. Williams, of 
 Northfield, at the first sound of war at Lexington, marched 
 to Cambridge, on the 21st of April. Here he received a 
 
 * The sketch of Capt. Brown was furnished by his grandsons, G. Brown and 
 Ephraiui Cutler, Esqs.
 
 BENJAMIN BROWN. 429 
 
 lieutenant's commission in Capt. Maxwell's company, of 
 Col. Prescott's regiment and Massachusetts line, in which 
 he continued until December, 1770. In June, 1775, he was 
 engaged with a party of Americans in a very hazardous 
 service, removing the stock from Noddle's inland, in Boston 
 bay, to prevent their falling into the possession of the 
 British, and also in burning the enemy's packet, Diana, 
 ashore on Maiden beach. 
 
 He took an active part in the battle of Bunker hill, on the 
 17th of June, where his commander, Col. Prescott, highly 
 distinguished himself by his judicious conduct and bravery. 
 In this battle his oldest brother, John Brown, who died in 
 Adams, Washington county, Ohio, in 1821, aged eighty- 
 seven years, was dangerously wounded in two places, by 
 musket shots, one of which ranged the whole length of his 
 foot, shattering the bones in a dreadful manner. He was 
 borne from the field on the shoulders of his brother Pearly 
 to a place of safety, showing the rare spectacle of three 
 brothers engaged in this first of American battles. 
 
 After the evacuation of Boston, in March, 1770, he marched 
 with his regiment to New York, and was present in several 
 engagements during the retreat from Long Island. At the 
 battle of White Plains, where he took an active part, his 
 brother Pearly was killed; and his brother William died in 
 the hospital at New York. On the 1st of January, 1777, 
 he received a captain's commission in the eighth regiment 
 of the Massachusetts line, of which Michael Jackson was 
 colonel, and John Brooks, afterward governor of Massachu- 
 setts, lieutenant- colonel, and William Hall, subsequently 
 governor of Michigan, major. lie remained in this regi- 
 ment until the close of the year 1771). In December, 1770, 
 he assisted at the capture of Ilackensack, by Gen. Parsons. 
 In the summer of 1777, his regiment was ordered to Albany 
 to check the progress of the enemy under Gen. Burgoyne.
 
 430 BENJAMIN BROWN. 
 
 About the middle of August, Col. Jackson, with his regi- 
 ment, was detached with a body of troops under Gen. 
 Arnold, to raise the siege of Fort Schuyler, and to check the 
 advance of St. Leger's men down the Mohawk toward Al- 
 bany, of which there was great apprehension, after the 
 defeat of Gen. Herkimer at Oriskany, on the 7th of August. 
 On his arrival at the German flats, he received information 
 that at the stone house of Maj. Tenbreck, near where he 
 was encamped, Maj. Walter Butler, a notorious Tory leader, 
 had hoisted the British flag, and that the house and build- 
 ings contained a large amount of military stores and pro- 
 visions. Tenbreck held unlimited sway over the Tory 
 inhabitants of that region, and all the disaffected were 
 flocking to him for arms and provisions. It was known to 
 be a place of great strength, and in addition to the other 
 difficulties, it was said that Maj. Butler had with him a de- 
 tachment of British troops, besides his Tory allies. But as 
 it was of great importance to get possession of these two 
 men, it was decided to make an immediate attack, before 
 they were aware of the approach of their enemies. The 
 colonel selected Capt. Brown, with a chosen corps, to pro- 
 ceed in advance a little before the break of day. He 
 marched with the utmost caution, until they came near the 
 house, when, halting his men, he silently approached the 
 sentinel, who, on his duty, advanced a few rods from the 
 door, and then turning, marched back toward the house. 
 Brown was a man of great strength and activity, and as he 
 turned round he sprang upon him, securing his arms, and 
 ordered his men to surround the house. lie then with sev- 
 eral of his trusty lads, tore some heavy rails from the 
 fence, and using them as battering-rams, stove- in the stout 
 door and entered the building. He there met the two ma- 
 jors, who surrendered the post without resistance, and when 
 the regiment came up they had nothing to do but take
 
 BENJAMIN BROWN. 431 
 
 possession, and thus, by this happy device, much bloodshed 
 was prevented, and the troops proceeded without delay to the 
 relief of Fort Schuyler, then in the most imminent danger 
 from the army of Indians and Tories that surrounded the 
 brave Gansevort and his gallant companions. On the ap- 
 proach of Arnold, the siege was raised, and the garrison 
 saved. 
 
 Soon after this event, his regiment returned to the vicinity 
 of Saratoga, and was engaged in nearly all the battles 
 which preceded the surrender of the army under Gen. Bur- 
 goyne. At the storming of the German redoubts, on the 
 7th of October, Capt. Brown was eminently distinguished. 
 The events of this day sealed the fate of the British troops. 
 The eighth regiment, under Col. Jackson, led the attacking 
 column. Brown, being the senior captain, commanded the 
 front division; on approaching the redoubt, he found an 
 abatis in front of the works, formed of fallen tree-tops. 
 Being a man of uncommon muscular strength, as was also 
 his armor-bearer, or covering-sergeant, they together almost 
 instantly cleared a sufficient opening for his men, and were 
 the first to enter the redoubt. In doing this they received 
 the full fire of the Germans, which killed his brave sergeant, 
 his lieutenant, and several privates ; but he, with the re- 
 mainder, and a free use of the bayonet, soon drove the enemy 
 from the works, and closed this important day in triumph. 
 Col. Breyman, the commander of the Germans, was killed 
 in this redoubt, and from concurrent circumstances, and his 
 own confession, it is quite certain that he lost his life in a 
 personal contest with Capt. Brown, as he entered the works. 
 
 After the surrender of Burgoyne, he was not present in 
 any important battles, but was with the army until his resig- 
 nation. The station of aid-de-camp to Baron Steuben, was 
 offered to him a short time before the battle of Camden; 
 but he declined the honor, from a sense of his deficient
 
 432 BENJAMIN BROWN. 
 
 education to fill the post with credit, being that of all the 
 New England farmers of that period. 
 
 During his absence in the army, his family, in common 
 with many others, suffered severe privations, incident to the 
 condition of the country. 
 
 At the time of his resignation, in 1779, the continental 
 currency had so greatly depreciated, that his month's pay 
 would not purchase a bushel of wheat for his family, and 
 he was thus forced to leave the service, and return home, to 
 provide for their wants, by his personal efforts. About the 
 year 1789, he removed from Rome, to Hartford, Washington 
 county, N. Y., then a new settlement, where he remained 
 until September, 1796; when, with several families, he left 
 there, to seek a new home in the territory northwest of the 
 Ohio river; the fertility and beauty of the country having 
 spread, by the voice of fame, through the middle and east- 
 ern states. He reached Marietta in the spring of 1797, and 
 in 1799 moved, with Judge Cutler, to Ames township, and 
 assisted in the first settlement of that place. In 1817, his 
 health being much impaired, he went to live with his son, 
 Gen. John Brown, in Athens. In 1818 he applied for, and 
 received a pension. 
 
 He was a professor of religion, and died, much lamented, 
 in October, 1821, aged seventy-six years. 
 
 The descendants of John and Benjamin Brown have 
 multiplied in the west to hundreds. Some of them have 
 occupied highly respectable public offices, with ability. 
 Among the number is our late worthy member of Congress. 
 P. B. Johnson, M. D., whose mother was the daughter of 
 John Brown. Those two old pioneers may well be com- 
 pared to the oaks of our forest, which nothing but the terri- 
 ble tornado that levels all before it, can overthrow. 
 
 The following is a copy of the certificate of Gov. Brooks, 
 given to Capt. Brown on applying for a pension :
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 433 
 
 "MEDFORD, Mass., August 24th, 1818. 
 This is to certify that Benjamin Brown wa.s a captain in 
 the late eighth Massachusetts regiment, commanded by Col. 
 Michael Jackson that he (Brown) ranked as such from 
 January 1st, 1777 that he was with me in the capture of 
 Majs. Tenbreck and Butler, near German flats in raising 
 the seige of Fort Stanwix, and in the several battles which 
 immediately preceded the capture of Gen. Burgoyne and 
 his army, all in the year 1777, and that he always acted as 
 a spirited and brave officer. The time of Capt. Brown's 
 resigning is not within my knowledge, but he continued in 
 service until after the llth of September, 1778, at which 
 time I left the eighth, being promoted to the command of the 
 seventh regiment. I have no doubt of his having continued 
 in service until the time he has mentioned in his declaration. 
 J. BROOKS, late lieutenant-colonel 
 
 Eighth Massachusetts regiment." 
 
 COL. JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 COL. JOSEPH BARKER was a native of New Market, Rock- 
 ingham county, N. II., and was born on the 9th day of Sep- 
 tember, A. D. 17G5. His father was Ephraim Barker. The 
 maiden name of his mother was Mary Manning, of Ipswich, 
 Essex county, Mass. At the age of six years, he lost his 
 mother, who left six children. A few years after her death, 
 Joseph was sent to Exeter Academy, one of the earliest clas- 
 sical seminaries in New England, and ranking with the best 
 
 in reputation, for sound scholarship and correct discipline. 
 28
 
 434 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 He remained in the academy for a considerable time, and 
 laid the foundation of a good English education, which, in 
 after-life, by reading, a clear, discriminating mind, and close 
 observation of mankind, enabled him to appear in the sev- 
 eral posts he occupied, of a public nature, with honor to 
 himself, and the credit of his patrons. 
 
 His father having married again, in the year 1774, moved 
 his family to Amherst, N. H., where he followed the occupa- 
 tion of a house-carpenter, to which he was bred; few of 
 the New England men of that day being without some in- 
 dustrial pursuit. His oldest son, Jeremiah, was educated 
 as a physician, and settled in Portland, Me., where he be- 
 came one of the most eminent practitioners of his time; 
 furnishing numerous articles on the diseases of that region, 
 for the Medical Repository, from its first establishment 
 by Drs. Mitchell and Miller, of New York city. This work 
 was continued for many years, and was not only the first 
 medical periodical published in America, but is said to have 
 been the first in the world; opening the way to the vast 
 amount of medical literature which is now sent forth to the 
 public. 
 
 Joseph was continued at Exeter until sometime during 
 the war, probably until he was about fourteen or fifteen 
 years old, when he returned to his father, and commenced 
 the acquirement of the art of a house-joiner and carpenter, 
 under the guidance of his parent. He was a youth of great 
 spirit, courage, and activity; and many stories are related, 
 of his pugilistic feats and wrestling, not only with the boys 
 of his own age, but with those much his superiors in years 
 and size. His father lived near the court-house and jail, 
 and Joseph became a great favorite of the sheriff of the 
 county, who was fond of such sports as were common during 
 the period of the Revolution, and encouraged him in the prac- 
 tice. These athletic exercises invigorated and strengthened
 
 JOSEPH BARKEK. 435 
 
 his muscular frame, and gave him that manly bearing and 
 contempt of danger, which characterized his after-life. When 
 a boy he possessed a rare fund of wit and humor, with a 
 taste for the ludicrous, which was very amusing to his com- 
 panions. One of his boyish feats was related, a few years 
 since, by an old man of Amherst, to Mr. G. Dana, his bro- 
 ther-in-law, while there on a visit. 
 
 In the spring of the year, it was common for the nice 
 housekeepers in New England, to have their rooms and door- 
 yards fresh whitewashed annually. Joseph had been set 
 at this work, and when he had about completed the job, an 
 old red mare, that belonged to a crabbed, ill-natured neigh- 
 bor, came up to the gate, as she had been in the habit of 
 doing for some time, giving him considerable trouble in dri- 
 ving her away. The conceit immediately came into his 
 head, that it would be a good joke to metamorphose the old 
 mare, by giving her a coat of the whitewash. She was ac- 
 cordingly tied up to the fence, and the operation commenced, 
 of giving her a white masquerading dress over her red one. 
 When finished, she was turned loose, and went directly home. 
 The owner, seeing a strange horse at the stable door, threw 
 stones at her, and drove her away, not once suspecting that 
 this white horse could be his. The next morning, finding 
 the strange animal still about his premises, he set his dog 
 on her, in great anger, following her with many curses and 
 brickbats, determined to break up her unwelcome visits. 
 Several curious disquisitions were held, by the old man and 
 his wife, on the pertinacity of the animal, while the mare 
 was in the greatest wonder at the strange conduct of her 
 master. One or two of the neighbors, who were in the se- 
 cret, as the man was no favorite among them, enjoyed the 
 joke exceedingly, especially when he began to make in- 
 quiries after his own horse, which had somehow strangely 
 disappeared. It was not until after two or three days, when
 
 436 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 the coat of white was rubbed off in patches, showing the 
 natural red, that he could be convinced of her identity, and 
 that he had been harassing and starving his own beast 
 during all that time. This piece of fun was long remem- 
 bered in the village, and gave Joseph no little eclat in the 
 estimation of the real lovers of a little harmless mischief. 
 
 After working a year or two with his father, he went to 
 live with a relative of his mother in New Ipswich, where he 
 perfected his knowledge of the carpenter's business, becom- 
 ing a skillful architect. He followed his occupation for 
 several years. In 1788 he worked as a journeyman car- 
 penter in the erection of a meeting-house in New Boston, 
 where he remained until 1789. 
 
 In the latter year he married Miss Elizabeth Dana, the 
 eldest daughter of Capt. William Dana, of Amherst, with 
 whom" he had long been acquainted. His father-in-law 
 having visited the Ohio country in 1788, and determined on 
 moving his family there, Mr. Barker concluded to join his 
 fortune to theirs, and embark with them in the enterprise 
 of seeking a home in the far west. They left Amherst in 
 September, 1789. The mode of travel was in wagons 
 drawn by oxen. One favorite cow was brought with them, 
 which furnished milk for the children on the way ; and on 
 their arrival at Belpre, their future home was named Old 
 Amherst, in remembrance of their former place of residence. 
 The fatigues of a journey of seven hundred miles, and 
 across the mountains, at that day, cannot be estimated by 
 those born amongst the facilities of steamboats and rail- 
 roads. Such were the difficulties in passing these lofty 
 ranges, that sometimes the wagons were actually taken in 
 pieces, and the separate parts carried by hand over the im- 
 passable barrier of rocks and ledges. On the route one of 
 their oxen became lame, and had to be exchanged for a 
 sound one, and as is usually the case in such events, they
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 437 
 
 were sadly cheated, the new ox being nearly valueless for 
 the draught. But the resolution of Capt. Dana and Mr. 
 Barker was equal to any emergency, and surmounted every 
 obstacle. The rugged mountains were finally passed, and 
 in November the party arrived at Simrel's ferry, the grand 
 embarking port of the New England emigrants in their de- 
 scent of the Ohio river. As was usual at this early period, 
 they were detained several days for a boat to be made ready 
 for their use. No facilities of passenger boats of any kind 
 were then known on the western waters, but every traveler 
 furnished his own conveyance, or united with others, his 
 companions, in procuring one. While waiting at this place, 
 Isaac Barker, with his family, from Rhode Island, arrived, 
 and they all lived under the hospitable roof of Thomas 
 Stanley, a citizen of Connecticut then living at that place, 
 and who subsequently became a respectable and valuable 
 citizen of Marietta, and after the Indian war in 1797, erected 
 mills on Duck creek, in the present township of Fearing. 
 As soon as the boat was prepared, the three families em- 
 barked in their unwieldy craft, built after the fashion of a 
 large oblong box, covered half its length with a roof to 
 shelter the people and their goods from the weather, while 
 the open space contained their teams and wagons. The 
 water on the Youghiogheny and Monongahela, as it usually 
 is at this season of the year, was low, and every mile or two 
 the boat grounded on the sand-bars and rocks, requiring 
 the voyagers to leap over the side into the cold water, and 
 pry her off into the current, rendering the passage both slow 
 and painful. When they reached Pittsburg, a favorable 
 rise in. the river accelerated their progress and rendered the 
 rest of the voyage more comfortable. On their arrival at 
 Marietta, where they proposed to pass the winter, they 
 found the few houses then built so crowded with inhabitants,
 
 438 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 that they concluded to pass on to Belpre, a settlement just 
 commenced, where Capt. Dana's land was located. 
 
 The appearance of Marietta at that time, is thus described 
 by one of the party now living. " On ascending the bank 
 of the river to look at the town we had been nearly three 
 month? toiling to see, a very cheerless prospect was pre- 
 sented to our view. A few log-huts were scattered here and 
 there, raised only a few feet above the tall stumps of the 
 sturdy trees that had been cut away to make room for them. 
 Narrow foot-paths meandered through the mud and water 
 from cabin to cabin; while an occasional log across the 
 water-courses afforded the pedestrian a passage without 
 wetting his feet". 
 
 The people were very kind and hospitable to the new 
 comers, to the extent of their ability ; but after waiting a 
 day or two, Capt. Dana proceeded on with his boat to his 
 future home, where he arrived late in November. Much to 
 his disappointment, he found that the log-house -he had 
 built the spring preceding, by accident was burned up, and 
 the family had to remain in the boat until another was 
 erected. 
 
 Mr. Barker, who depended on the proceeds of his mechan- 
 ical labor for the support of his family, concluded to stay 
 for the present in Marietta, where carpenters were in de- 
 mand, and immediately began putting up a cabin on the 
 corner of the square where the postoffice building now 
 stands. Early in January, 1790, the small-pox was intro- 
 duced amongst the inhabitants by a moving family, and 
 it was thought prudent for Mrs. Barker to go to Belpre 
 and live in her father's family, until the danger was passed. 
 Mr. Barker not having had the disease, was inoculated 
 about the middle of January, as were a large portion of the 
 inhabitants of Marietta. For pest-houses, several small
 
 J S E r II BARKER. 439 
 
 log buildings were put up on the border of the plain. On 
 the 30th of that month he wrote to his wife. " I am living in 
 a little, clean log-cabin that is six feet wide, seven feet long, 
 and four and a half high. We make out to sit up, but can- 
 not stand straight. We lodge very well." This shows the 
 narrow accommodations to which some of the inhabitants 
 had to submit. Those in Campus Martins had larger 
 rooms, but were also very much crowded. He passed 
 through the disease favorably, but was not allowed to visit 
 his wife at Belpre. on account of the danger to the inhabit- 
 ants, until the forepart of March. \ 
 
 On the 28th of February, Mrs. Barker gave birth to a 
 son, the present honorable Joseph Barker, of Newport. He 
 was the first child born in that township, and has several 
 times represented Washington county in the state Legislature. 
 Some time in the spring of the year 1790, he moved his 
 wife and little son to Marietta, where he remained until the 
 autumn of 1793. 
 
 The Indian war began in January, 1791, yet, notwith- 
 standing the danger, he lived in his own house during a 
 part of the time, retiring to the stockade at the Point 
 when the rangers reported signs of Indians in the vicinity, 
 and returning to his own domicil when the danger was at a 
 distance. Soon after the war broke out, he was appointed 
 an orderly-sergeant, in the pay of the United States by Col. 
 Sproat, who was the military agent, with the rank of a lieu- 
 tenant-colonel. 
 
 The condition of the Ohio Company's settlements at the 
 time of his arrival, and for a year or two after, cannot be 
 better described than in his own words. 
 
 In November, 1789, at the time of my arrival, ninety 
 families had landed, and associations embracing two hun- 
 dred and fifty settlers had been formed, and improvements 
 had commenced in several of them. By May, 1790, there
 
 440 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 were very few lots in Belpre and Newbury without a settler. 
 On a return of all the men enrolled for militia duty in the 
 county, made to the secretary of war in March, 1791, their 
 number amounted to one hundred and ninety-five. But 
 after that I think the number increased, and the one hundred 
 thousand acres granted by Congress for donation purposes, 
 induced many to remain, and many more to come in, to 
 avail themselves of the terms of the donation. 
 
 In January, 1790, a new arrangement was made in the 
 militia, a company of artillery was formed, commanded by 
 Capt. William Mills, of Marietta, Lieut. George Ingersol, of 
 Belpre, and the late Gen. Joseph Buck, orderly-sergeant. 
 The infantry company was commanded by Maj. Nathan 
 Goodale, of Belpre. and Anselm Tupper, of Marietta, lieu- 
 tenant. Early in the spring, some alterations were made, 
 by which I was transferred from the artillery, and made or- 
 derly-sergeant of the company of infantry, and it became 
 my duty to keep a roll of every person amenable to military 
 service; to attend at the place of public worship, with my 
 roll ; call ever}' man's name, examine his arms and ammu- 
 nition, and see that he was equipped according to law. ] 
 had also to note down and report all delinquencies. The 
 territorial militia law made it the duty of the troops, to as- 
 semble on Sunday morning, at ten o'clock, for inspection ; 
 those who attended public worship, and there were few who 
 did not, after the inspection, marched from the parade ground 
 to the room where service was held, preceded by the clergy- 
 man and Col. Sproat, the commandant at the Point garrison, 
 with his Revolutionary sword drawn, and the drum and fife, 
 and by Gen. Putnam and Gen. Tupper, at Campus Martius. 
 The citizens generally fell into the ranks, and the procession 
 moved, in military array, to wait on divine service ; the fife 
 and drum supplying the place of the church-going bell, in 
 the eastern states. In case of an alarm on the Sabbath,
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 441 
 
 that portion of tlic congregation who were armed, rushed 
 out of the meeting, to face the danger, or pursue, the Indians, 
 which several times happened. After the war commenced, 
 the troops under pay, were the special guard for the garris- 
 ons, in the daytime, but were not connected with the citizens 
 in their military duties. The latter were held in prepara- 
 tion, to be called on for .scouts and pursuing parties; while 
 the guard was not allowed to leave- the garrison, or the sen- 
 tinel his post, but they were both inspected at the same 
 hour by their respective ollicers, to see if they were prepared 
 for action at all times. Before the arrival of the Rev. Daniel 
 Story, who was the stated pastor, Thomas Lord, Esq., of 
 Connecticut, who had been educated at Yale college, and 
 studied theology preparatory to the ministry, officiated as 
 clergyman for the settlement. Previous to the commence- 
 ment of hostilities by this weekly inspection on the Sabbath, 
 when the most of the people were at home, but absent on 
 other days, the commandant was informed what proportion 
 of them were armed and equipped to defend the settlement; 
 emigrants frequently arrived without arms, so that the num- 
 ber of guns fell short of the number of men, and the de- 
 ficiency could not be made up in the settlement, and those 
 persons only who were known to have arms, were proceeded 
 against as delinquents. A short time previous to hostilities, 
 Col. Sproat had been authorized by the secretary of war to 
 enlist a company of men into the service of the United 
 States, out of the settlers, to be employed in guarding and 
 defending the settlements, and also to superintend and dis- 
 tribute them at the posts which most needed their aid. He 
 was directed to appoint a commissary to furnish provisions to 
 these troops, and employed Paul Fearing, Esq., Col. Sproat 
 being Commander-in-chief, his aid was solicited in procuring 
 arms for the citizens, who were deficient. lie immediately 
 wrote to the commanding officer at. Fort Pitt, who sent down
 
 442 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 about thirty old muskets which had been laid aside as unfit 
 for use ; they were put into the hands of the blacksmiths, 
 who repaired them as well as they could, and distributed 
 w r here most needed. Powder and lead were furnished, and 
 cartridges made to suit each caliber, and deposited in the 
 block-houses ready to be distributed in case of an attack. 
 In June, 1792, Col. Sproat received two boxes, containing 
 twenty-five stands each of United States muskets with bayo- 
 nets fresh from the factory. These were distributed to the 
 soldiers and citizens on their signing a receipt to return 
 them when called for, to Col. Sproat. The arms were never 
 called for, and are still in the county. The inhabitants \vere 
 now thought to be well armed ; many rifles were procured and 
 brought into the country. The northern men, previous to their 
 coming here, were unacquainted with the rifle and the woods, 
 but by practicing on the example of those who had been edu- 
 cated among the Indians and the forests, they soon became 
 good hunters and expert woodsmen. Those who were well 
 armed and good marksmen, were commonly selected as 
 sentries for the working parties in the fields, and were 
 always ready to start on any discovery of the enemy, or 
 pursue an Indian trail. Thus, by being familiar with dan- 
 ger, and inured to the hazard of a rencounter with their en- 
 emies, they gained that confidence in themselves which 
 promised, in case of meeting an Indian, the odds in their 
 own favor. Several followed hunting continually : others 
 were out with the rangers, or small parties, so that it was 
 difficult for an Indian to make a track within five miles of 
 a garrison without being detected. Thus a large portion of 
 the inhabitants became fearless of danger from the Indians, 
 and preferred some employment or enterprise abroad, to 
 being confined in the garrisons, which is evident from the 
 fact that nearly all the one hundred thousand acres of do- 
 nation land had been taken up, surveyed and deeded away,
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 443 
 
 with improvements made on many of the lots, previous to 
 Wayne's treaty. Where the lots bordered on large streams, 
 many had made considerable improvements during the war, 
 and others were ready to do so on the news of peace. All 
 the lots settled along the Ohio river below the Muskingum, 
 belonged to the Ohio Company's purchase, It is an axiom 
 with military men that rangers arc the eyes of an army. It 
 proved true with respect to our settlements. The measure 
 of employing rangers was adopted previous to the com- 
 mencement of hostilities, and they were stationed at Mari- 
 etta and Waterford three months before the massacre at 
 Big Bottom ; and as the safety of the lives and property of 
 the inhabitants depended much on the vigilance and honesty 
 of these men, none were selected but such as possessed 
 these qualities. Their pay, under the Ohio Company, was 
 one dollar a day ; but under the United States, it was eighty- 
 four cents, or twenty-five dollars a month. 
 
 After naming and describing the persons of a number of 
 the rangers, he says, "Two men, Benjamin Patterson and 
 John Shepherd, from the state of New York, were employed 
 as rangers three of the first years of the war, and then 
 moved down the river. At the time of the controversy be- 
 tween Pennsylvania and Connecticut relative to their con- 
 flicting land claims on the Susquehanna river, the state of 
 Pennsylvania appointed Timothy Pickering, of Salem, Mass., 
 the honest old Federalist, to go upon the ground and meet 
 others to adjust the difference. While there, this same Ben- 
 jamin Patterson was one of two or three men who took Picker- 
 ing from his bed at night, and conveyed him three miles into 
 the woods, and bound him fast to a white-oak sapling and 
 left him there to starve to death; but after two or three days 
 Patterson returned, and went and unbound him, setting him 
 at liberty, for which outrage he fled from Wyoming to the 
 state of Xew York, and from thence to Marietta. It was
 
 444 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 not uncommon for such characters to call at our settlement, 
 but finding neither plunder nor speculation, and their char- 
 acters soon pursuing them, they floated down the river. 
 
 To the plan early adopted of employing rangers, may be 
 attributed the general safety and success of the settlement 
 of Washington county. It was first proposed by Gen. Put- 
 nam, and aftervVard adopted by Congress. The Indians 
 finding themselves so closely watched by men who were 
 their compeers in their own arts of warfare, as well as more 
 vigilant and untiring soldiers, became indifferent to enter- 
 prises where they were likely to meet with more loss than 
 profit. The hope of reward is the great spring of human 
 action. Men who fire not paid, nor fed nor clothed, may 
 make good partizans for a short emergency, but never make 
 good soldiers. Their patriotism soon cools. The hope of 
 plunder is the main stimulus with the Indians. Therefore 
 they crossed the Ohio river below and above passing by 
 us, went a hundred miles beyond, on to the waters of the 
 Monongahela, where there was more plunder and less watch- 
 fulness. Revenge is sweet, but must not be bought too dear. 
 Parties of fifty or a hundred, who came on to attack us, sel- 
 dom remained about the settlements more than a week; 
 and larger bodies of a thousand or more, such as attacked 
 Gen. St. Clair and Fort Recovery, could not keep together 
 more than four or five days, as they had no means to pro- 
 vide food for the soldier or his family, when fighting the bat- 
 tles of his tribe. It is estimated, that in the seven years 
 previous to the war of 1791, the Indians, along the fron- 
 tiers south of the Ohio river, killed and took prisoners, fif- 
 teen hundred persons, stole two thousand horses, and other 
 property to the amount of fifty thousand dollars. This was 
 the declared object of the party who killed Mr. Carpenter 
 and the family of Armstrong. 
 
 The first physician who came to settle in Marietta, was
 
 JOSEPH I5ARKER. 445 
 
 Dr. Jabcz Farley, a son of Gen. Farley, of Old Ipswich, 
 Mass. lie had been educated for a physician, and studied 
 medicine with old Dr. Holyoke, walking with him, as his 
 friends said, three years in the streets of Salem. He was a 
 modest, amiable, young man; always ready to obey the calls 
 of humanity, and had the good-will and confidence of all 
 who knew him. But as there were but few people, and those 
 young and healthy, (except the disease of an empty purse,) 
 his practice was very limited. As he was not fitted for any 
 other business, in the autumn of 1790, his medicine being 
 exhausted, he returned to Ipswich, and did not come out 
 again. 
 
 In the first settlement of the country, intermittent fever, 
 or fever and ague, was the prevailing disease, among all 
 classes, along the water-courses. It commenced about the 
 1st of August, and continued at intervals, until sugar-making 
 in February or March. Maple sugar was a valuable article 
 of diet, in families who had little or no salt meat, as this 
 food was scarce and dear. Sugar was a substitute for man}' 
 things, and where they could get it, as most people could, 
 who took the pains of making it, was used freely, and some- 
 time? exhausted their store, before the sickly season, in Au- 
 gust, arrived; when they were almost certain to be sick; 
 while those who had more substantial and solid food, es- 
 caped. Remitting or bilious fevers were not so common, 
 until long after the war. Industry and temperance were 
 preventives of most disorders, and a remedy for many more. 
 
 Gen. Putnam used to relate an anecdote of his own expe- 
 rience in the fever and ague. After concluding a treaty of 
 peace with the Wabash and Illinois Indians, in September, 
 1792, he was attacked with the fever and ague, and suffered 
 severely with this disorder, on his voyage up, performed in 
 a superb, twelve-oared barge, rowed by United States sol- 
 diers, lie had a surgeon on board, who prescribed for him,
 
 446 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 but debarred him from the use of stimulating food and drink. 
 His disease continued unabated, under this course, until he 
 reached this side of Gallipolis, when the boat landed at night- 
 fall, at a camp of hunters on the bank of the Ohio. They 
 had a profusion of bear meat, venison, and turkey. They 
 feasted themselves, and made every person welcome; but 
 the general was interdicted the savory contents of the camp- 
 kettle, by his surgeon, the very fumes of which were quite a 
 feast to a hungry stomach. He lay down on his blanket, 
 before the camp-fire, and tried to sleep, but the thoughts of 
 the rich contents of the camp-kettle, only a few feet from 
 him, prevented. As soon as all around him were lost in 
 slumber, he crept up to the side of the kettle, and feasted 
 his craving appetite on the well-seasoned bear meat and 
 venison, as long as he dared to indulge it. He had not a 
 single return of the ague after this night; showing that all 
 he needed, was more stimulating food than he had been al- 
 lowed to use for several weeks preceding. 
 
 As the Indians came into the treaty at Fort Harmer in 
 the fall of 1788, they employed themselves in hunting and 
 destroying the game, for which they had no use, (as they 
 were supplied with rations from the garrison,) except for 
 the skins of the deer. So great was their industry and per- 
 severance, that in the fall and winter they brought in deer 
 and turkeys, piling them up on the bank of the Muskingum, 
 at the Point, like a stack of hay, until the inhabitants were 
 obliged to assemble and throw them into the river, to abate 
 the nuisance. They left the carcasses about the woods, 
 which brought in the wolves and panthers, but destroyed 
 all the deer. A man by the name of Bagley, who was a 
 fiddler, and lived at Wolf creek mills, on his way to Mari- 
 etta one cold, snow-stormy day in March, was attacked by 
 a gang of wolves, who drove him up a tree, where he had 
 to sit and play the fiddle for them all night, until they left
 
 JOSEPH H A K K E It . 447 
 
 him in the morning. When the Indians wore asked why 
 they destroyed and wasted the game in .such a manner, they 
 answered they meant to destroy and starve out every white 
 man north of the Ohio. They frequently alluded to the 
 prospect of repossessing their hinds, and recovering their 
 good hunting grounds. One old Indian, when ho drew his 
 blanket at the treaty, threw it over his shoulders, .saying he 
 had got his cornfield on his back, but he would have it to 
 walk on next year. It was said there were lour hundred 
 Indians, men, women, and children; and ,so thoroughly did 
 they destroy the game within ten miles of Marietta, that 
 scarcely a deer could be seen; where, before, a good hunter 
 could kill from fifteen to twenty in a day. 1 have heard Ham- 
 ilton Kerr say, that the hills between Duck creek and Little 
 Muskingum, were the best hunting ground he had ever seen ; 
 that he could easily kill fifteen deer in a clay, and frequently 
 in a morning. The Indians, by burning the woods every 
 year, kept down the undergrowth, and made good pasture 
 for the game and good hunting for themselves/ The famine 
 of 1790 was much aggravated by this destruction of the 
 wild animals. 
 
 Early in March, 1791, Capt. Joseph Rogers, one of the 
 rangers, was killed by the Indians, lie was a native of 
 Pennsylvania, and about fifty years old; a gentlemanly, 
 brave, humane soldier, and had been an oilicer in Col. 
 Morgan's ritle corps at the capture of Burgoyne. Having 
 served honorably through the Revolution, he, with many an 
 old soldier, marched toward the setting sun, on the forma- 
 tion of the Ohio Company, in the hope of finding a new 
 home in the west. lie was in company with Edward Hen- 
 derson, another of the rangers, on their return from a tour 
 of duty, and was shot by a party of four Indians, on the 
 side of a hill a mile north of Campus Martius. Henderson
 
 448 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 had several balls shot through his clothes, but made his 
 escape after being chased several miles, and reached the 
 garrison at the Point about twelve o'clock at night, where 
 he was recognized by the sentinel on duty, and admitted at 
 the gate on Ohio street. The commander was roused, 
 the cannon fired, and answered at Campus Martius and 
 Fort Harmer. The alarm ran through the garrison that 
 Rogers was killed, and Henderson chased into the post by 
 a large body of Indians, who were now at the gate making 
 an attack. All was consternation in the darkness of night, 
 but every one hastened to his alarm post. Some incidents 
 occurred w T hich marked the propensities of different individ- 
 uals. The first person for admittance into the central block- 
 house was Col. Sproat, with a box of papers. Then came 
 some young men with their arms. Then a woman with her 
 bed and children. Next old Mr. William Moulton, from 
 Newburyport, aged seventy, with his leather apron fall of 
 old goldsmith tools and tobacco. Close at his heels came 
 his daughter Anna, with the China teapot, cups and saucers : 
 Lydia brought the great Bible; but when all were in, their 
 mother was missing. Where was mother? She must be 
 killed ! No, says Lydia, mother said she would not leave 
 the house looking so; she would put things a little more to 
 rights, and then she would come. Directly mother came, 
 bringing the looking-glass, knives and forks, &c. 
 
 Messengers were soon exchanged with Campus Martius, 
 and no appearance of hostilities was discovered. All re- 
 turned to their homes in the morning, and peace was re- 
 stored to the little anxious community. A strong party of 
 men went out that forenoon, brought in the dead body of 
 Rogers, and buried him in second street, near the brink of 
 the plain." 
 
 Mr. Barker, as orderly-sergeant, had charge of the block-
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 440 
 
 house at the Point, where the inhabitants assembled at the 
 alarm of Indians, and was an eye-witness of the scene 
 described. 
 
 During the continuance of the war, he was exposed to 
 many dangers and trials, which he met with the fortitude of 
 a brave man, and was ready at all times to lead or to follow 
 wherever duty called him. Soon after the massacre at Big 
 Bottom, he was on the ground with a party of volunteers 
 from Marietta, and assisted in burying the burnt and mu- 
 tilated bodies of his countrymen. Also in the autumn of 
 1791, when Capt. Carpenter and four others were killed by 
 the Indians seven miles above Marietta, in Virginia, he was 
 early at the spot, and assisted in committing to the earth 
 their mangled bodies, which was a dangerous service, as the 
 savages might still be lurking in the vicinity of the place, 
 watching for their approach. 
 
 In August, 1793, the small-pox again visited Marietta, 
 and to avoid the infection in his family, he moved to Stone's 
 garrison, in the upper settlement of Belpre, built in the 
 spring of that year. But this enemy of the human race, 
 more subtle than the savage, could not be eluded, and Mrs. 
 Barker took the disease in the natural way. It proved to 
 be of the malignant, confluent kind, ahd she barely escaped 
 with her life, bearing about her person the marks of its vio- 
 lence the rest of her days. All the inhabitants of Belpre 
 who had not previously had the small-pox, were now inocu- 
 lated, turning their garrisons into so many hospitals. Be- 
 tween the Indians without their walls, and disease and want 
 within, they suffered extremely. 
 
 In the spring of 1794, a family by the name of Armstrong, 
 on the Virginia shore of the Ohio, in sight of Stone's garri- 
 son, was attacked by the Indians, four killed and three taken 
 prisoners. On this occasion he was one of the volunteers 
 
 who, on the first alarm, turned out from the garrison to 
 
 29
 
 450 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 pursue the Indians, bury the dead, and give succor to such of 
 the family as escaped by not being in the house at the time. 
 These melancholy scenes were common during the war, 
 and tried the courage and the hearts of the bravest of the 
 settlers. 
 
 In the winter of 1793-4, he taught a school in the garri- 
 son. This post was about one hundred yards in length by 
 fifty yards in breadth, and contained five block-houses, and 
 six log dwelling-houses, with a school-house. The whole 
 were inclosed with stout palisades. The inmates consisted 
 of twelve families, and being generally prolific in children, 
 averaging from three or four to eight or ten in a family, they 
 could furnish a school of forty between the ages of four 
 years and twenty years. The heads of families in this 
 garrison w r ere Capt. Jonathan Stone, Capt. William Dana, 
 Capt. Elias Gates, Col. Silas Bent, Stephen Guthrie, Israel 
 Stone, Simeon Wright, Isaac Barker, Joseph Barker, Wan- 
 ton Cosey, Benjamin Patterson, and Stephen Smith. The 
 school was an interesting one, and he spent the winter very 
 pleasantly in teaching the young idea how to shoot. 
 
 In February, 1795, the inhabitants of this little garrison 
 were doomed to lose one of their own number by the Indians. 
 Jonas Davis, an intelligent young man from New England, 
 and at the time living in Mr. Barker's family, incautiously 
 left the station one morning alone, and went about three 
 miles up the bank of the Ohio, for the purpose of getting 
 the boards and nails from a small boat he had discovered 
 wrecked in the ice on the shore, as he came down from Ma- 
 rietta the day before. Not returning that night, fears were 
 felt for his safety. The following morning all the inhabit- 
 ants of the garrison fit to bear arms, excepting Capt. Dana 
 and Col. Bent, who were rather infirm, were mustered to go 
 out in search of Davis. After cautiously reconnoitering their 
 way, he was found killed and scalped near the mouth of
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 451 
 
 Crooked creek, stripped of all his clothing but a shirt. Pre- 
 parations were soon made, for bringing the dead body to 
 the garrison, by lashing it with hickory withes to a pole. 
 
 In the meantime, one of the party, unused to such scenes, 
 became much alarmed at the sight of the dead and mangled 
 body, together with the surmises of Patterson, the ranger, 
 that the Indians were still lurking in the vicinity, watching 
 their motions, sufTered his fears to get the better of his rea- 
 son, and started, full speed, for home. So much alarmed 
 was the man, that he fancied an Indian in every bush, and 
 thought he could see their dusky forms stalking from tree to 
 tree, ready to intercept him. In the meantime, the inmates 
 of the garrison were waiting, in anxious suspense, the return 
 of the party, and to hear the result of their search. At 
 length the person in the watch-tower gave notice of the ap- 
 proach of a messenger, at his utmost speed. A general rush 
 of the women and children, was made to the gate, to learn 
 the tidings. The man, out of breath, and pale with affright, 
 had hardly strength enough to relate that he had been chased 
 by the Indians, who filled the woods, and barely escaped with 
 his life, and he had no doubt the whole party were either 
 killed or taken prisoners. The gates were immediately 
 closed and barred, while every preparation in their power, 
 was made for defense, by the two old veterans, Dana and 
 Bent, who had both seen service in the American Revo- 
 lution. Grief, anguish, and confusion, for a short time per- 
 vaded this wretched group of mothers, wives, and children, 
 at the false intelligence of the fate of their clearest friends. 
 On more closely questioning the alarmed fugitive, as to the 
 particulars of the fight with the Indians, from his incoherent 
 account, they were led to hope the matter was not so disas- 
 trous as represented, and quiet began to be restored, while 
 they waited, in great anxiety, the return of the party. 
 
 It was a slow and laborious task, to bring the dead body
 
 452 JOSEPH BA.RKEK. 
 
 on their shoulders, and not regarding the flight of the run- 
 away as of any importance, or that he might cause need- 
 less alarm to their friends at home, they returned cautiously 
 along, keeping a good look-out for their wily foes, if any 
 were near. They, at length, to the great relief of the in- 
 mates of the garrison, made their appearance with the dead 
 body ; and as it was naked, they halted a few rods from the 
 gate, and called for a blanket to cover it. The article re- 
 quired, was carried out to them by Mr. Barker's little son, 
 Joseph, then only four years old, who, to this day, remem- 
 bers that distressing scene, with the anguish and alarm of 
 the occasion, with all the vividness of a recent event. This 
 was the last trial they had with the savages, as in August 
 following, the peace of Greenville was completed with the 
 western tribes. 
 
 From the time of his first coming to Marietta, Mr. Bar- 
 ker's intention was, to become the owner of a farm, but had 
 thus far been prevented by the hostilities of the Indians. 
 The donation lands of one hundred acres, had previously 
 been distributed to actual settlers, and his lot fell in Wise- 
 man's bottom, seven miles above Marietta; to this he subse- 
 quently added three other lots, making a fertile and valuable 
 farm, of four hundred acres, the seat of his future home. 
 
 In April, 1795, he left the garrison, in a canoe, with two 
 of his wife's brothers, William and Edmond Bancroft Dana, 
 to assist him in making the first opening on his wilderness 
 farm, taking with him , in addition to his cooking utensils, 
 farming tools, and provisions fifty young apple, and twelve 
 cherry trees : it being one of the first acts of the thrifty 
 New Englanders, to provide their families with fruit, as well 
 as bread. The name of Wit- e man's bottom originated from 
 a backwoodsman, who, while Virginia claimed the right to 
 all the lands northwest of the Ohio river, had made an entry 
 at this spot, of four hundred acres, called a settlement right.
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 453 
 
 It was upon this little improvement, that Mr. Barker began 
 his first clearing. There was yet considerable danger from 
 the Indians, as peace was not yet concluded, and a man was 
 killed by them about ten miles distant, on Wolf creek, in a 
 short time after. Nevertheless, the adventurers proceeded 
 up the Muskingum and commenced their labor. About the 
 time of their arrival a block-house had been built at Rain- 
 bow creek, on the opposite side of the river, by Gen. Put- 
 nam, where he proposed to erect a mill, distant about a 
 mile. In this building, during the time of their stay, the 
 party took shelter every night, returning to their work in 
 the morning with a gun on each one's shoulder, and an axe 
 in the hand. While at their work chopping down the trees, 
 one of the party was constantly kept on the lookout for 
 danger. In addition to their own watchfulness, they had 
 the aid of a faithful old dog, called Pedro, who accompanied 
 them from New Hampshire, and had been with them during 
 the war in Belpre. He would instinctively post himself on 
 some elevation, such as a big log, or the stump of a tree, 
 on the watch for the approach of an enemy, ready to give 
 the alarm on the least sign of its appearance, whether from 
 wild beast or savage. 
 
 They were thus occupied for three weeks, and made the 
 first permanent improvement in the Wiseman's bottom set- 
 tlement, a tract embracing two or three thousand acres, and 
 which subsequently became one of the most beautiful, well 
 cultivated tracts, and intellectual community on the Mus- 
 kingum river. During this time they had cleared about two 
 acres of ground in the rich bottom, which was thickly cov- 
 ered with immense trees of black-walnut and sugar-ma- 
 ple, the labor of removing and burning which no one can 
 tell, but him who has actually tried it. Holes were dug in 
 the fresh virgin soil, and apple trees planted out amidst the 
 gigantic sons of the forest, whose loftv heads were made to
 
 454 JOSEPH BARKER, 
 
 bow at the presence of civilized man. The cherry trees 
 were not yet set, as they intended to remain a day or two 
 longer; but old Pedro notified them one afternoon that 
 danger was near. With the hair erect on his back, he would 
 rush into the thick woods on the side of the clearing, threat- 
 ening instant attack on some unseen enemy, but which his 
 acute olfactories enabled him to detect; then returning to 
 his master, seemed to say, " It is time to be off." This was 
 repeated at intervals for several hours, until near night, 
 when the party thought it would be more prudent to go. In 
 the meantime, as the apple-trees were not all set, when the 
 dog began his warning, two of the party stood on the watch 
 with their guns ready, while the third one finished the work 
 by setting the remaining trees near the bank of the river, 
 further from the edge of the woods, and from the concealed 
 danger, whatever it might be. They now stepped on board 
 the canoe with their faithful watch-dog, just at evening, and 
 by the aid of a rapid current and the vigorous application 
 of their paddles, they reached Stone's garrison, a distance 
 of nineteen miles, before ten o'clock that night. 
 
 In May, Mr. Barker returned to his farm and cleared an 
 additional piece of woodland, making in all about three 
 acres, which was planted in corn. He visited the little field 
 two or three times during the summer, to dress the corn and 
 witness its progress. Once he came alone, and staid three 
 nights, lodging as before in the block-house. These early 
 fields were planted without plowing. The seed-corn being 
 committed to the rich, loose, vegetable soil, grew with as- 
 tonishing vigor ; and where it received plenty of sunshine, 
 yielded fine crops. His little field produced about one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five bushels, which very fortunately escaped 
 the ravages of the squirrels and raccoons, there being an 
 abundant supply of food for them that year in the forest. 
 
 The final articles of peace were signed in August, 171)5.
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. -155 
 
 As soon as the intelligence reached the garrisons on the 
 Ohio and Muskingum, their inmates prepared to leave their 
 rude fortresses, where they had suffered much from the three 
 greatest scourges of the human race, war, famine, and 
 pestilence. 
 
 In December following, Mr. Barker, with his wife and 
 three children, left the garrison and landed at his new home 
 on the 18th of the month. The first thing that attracted 
 the notice of little Joseph on their going ashore at the new 
 farm, now- the old homestead, was the fresh cut stumps of 
 the small willow trees that lined the water's, edge, the work 
 of the half-reasoning beaver. These sagacious animals had 
 a lodge behind an island about a mile below, and another 
 a short distance above, at the mouth of Rainbow creek. 
 They were the last families of the race seen in this part of 
 the coimtr} r , and were in a year or two after caught by that 
 venerable old trapper, Isaac Williams. The new dwelling- 
 house of the Barkers was a log-cabin sixteen feet square. 
 One side of this was occupied by a corn-crib four or five feet 
 in width, made of poles, containing the crop of the little 
 clearing. On entering the future home of the family, in a 
 cold December night, it may be safely said that no future 
 visitors of the dwelling of Mr. Barker, ever met so cold a 
 reception as they themselves did, on that long-remembered 
 evening. The nearest neighbor was at Marietta, seven 
 miles below: the next at Waterford, fifteen miles above. 
 The fortitude and perseverance requisite to meet the hard- 
 ships and privations of a settlement in the wilderness, were 
 found centered in this family. Mrs. Barker possessed pa- 
 tience, resolution, industry, and good sense ; all needed, in 
 no small degree, in trials of this kind. During that winter 
 the clearing was considerably enlarged, and two hundred 
 peach-trees were added to the orchard in the spring. Mills 
 for grinding were scarce and remote ; and the hand-mill at
 
 456 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 the block-house across the river, was their only dependence 
 for meal; but with a good crib of corn, and this resource, 
 famine was kept at a respectful distance. 
 
 In the following year, or 1796, the families of Capt. J. 
 Devol, John Russel, and Israel Putnam, moved into Wise- 
 man's bottom, and lessened by their vicinity the sense of 
 loneliness, as they were all social and well informed per- 
 sons. During the year, he put up a convenient hewed log- 
 house, with a brick chimney, a degree of refinement to which 
 but few new settlers arrive short of several years. 
 
 In January, a serious accident befell him, which was sensi- 
 bly felt for a long time. The little cabin which they had 
 recently left, accidently took fire, and was destroyed. It 
 was occupied as a work-shop, store-house, &c., and contained 
 a large stock of carpenter's tools, while in the loft was stored 
 away the crop of well rotted flax, ready for dressing, and 
 on which, before the introduction of cotton, the inhabitants 
 depended for then- domestic cloth, and was a very important 
 article in every family. On one side of the building was 
 the pen containing the fat hogs, and were saved from the 
 flames with difficulty. In their fright they fled across the 
 river on the ice, into the woods, and were not found until 
 they were much lessened in value. All his bread-stuff for 
 the ensuing year was destroyed, as well as his tools brought 
 from New England. The intrinsic value of the articles was 
 not great, but to him was a serious affair, as it took away 
 his whole stay of bread and meat, with his main dependence 
 for clothing, and was a more afflicting loss than the burning 
 of a whole block of buildings, filled with goods, would be to 
 a rich Wall-street merchant. 
 
 To repair this disaster, Mr. Barker set to work at his trade, 
 like a sensible, resolute man, and followed the business of 
 a house-carpenter for several years in Marietta, erecting 
 dwelling-houses for the Hon. Paul Fearing, William Skinner,
 
 JOSEPH HARK. Ell. 457 
 
 Rev. Daniel Story, and many others, with the Muskingum 
 academy. In 17SK) and 1800, he built the splendid mansion 
 of Mr. Blennerhassett, on the island since called by his 
 name. 
 
 About this time, ship-building commenced at Marietta and 
 on the Muskingum river, where many a tall oak which had 
 flourished for ages on its banks, two thousand miles from 
 the ocean, was destined to toss upon its waves, and to visit 
 far distant lands. In this new business, Mr. Barker took an 
 active part, and in 180:2, built two vessels at his farm. One 
 was the Brig Dominic, for Messrs. Blennerhassctt and 
 Woodbridge, and named for Mr. B's. oldest son. The other 
 was a schooner for E. W. Tupper, called the Indiana. In 
 1803, he built a brig called the Louisa, for the same man. 
 
 During the autumn of 180G, he was employed by Mr. 
 Blennerhassett to build fifteen large batteaux, to be used in 
 the famous Burr expedition. After having been so exten- 
 sively employed, by the former gentleman, as an architect, 
 and to his entire satisfaction, it was very natural for him to 
 select Mr. Barker for this purpose, of constructing boats so 
 necessary to the enterprise. They were calculated for the 
 ascent of water-courses, and were doubtless intended to 
 transport troops and munitions of war up lied river, to 
 Natchitochcs, from which point a short land journey would 
 reach Xew Mexico, then a province of old Spain. To revo- 
 lutionize the Mexicans, was, beyond controversy, the object 
 of that ardent, bold, and restless man, Aaron Burr. The 
 result is well known to history. 
 
 As early as 171)9, Mr. Barker was commissioned, by Gov. 
 St. Clair, as a justice of the peace, for Washington county, 
 at that time embracing a large portion of the southern ter- 
 ritory of Ohio. He also received a captain's commission 
 from the same source, and was advanced, from time to time, 
 through the various grades of promotion, to that of colonel
 
 458 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 of the regiment. These were offices of distinction and honor 
 in those days, when every citizen deemed it his duty to ap- 
 pear on parade, armed and equipped according to law. It 
 was during this period in our history, that the present sen- 
 ator, in Congress, from Michigan, Hon. Lewis Cass was or- 
 derly-sergeant in Capt. Burlingame's company of militia at 
 Marietta. 
 
 In the year 1800 the House of Representatives in the ter- 
 ritorial Legislature, issued an address to the citizens, re- 
 questing them to assemble in county conventions, and 
 instruct their representatives on the question of forming a 
 state government. It was a subject on which there was 
 great division of sentiment. At a meeting of the citizens 
 of Adams township, Col. Barker was chairman of a com- 
 mittee to report on this measure, at a subsequent assembly. 
 He wrote a very full and able report in opposition to the 
 question, which received the approbation of the committee. 
 On the 17th of June, 1801, the delegates met at Marietta, 
 as follows : for Marietta, Paul Fearing, and Elijah Backus; 
 Belpre, Isaac Pearce, and Silas Bent; Waterford, Robert 
 Oliver, and Gilbert Devol; Adams, Joseph Barker; New- 
 port, Philip Witten, and Samuel Williamson; Middletown, 
 (or Athens.) Alvin Bingham; Gallipolis, Robert SafFord. 
 Gilbert Devol was chairman, and Joseph Barker, clerk. Col. 
 Barker presented his views in a well written argument, in 
 opposition to the policy of entering into a state government; 
 especially setting forth the injurious effects, of the measure, 
 to the settlers in the Ohio Company's purchase. They had 
 been struggling with the hardships of first opening the wil- 
 derness, since the year 1788; and for a large part of the 
 time, pressed by the merciless savage to the extremes of 
 want, danger, and even death. The population was sparse, 
 and generally poor. The expenses of government would be 
 heavy in proportion to the inhabitants, while the advantages
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 459 
 
 of a state government, over the territorial, would be few, 
 perhaps none, in their present situation. The taxes to sup- 
 port it, would fall on the actual settlers and landholders, 
 as the Ohio Company lands would all be brought on the 
 tax list, while Congress lands, daily becoming more valuable 
 by the improvements of the settlers, were to be free from 
 taxation. These, with various other reasons, were used in 
 support of the position taken, and were so satisfactory to 
 the convention, that the report was unanimously adopted, 
 and the following resolution passed : 
 
 "Resolved, That in our opinion, it would be highly impol- 
 itic, and very injurious to the inhabitants of this territory, 
 to enter into a state government, at this time. Therefore, 
 we, in behalf of our constituents, do request that you would 
 use your best endeavors to prevent, and steadily oppose 
 the adoption of any measures that may be taken for the 
 purpose." 
 
 This, with the usual preamble, was signed by the chair- 
 man, and sent to their representatives. 
 
 In the Legislature as well as among the people, there was 
 a great division on this important question. Those who 
 were fond of office and expected promotion, with a share 
 of the loaves and fishes of the new dynasty, were the leaders 
 in favor of the measure, and clamorous for its adoption, 
 while the sober, judicious, and thinking men, were opposed 
 to it. The advocates of the proposition, however, succeeded 
 in rallying sufficient force in the Legislature, to cany the 
 measure, and the eastern portion of the territory became 
 the state of Ohio. So anxious were the ambitious men of 
 the territory for the change, that they relinquished the right 
 of taxing the lands owned by Congress until five years after 
 they had been sold and in the possession of the purchaser; 
 when, in equity, they should have been liable to taxation as 
 soon as they were in his occupancy. The apprehensions
 
 460 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 of the evil results to the Ohio Company settlers, were soon 
 realized, as the taxes for the support of the new government 
 fell very heavily on them, and were very oppressive on the 
 inhabitants of this district, as well as Symmes' purchase 
 and the Connecticut reserve. This inequality remained 
 until the year 1825, when the ad valorem system took place, 
 and removed this long continued injustice. 
 
 Although an unaspiring man, yet Col. Barker was called 
 by his fellow citizens to hold many stations of trust and 
 honor during his life. In 1818, he was elected a representa- 
 tive for Washington county, in the state Legislature. He 
 served for a number of years as a county commissioner, and 
 planned the model for the new court-house, built in 1822, 
 which is considered both a convenient and beautiful edifice. 
 
 He was often called on to deliver Fourth of July orations 
 and agricultural addresses, in all which he acquitted himself 
 with much credit. He possessed a good share of poetic 
 genius, as well as imagination, and wrote a number of 
 pieces quite well adapted to the occasion. One of these, 
 for the Fourth of July, 1815, abounds in humor, and is well 
 worth preserving as coming from the backwoods. It appears 
 much better when sung than in simply reading. 
 
 THE BIRTHDAY OF UNCLE SAM. 
 
 TUNE OF GOOD QUEEN BESS. 
 
 Will you hear me, my friends, if I jingle in rhyme? 
 
 On the day Uncle Sam was first out of his prime, sir, 
 
 If I sing of the times, and the deeds he has done, 
 
 How he dress'd, how he fought, how the tattle was won, sir 1 ! 
 
 Hail to the memory of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Jfcrry be the lirthday of old Uncle Sam 1 
 
 The family was young, and the farm rather new ; 
 They had their odd notions like us, not a few, sir,
 
 JOSEPH BARKEH. 
 
 Had full faith in witches, gave conjurors devotion, 
 Aud to the oldest boy they gave a double portion, sir. 
 Proud be the birthday of old Uncle Sam, 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 Our grandsires wore buckles on their shoes for to please ; 
 Their jackets and their breeches both came to their kuccs, sir, 
 'With a wig on the head and a cue tail so trim, 
 Nine inches on a hat was a fashionable brim, sir. 
 These were the boyish days of old Uncle Sam, 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 Our grandmothers, too, were the patterns of good taste, 
 Three-quarters of a yard waa the length of a waist, sir ; 
 A cushion on the head, and a cork on the heel, 
 With a hoop in the gown quite as broad as a wheel, sir. 
 Such were the minor days of old Uncle Sam, 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 They were tenants at will of the famous Johny Bull, 
 Who demanded high rents and collected them in full, sir ; 
 He tax'd them direct for each article they wore, 
 W r hile his army and his stamp act vcx'd them very sore, sir. 
 
 These were the sorry days of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Merry be the birthday of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 "He'd a right to tax the colonies," so Johnny Bull declared, 
 "In any case whatever." Uncle Sammy thought it hard, sir, 
 But when he tried to make them pay a tax on their tea, 
 'Twas steep'd in Boston harbor, for the fishes in the sea, sir. 
 
 These were the spunky days of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 Then Johnny Bull was wrath, and to give his passion vent, 
 He fell on Uncle Sam, and at fisticuffs they went, sir. 
 The squabble lasted long, and it proved very sore, 
 For Johnny Bull was pelted both behind and before, sir. 
 
 These were the fighting days of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 Every farmer owned a short gun, and if he had good luck, 
 Could bring down a redcoat as ensv as a buck, sir.
 
 462 JOSEPH BARKER. 
 
 And when they fell in with Burgoyne and his men, 
 They took them as easy as turkeys ia a pen, sir. 
 
 Proud be the birthday of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 Every boat was a ship, every ship was a fleet ; 
 Every boy was a sailor, every fisherman a mate, sir ; 
 And then if the British but peep'd from their holes, 
 They hook'd them as easy as cod from the shoals, sir. 
 
 Proud be the memory of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 Uncle Sam now obtained some allies and a fleet, 
 
 Some bayonets and men, with some rations to eat, sir ; 
 
 Then in taking Cornwallis, so light was the job, 
 
 That they shelled him as farmers do corn from the cob, sir. 
 
 These were the proud days of old Uncle Sam, 
 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam. 
 
 At length, Johuny Bull thought 'twas best to make a peace ; 
 
 1'or in fighting for the feathers, he had lost all the geese, sir. 
 
 Then each made a promise they would do no more harm, 
 
 So he left Uncle Sam and his boys with the farm, sir- 
 Proud be the birthday of old L'ncle Sam, 
 Long live the memory of old Uncle Sam . 
 
 In the year 1830, Col. Barker was elected an associate 
 judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and at the expiration 
 of the term in 1837, was again re-elected, which post he 
 held until his declining health led him to resign in 1842. 
 The duties of this office were discharged with great dignity 
 and propriety, while his intimate knowledge of the princi- 
 ples of law enabled him to give correct and satisfactory 
 decisions when his opinion was required. 
 
 His acquaintance through the state of Ohio was extensive, 
 and his friends numerous. In hospitality, he was unsur- 
 passed; fond of social intercourse, gifted with a ready flow 
 of language, and a mind well stored with historical facts, 
 his conversation was both instructive and interesting. This
 
 JOSEPH BARKER. 463 
 
 rendered hjs society very pleasing to both young and old. 
 From the time of his settlement on the Muskingum, in 1705, 
 to the period of his death, in 1813, nearly half a century, 
 his house was open to receive the weary and destitute emi- 
 grant, the transient traveler, or the familiar friend ; ever 
 delighting in the opportunity of rendering a kindness to his 
 fellow-man. 
 
 He was the father of ten children, four sons and six 
 daughters, who, all but one, were living at his death, and 
 most of them have large families of children, making nu- 
 merous descendants to bear onward the family name. 
 
 Mrs. Barker died in 1835. 
 
 Nearly all those with whom he had " stood shoulder to 
 shoulder" during the Indian war, and the trials incident to 
 a new country, had been called away before him, and he 
 felt that he was somewhat alone in the world, but he still 
 retained the vigor of mind incident to younger days. 
 
 He died in September, 1843, aged seventy-eight years. 
 
 In person, Col. Barker was tall and commanding, with a 
 stout, muscular frame ; finely formed features, of rather a 
 Roman cast, indicating manly firmness and intellectual 
 vigor. His manners were easy, naturally graceful and gen- 
 tlemanly, with the appearance and bearing of a man of 
 superior mind and talents; born to lead in the councils, 
 and to command the respect of the community in which 
 he dwelt.
 
 HAMILTON KERR. 
 
 THIS bold, active, and enterprising borderer, was one of 
 the spies, or rangers, employed for the defense of the Ohio 
 Company settlements during the Indian war. Pie was a 
 finished backwoodsman, an adept in all the wiles and craft 
 of the hunter, as well as in the arts of partizan warfare. 
 He possessed the coolness and caution of old Isaac Wil- 
 liams, with the bravery and activity of Lewis Wetzel, having 
 been trained under the instruction and example of both 
 these noted pioneers. 
 
 Matthew Kerr, the father of Hamilton, was of Scotch de- 
 scent, from one of the northern counties of Ireland. He 
 immigrated to America, before the Revolutionary war, and 
 lived in Philadelphia, where his son Hamilton was born. 
 Soon after the close of the war, he moved his family west 
 of the mountains, and settled on Chartier creek, below Pitts- 
 burg. After staying here a short time, he removed to Wheel- 
 ing, and lived in the vicinity of the Wetzels for several 
 years. In 1787 he transferred his residence to the island, 
 just above the mouth of the Muskingum, and Hamilton, 
 then in the prime of manhood, engaged as a hunter for the 
 garrison of Fort Harmer, supplying them with wild meat. 
 
 While living on Wheeling creek, he was often the compan- 
 ion of Lewis Wetzel, the most famous hunter, and killer of In- 
 dians, in all that region ; having killed, it is said, thirty-seven 
 in the course of his life. His athletic frame, and bold bear- 
 ing when a boy, won for him the good-will of Lewis, and he 
 promised to give him the first opportunity that occurred, of 
 firing at an Indian, provided he felt certain that he could 
 " draw a sight" at one, without trembling. The well-grown 
 lad, then in his eighteenth year, answered, fearlessly, that
 
 HAMILTON KE11R. 405 
 
 he would. It was not long before Lewis, in one of his hunt- 
 ing trips, fell on the trail of a party, and traced up their 
 camp. lie directly hastened back for his young friend, 
 whom he found ready and willing for the attack. They crept 
 silently up to within a sure distance of their camp fire, and 
 at the dawn of day, each selecting his man from a party of 
 five or six, who were sitting in a circle round the fire, having 
 just risen from sleep, fired at the same time. Hamilton's 
 victim was sitting on a log, eating a roasted goose egg, and 
 fell dead, into the ashes ; while Wetzel's man was mortally 
 wounded, but fled, and secreted himself in a tree-top. They 
 immediately rushed out from their covert, and with loud 
 yells, calling out, "Come on, boys, come on; why don't you 
 head 'em;" as if there were quite a number of white men 
 in the attack. The remaining Indians took to flight, without 
 waiting to count their foes, and secreted themselves in the 
 thickets. After taking the scalp of the dead Indian, they 
 left the ground; and coming out the next day with a larger 
 party, traced the wounded Indian by his blood, and found 
 him dead in the spot where he had hidden. This was Kerr's 
 first adventure with the Indians, and might be construed as 
 an omen of future success ; although his next rencounter was 
 less propitious. 
 
 The time of a large portion of the young men who lived 
 on the frontiers, was occupied in hunting and trapping; lit- 
 tle attention being paid to cultivation of the earth, beyond 
 the wants of the family for bread, which was chiefly made 
 from corn meal. There was no market for produce ; while 
 there was a steady demand for skins and peltry, by the 
 traders, who collected them at various points along the wa- 
 ter-courses, and transmitted them, on pack-horses, across the 
 mountains, to Baltimore or Philadelphia. This manner of 
 dealing, made hunting a regular employment, like farming 
 
 in these days. 
 30
 
 466 HAMILTON KERE. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1784, before Fort Harmer was 
 built, or any settlements made by the whites, between Ba- 
 ker's station and the mouth of Big Kenawha, a party of 
 young men left the post in a large canoe on a trapping and 
 hunting expedition. It was composed of Lewis and George 
 Wetzel, John Greene, Hamilton Kerr, and one other man. 
 They dropped down the river as low as Muskingum island, 
 where they encamped. The next day at evening they 
 went over to the mouth of the Muskingum, and set their 
 traps for beaver, returning to the island as a safe place for 
 their camp, against the attack of the Indians. The follow- 
 ing morning they went down again, and thirty or forty rods 
 above the mouth, landed two of their party to reconnoiter, 
 and examine the woods for signs of an enemy, while the 
 other three remained in the canoe, and went into the Mus- 
 kingum to examine their traps. They directly discovered 
 that several of them were missing, and immediately con- 
 cluded that a party of Indians had discovered their marks, 
 and stolen them. George Wetzel soon returned to the 
 canoe, and reported that he had seen no Indians, but plenty 
 of signs of bears, which had been wallowing and tearing 
 .lown the weeds in several places. This confirmed their 
 suspicions that they were in the vicinity of a large party of 
 Indians. Taking George on board, they pushed up the 
 Ohio, and had proceeded twenty or thirty rods on their re- 
 turn, when four Indians stepped on to the bank, and from 
 behind trees fired upon the men in the canoe. George Wet- 
 zel was shot through the head, and fell dead into the boat. 
 Kerr was shot in the left arm above the elbow, splintering 
 the bone, and received a bullet at the Fame time through 
 the fleshy portion of his side. His dog, a noble, large an- 
 imal standing by his master, was also killed. The other 
 two men escaped injury; and pushing out into the stream 
 before they could reload, were soon out of danger.
 
 HAMILTON KERR. 407 
 
 John Greene, who rambled farther into the woods than 
 George, had returned to within a few rods of the bank, 
 when the Indians fired, and hearing the report of their rifles, 
 rushed up to see what his comrades had shot at. As he ap- 
 [proached within twenty yards of the bank, he saw an In- 
 dian behind a tree, in the act of pushing down a bullet in 
 his rifle. Comprehending at once the condition of the par- 
 ties, he instantly raised his piece, fired, and the Indian fell 
 dead, tumbling headlong down the bank, near the brink of 
 which he was standing, and rolled close to the water's edge. 
 The other Indians, hearing the report of the shot, and see- 
 ing their dead companion, came rushing upon their new 
 enemy before hq could reload. His only safety was now 
 in flight; and running toward the swamp a short distance 
 back from the river, in the windings and turnings of the 
 pursuit, counted not less than ten or twelve Indians, whom 
 the shots and the wa r -cry of the savages had called into the 
 chase. After wading in the water for some time, and seeing 
 no chance for escape by flight, he secreted himself under 
 the tops of a fallen tree, whose leaves and branches shel- 
 tered him from observation. As a further precaution, he 
 buried himself beneath the water, leaving only so much of 
 his face uncovered as allowed of respiration. This was a 
 common mode of eluding pursuit, practiced by the natives, 
 as well as cunning white men. The Indians, a few rods 
 behind, traced him by the turbid appearance of the water, 
 and walked directly on to the trunk, beneath whose top he 
 lay concealed. Looking up through his leafy covert, he 
 plainly saw his enemies, peering into every crevice, and be- 
 hind every twig for their victim, vociferating in angry tones 
 their vengeful thoughts, and pointing with their gun-sticks 
 to the recent signs of his flight. Greene lay perfectly quiet, 
 hardly daring to breathe, fearing lest even the beating of 
 his heart should agitate the water; watching with intense
 
 468 HAMILTON KEKR. 
 
 anxiety their movements, until finally, to his great relief, 
 they gave up the search as hopeless. As soon as the dark- 
 ness of night concealed his movements, he left his watery 
 bed, wet, weary, and hungry. Having a long journey 
 before him, he instantly commenced his march for home, 
 thankful that he had been able to escape the scalping-knife 
 of his foes. He traveled across the ridges, the nearest 
 route, well known to the hunters of that day. In the course 
 of his journey he passed no less than three deserted Indian 
 hunting camps, so recently left that the fire was still burn- 
 ing, without being discovered. So rapid was his march, 
 that he reached Baker's before his companions in the canoe, 
 who pushed up stream as rapidly as they could, and buried 
 the dead man on an island twenty-five miles above Mari- 
 etta, now known as Williamson's. This mournful work de- 
 tained them some time, as they had no spades but their 
 wooden paddles with which to dig the grave. The favorite 
 dog of Kerr, whose dead body had made a pillow for the 
 head of his wounded master, was buried at the same place. 
 
 A few miles above this island at the head of the Long 
 reach, a spot well known to old as well as modern boatmen, 
 they discovered just at evening, during a heavy shower of 
 rain, on the Virginia shore, a white horse tied to a stake 
 near the water. On the top of the bank they saw a hickory 
 tree just stripped of the bark. The quick apprehension of 
 the borderers instantly understood these signs as denoting a 
 party of Indians who had stolen the horse, and were pre- 
 paring a bark canoe for crossing the river. The shower 
 coming on when they had finished it, the canoe was turned 
 bottom up, and the Indians had crept under as a shelter 
 from the storm. This prevented the whites from being seen. 
 They directly crossed to the other shore, and pushed rapidly 
 on until a turn in the river hid them from sight. 
 
 Kerr".- arm was several months in healing, the bone being
 
 HAMILTON KERR. 469 
 
 splintered, and no remedies but slippery-elm bark and such 
 other simples as the woods afforded. The injuries received 
 in this excursion, kept Hamilton from any other adventures 
 for some time. When able, he hunted deer in the neigh- 
 boring hills and visited the stations at Grave creek, where 
 Isaac Williams lived, and with whom he had become quite 
 a favorite, making various short tours of trapping and 
 hunting in his company, so that his house was as free to 
 him and nearly as much his home as that of his own father. 
 
 In 1785, the Indian depredations were frequent and de- 
 structive. Notice having been received of a large war party 
 fitting out for the attack of Grave creek, the settlement was 
 abandoned, and Mr. Williams moved his family, with the 
 rest of his neighbors, to Wheeling. Kerr also made this 
 place his home with his father. It was during this period 
 that he had a second narrow escape from death by the 
 Indians. 
 
 In the summer of 1785, in company with Thomas Mills 
 and Henry Smith, he went up the Ohio a few miles, near 
 the head of the first island above Wheeling, spearing fish 
 by torchlight. While busily occupied with their sport, think- 
 ing of no danger, in a quiet, shallow eddy near the shore, 
 ten or twelve Indians who had been attracted by the light, 
 rose up on the top of the bank, and fired a volley at them. 
 Mills, who was in the bow of the canoe near the torch, re- 
 ceived several balls in his body and limbs, and fell apparently 
 dead, into the bottom of the boat. The others were un- 
 harmed, but also fell down on the bottom of the boat, to 
 screen themselves from a repetition of the shots. The In- 
 dians seeing the effect of their fire, dropped their guns, 
 rushed down the bank, and into the river, with the intention 
 of dragging the canoe ashore, and securing the scalps of 
 their dead enemies. The splashing of the water gave no- 
 tice of their approach ; when Kerr, who was in the waist of
 
 470 HAMILTON KERR. 
 
 the boat, sprang into the bow, and brandishing his fish-spear, 
 made motions to stab the first man who came within his 
 reach. The long, barbed points of the instrument, made it 
 a formidable weapon to the half-naked bodies of the sav- 
 ages, while the resolute bearing of the man who wielded it, 
 made them cautious of approaching too near. Although 
 he could have plunged it into several of them, he did not 
 think it prudent to do so, lest they should seize it, and drag 
 him ashore, or pull him out of the canoe. After one or two 
 minutes spent in this mimic warfare, the boat gradually re- 
 ceded, by the whirl of the eddy, into deeper water, and the 
 man in the stern, having so far recovered his senses from 
 the first shock, as to begin to apply his paddle, they were 
 soon out of their reach. The Indians, now with loud yells, 
 and aggravated rage at their disappointment and folly, in 
 leaving all their guns on the top of the bank, rushed up to 
 regain them, and running along the sandy beach ahead of 
 the boat, waded into the water, breast-high, to bring them 
 nearer the canoe, which was now in the middle of the stream. 
 While exulting at the prospect of escape, a new enemy 
 sprang up on the opposite side of the river. A party of In- 
 dians on their own shore, hearing the firing and shouts of 
 their countrymen, began to fire at them. The balls passed 
 all around, and through the sides of the canoe, but missed 
 the mark, as they generally dropped into the bottom, at the 
 sight of the Hash, and were hid by the sides of the boat 
 After a pursuit of one or two miles, Kerr concluded that 
 this slow progress would be their destruction, and pushing 
 man full)" ahead, regardless of their shots, was soon out of 
 their reach. \Vhcn the enraged Indians saw that their vic- 
 tims would escape, they fell to taunting them with insulting 
 language and obscene attitudes. Kerr then keenly felt the 
 want of his trusty ride, with which he could have shot sev- 
 eral of them; but no one had taken his arms with him, not
 
 HAMILTON KEUIl. 471 
 
 expecting to meet an enemy, or to have use for anything, 
 but the fish-spear. When, they reached the garrison at 
 Wheeling, Mills was still alive, and taken into the, town. 
 where, under the care of Mrs. Rebecca Williams, and one 
 other skillful matron, he finally recovered from his hopeless 
 condition, having not less than twelve or fourteen different 
 wounds, with an arm and a leg broken by the shots of the 
 savages. On this occasion, the intrepidity and presence of 
 mind in Kerr, no doubt saved their lives from the toma- 
 hawk, and knives of the Indians ; while his mode of defense, 
 in their condition, was the only one that could have been 
 effectual. 
 
 The winter after this adventure was passed in Wheeling. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1780, Kerr, in company with Isaac 
 Williams and a Dutchman named Jacob, made a visit to 
 the deserted plantations at Grave creek, to look after the 
 cattle and hogs that had been left there. They passed the 
 night in an empty cabin at Little Grave creek, about a mile- 
 above the larger stream. Soon after daylight in the morning, 
 they heard a rifle shot in the direction of Mr. Williams' farm. 
 Not thinking of Indians, he attributed the shot to moving 
 boatmen, who sometimes, when short of provision, landed 
 at the deserted clearings and killed a hog. It so happened 
 that a party of four Indians, who had been scouting on 
 Wheeling creek, had that morning reached the Ohio with 
 their plunder, one white prisoner and some horses; seeing 
 Mr. Williams' hogs, they killed one with the rifle and put it 
 into their canoe, which had been secreted in the mouth of 
 the creek. Three of the Indians took possession of the 
 canoe with their prisoner, while the fourth was busied in 
 swimming the horses across the river. At this critical junc- 
 ture, Kerr and his companions started at a rapid gait to 
 arrest the marauders. Being in the prime of life and more 
 active than his companions, he reached the mouth of the
 
 472 HAMILTON KERR. 
 
 creek first, and looking down the bank, saw the three Indians 
 standing in the canoe. At the feet of the one in the middle 
 of the boat lay four rifles and a dead hog, while a fourth 
 Indian was swimming a horse over the Ohio, a few rods 
 from the shore. An Indian in the stern had his paddle in 
 the water, in the act of shoving the canoe from the mouth 
 of the creek into the river. Before they were aware of his 
 presence, Kerr shot the Indian in the stern, who fell into the 
 river. The crack of his rifle had scarcely ceased when 
 Williams came on to the bank, and shot an Indian in the 
 bow of the canoe, who also fell overboard. At this time 
 Jacob came up, and handing his rifle to Kerr as the better 
 marksman, he shot the other Indian in the waist of the boat, 
 who also fell into the water, but still held on to the side of 
 the canoe with one hand. So amazed was the latter Indian 
 at the fall of his companions, that he never offered to raise 
 one of the rifles at his feet in self-defense, but acted like 
 one deprived of his senses. By this time, the canoe impelled 
 by the impetus given to it by the first Indian, had reached 
 the current of the Ohio, and was some rods below the mouth 
 of the creek. Kerr now reloaded his own gun, and seeing 
 a man in the bottom of the boat, raised it in act of firing, 
 when he, discovering the movement, called out, " Don't shoot, 
 I am a white man." He was directed to knock loose the 
 Indian's hand from 1he side of the canoe, and paddle to 
 shore. In reply, he said his arm was broken. The current, 
 however, set it near some rocks not far from land, on to 
 which he jumped and waded out. Kerr now aimed his rifle 
 at the Indian on the horse, who was near the middle of the 
 river. The shot struck close by him, splashing the water 
 on to his naked skin. Seeing the fate of his companions, 
 the Indian, with the bravery of an ancient Spartan, imme- 
 diately slipped from the horse, and swam for the abandoned 
 canoe, in which were the rifles and ammunition of the whole
 
 II A M I L T N K K II R . 473 
 
 party. This was in fact an act of necessity, as well a.s of 
 noble daring, for he well knew he could not reach his country 
 without the means of killing game by the way. There was 
 also in this act but little hazard, as his enemies could not cross 
 the creek without a canoe, while the current had now set 
 the object of his solicitude beyond the reach of rifle shot. 
 He soon gained possession of the canoe, crossed with it to 
 the other shore, and taking out the arms and ammunition, 
 mounted the captive horse, and with a shout of defiance, 
 escaped into the woods. The canoe was turned adrift and 
 taken up near Maysville, with the dead hog still in it, which 
 had caused their discovery by their shooting, and been the 
 source of all their misfortunes. 
 
 The following year he moved with his father to Devol's 
 island, near Fort Ilarmer, where the latter kept several cows 
 and supplied the officers with milk, while Hamilton was 
 employed as a hunter to furnish the garrison with buffalo 
 meat and venison. Isaac Williams and several other families 
 also moved at the same time, being the spring of 1787, and 
 opened a plantation in the forest, opposite the mouth of the 
 Muskingum, on the Virginia shore. In the spring of 1791, 
 after the death of Capt. Rogers, one of the Ohio Company's 
 rangers, he was hired to supply his place, and was esteemed 
 the most active and brave man in that hazardous employ- 
 ment, lie continued to serve during the whole war, and 
 several Indians fell by his hand, as related in the preceding 
 history of the Ohio Company settlements. During this 
 period, his father's family left the island, and lived within 
 the walls of the garrison at the Point. The Indians killed 
 his father early in the war, at the mouth of Duck creek, 
 which still further sharpened his revenge and hate of the 
 red men. 
 
 At the close of the war he married Susannah, the daugh- 
 ter of Col. John Nighswonger, one of the heroes of the
 
 474 HAMILTON KEEK. 
 
 battle of Point Pleasant. She was well educated, and 
 could read German and English, while Hamilton could do 
 neither, having never been a day to school in his life. He 
 owned a share of land in the Ohio Company, the purchase 
 money for which was earned in the course of a single fall 
 and winter hunt; so profitable was that business in early 
 times to skillful hunters. With the most intelligent men 
 amongst the Ohio Company's settlers, Kerr was a great fa- 
 vorite, for his manly, upright conduct, vigilance, and bravery 
 in guarding the settlements from the attack of the Indians. 
 
 In person, he was of a full medium size, being five feet 
 ten inches in hight, as ascertained from one of Col. Sproat's 
 old pay-rolls, with limbs fashioned in nature's finest mould ; 
 form erect, and movements agile as any red man of the 
 forest; of a pleasant, cheerful temperament; light complex- 
 ion, blue eyes, and reddish hair, denoting his Scotch descent; 
 fine, full forehead, with all the marks of a superior mind 
 and intellect. This had received no training but what his 
 own remarks on men and things had produced ; but for re- 
 flection and strong reasoning powers, was far superior to 
 men of his class, causing him always to be looked up to as 
 a leader in any dangerous emergency by his companions. 
 
 He was born in the year 17G4, making him twenty years 
 old at the time the Indians wounded him at the mouth of 
 the Muskingum. 
 
 After the war, he settled on his land at the outlet of 
 Leading creek; learned to read and write, became a sub- 
 stantial farmer, a major in the militia, and highly esteemed 
 by all his neighbors. He has been dead several years, 
 leaving a large family of descendants, who live in Meigs 
 and Gallia counties.
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS AND MRS. 
 REBECCA WILLIAMS. 
 
 To THOSE who are now enjoying the benefits of the toils 
 and dangers of the early explorers and pioneers of the 
 valley of the Ohio, there ought to be no more pleasant em- 
 ployment than that of recounting their exploits and preserv- 
 ing the remembrance of their names. It is a duty we owe 
 to their memory. Amongst that hardy list of adventurers, 
 on the left bank of the Ohio, none are more worthy of pres- 
 ervation than those at the head of this article. 
 
 Isaac Williams was born in Chester county, Penn., the 
 IGth of July, 1737. While he was yet a boy, his parents 
 moved to Winchester, Ya., then a frontier town. Soon 
 after this event his father died, and his mother married Mr. 
 Buckley. When he was about eighteen years old, the 
 colonial government employed him as a ranger, or spy, to 
 watch the movements of the Indians, for which his early 
 acquaintance with a hunters life eminently fitted him. In 
 this capacity he served in the army of Gen. Braddock, 
 during his short, but disastrous campaign. He was also 
 attached to the party which guarded the first convoy of pro- 
 visions to Fort du Quesne, after its surrender to Gen. 
 Forbes, in 1758. The stores were carried on pack-horses 
 over the rough declivities of the mountains, continually 
 exposed to the attack of the Indians, for which the deep 
 ravines and narrow ridges of the mountains afforded every 
 facility. 
 
 After the peace made with the Indians, in 170."). by Col. 
 Bouquet, the country on the waters of the Monongahela
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 
 
 began to be settled by the people east of the mountains. 
 The fertility of the soil, and the immense growth of the 
 forest trees, so different from that on the eastern side of the 
 mountain ranges, gave a romantic charm to the new regions 
 on the waters of the Ohio, and made it a desirable abode to 
 the backwoodsmen, especially as it abounded with wild 
 game. Amongst the early emigrants to this region were 
 the parents of Mr. Williams, whom he conducted across the 
 mountains, in 1768, but did not finally locate himself in the 
 west until the following year, when he settled on the waters 
 of Buffalo creek, near the present town of West Liberty, 
 Brooke county, Va. He accompanied Ebenezer and Jon- 
 athan Zane when they explored and located the country at 
 and about Wheeling, in the year 1769. Previous to this 
 period, however, he had made several hunting and trapping 
 excursions to the waters of the Ohio, and was familiar with 
 its topography. In returning from one of these adventurous 
 expeditions in company with two other men, in the winter 
 of 1769, the following incident befell him. 
 
 Early in December, as they were crossing the glades, or 
 table-lands of the Alleghany mountains, they were over- 
 taken by a violent snow-storm. This is always a stormy, 
 cold region, but on the present occasion the snow fell to the 
 depth of five or six feet, and put a stop to their further 
 progress. It was succeeded by intensely cold weather. 
 While thus confined to their camp, with a scanty supply of 
 food, and no chance of procuring more, one of his compan- 
 ions was taken sick and died, partly from disease, and 
 having no nourishment but the tough, indigestible skins of 
 their peltry, from which the hair was first burned off and 
 then boiled in their kettle. Soon after the death of this 
 man his remaining companion, from the difficulty of pro- 
 curing fuel to keep up their fi're, was so much frozen in the 
 feet that he could render no further assistance. He managed,
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 477 
 
 however, to bury the dead man in the snow. The feet 
 of the poor fellow were so badly frosted that he lost all his 
 toes and a part of each foot, rendering him unable to walk 
 for nearly a month. During this time their food consisted 
 of their skins, of which they had a good supply, boiled into 
 soup with the water of melted snow. The kind heart of 
 Mr. Williams would not allow him to leave his friend in this 
 suffering condition, while he went to the settlements for as- 
 sistance, lest he should be attacked by the wolves, or perish for 
 want of food. With a patience and fortitude that would have 
 awarded lam a civic crown in the best days of the chival- 
 rous Romans, he remained with his helpless companion until 
 he was so far recovered as to be able to accompany him in 
 his return home. So much reduced was his own strength 
 from the effects of starvation, that it was several months 
 before he was restored to his usual health. 
 
 In 1709 he became a resident of the western wilds, and 
 made his home on the waters of Buffalo creek, as before 
 noted. Here he found himself in a wide field for the ex- 
 ercise of his darling passion, hunting. From his boyhood, 
 he had discovered a great relish for the hunter's life, and in 
 this employment he for several years explored the recesses 
 of the forest, and followed the water-courses of the great 
 valley, to the mouth of the Ohio, and from thence, along the 
 shores of the Mississippi, to the banks of the turbid Missouri. 
 As early as the year 1770, he trapped the beaver on the 
 tributaries of this river, and returned in safety, with a rich 
 load of furs. During the prime of his life, he was occupied 
 in hunting, and in making entries of lands. This was done 
 by girdling a few trees, and planting a small patch of corn, 
 which operation entitled the person to four hundred acres 
 of land. Entries of this kind were aptly called tomahawk 
 improvements. An enterprising man could make a number 
 of these in a season, and sell them to persons, who, coming
 
 478 REBECCA WILLIAMS. 
 
 later to the country, had not so good an opportunity to se- 
 lect the best lands, as the first adventurers. Mr. Williams 
 sold many of the rights for a few dollars, or the value of a 
 rifle-gun, which was then thought a fair equivalent ; of so 
 little account was land then considered ; and besides, like 
 other hunters of the day, thought wild lands of little value, 
 except for hunting grounds. There was, however, another 
 advantage attached to these simple claims; it gave the pos- 
 sessor the right of entering one thousand acres adjoining 
 the improvement, on condition of his paying a small sum 
 of money per acre into the treasury of the state of Virginia. 
 These entries were denominated "Pre-emption Rights;" and 
 many of the richest lands on the left bank of the Ohio river 
 are now held under these titles. After the conquest of Kas- 
 kaskias and Post Vincent, by Gen. Clark, in 1778, Virginia 
 claimed the lands on the northwest side of the Ohio ; and 
 many similar entries were made in the present state of 
 Ohio, especially on the Muskingum river, as high up as 
 Duncan's falls. One tract, a few miles above Marietta, is 
 still known as Wiseman's bottom, after the man who made 
 an entry there. 
 
 While occupied in these pursuits he became acquainted 
 with Rebecca Martin, the daughter of Mr. Joseph Tomlin- 
 son, of Maryland, then a young widow, and married her in 
 October, 1775. Her former husband, John Martin, had 
 been a trader among the Indians, and was killed on the Big 
 Hockhocking, in the year 1770. A man by the name of 
 Hartness, her uncle on the mother's side, was killed with 
 him at the same time. As a striking proof of the venera- 
 tion of the Indians for William Penn, and the people of his 
 colony, two men from Pennsylvania, who were with them, 
 were spared. The two killed, were from Virginia. The 
 fact is referred to by Lord Dunmore, in his speech at the 
 Indian treaty, near Chillicothe, in the year 1774. Mr.
 
 REBECCA WILLIAMS. 479 
 
 Williams accompanied Dunmorc, in this campaign, and 
 acted as a ranger until its close. 
 
 By this marriage he was united to a woman whose spirit 
 was congenial to his own. She was born on the Mth of 
 February, 1754, at Will's creek, on the Potomac, in the prov- 
 ince of Maryland, and had removed, with her two brothers, 
 Samuel and Joseph, into the western country, in 1771, and 
 was living with them as their housekeeper, near the, mouth 
 of Crave creek ; and for weeks together, while they were 
 absent on tours of hunting, she was left entirely alone. 
 She was now in her twenty-first year, full of life and ac- 
 tivity, and as fearless of danger as the man who had chosen 
 her for his companion. One proof of her courageous spirit 
 is related by her niece, Mrs. Bakey, now living near Mari 
 ctta, in Wood Co., Ya. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1774, she made a visit to a sister, 
 Mrs. Baker, then living on the Ohio river opposite to the 
 mouth of Yellow creek. It was soon after the massacre of 
 Logan's relatives at Baker's station. Having finished her 
 visit, she prepared to return home in a canoe, by herself, 
 the traveling being entirely done by water. The distance 
 from her sister's to Grave creek was about fifty miles. She 
 left there in the afternoon, and paddled her light canoe rap- 
 idly along until dark. Knowing that the moon would rise 
 at a certain hour, she landed, and fastening the slender craft 
 to the willows she leaped on shore, and lying down in a 
 thick clump of bushes, waited the rising of the moon. As 
 soon as it had cleared the tops of the trees, and began to 
 shed its cheerful rays over the dark bosom of the Ohio, she 
 prepared to embark. The water being shallow near the 
 shore, she had to wade a fe\v paces before getting into the 
 canoe; when just in the act of stepping on board, her naked 
 foot rested on the dead, cold body of an Indian, who had 
 been killed a short time before, and which, in the gloom of
 
 460 REBECCA WILLIAMS. 
 
 the night, she had not seen in landing. Without screaming 
 or flinching, she stepped lightly into the canoe, with the re- 
 flection that she was thankful he was not alive. Resuming 
 the paddle, she arrived at the mouth of Grave creek without 
 any further adventure, early the following morning. 
 
 Walter Scott's Rebecca, the Jewess, was not more cele- 
 brated for her cures, and skill in treating wounds, than was 
 Rebecca Williams amongst the honest borderers of the Ohio 
 river. About the year 1784, while living a short time at Wheel- 
 ing, on account of Indian depredations, she, with the assist- 
 ance of Mrs. Zane, dressed the wounds of Mr. Mills, 
 fourteen in number, from rifle shots. He, with Hamilton 
 Kerr and one other man, were spearing fish by torch-light 
 about a mile above the garrison, when they were fired on 
 by a party of Indians secreted on the shore. Mills stood in 
 the bow of the canoe holding the torch, and as he was a 
 fair mark, received the most of the shots. One leg and one 
 arm were broken, in addition to the flesh wounds. Had he 
 been in the regular service, with plenty of surgeons, he 
 probably would have lost one or both limbs by amputation. 
 These women, with their fomentations and simple applica- 
 tions of slippery-elm bark, not only cured his wounds, at the 
 time deemed impossible, but also saved both his limbs. In 
 a conversation many years after, she said her principal 
 dressings were made of slippery-elm, the leaves of stramo- 
 nium, and daily ablutions with warm water. Many similar 
 cures of gun-shot wounds are related, as performed by her 
 in the first settlement of the country. 
 
 Their marriage was as unostentatious and simple as the 
 manners and habits of the parties. A traveling preacher 
 happening to come into the settlement, as they some- 
 times did, though rarely, they were married at her brother's 
 house, without any previous preparation of nice dresses, 
 bride-cakes, or bride-maids; he standing up in his hunting
 
 REBECCA WILLIAMS. 481 
 
 dress, and she in a short gown and petticoat of homespun, 
 the common wear of the people. 
 
 In the summer of 1774, the year before her marriage, she 
 was one morning busily occupied in kindling a fire prepar- 
 atory to breakfast, with her back to the door, on her knees, 
 pulling away at the coals. Hearing some one step cau- 
 tiously on the lloor, she looked round and beheld a tall In- 
 dian close to her side. He made a motion of silence to 
 her, at the same time shaking his tomahawk in a threatening 
 manner, if she made any alarm. lie, however, did not 
 offer to harm her, but looking carefully around the cabin, 
 espied her brother's rifle hanging over the fire-place. This 
 he seized upon, and fearing the arrival of some of the men, 
 hastened his departure without any further damage. "While 
 he was with her in the house she preserved her presence of 
 mind, and betrayed no marks of fear; but no sooner had 
 he gone than she left the cabin and hid herself in the corn- 
 field until her brother Samuel came in. He was lame at 
 the time, and happened to be out of the way; so that it is 
 probable his life was saved from this circumstance. It was 
 but seldom that the Indians killed unresisting women or 
 children, except in the excitement of an attack, and when 
 they had met with resistance from the men. 
 
 In 1777, the depredations and massacres of the savages 
 were so frequent that the settlement at Grave creek, now 
 consisting of several families, was broken up. It was the 
 frontier station, and lower on the Ohio than any other 
 above the mouth of Big Kenawha. This year the Indians 
 made their great attack on the garrison and settlement of 
 Wheeling. Mr. Williams, with his wife and the Tomlinsons, 
 moved over on to the Monongahela river, above Red Stone 
 old fort. Here he remained until the spring of the year 
 1783, when he returned with his wife's relations to their 
 
 plantations on Grave creek. In the year 1784 he had to 
 31
 
 482 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 
 
 remove again from his farm into the garrison at \\ heeling. 
 Some time in the spring of the succeeding year he had the 
 following adventure with the Indians. 
 
 John Wetzel, a younger brother of Lewis, the noted In- 
 dian hunter and Indian hater, (having killed above thirty of 
 them,) then about sixteen years old, with a neighboring boy 
 of the same age, was in search of horses that had strayed 
 away in the woods on Wheeling creek, where the father of 
 John resided. One of the stray animals was a mare with 
 a young foal, belonging to John's sister ; and she had offered 
 the colt to John as a reward for finding the mare. While 
 on this service they were captured by four Indians, who, 
 having come across the horses in the woods, had taken and 
 placed them in a thicket, expecting that their bells would 
 attract the notice of their owners, and they could then cap- 
 ture them or take their scalps. The horse was ever a fa- 
 vorite object of plunder with the savages, as not only 
 facilitating their own escape from pursuit, but also assisted 
 them in carrying off the spoils. The boys, hearing the well 
 known tinkle of the bells, approached the spot where the 
 Indians lay concealed, and were taken prisoners. John, in 
 attempting to escape, was shot through the arm. On their 
 march to the Ohio, his companion made so much lamenta- 
 tion on account of his captivity, that the Indians killed him 
 with the tomahawk ; while John, who had once before been 
 a prisoner, made light of it, and went along cheerfully with 
 his wounded arm. 
 
 The party struck the Ohio river early the following morn- 
 ing at a point near the mouth of Grave creek, just below 
 the clearing of Mr. Tomlinson. Here they found some 
 hogs belonging to Mr. Williams, and killing one of them 
 with a rifle shot, put it into a canoe they had secreted when 
 on their way out. Three of the Indiana took possession of 
 the canoe with their prisoner, while the other Indian was
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 483 
 
 occupied in swimming the horses across the river. Jt so 
 happened, that Mr. Williams, with Hamilton Kerr, and Ja- 
 cob, a Dutchman, had come down from Wheeling, the eve- 
 ning before, to look after the stock left on the plantation, 
 and passed the night at the deserted cabin of Tomlinson. 
 While at the outlet of Little Grave creek, about a mile 
 above, they heard the report of a rifle shot, in the direction 
 of his plantation. "Pod rot 'em," exclaimed Williams, "a 
 Kentuck boat has landed at the creek, and they are shooting 
 my hogs." Immediately quickening their pace to a rapid 
 trot, they, in a few minutes, were within a short distance of 
 the creek, when they heard the loud snort of a horse. Kerr 
 being in the prime of life, and younger than Williams, 
 reached the mouth of the creek first. As he looked down 
 into the stream, he saw three Indians standing in a canoe ; 
 one was in the stern, one in the bow, and one in the middle 
 of the boat. At the feet of the latter lay four rifles and the 
 dead hog ; while the fourth Indian was swimming a horse 
 across the Ohio, only a few rods from shore. The one in 
 the stern was in the act of shoving the canoe from the 
 mouth of the creek into the river. Before they were aware 
 of his presence, Kerr shot the Indian in the stern, who fell 
 into the water. The crack of the rifle had barely ceased, 
 when Mr. Williams came on to the bank, and shot the Indian 
 in the bow of the canoe, who also fell overboard : Jacob 
 was now on the ground, and Kerr seizing his rifle, shot the 
 remaining Indian in the waist of the boat. He fell over 
 into the water, but still held on to the side of the canoe, with 
 one hand. The whole process did not occupy more than a 
 minute of time. The canoe, impelled by the impetus given 
 to it by the Indian first shot, had reached the current of the 
 Ohio, and was a rod or two below the mouth of the creek. 
 Kerr had now reloaded his gun, and seeing another Indian, 
 as he thought, laying in the bottom of the canoe, raised it
 
 484 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 
 
 in the act of firing, when he called out, "Don't shoot, I am 
 a white man." Kerr told him to knock loose the Indian's 
 hand from the side of the boat, and paddle it to the shore. 
 He said his arm was broken, and he could- not. The cur- 
 rent, however, set it near some rocks not far from land, on 
 to which he jumped, and waded out. Kerr now aimed his 
 rifle at the Indian on horseback, who, by this time, had 
 reached the middle of the Ohio. The shot struck near him. 
 splashing the water on to his naked skin. He, seeing the fate 
 of his companions, with the bravery of an ancient Spartan, 
 slipped from the back of the horse, and swam for the aban- 
 doned canoe, in which were the rifles of the four Indians. 
 This was, in fact, an act of necessity, as well as of noble 
 daring, as he well knew he could not reach his country, 
 without the means of killing game by the way. He also 
 was aware, that there was little danger in the act, as his 
 enemies could not cross the creek to molest him. He soon 
 gained possession of the boat, crossed, with the arms, to his 
 own side of the Ohio, mounted the captive horse, which, 
 with the others, had swam to the Indian shore, and with a 
 yell of defiance, escaped into the woods. The canoe was 
 turned adrift, and taken up near Maysville, with the dead 
 hog still in it, which had led to their discovery by the shot, 
 and was the caii3e of all their misfortunes. 
 
 It has been stated that Mrs. Williams, before her mar- 
 riage, acted as housekeeper for her brothers several years; 
 in consideration of which service, Joseph and Samuel made 
 an entry of four hundred acres of land on the Virginia 
 shore of the Ohio river, in that broad, rich bottom, directly 
 opposite to the mouth of the Muskingum river, for their 
 sister; girdling the trees on four acres of land, fencing, and 
 planting it with corn, and building a cabin, in the spring of 
 the year 177.'?. They spent the summer on the spot, occu- 
 pying their time with hunting during the growth of the crop.
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 485 
 
 In this time they had exhausted their small ptock of salt 
 and bread-stuff, and lived for two or three months on the 
 boiled meat of turkeys, which then filled the woods, and 
 was used without salt. So accustomed had Samuel become 
 to eating his food without this condiment, that it was some 
 time before he could again relish the taste of it; a fact that 
 has often been verified in others under similar circum- 
 stances; showing that the use of salt is acquired by habit. 
 The following winter the two brothers hunted on the Great 
 Kenawha, where bears and beavers greatly abounded. Some 
 time in March, 1774, they arrived at the mouth of the river 
 on their return, and were detained some days by a remark- 
 ably high freshet in the Ohio river, which, from certain fixed 
 marks on Wheeling creek, is supposed to have been fully 
 equal to that of February, 1832. This year was long 
 known among the borderers as that of Dunmore's war; 
 serving as a date for domestic events, and noted for Indian 
 depredations. 
 
 The land entered thus early for Mrs. Williams still re- 
 mains in the possession of her descendants, but was for 
 many years contested, in law, by other more recent claim- 
 ants, like all the Virginia western lands; causing great ex- 
 pense and anxiety to the rightful owners. 
 
 The renewed and oft-repeated inroads of the Indians, led 
 Mr. Williams to turn his attention toward a more safe and 
 quiet home than that at Crave creek. Fort Harmer. at the 
 mouth of the Muskingum, having been erected in 1780, and 
 garrisoned by United States troops, he decided on occupying 
 the land belonging to his wife, which embraced a large 
 share of rich alluvions, and was in sight of the fort. The 
 piece opened by the Tomlinsons, in 1773, had grown over 
 with young saplings, but could be easily reclaimed. He 
 visited the spot, and put up a log-cabin in the winter, and
 
 486 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 
 
 moved his family thither the 26th of March, 1787, being the 
 year before the arrival of the Ohio Company. 
 
 Soon after the removal to his forest domain, his wife gave 
 birth to a daughter; and was the only issue by this marriage. 
 He was now fifty-two years old, so that she might be called 
 the child of his old age. She was named Drusilla; and 
 married Mr. John Henderson ; but died when about twenty 
 years old, leaving no children. 
 
 Soon after the associates of the Ohio Company had set- 
 tled at Marietta, a very friendly intercourse was kept up 
 between them and Mr. Williams ; and as he had now turned 
 his attention more to farming than hunting, he was pleased 
 to see the new openings made in the forest, and the wilder- 
 ness changing into the home of civilized man. From the 
 destructive effect of an untimely frost in September, 1789, 
 the crops of corn were greatly damaged; and where late 
 planted, entirely ruined. 
 
 In the spring and summer of 1790, the inhabitants in the 
 new settlements of the Ohio Company, began to suffer from 
 the want of food, especially wholesome bread-stuffs. Many 
 families, especially at Belpre, had no other meal than that 
 made from moldy corn; and were sometimes destitute even 
 of this, several days in succession. This moldy corn com- 
 manded the price of a dollar and a-half, and even two dol- 
 lars a bushel. When ground in their hand-mills, and made 
 into bread, few stomachs were able to digest, or retain it, 
 more than a few minutes. The writer of this article, has 
 often heard Charles Devol, Esq., then a small boy, relate, 
 with much feeling, his gastronomic trials with this moldy 
 meal made into sap-porridge; which, when made of sweet 
 corn meal, and the fresh saccharine juice of the maple, was 
 both a nourishing and a savory dish. The family, then liv- 
 ing at Belpre, had been without food for two days, when his
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 487 
 
 father returned from Marietta, just at evening, with a scanty 
 supply of moldy corn. The hand-mill was immediately 
 put in operation, and the meal cooked into sap-porridge, 
 as it was then the season of sugar-making. The famished 
 children swallowed eagerly the unsavory mess, which was 
 almost as instantly rejected; reminding us of the deadly 
 pottage of the children of the prophet; but lacking the heal- 
 ing power of an Elijah to render it salutary and nutritious. 
 Disappointed of expected relief, the poor children went sup- 
 perless to bed, to dream of savory food and plenteous meals, 
 not realized in their waking hours. 
 
 It was during this period of want, that Isaac Williams dis- 
 played his benevolent feelings for the suffering colonists. 
 From the circumstance of his being in the country earlier, 
 he had more ground cleared, and had raised a large crop 
 of several hundred bushels of good, sound corn. This he 
 now distributed amongst the inhabitants at the low rate of 
 fifty cents a bushel, when at the same time he had been of- 
 fered, and urged to take, a dollar and twenty-five 'cents for 
 his whole crop, by speculators ; for man has ever been dis- 
 posed to take advantage of the distresses of his fellows. 
 " Dod rot 'em," said the honest hunter, " I would not let 
 them have a bushel." He not only parted with his corn at 
 this cheap rate, the common price in plentiful years, but he 
 also prudently apportioned the number of bushels to the 
 number of individuals in a family. An empty purse was 
 no bar to the needy applicant, but his wants were equally 
 supplied with those who had money, and a credit given un- 
 til more favorable seasons should enable him to discharge 
 the debt. 
 
 Capt. Devolj hearing of 3Ir. William's corn, and the low 
 rate at which he sold it, made a trip to Marietta, directly af- 
 ter the adventure, with the sap-porridge,'' to procure some 
 of it. The journey was made by land, and in the night.
 
 488 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 
 
 traveling on the ridges adjacent to the river, as the stream 
 was so swollen by the spring flood, as to prevent the ascent 
 by water in a canoe. He chose to come in the night, on 
 account of danger from the Indians; and the intrepidity 
 of the man, may be estimated, from his traveling this dis- 
 tance, twelve or fourteen miles, alone. He reached Fort 
 Harmer at daylight; and Maj. Doughty, after giving him 
 a warm breakfast, directed two soldiers to set him across 
 the Ohio, in the garrison boat. Mr. Williams treated him 
 with much kindness; and after supplying him with corn, 
 also furnished him with his only canoe, in which to trans- 
 port it to his home. Capt. Devol was unwilling to take it; 
 but he urged it upon him, saying he could soon make an- 
 other. In after years, when Capt. Devol owned a fine farm 
 and mill on the Muskingum river, Mr. "Williams used often 
 to visit him, and pass a night or two at his house, which was 
 the temple of hospitality, in the most social and pleasant 
 manner, talking of the trials and sufferings of bygone days. 
 
 He retained a relish for hunting to his latest years; and 
 whenever a little unwell, forsaking his comfortable home, 
 would take his rifle, and favorite old dog " Cap," accompa- 
 nied by one of his black servants, retire to the woods, and 
 encamping by some clear stream, remain there drinking the 
 pure water, and eating such food as his rifle procured, until 
 his health was restored. Medicine he never took, except 
 such simples as the forest afforded. The untrodden wilder- 
 ness was to him full of charms ; and before the close of the 
 Revolutionary war, he had hunted over a large portion of 
 the valley of the Ohio, sometimes with a companion, but 
 oftener alone, leaving his favorite Rebecca to oversee and 
 take charge of the little plantation, which was never very 
 extensive, until he moved to his new home, opposite the 
 mouth of the Muskingum. 
 
 From his sedate manners and quiet habits, the trapping
 
 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 489 
 
 of the beaver was a favorite pursuit; and after he was 
 seventy years old, if he heard of the signs of one being seen 
 within fifty miles of his home, would mount his horse with 
 his traps, and not return until he had caught it. This was 
 a great art amongst the hunters of the west, and he who 
 was the most successful in this mystery, was accounted a 
 fortunate man. The proceeds of a few months hunt often 
 realizing three or four hundred dollars to the trapper. He 
 stood high in this brancli of the hunter's vocation, and no 
 man could catch more beavers than himself; being eminently 
 qualified for this pursuit, both by disposition and by prac- 
 tice, lie was a close observer of nature ; taciturn in his 
 manners, and cautious in his movements ; never in a hurry, 
 or disturbed by an unexpected occurrence. In many re- 
 spects he was an exact portrait of Cooper's beau ideal of a 
 master hunter, so finely portrayed in the Pioneer, and other 
 backwoods legends. 
 
 During the Indian war, from 1701 to 1795, he remained 
 unmolested in his cabin, a view of which is seen in the 
 sketch of Fort Ilarmer, on the opposite shore of the Ohio, 
 protected, in some measure, by the vicinity of that fort, as 
 well as by the stockade around his dwellings, which shel- 
 tered several families besides his own. 
 
 lie seldom spoke of his own exploits, and when related, 
 they generally came from the lips of his companions. 
 There was only one situation in which he could be induced 
 to relax his natural reserve, and freely narrate the romantic 
 and hazardous adventures that had befallen him in his hunt- 
 ing and war excursions ; and that was when encamped by 
 the evening fire, in some remote spot, after the toils of the 
 day were closed, and the supper of venison and bear meat 
 ended. Here, while reclining on a bed of fresh autumnal 
 leaves, beneath the lofty branches of the forest, with no 
 listeners but the stars and his companion, the spirit of
 
 490 ISAAC WILLIAMS. 
 
 narration would come upon him, and for hours he would re- 
 hearse the details of his youthful and hazardous adventures 
 by forest, flood, and field. In such situations, surrounded 
 by the works of God, his body and his mind felt a freedom 
 that the hut and the clearing could not give. In this man- 
 ner the late Alexander Henderson, a man of refined taste, 
 and cultivated manners, has said that he passed some of 
 the most interesting hours of his life, when hunting with 
 Mr. Williams on the head waters of the Little Kenawha. 
 
 In person, he was of the middle size, with an upright 
 frame, and muscular limbs ; features firm, and strongly 
 marked; a mild expression of countenance, and taciturn, 
 quiet manners. In his youth he does not appear to have 
 been addicted to the rude sports and rough plays so con- 
 genial to most of the early borderers, but preferred social 
 converse, and an interchange of good offices with his fel- 
 lows. Although he lived at a time and in a situation where 
 he was deprived of all opportunity for religious instruction, 
 yet he appears to have had an intuitive dread of all vicious 
 words or actions. The writer distinctly recollects hearing 
 him reprove a keel-boatman, a class of men whose language 
 was intermingled with oaths, in the most severe manner, for 
 his profanity, as he passed the boat where the man was at 
 work. Like Isaac and Rebecca of old, this modern Isaac 
 and Rebecca were given to good deeds ; and many a poor, 
 sick, abandoned boatman, has been nursed and restored 
 to health beneath their humble roof. So intimately con- 
 nected are their names with the early settlers of the Ohio 
 Company, that they deserve to go down to posterity to- 
 gether. Many years before his death, he liberated all his 
 slaves, six or eight in number, and by his will left valuable 
 tokens of his love and good feeling for the oppressed and 
 despised African. 
 
 Full of days and good deeds, and strong in the faith of a
 
 II A R M A N B L E X N K R II A S S i: T T . 49 1 
 
 blessed immortality, Mr. "Williams resigned his spirit to 
 Him who gave it, the i5th of September, 1 staged eighty- 
 four years, and \vas buried in u beautiful grove, on his own 
 plantation, surrounded by the trees he so dearly loved when 
 living. 
 
 II A KM AN B L E N NE II II A S S E T T AN I) 
 
 MRS. MARGARET BLENNER- 
 
 II A S S E T T * 
 
 HARMAN BLEXNERHASSETT, Esq., was a descendant of a 
 noble family of Ireland, in the county of Cork lie was 
 born in Hampshire, England, in the year 1707, while his 
 parents were there on a visit. The family residence was 
 Castle Conway, in the county of Kerry, to which they 
 shortly after returned. He was educated with great care, 
 and when a boy attended the Westminster school, celebrated 
 for its classical excellence, completing his studies at Trinity 
 College, Dublin, whose honors he shared in company with 
 his relative, the celebrated T. A. Emmilt. They read Jaw 
 together at the King's Inn Courts, Dublin; were admitted to 
 the bar on the same day in the year 17!H). and between 
 
 * These celebrated individuals, although not attached to the Ohio Company sealers, 
 yet came into the territory so early as to be ranked aiming i'.s pioneer;. They fill so 
 large and interesting a space in the history of this region, and did so mwh for t!:e 
 pecuniary benefit of the country of their adoption, tha 1 . they deserve n place amongst 
 the settlers of Washington county.
 
 492 HARM AN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 them existed ever after the warmest friendship. Having 
 spent some time in traveling in France and the Netherlands, 
 he returned and practiced at the bar in Ireland. Expecting, 
 however, to fall heir to a large estate in a few years, he 
 made but little effort to excel in the law, rather cultivating 
 his taste for the sciences, music, and general literature. 
 
 At the death of his father, in 1796, he became possessed 
 of a handsome fortune; but on account of the troubles in 
 Ireland, in which he became politically involved, he sold the 
 estate to his cousin, Lord Yentry, and went to England, 
 where he soon after married Miss Agnew, daughter of the 
 lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man, and granddaughter 
 of Gen. Agnew, who fell at the battle of Germantown. 
 Lord Kingsale, and Admiral De Courcey, of the navy, both 
 married sisters of Mr. Blennerhassett; who, expressing 
 rather freely his republican principles, in opposition to his 
 relations, finally concluded to visit the United States, and 
 make that country his future home, where he could utter his 
 sentiments, and enjoy the benefits of freedom, undisturbed 
 by spies or informers. 
 
 Before sailing for America, he visited London and pur- 
 chased a large library of classical and scientific books, with 
 a philosophical apparatus, embracing various branches, and 
 arrived in Xew York in 1797. By the aid of his letters, 
 wealth, and his own personal and literary merit, he became 
 acquainted with some of the first families in the city.* 
 Amongst others of his newly acquired friends, was Mr. Jo- 
 seph S. Lewis, a rich merchant of Philadelphia, who became 
 his business agent, and for many years his firm friend. Mr. 
 Blennerhassett named his youngest son Joseph Lewis, in 
 token of his regard for him. He was finally a considerable 
 loser by this connection, and after Mr. Blennerhassett's 
 
 * Sec Whig Review, 1844. Article by Mr. Wallace.
 
 II ARM AN BLENNERIIASSETT. 493 
 
 failure, and the destruction of his house and property, 
 became the owner of the island. 
 
 His stay in New York was of only a few months' contin- 
 uance; when, hearing of the rich valleys and beautiful 
 country on the Ohio river, he crossed the mountains, and 
 after spending a few weeks in Pittsburg, took passage for 
 Marietta, in the fall of the year 1797. Here he passed the 
 winter, examining the vicinity of that place for a spot on 
 which to make his permanent residence. lie finally decided 
 on purchasing a plantation on an island in the Ohio river, 
 fourteen miles below the mouth of the Muskingum, within 
 the jurisdiction of the state of Virginia. The situation 
 was wild, romantic, and beautiful; and as it was chiefly in 
 a state of nature, a few acres only being cleared, he could 
 reclaim it from the forest, adorn and cultivate it to his own 
 taste. Its location also gave him the privilege of holding 
 colored servants as his own property, which he could not do 
 in the Northwest Territory. The island was, moreover, near 
 the settlement of Belpre, composed chiefly of very intelli- 
 gent and well-educated men, disbanded officers of the 
 American army, whose society would at any time relieve 
 him of ennui. The island itself was a picture of beauty, 
 as well as all of its kind, at that early day, before the hand 
 of man had marred its shores. The drooping branches of 
 the willow laved their graceful foliage in the water, while 
 the more lofty sycamore and elm, with their giant arms, 
 protected them from the rude blasts of the storm, and gave 
 a grandeur and dignity to these primitive landscapes, now 
 only to be seen in the remoter regions of the west. 
 
 The inland at present known as " Blennerhassett's," was 
 then called " Backus's,'' who had owned it since 1792. It 
 is said to have been located by Gen. Washington, as he 
 owned a large tract of land immediately below, called 
 "Washington's bottom," entered by him in the year 1770.
 
 494 HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 It was first surveyed in May, 1784, on a land warrant, issued 
 in 1780, and a patent made out by Patrick Henry, governor 
 of Virginia, in 1786, to Alexander Nelson, of Richmond, Va.; 
 who was a member of a mercantile firm in Philadelphia. 
 By a bill in chancery, of the High Court of Virginia, pro- 
 cured by Mr. Blennerhassett, to perfect his title, it appears 
 that Elijah Backus, of Norwich, Conn., bought of James Her- 
 ron, of Norfolk, Va., in the year 1792, two islands in the 
 Ohio river; the principal one being the first below the mouth 
 of the Little Kenawha, then in the county of Monongalia, 
 containing two hundred and ninety-seven acres, for the sum 
 of two hundred and fifty pounds, Virginia currency, or about 
 eight hundred and eighty-three dollars and thirty-three cents. 
 This island is of a very peculiar form, narrow in the middle, 
 and broad at both extremities. 
 
 In March, 1798, Mr. Blennerhassett purchased the upper 
 portion, containing about one hundred and seventy acres, 
 for the sum of four thousand, five hundred dollars, and soon 
 after moved, with his wife and one child, on to his new pur- 
 chase, living in a large old block-house, standing about half 
 a mile below the upper end of the island, built in the time 
 of the Indian war, by Capt. James. Here he resided while 
 conducting the improvements near the upper end of the 
 island, and building his island mansion, which was com- 
 pleted in 1800. A good deal of labor and heavy expense 
 was necessary in preparing the ground for his buildings and 
 the gardens. It was covered, at this spot, with forest trees, 
 which had to be removed, and stumps eradicated, so as to 
 leave a smooth, level surface, with extensive landings up 
 and down the banks on both sides of the river, for conveni- 
 ent access to and from the island. Boats of various sizes 
 were also to be procured, and a company of eight or ten 
 black servants purchased, as waiters, grooms, watermen, 
 &c. His outlays, when the improvements were completed,
 
 II A KM AN BLENNERIIASSETT. 495 
 
 amounted to more than forty thousand dollars. This sum, 
 expended chiefly among.st the mechanics, laborers, and 
 fanners of this nc\v region, where money was scarce, and 
 hard to be obtained, was of very great advantage to their 
 interests; and Mr. Blennerhassett may be considered as the 
 greatest benefactor, in this respect, that had ever settled 
 west of the mountains. 
 
 The island mansion was built with great taste and beauty ; 
 no expense being spared in its construction, that could add 
 to its usefulness or splendor. It consisted of a main build- 
 ing, fifty-two feet in length, thirty in width, and two stories 
 high. Porticoes, forty feet in length, in the form of wings, 
 projected in front, connected with offices, presenting each a 
 face of twenty-six feet, and twenty feet in depth, uniting 
 them with the main building; forming the half of an ellipsis, 
 and making, in the whole, a front of one hundred and four 
 feet. The left-hand office was occupied for the servant's 
 hall ; and the right for the library, philosophical apparatus 
 study, &c. The drawing which accompanies this memoir 
 is a correct likeness of the mansion, taken from the descrip- 
 tion of Col. Barker, one of the principal architects. 
 
 A handsome lawn of several acres occupied the front 
 ground ; while an extended opening was made through the 
 forest trees, on the head of the island, affording a view of 
 the river for several miles above, and bringing the mansion 
 under the notice of descending boats. Nicely graveled 
 walks, with a carriage-way, led from the house to the river, 
 passing through an ornamental gateway, with large stone 
 pillars. A fine hedge, of native hawthorn, bordered the 
 right side of the avenue to the house, while back of it lay 
 the flower garden, of about two acres, inclosed with neat 
 palings, to which were traced gooseberry bushes, peaches, 
 and other varieties of fruit-bearing trees, in the manner of 
 wall fruits. The garden was planted with flowering shrubs,
 
 H A R M A N BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 both exotic and native; but especially abounding in the lat- 
 ter, which the good taste of the occupants had selected from 
 the adjacent forests, and planted in thick masses, through 
 which wandered serpentine walks, bordered with flowers, 
 imitating a labyrinth. Arbors and grottoes, covered with 
 honeysuckles and eglantines, were placed at convenient in- 
 tervals, giving the whole a very romantic and beautiful ap- 
 pearance. On the opposite side of the house was a large 
 kitchen garden, and back of these, orchards of peach and 
 apple trees of the choicest varieties, procured from abroad, 
 as well as from the Belpre nurseries. Lower down on the 
 island was the farm, Avith about one hundred acres under 
 the nicest cultivation ; the luxuriant soil producing the finest 
 crops of grain and grass. For the last three or four years 
 of his residence, a large dairy was added to his other agri- 
 cultural pursuits, under the management of Thomas Neal, 
 \vho also superintended the labor of the farm. The garden 
 was conducted by Peter Taylor, a native of Lancashire, Eng- 
 land, who was bred to the pursuit, but under the direction 
 of Mr. Blennerhassett, whose fine taste in all that was beau- 
 tiful, ordered the arranging and laying out the grounds. 
 
 The mansion and offices were frame buildings, painted 
 with the purest white, contrasting tastefully with the green 
 foliage of the ornamental shade trees, which surrounded 
 it. An abundance of fine stone for building, could have 
 been quarried from the adjacent Virginia shore, but he pre- 
 ferred a structure of wood, as less liable to be damaged by 
 earthquakes. The finishing and furniture of the apartments 
 were adapted to the use for which they were intended. The 
 hall was a spacious room ; its walls painted a somber color, 
 with a beautiful cornice of plaster, bordered with a gilded 
 molding, running round the lofty ceiling; while its furniture 
 was rich, heavy, and grand. The furniture of the drawing- 
 room was in strong contrast with the hall; light, airy, and
 
 II ARM AN BLENNERIIASSETT. 497 
 
 elegant; with splendid mirrors, gay-colored carpets, rich 
 curtains, with ornaments to correspond, arranged by his 
 lady with the nicest taste and harmonious effect. A large 
 quantity of massive silver plate ornamented the sideboards, 
 and decorated the tables. Yet they had not entirely com- 
 pleted their arrangements, when the destroyer appeared, 
 and frustrated all their designs for comfort and future hap- 
 piness. The whole establishment was noble, chastened by 
 the purest taste, without that glare of tinsel finery, too com- 
 mon among the wealthy. 
 
 Their style of living was in unison with the house and 
 furniture, elegant, easy, and comfortable. 
 
 Mr. Blennerhassett was a highly intellectual man, greatly 
 devoted to scientific pursuits, which his ample library and 
 leisure time afforded every facility for pursuing. He was 
 studious, and fond of experimenting in chemistry, electricity, 
 and galvanism. His apparatus, though not extensive, was 
 ample for such experiments as an amateur would wish to 
 make. Astronomy was also a favorite study; for which he 
 had a fine telescope to examine the constellations in their 
 courses, and a solar microscope, to inspect the minuter 
 bodies of the earth. In music, he possessed the nicest 
 taste, and an uncommon genius, composing harmonious 
 and beautiful airs, several pieces of which are now remem- 
 bered and played by a gentleman, who, when a youth, was 
 intimate in his family. His favorite instruments were the 
 base-viol and violoncello, on which he played with admira- 
 ble skill. The spacious hall of the mansion being constructed 
 so as to give effect to musical sounds, the tones of his viol 
 vibrated through it with thrilling effect, calling forth the 
 admiration of his guests. Electricity and galvanism re- 
 ceived a share of his attention, and many experiments were 
 tried in both these wonderful branches of modern science. 
 
 Amongst his trials in chemical operations, was that of 
 32
 
 498 HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 converting beef into adipocere, large pieces of which were 
 submerged in the beautiful little cove between the landing 
 and the sand-bar at the head of the island. He fancied it 
 might be used in place of spermaceti, for light; but the cat- 
 fish and perch interfered so much with his trials, that he 
 could never bring the adipocere to perfection. He was a 
 good classical scholar, and so highly was he enraptured with 
 Homer's Iliad, that it was said he could repeat the whole 
 poem in the original Greek. 
 
 His manners \vere gentlemanly, and disposition social, 
 hospitable, and kind, especially to those with whom he 
 wished to associate, but rather haughty to others. In mind, 
 he could not be said to be masculine and strong, but was 
 rather wavering and fickle ; easily duped and deceived by 
 the designing and dishonest. He had quite a taste for med- 
 icine, and read many authors on that subject, which, with 
 his natural propensities, often led him to think himself at- 
 tacked with imaginary diseases, and it was sometimes diffi- 
 cult to convince him they were merely ideal. To his sick 
 neighbors and servants, he was kind and attentive, often 
 visiting and prescribing for their complaints ; freely tender- 
 ing his medicines, of which he always kept an ample sup- 
 ply. His own heart being perfectly honest and free from 
 deceit, he was unsuspicious of others, and very credulous 
 in regard to their statements, which often led him into pecu- 
 niary losses in his business transactions. 
 
 In bargaining with a notorious cheat for a quantity of the 
 shells of the river clam, which, in the early settlement of 
 the country, before quarries of limestone were opened, were 
 calcined in log-heaps, and used for plastering rooms, the 
 fellow said it was a difficult matter to collect them, as he 
 had to dive under the water where it was six or eight feet 
 deep, and must charge fifty cents a bushel, when, in fact, he 
 could collect any quantity, where it was only a few inches.
 
 1IARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 499 
 
 Thinking the man told the truth, he paid him the price, 
 which was at least five times as much as they were worth. 
 
 He was very kind and charitable to the poor and unfor- 
 tunate backwoodsmen. A Virginian, who had lost his 
 house and furniture by fire, was soon after invited, with his 
 wife, to dine with him. This man owed him a considerable 
 sum of lent money. After dinner he told him he would 
 either cancel the debt, or give him an order on his store at 
 Marietta for an equal sum, and let the debt stand. The 
 sufferer was a man of honorable mind and just feelings. He, 
 therefore, chose not to add to his present obligations, but 
 accepted the canceling of the debt, which was immediately 
 done. This man still lives, and related the incident in 
 1846. Many such facts were known to have occurred while 
 he lived on the island. 
 
 His wife was still more charitable to the sick and poor in 
 the vicinity, many of whom felt the benefit of her gifts. 
 
 With all these kind acts fresh in their memories, several 
 of these men were found among the banditti, who ransacked 
 his house and insulted his wife, after he had been forced to 
 leave the island from the hue and cry of treason, which 
 maddened and infuriated the public mind in the valley of 
 the Ohio. 
 
 In person, Mr. Blennerhassett was tall, about six feet, but 
 slender, with a slight stoop in the shoulders. His motions 
 were not very graceful, either as an equestrian, or on foot; 
 forehead full, and well formed ; with rather a prominent 
 nose, and good proportioned face ; eyes weak, and sight im- 
 perfect; seeing objects distinctly only when near; so that 
 in reading, the surface of the page nearly touched his nose. 
 They had a nervous, restless agitation, which probably arose 
 from weakness of the optic nerves, requiring the constant 
 aid of glasses. Yet with this permanent and continual an- 
 noyance, he was a great student and operator in experiment?.
 
 500 HARMAN BLENNEEEASSETT. 
 
 He was also much attached to hunting, shooting quails, 
 and other small game on the island. To enjoy this sport, 
 he had to call in the aid of some other person, whose vision 
 was more acute than his own, who pointed the gun for him 
 at the game, and gave the word when to fire. This person 
 was often his wife, who, with the greatest kindness, attended 
 him in his short excursions, and with the tact of an experi- 
 enced sportsman, pointed out the object, leveled the gun, and 
 stood by with the most perfect coolness, while he discharged 
 the piece. 
 
 His general habits were sedentary and studious ; prefer- 
 ring the quiet of his library to the most brilliant assemblies. 
 In conversation, he was interesting and instructive; confin- 
 ing his remarks to the practical and useful, more than to the 
 amusing. 
 
 As a lawyer, his wife, who had probably heard his forensic 
 eloquence, has been heard to say that he was equal to Mr. 
 Emmitt ; and frequently urged him to enter as an advocate 
 at the higher courts of Virginia and Ohio, instead of wast- 
 ing his time in obscurity, at his philosophical pursuits OR 
 the island. His library contained an ample supply of law 
 books. A list of thirty volumes, loaned to James Wilson, 
 a lawyer of Virginia, a few days before he left the island, is 
 now among his papers in the hands of his agent at Marietta. 
 
 Mr. Blennerhassett dressed in the old English style, with 
 scarlet or buff-colored small clothes, and silk stockings ; 
 shoes with silver buckles, and coat generally of blue broad- 
 cloth. When at homo, his dress was rather careless; often, 
 in warm weather, in his shirt-sleeves, without coat or 
 waist-coat ; and in winter, wore a thick woolen roundabout, 
 or short jacket. 
 
 In this quiet retreat, insulated and separated from the 
 noise and tumult of the surrounding world, amidst his 
 books, with the company of his accomplished wife and
 
 MARGARET BLENNERHASSETT. 501 
 
 children, he possessed all that seemed necessary for the 
 happiness of man; and yet he lacked one thing, without 
 which no man can be happy : a firm belief in the overruling 
 providence of God. Voltaire and Rosseau, whose works 
 he studied and admired, had poisoned his mind to the simple 
 truths of the gospel, and the Bible was a book which he 
 seldom or never consulted. At least this was the fact while 
 he lived on the island; whatever it might have been, after 
 misfortune and want had humbled and sorely tried him. 
 
 Mrs. Blennerhassett was more aspiring and ambitious ; 
 with a temperament in strong contrast to that of her hus- 
 band. Her maiden name was Margaret Agnew ; the daugh- 
 ter of Capt. Agnew, a brave officer in the British service, 
 and at one time the lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man. 
 Gen. Agnew, who fell at the battle of Germantown, in the 
 American Revolution, was her grandfather, and a monu- 
 ment was erected to his memory by his granddaughter, af- 
 ter her arrival in America. She was educated and brought 
 up by two maiden aunts, who took great care to instruct 
 her in all the useful arts of housewifery, laundry, pastry, 
 sewing, &c., which was of great use to her in after-life, when 
 at the head of a family. They were led to this, in part from 
 their own limited means, teaching them to be frugal, and the 
 need there is, for every woman who expects to marry, to be 
 acquainted with all the useful branches of housekeeping. 
 
 In person, Mrs. Blennerhassett was tall and commanding, 
 of the most perfect proportions, with dignified and graceful 
 manners, finely molded features, and very fair, transparent 
 complexion ; eyes dark blue, sparkling with life and intelli- 
 gence ; hair, a rich, deep brown, profuse and glossy, dressed 
 in the most elegant manner. When at her island-home, she 
 often wore a head-dress of colored silk stuff, folded very 
 full, something in the manner of an eastern turban, giving 
 a npble and attractive appearance to the whole person.
 
 502 MARGARET B L E N NE RH ASS E TT . 
 
 These were of various colors, but always composed of a sin- 
 gle one, either of pink, yellow, or white, adjusted in the most 
 becoming manner and nicest taste ; in which particular, few 
 women could equal her. White was a favorite color for 
 dress in the summer, and rich colored stuffs in the winter. 
 Her motions were all graceful, and greatly hightened by the 
 expression of her countenance. No one could be in her 
 company, even a few minutes, without being strongly at- 
 tracted by her fascinating manners. A very intelligent lady, 
 who was familiarly acquainted with her in her best days on 
 the island, and has since visited and seen the most elegant 
 and beautiful females in the courts of France and England, 
 as well as Washington city, says that she has beheld no one 
 who was equal to her in beauty of person, dignity of man- 
 ners, elegance of dress, and in short, all that is lovely and 
 finished in the female person, such as she was, when " queen 
 of the fairy isle." 
 
 When she rode on horseback, her dress was a fine, scarlet 
 broadcloth, ornamented with gold buttons ; a white beaver 
 hat, on which floated the graceful plumes of the ostrich, of 
 the same color. This was sometimes changed for blue or 
 yellow, with feathers to harmonize. She was a perfect 
 equestrian; always riding a very spirited horse, with rich 
 trappings, who seemed proud of his burthen ; and accom- 
 plished the ride to Marietta, of fourteen miles, in about two 
 hours ; dashing through and under the dark foliage of the 
 forest trees, which then covered the greater part of the dis- 
 tance, reminding one of the gay plumage and rapid flight 
 of some tropical bird, winging its way through the woods. 
 In these journeys she was generally accompanied by Ran- 
 som, a favorite black servant, who followed on horseback, 
 in a neat, showy dress, and had to apply both whip and 
 spur to keep in sight of his mistress. She sometimes came 
 to Marietta by water, in a light canoe, (the roads not being
 
 MARGARET BLENNEEH ASSE TT. 503 
 
 yet opened for wheel-carriages.) navigated by Moses, an- 
 other of the colored servants, who was the principal water- 
 man, and had charge of the boats for the transport of pas- 
 sengers from the island to the main. Her shopping visits 
 were made in this way, as she directed the purchase of gro- 
 ceries, &c., for the family use, as well as for the clothing. 
 She possessed great personal activity ; sometimes in fine 
 weather, choosing to walk that distance, instead of riding. 
 In addition to her feats in riding and walking, she could 
 vault, with the ease of a young fawn, over a five-rail fence, 
 with the mere aid of one hand placed on the top rail, and 
 was often seen to do so, when walking over the farm, and a 
 fence came in the way of her progress. It was performed 
 with such graceful movement, and so little effort, as to call 
 forth the wonder and admiration of the beholder. 
 
 She was passionately fond of dancing, and greatly ex- 
 celled in this healthful and charming exercise, moving 
 through the mazes and intricacies of the various figures, 
 with the grace and lightness of the " queen of the fairies." 
 Her tastes in this respect were often gratified in the numer- 
 ous balls and assemblies, given at that day in Marietta and 
 Belpre, as well as at her own house; where the loft}' hall 
 frequently resounded to the cheerful music and lively steps 
 of the dancers. 
 
 With all this relish for social amusements, Mrs. Blenner- 
 hassett was very domestic in her habits ; being not only ac- 
 complished in all the arts of housewifery, but was also an 
 excellent seamstress ; cutting out and making up with her 
 own hands much of the clothing of her husband, as well as 
 preparing that for the servants, which was then made by a 
 colored female. At that period, when tailors and mantua- 
 makers were rare in the western wilderness, this was an 
 accomplishment of real value. She being willing to prac- 
 tice these servile acts, when surrounded by all ihe wealth
 
 504 MARGARET BLE N NE RH AS SE TT. 
 
 she could desire, is one of the finest and most remarkable 
 traits in her character; indicating a noble mind, elevated 
 above the influence of that false pride so often seen to at- 
 tend the high-born and wealthy. 
 
 She was a very early riser ; and when not prevented by in- 
 disposition, visited the kitchen by early dawn, and often man- 
 ipulated the pastry and cakes to be served up on the table 
 for the day; when this service was completed, she laid aside 
 her working dress, and attired herself in the habiliments of 
 the lady of the mansion. At table she presided with grace 
 and dignity, and by her cheerful conversation and pleasant 
 address, set every one at ease about her, however rustic 
 their manners, or unaccustomed they might be to genteel 
 society. 
 
 Her mind was as highly cultivated as her person. She 
 was an accomplished Italian and French scholar ; and one 
 of the finest readers imaginable ; especially excelling in the 
 plays of Shakespeare, w r hich she rehearsed with all the taste 
 and spirit of a first-rate actor. In history and the English 
 classics, she was equally well read; and was often called 
 upon to decide a disputed point in literature, under discus- 
 sion by her husband and some learned guest. Her deci- 
 sions were generally satisfactory to both parties, because 
 founded on correct reasoning, and delivered in so gracious 
 a manner. Few women have ever lived, who combined so 
 many accomplishments and personal attractions. They 
 strongly impressed, not only intellectual and cultivated 
 minds, who could appreciate her merits, but also the unedu- 
 cated and lower classes. One of the young men, a farmer's 
 son, of Belpre, rented and cultivated a field of corn on the 
 island, near the avenue leading from the house to the river, 
 for the sole purpose of stealing a look at her beautiful per- 
 son, as she passed by, on her way to ride or walk, as she 
 was wont to do every pleasant day. Wilt's celebrated
 
 HARM AN BLENNEIUIASSETT. 505 
 
 panegyric on this lady was in no way undeserved; although 
 in appearance so much like romance. 
 
 Eight years had passed rapidly and happily away since 
 they took possession of their island home. Two children, 
 Harman and Dominic, had been added to their domestic 
 blessings, whose lively prattle and cheerful smiles served to 
 make life still more desirable. 
 
 Parties of the young people from Marietta, Belpre, and 
 Wood county, with occasional visits from more distant re- 
 gions, whom the far-famed beauty of this western Eden had 
 called to see and admire, often assembled at their hospita- 
 ble mansion. Social parties of the older and more sedate 
 portions of the community, were invited 1o visit them, and 
 spend several days and nights on the island; especially fe- 
 males of the families where they visited themselves : so that 
 they were as abundantly provided with social intercourse, 
 as if living on the main land. A large portion of their vis- 
 itors came by water, in row-boats, or canoes ; as the coun- 
 try was so new, and destitute of bridges across the numerous 
 creeks, that carriages were but little used. If travelers 
 came by land, it was on horseback. A gentleman of taste, 
 who visited the island in 1806, describes it as "a scene of 
 enchantment, a western Paradise, where beauty, wealth, 
 and happiness, had found a home." The wild condition 
 of the surrounding wilderness, and the rude log-cabins in 
 which the inhabitants generally lived, by their striking con- 
 trast, added greatly to the marvelous beauty of the im- 
 provements on this remote island. Steamboats were then 
 unknown, and traveling on the western rivers was slow and 
 painful. Each man or family provided their own vessel; 
 usually fitted for the temporary voyage in the rudest man- 
 ner. A journey of one hundred miles was a long one ; 
 more formidable than five hundred or a thousand at this 
 day. The settlement of Belpre was the only one from
 
 506 HARM AN BLENNEEHASSETT. 
 
 Marietta to Cincinnati, that showed marks of civilization, 
 in its well-built houses, nicely cultivated farms, and blooming 
 orchards ; indicating an intelligent and refined population, 
 who could appreciate the worth of their accomplished neigh- 
 bors. A gentleman who once lived in Marietta, and was a 
 great favorite in the family, from his many personal and 
 mental attractions, says, " I was but a boy when they left 
 the island, but I had been a favorite in the family for years, 
 and had passed many of my happiest days in their society. 
 My intimacy in the family of Blennerhassett, is like an 
 oasis in the desert of life. It is one of those 'green spots in 
 the memory's waste,' which death alone can obliterate ; but 
 the verdure of the recollection is destroyed by the knowl- 
 edge of their ruin and misfortunes." 
 
 In an evil hour this peaceful and happy residence was 
 entered by Aaron Burr, who, like Satan in the Eden of old, 
 visited this earthly Paradise, only to deceive and destroy. 
 "Like some lost, malignant spirit, going to and fro upon 
 the earth, to harass and sneer at poor humanity; was 
 always so courteous, so polite and decorous; so interesting, 
 nay, fascinating, when he strove to engage the attention, 
 that it was impossible to resist his influence. It was the at- 
 mosphere of his presence that poisoned all who came within 
 its reach." 
 
 In the spring of the year 1805, this intriguing and artful 
 man first visited the valley of the Ohio, his mind restless 
 and uneasy, a disappointed, vexed man, whose hands were 
 still red with the blood of the great and noble-minded Ham- 
 ilton. No ordinary occupation could satisfy the mind of 
 such a being; but some vast, difficult, and grand scheme of 
 ambition must be sought out, on which he could employ his 
 exuberant faculties. Filled with his future project of found- 
 ing a vast empire in the provinces of Mexico, with a portion 
 of the valley of the Mississippi, then, as he had ascertained,
 
 II ARM AN BLENNERIIASSETT. 507 
 
 ripe for revolution, (but the plan chiefly confined, at that 
 time, under a cloud of mystery, purporting to be a set- 
 tlement of the lands he had bargained for on the Washita 
 river.) " He descended the Ohio in a boat, landing as a 
 passing traveler, merely to see and admire the far-famed 
 improvements of the island. Mr. Blennerhassett, hearing 
 that a stranger was on his lawn, sent a servant to invite 
 him to the house. The wily serpent sent his card, with an 
 apology ; but Mr. Blennerhassett, with his usual hospitality, 
 walked out and insisted on his remaining a day or two. 
 He, however, made a visit of only a few hours ; long enough 
 to introduce the subject of a splendid land speculation on 
 the Red river, and to allude to the prospect of a war of the 
 United States with Spain, and the ease with which the Mexi- 
 cans might, with a little aid, throw off the foreign yoke 
 which had so long oppressed them. He then proceeded on 
 his way. 
 
 A large portion of the following winter was spent by Mr. 
 Blennerhassett and his lady, in Philadelphia and New York, 
 on a visit to his old friend Emmitt, where, it is probable, he 
 saw Burr again, and matured the plan for a participation in 
 the purchase of Baron Bastrop's lands on the Washita, as 
 he had addressed a letter to him on that subject before leav- 
 ing home, in December, wishing to become a partner in any 
 purchase he might make of western lands : also offering to 
 aid in the Mexican enterprise, as was afterward ascertained 
 in the trial at Richmond. 
 
 The next August we find Aaron Burr at Pittsburg, in 
 company with his accomplished daughter, Mrs. Theodosia 
 Alston, on his way down the Ohio river. He again visited 
 the island, with his daughter, where he spent several days ; 
 he, in the meantime, taking up his abode at Marietta, where 
 several of the inhabitants received him with marked atten- 
 tion; while others lookeo upon him with contempt and
 
 508 IIARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 abhorrence, as the murderer of Col. Hamilton; especially 
 the old officers, friends and associates of that excellent man. 
 It was in September, at the period of the annual militia 
 muster; the regiment was assembled on the commons, and 
 Col. Burr was invited by the commander to exercise the 
 men, which he did, putting them through several evolutions. 
 In the evening there was a splendid ball, at which he at- 
 tended, and was long after known as the Burr ball. 
 
 Early in this month the contract was made for boats to 
 be built on the Muskingum river, six miles above the mouth, 
 for the purpose, as was said, of conveying the provisions 
 and adventurers to the settlement in the new purchase. 
 There were fifteen large bateaux; ten of them forty fee.t 
 long, ten feet wide, and two and a half feet deep; five 
 others were fifty feet long, pointed at each end, to push, or 
 row up stream as well as down. One of these was consid- 
 erably larger, and fitted up with convenient rooms, a fire- 
 place, and glass windows; intended for the use of Mr. 
 Blennerhassett and family, as he proposed taking them with 
 him to the new settlement, and is an evidence he did not 
 then think of any hostile act against the United States. To 
 these was added a keel-boat, sixty feet long, for the 
 transport of provisions. A contract for bacon, pork, flour, 
 whisky, &c., was made, to the amount of two thousand dol- 
 lars, and a bill drawn on Mr. Ogden, of New York, for the 
 payment. The boats cost about the same sum, for which 
 Mr. Blennerhassett was responsible. One main article of 
 the stores was kiln-dried, or parched corn, ground into meal ; 
 which is another evidence that the men engaged in the ex- 
 pedition, were to march a long distance by land, and carry 
 this parched meal on their backs ; of which, a pint mixet* 
 with a little water, is a day's ration, as practiced by the 
 western Indians. Several hundred barrels of this article 
 were prepared; some of which was raised on the island and
 
 HARMAN BLENNEKHASSETT. 509 
 
 parched in a kiln built for that purpose. The boats were to 
 be ready by the 9th of December; rather a late period, on 
 account of ice, which usually forms in this month; but they 
 were tardy in making the contract. 
 
 Col. Burr remained in the vicinity three or four weeks, 
 making a journey to Chillicothe. His son-in-law, Alston, 
 came out and joined his wife at the island, and with her 
 and Mr. Blennerhassett, who accompanied them, proceeded 
 on to Lexington, Ky., early in October. Many young men 
 in the vicinity of Marietta, Belpre, and various other points 
 on the river, were engaged to join in the expedition; of which 
 Col. Burr was the leader. They were told that no injury 
 was intended to the United States ; that the President was 
 aware of the expedition and approved it; which was to 
 make a settlement on the tract of land purchased by the 
 leaders in the Baron Bastrop grant, and in the event of a 
 war breaking out between this country and Spain, which 
 had for some time been expected, they were to join with the 
 troops under Gen. Wilkinson, and march into the Mexican 
 provinces, whose inhabitants had long been ready for revolt, 
 and prepared to unite with them. This was no doubt the 
 truth, as believed by Mr. Blennerhassett, and those engaged 
 under him, whatever may have been the ulterior views of 
 Burr. Not one of all that number enlisted on the Ohio, 
 would have hearkened for a moment, to a separation of the 
 western from the eastern states ; and when the act of the 
 Ohio Legislature was passed, to suppress all armed assem- 
 blages, and take possession of boats with arms and pro- 
 visions, followed by the proclamation of the President, they, 
 almost to a man, refused to embark further in the enterprise. 
 
 The bateaux were calculated to carry about five hundred 
 men; and probably a large portion of that number had been 
 engaged, expecting to receive one hundred acres of land for 
 each private, and more for officers. As to their being required
 
 510 II A EM AN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 to furnish themselves with a good rifle and blanket, it was 
 of itself no evidence of hostility; as it is customary, in 
 making all new settlements, for men to be armed ; as was 
 the case with the forty-eight pioneers of the Ohio Company 
 settlers, in 1788. 
 
 In the meantime, a rumor had gone abroad, that Col. Burr 
 and his associates were plotting treason on the western wa- 
 ters, and assembling an army to take possession of New 
 Orleans, rob the banks, seize the artillery, and set up a sep- 
 arate government west of the Alleghany mountains, of which 
 he was to be the chief. From the evidence on the trial at 
 Richmond, and other sources, it appears that Mr. Jefferson 
 was acquainted with the plan of invading Mexico, in the 
 event of a war with Spain, and approved it ; so that Burr 
 had some ground for saying that the government favored 
 the project. But when no war took place, and the parties 
 had become deeply involved in building boats, collecting 
 provisions, and levying men, to which the baseness and 
 treachery of Wilkinson directly contributed, it was thought 
 a fitting time to punish the arch-enemy of the President, 
 who, by his chicanery, had well nigh ousted him from the 
 chair of state, and had since taken all opportunities to vil- 
 ify and abuse him. Another evidence that the government 
 was supposed to favor the enterprise, is the fact, that nearly 
 all its abettors and supporters in the west, until the procla,- 
 mation appeared, were of the party called Republicans, or 
 friends of Mr. Jefferson, and was opposed by the Federal- 
 ists, who hated and despised Burr and all in which he was 
 engaged, as, from the character of the man, they thought it 
 boded nothing good. 
 
 By the last of October, rumor, with her thousand tongues, 
 aided by hundreds of newspapers, had filled the minds of 
 the people with strange alarms of coming danger, to which 
 the mystery which overshadowed the actual object of these
 
 II ARM AN BLENNEKIIASSETT. 511 
 
 preparations greatly adt'ed, and many threats were thrown 
 out, of personal violence to Mr. Blennerhassett and Col. 
 Burr. Alarmed at these rumors of coming danger, Mrs. 
 Blennerhaseett dispatched Peter Taylor to Kentucky, with a 
 letter requesting her husband immediately to return; where 
 he had gone on a visit with Mr. Alston. The history of thia 
 journey, as related by Peter in his evidence on the trial, is 
 an amusing sketch of simplicity and truth. He was the 
 gardener on the island for several years, and was a single- 
 hearted, honest Englishman, who, after his employer's ruin, 
 purchased a farm at Waterfofd, in Washington county 
 Ohio, where he lived many years, much respected for his 
 industry and integrity. 
 
 During the month of September, and forepart of Octo- 
 ber, there appeared a series of articles, four or five in num- 
 ber, published in the Marietta Gazette, over the signature 
 of Querist, in which the writer advocated a separation of 
 the western from the eastern states, setting forth the rea- 
 sons for, and advantages of, such a division. These were 
 answered in a series of numbers, condemning the project, 
 over the signature of Regulus. They were well-written, 
 spirited articles. The former were probably written by 
 Burr; and the author of the last has remained concealed. 
 The result, however, was unfavorable to the project, and 
 roused the public mind in opposition both to the man and 
 the cause he had espoused. Some of the articles by Reg- 
 ulns were much applauded by the editor of the Aurora, a 
 leading government paper of that day, who considered the 
 writer a very able and patriotic man. 
 
 The last of November, Mr. Jefferson sent out John Gra- 
 ham, a clerk in one of the public offices, as a spy, or agent, 
 to watch the motions of the conspirators in the vicinity of 
 the island, and to ask the aid of the governor of Ohio in 
 suppressing the insurrection, by seizing on the boats and
 
 512 II A KM AN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 preparations making on the Muskingum. While at Mari- 
 etta, Mr. Blennerhassett called on the agent once or twice, 
 talking freely with him on the objects of the expedition, and 
 showed him a letter he had recently received from Col. 
 Burr, in relation to the settlement on the Washita, in which 
 he says that the project of invading Mexico was abandoned, 
 as the difficulties between the United States and Spain were 
 adjusted. He also mentioned his arrest and trial before the 
 Federal Court, on charge of "treasonable practices," and 
 "a design to attack the Spanish dominions, and thereby en- 
 danger the peace of the United States ; " of which he was 
 acquitted. But all this would not satisfy Mr. Graham. He 
 visited the governor at Chillicothe, laid before him the sur- 
 mises of Mr. Jefferson ; and the Legislature, then in session, 
 on the second day of December, with closed doors, passed 
 an act authorizing the governor to call out the militia, on 
 his warrant to any sheriff or militia officer, with power to 
 arrest boats on the Ohio river, or men, supposed to be en- 
 gaged in this expedition ; and might be held to bail, in the 
 sum of fifty thousand dollars, or imprisoned, and the boats 
 confiscated. One thousand dollars were placed at the dis- 
 posal of the governor, to carry out the law. 
 
 Under this act a company of militia was called out, with 
 orders to capture and detain the boats and provisions on 
 the Muskingum, with all others descending the Ohio, under 
 suspicious circumstances. They were placed under the 
 command of Capt. Timothy Buell. A six-pounder was 
 planted in battery on the bank of the Ohio, in Marietta, and 
 every descending boat examined. Regular sentries and 
 guards were posted for several weeks, until the river was 
 closed with ice, and all navigation ceased. Many amusing 
 jokes were played off on the military during this campaign, 
 such as setting an empty tar-barrel on fire, and placing it 
 on an old boat, or a raft of logs, to float by on some dark.
 
 II A KM AN BLENNERHASSETT. 513 
 
 rainy night. The sentries, after hailing, and receiving no 
 answer, lired several phots to enforce their order; but find- 
 ing the supposed boat escaping, sent out a file of men to 
 board and take possession, who, approaching in great 
 wrath, were still more vexed to find it all a hoax. 
 
 On the Oth of December, just before the order of the 
 governor arrived, Comfort Tyler, a gentleman from the .state 
 of Ne*.v York, landed at the. island with four boats and 
 about thirty men, fitted out at the towns above, on the Ohio. 
 On the Oth, a party of young men from Belprc went up the 
 Muskingum to assist in navigating the bateaux and pro- 
 visions of parched meal from that place to the island. But 
 the militia guard received notice of their movements, and 
 waylaying the river a little above the town, took possession 
 of them all but one, which the superior management of the 
 young men from Belpre enabled them to bring by all the 
 guards, in the darkness of the night, and reach the island 
 in safety. Had they all escaped, they would have been of 
 little use, as the young men engaged had generally given 
 up the enterprise, on the news of the President's proclama- 
 tion, and the act of the Ohio Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Blennerhassett was at Marietta on the 6th of Decem- 
 ber, expecting to receive the boats ; but they were not quite 
 ready for delivery. On that day he heard of the act of the 
 assembly, and returned to the island, half resolved to 
 abandon the cause; but the arrival, that night, of Tyler. 
 and the remonstrances of his wife, who had entered with 
 great spirit into the enterprise, prevented him. Had he 
 listened to the dictates of his own mind, and the sugges- 
 tions of prudence, it would have saved him years of mis- 
 fortune and final ruin. 
 
 In the course of the day of the 9th of December, he 
 had notice that the Wood county militia had volunteered 
 
 their services, and would that night make an attack on 
 33
 
 514 HARMAN BLENSTERIIASSETT. 
 
 the island, arrest him, with the boats and men there as- 
 sembled, and perhaps burn his house. This accelerated 
 their departure, which took place on the following night. 
 They had learned that the river was watched at several 
 points below, and serious apprehensions felt for their future 
 safety; although the resolute young men on board, well 
 armed with their rifles, would not have been captured 
 by any moderate force. The Ohio river, from the Little to 
 the Big Kenawha, is very crooked and tortuous; making 
 the distance by water nearly double that by land. 
 
 Col. Phelps, the commander of the Wood county volun- 
 teers, took possession of the island the following morning, 
 and finding the objects of his search gone, determined not 
 to be foiled, and started immediately on horseback across 
 the country, for Point Pleasant, a village at the mouth of 
 the Big Kenawha, and arrived there several hours before 
 the boats. He directly mustered a party of men, to watch 
 the river all night and arrest the fugitives. It being quite 
 cold, with some ice in the stream, large fires were kindled, 
 for the double purpose of warming the guard and more 
 easily discovering the boats. Just before daylight, the men 
 being well filled with whisky, to keep out the cold, became 
 drowsy with their long watch, and all lay down by the fire. 
 During their short sleep, the four boats seeing the fires, and 
 aware of their object, floated quietly by, without any noise, 
 and were out of sight before the guard awakened. They 
 thus escaped this well laid plan for their capture, arriving 
 at the mouth of the Cumberland, the place of rendezvous, 
 unmolested. 
 
 On the 13th, Mr. Morgan Nevill and Mr. Robinson, with 
 a party of fourteen young men, arrived and landed at the 
 island. They were immediately arrested by the militia, be- 
 fore the return of Col. Phelps. A very amusing account of 
 this adventure is given in the "Token," an annual of 1836,
 
 HARM AN BLENNERII ASS ETT. 515 
 
 written by Mr. Nevill, in which he describes their trial be- 
 fore Justices Wolf and Kincheloc, as aiders and abettors in 
 the treason of Burr and Blennerhassett. So far was the 
 spirit of lawless arrest carried, that one or two persons in 
 Belpre, were taken at night from their beds, and hurried 
 over on to the island for trial, without any authority of law. 
 This was a few days before the celebrated move in the Sen- 
 ate of the United States, for the suspension of the act of 
 habeas corpus, so alarmed had they become ; but was pre- 
 vented by the more considerate negative of the House of 
 Representatives After a detention of three days, the young 
 men were discharged, for the want of proof. 
 
 Mrs. Blennerhassett, who had been left at the island, to 
 look after the household goods, and follow her husband at 
 a more convenient period, was absent at Marietta, when 
 they landed, for the purpose of procuring one of the large 
 boats that was fitted up for her use, and had been arrested 
 at Marietta; but was unsuccessful, and returned the evening 
 after the trial. 
 
 The conduct of the militia, in the absence of their com- 
 mander, was brutal and outrageous ; taking possession of 
 the house and the family stores in the cellar, without any 
 authority, as their orders only extended to the arrest of Mr. 
 Bleunerhassett and the boats. They tore up and burnt the 
 fences for their watch-fires, and forced the black servants to 
 cook for them, or be imprisoned. One of them discharged 
 his rifle through the ceiling of the large hall, the bullet pass- 
 ing tip through the chamber, near where Mrs. Blennerhassett 
 and the children were sitting. The man said it was acci- 
 dental : but being half-drunk, and made brutal by the whisky 
 they drank, they little knew or cared for their actions. 
 
 On the 17th of December, with the aid of the young men, 
 and the kind assistance of Mr. A. W. Putnam, of Belpre, 
 one of their neighbors and a hisrhlv esteemed friend, she.
 
 516 HARM AN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 with her children, was enabled to depart, taking with her a 
 part of the furniture, and some of her husband's choice 
 books. Mr. Putnam also furnished her with provisions for 
 the voyage, her own being destroyed by the militia, in whose 
 rude hands she was forced to leave her beautiful island- 
 home, which she was destined never again to visit. They 
 kept possession for several days after her departure, living 
 at free quarters, destroying the fences, and letting in the 
 cattle, which tramped down and ruined the beautiful shrub- 
 bery of the garden, barking and destroying the nice or- 
 chards of fruit trees, just coming into bearing; and this, 
 too, was done by men, on many of whom Mr. Blennerhas- 
 sett had bestowed numerous benevolent acts. It is due 1o 
 the commander, Col. Phelps, to say that these excesses were 
 mostly perpetrated in his absence, and that on his return 
 he did all he could to suppress them, and treated Mrs. Blen- 
 nerhassett with respect and kindness. This spot, which a 
 short time before was the abode of peace and happiness, 
 adorned with all that could embellish or beautify its ap- 
 pearance, was now a scene of ruin, resembling the ravages 
 of a hostile and savage foe, rather than the visitation of 
 the civil law. 
 
 Before leaving the island, Mr. Blennerhassett, not expecting 
 to return, had rented it to Col. Gushing, one of his worthy 
 Belpre friends, with all the stock of cattle, crops, &c. He 
 did all in his power to preserve what was left, and prevent 
 further waste. Col. Gushing kept possession of the island 
 one or two years, when it was taken out of his hands by 
 the creditors, and rented to a man who raised a large crop 
 of hemp. The porticoes and offices were stowed full of 
 this combustible article; when the black servants, during 
 one of their Christmas gambols, in 1611, accidentally set it 
 on fire, and the whole mansion was consumed. The furni- 
 ture and library, a portion of which only was removed with
 
 HARM AN BLENNERIIASSETT. f>17 
 
 the family, were attached, and sold at auction at a great 
 sacrifice, to discharge some of the bills indorsed by him for 
 Aaron Burr, a few months after his departure. 
 
 With her two little sons, Ilarman and Dominic, the one 
 six, and the other about eight years old, she pursued her 
 way down the Ohio to join her husband. The young men, 
 her companions, afforded every aid in their power to make her 
 situation comfortable ; but the severity of the weather, the 
 floating ice in the river, and the unfinished state of her 
 cabin, hastily prepared for her reception, made the voyage 
 a very painful one. Late in December she passed the 
 mouth of the Cumberland, where she had hoped to find her 
 husband; but the flotilla had proceeded out of the Ohio 
 into the rapid waters of the Mississippi, and landed at the 
 mouth of the Bayou Piere, in the Mississippi territory. The 
 Ohio was frozen over soon after the boat in which she was 
 embarked left it, and was not again navigable until the last 
 of February, the winter being one of great severity. Early 
 in January she joined the boats of Col. Burr, a few miles 
 above Natchez, and was again restored, with her two little 
 boys, to her husband, who received them with joy and grat- 
 itude from the hands of their gallant conductors. 
 
 The whole country being roused from Pittsburg to New 
 Orleans, and the hue and cry raised on all sides to arrest 
 the traitors, Col. Burr abandoned the expedition as hopeless ; 
 and assembling his followers, now about one hundred and 
 thirty in number, made them a spirited speech, thanked 
 them for their faithful adherence, amidst so much opposi- 
 tion, and closed by saying that unforeseen circumstances had 
 occurred, which frustrated his plans, and the expedition was 
 at an end. All were now left, the distance of one thousand 
 or fifteen hundred miles from their homes, to shift for them- 
 selves. Several of the young men from Belpre, six or 
 eight in number, returned in the course of the spring.
 
 518 HARM AN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 Two brothers, Charles and John Dana, remained and set- 
 tled near the Walnut hills ; purchased lands, and entered 
 into the cultivation of cotton. 
 
 Some time in January, Col. Burr and Mr. Blennerhassett 
 were arrested, and brought before the United States Court, 
 at Xatchez, on a charge of treason, and recognized to ap- 
 pear in February. Blennerhassett did appear, and was dis- 
 charged ni chief; no proof appearing to convict him of any 
 treasonable design. Burr did not choose to appear; but 
 soon after the recognizance, he requested John Dana, with 
 two others, to take him in a skiff or row-boat, to a point 
 about twenty miles above Bayou Pierre, and land him in 
 the night; intending to escape across the country by land. 
 The better to conceal his person from detection, before 
 starting he exchanged his nice suit of broadcloth clothes 
 and beaver hat with Mr. Dana, for his coarse boatman's 
 dress, and old slouched white wool hat, which would effec- 
 tually disguise him from recognition by his intimate ac- 
 quaintance. He proceeded safely for some days ; but was 
 finally arrested on the Tombigbee river, and with many 
 taunts and insults taken on to Richmond, where he arrived 
 the 26th of March, 1807. No bill was found by the grand 
 jury, until the 25th of June, when he was indicted on two 
 bills ; one for treason and the other for a misdemeanor. 
 After a long and tedious trial, he was acquitted, on a verdict 
 of " not guilty ." 
 
 Mr. Blennerhassett supposing himself discharged from 
 further annoyance, some time in June started on a journey 
 to visit the island, and examine into the condition of his 
 property ; which, from various letters, he was told was going 
 fast to waste and destruction. Passing through Lexington, 
 Ky., where he had many friends and acquaintances, he was 
 again arrested, on a charge of treason, and for some days 
 confined in the jail; as an indictment had been found
 
 II A II M A N B L E N N E R 1 1 A S S E T T . f> 1 
 
 against him, us well as Burr, at Richmond. lie employed 
 Henry Clay as his counsel; who expressed deep indignation 
 at the illegality of his client's arrest. " He had been dis- 
 charged already in chief, and why should he be again ar- 
 rested on the same supposed offense ?" But the govern- 
 ment was unrelenting, and nothing but the conviction of 
 the offender could appease their wrath. He was taken, with 
 much ceremony and parade of the law, to Richmond, where 
 he again met Burr, the originator of all his troubles and 
 misfortunes. The magnanimity of the man is well shown, 
 in that he never recriminated or accused his destroyer with 
 deceiving him, inasmuch as lie had entered voluntarily into 
 his plans, and therefore did not choose to lay his troubles 
 on the shoulders of another; although it is apparent, that 
 if he had never seen Aaron Burr, he would have escaped 
 this sudden ruin to his prosperity and happiness. The fol- 
 lowing letter is from the pen of Mrs. Blennerhassett, ad- 
 dressed to her husband at Lexington, and displays her noble 
 and elevated mind, as well as her deep conjugal affection. 
 It is copied from the sketch of Mr. Blennerhassett, by AVil- 
 liam Wallace, published in vol. ii, of the American Review, 
 1845. 
 
 "NATCHEZ, August 3d, 1807. 
 
 MY DEAREST LOVE : After having experienced the greatest 
 disappointment in not hearing from you for two mails, I at 
 length heard of your arrest; which afflicts and mortifies me, 
 because it was an arrest. I think that had you of your own 
 accord gone to Richmond and solicited a trial, it would have 
 accorded better with your pride, and you would have es- 
 caped the imhappincss of missing my letters, which 1 wrote 
 every week to Marietta. Cod knows what you may feel and 
 suffer on our accounts, before this reaches, to inform you of 
 our health, and welfare in every particular; and knowing 
 this, 1 trust and feel your mind will rise superior to every
 
 520 HARMAN BLENNEHHASSETT. 
 
 inconvenience that your present situation may subject you to ; 
 despising, as I do, the paltry malice of the upstart agents of 
 government. Let no solicitude whatever for us, damp your 
 spirits. We have many friends here, who do the utmost in 
 their power to counteract any disagreeable sensation occa- 
 sioned me by your absence. I shall live in the hope of hear- 
 ing from you by the next mail; and entreat you, by all that 
 is dear to us, not to let any disagreeable feelings on account 
 of our separation, enervate your mind at this time. Re- 
 member that all here will read with great interest, anything 
 concerning you ; but still do not trust too much to yourself; 
 consider your want of practice at the bar, and don't spare 
 the fee of a lawyer. Apprise Col. Burr of my warmest ac- 
 knowledgments for his own and Mrs. Alston's kind remem- 
 brance, and tell him to assure her she has inspired me with 
 a warmth of attachment which can never diminish. I wish 
 him to urge her to write to me. God bless you, prays your 
 
 M. BLENXERIIASSETT." 
 
 On Burr's acquittal, Mr. Blennerhassett was never brought 
 to trial, but discharged from the indictment for treason, and 
 bound over in the sum of three thousand dollars, to appear 
 at Chillicothe, Ohio, on a misdemeanor; "for that whereas 
 he prepared an armed force, whose destination was the 
 Spanish territory." He did not appear, nor was he ever 
 called upon again; and thus ended this treasonable farce, 
 which had kept the whole of the United States in a ferment 
 for more than a year, and, like "the mountain in labor, at 
 last brought forth a mouse." 
 
 After the trial at Richmond, in 1807, he returned to 
 Natchez, where he staid about a year, and then bought, 
 with the remains of his fortune, a plantation, of one 
 thousand acres, in Claiborne county, Mi^., seven miles 
 from Gibson Port, at a place called St. Catharine's, and 
 cultivated it with a small stock of slaves. While here he
 
 II A R M A N B L E N N K It II A S S K T T . 52 1 
 
 continued his literary pursuits, leaving Mrs. Blennerhassett 
 to superintend both in doors and out. The embargo destroyed 
 all commerce, and the war which soon followed put a stop 
 to the sale of cotton, and blasted his hopes of reinstating 
 his fortune from that source. In a letter to his attorney, at 
 Marietta, in 1808, wherein he proposes the sale of lib? island 
 for slaves, he says, that with thirty hands on his. plantation, 
 he could in five years clear sixty thousand dollars. Cotton 
 was then in demand, and brought a high price. 
 
 His lady, with her characteristic energy, rose at early 
 dawn, mounted her horse and rode over the grounds, exam- 
 ining each field, and giving directions to the overseer as to 
 the work to be done that day, or any alteration to be made 
 in the plans, which circumstances required. They here 
 had the society of a few choice friends in Xatche/, and 
 among the neighboring planters. On this plantation they 
 passed ten years ; in which time one son and daughter were 
 added to the number of their children. The daughter died 
 when young. Retaining still a fond recollection of his Ma- 
 rietta and Belprc friends, he, in the year 1818, sent one of 
 his sons to the college in Athens, Ohio, under the care of 
 W. P. Putnam, the son of his old friend, A. W. Putnam. 
 
 Here he remained a year, at the end of which time, find- 
 ing his fortune still decreasing, and means much cramped 
 by his indorsements for Col. Burr, amounting to thirty thou- 
 sand dollars, ten thousand of which were repaid by Mr. 
 Alston, he in 1810 sold his plantation, and moved his family 
 to Montreal ; the governor of the province, an old friend, 
 having given him hopes to expect a post on the bench, for 
 which he was well qualified. Misfortune having marked 
 him for her own, soon after his arrival his friend was re- 
 moved from office, and his expectations frustrated. 
 
 lie remained here until the year ISO^, when he removed 
 his family to England, under an assurance of a post from
 
 522 HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 the government, which was never realized, and resided in 
 the town of Bath, with a maiden sister. 
 
 It was at Montreal, with the prospects of poverty and 
 blighted hopes thickening around her, that she wrote those 
 beautiful and touching lines describing " The Island," and 
 her once happy home, that may well be called her " La- 
 ment," and are given below, as well worthy of preservation. 
 
 THE DESERTED ISLE. 
 
 Like mournful echo from the silent tomb, 
 
 That pines away upon the midnight air, 
 ^ hilst the pale moon breaks out with fitful gloom, 
 
 Pond memory turns with sad, but welcome care, 
 
 To scenes of desolation and despair; 
 Once bright with all that beauty could bestow, 
 That peace could shed, or youthful fancy know. 
 
 To thee, fair isle, reverts the pleasing dream ; 
 
 Again thou risest in thy green attire ; 
 Fresh, as at first, thy blooming graces seem; 
 
 Thy groves, thy fields, their wonted sweets respire ; 
 
 Again thou'rt all my heart could e'er desire. 
 why, dear isle, art thou not still my own ? 
 Thy charms could then for all my griefs atoue. 
 
 The stranger that descends Ohio's stream, 
 
 Charm' d with the beauteous prospects that arise, 
 
 Marks the soft isles, that 'ueath the glistening beam, 
 Dance in the wave, and mingle with the skies; 
 Sees also one. that now in ruin lies, 
 
 Which erst, like fairy queen, towered o'er the rest, 
 
 In every native charm by culture dress'd. 
 
 There rose the seat where once, in pride of life, 
 My eye could mark the queen of rivers flow ; 
 
 In summer's calmness, or in winter's strife, 
 
 Svroln with the rains, or baffling with the snow ; 
 Never again my heart such joy shall know. 
 
 Havoc, and ruin, and rampant war, have past 
 
 Over that isle with their destroying blast.
 
 II A II M A N B L E N N E II 1 1 A S S E T T . 523 
 
 The black'niiig fire has swept throughout her halls, 
 The winds fly whistling through tlicin, and the wave 
 
 No more in spring-floods o'er the sand-hcach crawls; 
 But furious drowns in one o'crwhelining grave, 
 Thy hallowed haunts it watered as a slave. 
 
 Drive on, destructive flood ! and ne'er again 
 
 On that devoted Lie let man remain. 
 
 For many blissful moments there I've known; 
 
 Too many hopes have there met their decay, 
 Too many feelings now forever gone, 
 
 To wi;li that thou woukUt e'er again dUplay 
 
 The joyful coloring of thy prime array. 
 Buried with thee, let them remain a blot; 
 \Vith thce, their sweets, their bitterness forgot. 
 
 And 0, that I could wholly wipe away 
 
 The memory of the ills that work'd thy fall : 
 The memory of that all eventful day, 
 
 When I ret urn' (1 and found my own fair hall 
 
 Held by the infuriate populace in thrall, 
 My own fireside blockaded by a baud, 
 That once found food and shelter at my hand. 
 
 My children, (0, a mother's pangs forbear, 
 
 Xor strike again that arrow through my sonl,) 
 Clasping the ruffians in suppliant prayer, 
 
 To free their mother from unjust control ; 
 
 "V\ hile with false crimes, and imprecations foul, 
 The wretches, vilest refuse of the earth, 
 Mock jurisdiction held, around my hearth. 
 
 Sweet i?\c ! mcthiuks I sec thy bosom torn, 
 
 Again behold the ruthless rabble throng, 
 That wrought destruction, taste must ever mourn. 
 
 Alas. I see thec now, shall see thee long, 
 
 Yet ne'er shall bitter feelings urge the wrong ; 
 That to a mob would give the censure due, 
 To those (hat arm'd the plunder-greedy crew.
 
 524 HARMAN BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 To blast the beauty of mild nature's reign, 
 
 The European stranger, who would fling 
 
 O'er tangled woods refinement's polishing, 
 May find (expended every plan of taste,) 
 His work by ruffians rendered doubly waste. 
 
 In addition to the expectation of office in England, he 
 also had hopes of recovering an interest he held in an 
 estate in Ireland. Both of these, however, failed. He ul- 
 timately resided in the island of Guernsey, where he died 
 in 1831, aged sixty-three years. 
 
 Eleven years after his death, in 1842, when his widow and 
 children were reduced to extreme want, she returned to ]\ T ew 
 York with one of her sons, both of them in very poor health, 
 with the purpose of petitioning Congress for remuneration 
 in the destruction of the property on the island, by the 
 Wood county militia, in December, 1806. The petition is 
 couched in very feeling and appropriate language, in which 
 she sets forth the outrages offered to herself and family, 
 with the damages done to the house and property on the 
 island. 
 
 " Your memorialist does not desire to exaggerate the 
 conduct of the said armed men, or the injuries done by 
 them; but she can truly say, that before their visit the resi- 
 dence of her family had been noted for its elegance and 
 high state of improvement, and that they left it in a state 
 of comparative ruin and waste; and as instances of the 
 mischievous and destructive spirit which appeared to govern 
 them, she would mention that while they occupied as a 
 guard-room one of the best apartments in the house, (the 
 building of which had cost nearly forty thousand dollars,) a 
 musket or rifle ball was deliberately fired into the ceiling, 
 by which it was much defaced and injured ; and that they 
 wantonly destroyed many pieces of valuable furniture. 
 She would also state, that, being apparently under no
 
 II ARM AN BLENNERIIASSETT. 525 
 
 subordination, they indulged in continual drunkenness and 
 riot, offering many indignities to your memorialist, and 
 treating her domestics with violence. 
 
 Your memorialist further represents, that these outrages 
 were committed upon an unoffending and defenseless family 
 in the absence of their natural protector; your memorial- 
 ist's husband being then away from his home ; and that in 
 answer to such remonstrances as she ventured to make 
 against the consumption, waste, and destruction of his pro- 
 perty, she was told by those who assumed to have the com- 
 mand, that they held the property for the United States, by 
 order of the President, and were privileged to use it, and 
 should use it, as they pleased. It is with pain that your 
 memorialist reverts to events, which, in their consequences, 
 have reduced a once happy family from affluence and com- 
 fort, to comparative want and wretchedness ; which blighted 
 the prospects of her children, and made herself, in the de- 
 cline of life, a wanderer on the face of the earth." 
 
 This memorial was directed to the care of Henry Clay, 
 then in the Senate of the United States, enveloped in a let- 
 ter from R. Emmitt, a son of the celebrated man of that 
 name. He says, " She is now in this city, residing in very 
 humble circumstances, bestowing her cares upon a son, 
 who, by long poverty and sickness, is reduced to utter im- 
 becility, both of mind and body, unable to assist her, or pro- 
 vide for his own wants. In her present destitute situation, 
 the smallest amount of relief would be thankfully received 
 by her. Her condition is one of absolute u-ant, and she has 
 but a short time left to enjoy any better fortune in this 
 world." 
 
 Mr. Clay presented the memorial to the Senate, with some 
 very feeling and appropriate remarks ; having been formerly 
 well acquainted with the family, and employed as his attor- 
 ney, when arrested at Lexington, Ky. It was taken up, and
 
 526 MARGARET BLE NNE RH AS SETT. 
 
 referred to the committee of claims ; of which the Hon. 
 William Wooclbridge was chairman. His report on the 
 memorial is a very able and feeling document, in which he 
 advocates the claim as just, and one which ought to be al- 
 lowed, notwithstanding it had now been thirty-six years since 
 the events transpired. He says, " Not to do so, would be 
 unworthy of any wise or just nation, that is disposed to re- 
 spect, most of all, its own honor." This report sets forth 
 all the circumstances attending the " Burr treason," as de- 
 scribed in the foregoing biography. The documents which 
 accompany the report are very interesting, especially the 
 statement of Morgan Neville and William Robinson, jr., 
 two of the young men who were arrested and tried on the 
 island, as partizans of Burr, in December, 1806, and written 
 for the future use of Mr. Blennerhassett, a few days after 
 these events transpired. It is given as a correct history of 
 the outrages on the island. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MESSRS. NEVILLE AND ROBINSON, AND AFFIDAVIT 
 OF MARGARET BLENNERHASSETT : 
 
 "On the 13th day of December, 1806, the boat in which 
 we were, was driven ashore, by ice and wind, on Backus's 
 island, about one mile below Mr. Blennerhassett's house ; 
 we landed in the forenoon, and the wind continuing unfa- 
 vorable, did not afford us an opportunity of putting off until 
 after three o'clock in the evening, at which time we were 
 attacked by about twenty-five men, well armed, who rushed 
 upon us suddenly, and we, not being in a situation to resist 
 the fury of a mob, surrendered ; a strong guard was placed 
 in the boat, to prevent, we presume, those persons of our 
 party who remained in the boat, from going off with her, 
 while we were taken to the house of Mr. Blennerhassett. 
 On our arrival at the house we found it filled with militia; 
 another party of them were engaged in making fires, (around 
 the house,) of rails dragged from the fences of Mr. Blenner-
 
 MARGARET BLE N NE II II A S S ETT. 527 
 
 hassctt. At this time Mrs. Blcnncrhassett was from home. 
 When she returned, (about an hour after,) she remonstrated 
 against this outrage on the property, but without effect; the 
 officers declared that while they were on island, the pro- 
 perty absolutely belonged to them. We were informed, by 
 themselves, that their force consisted of forty men the first 
 night; and on the third day it was increased to eighty. 
 The officers were constantly issuing the whisky and meat, 
 which had been laid up for the use of the family ; and when- 
 ever any complaint was made by the friends of Mrs. 131en- 
 nerhassett, they invariably asserted that everything on the 
 farm was their own property. There appeared to us to be 
 no kind of subordination among the men ; the large room 
 they occupied on the first floor, presented a continued scene 
 of riot aiad drunkenness ; the furniture appeared ruined by 
 the bayonets, and one of the men fired his gun against the 
 ceiling; the ball made a large hole, which completely spoiled 
 the beauty of the room. They insisted that the servants 
 should wait upon them, before attending to their mistress ; 
 when this was refused, they seized upon the kitchen, and 
 drove the negroes into the wash-house. We were detained 
 from Saturday evening until Tuesday morning; during all 
 which time there were never less than thirty, and frequently 
 from seventy to eighty men living in this riotous manner 
 entirely on the provisions of Mrs. Blennerhassett. When 
 we left the island, a cornfield near the house, in which the 
 corn was still remaining, was filled with cattle, the fences 
 having been pulled down to make fires. This we pledge 
 ourselves to be a true statement of these transactions, as 
 impression was made on us at the time. 
 
 MORGAN XEVILLE, 
 WM. ROBINSON, JR." 
 
 Charles Fenton Mercer, Esq., also, in September, 1807, 
 soon after the trial at Richmond, made a full statement of
 
 52S MARGARET BLENNERHASSETT. 
 
 his knowledge of the events on which the accusation against 
 Mr. Blennerhassett was founded ; as they transpired between 
 the 20th of September and 6th of December, 1806, having 
 been himself at the island in November; with his opinion 
 of the objects of the expedition, in which he fully clears 
 Mr. Blennerhassett of any designs against the peace and 
 quiet of the United States. Mr. D. Woodbridge, of Mari- 
 etta, in a letter to the chairman, of the 2d of April, 1842, 
 makes a statement of the loss of property, from the attach- 
 ment of the government, and the riotous conduct of the 
 Wood county volunteers on the island. 
 
 In August, 1842, while this subject was under consider- 
 ation, news arrived of the death of Mrs. Blennerhassett at 
 New York ; and nothing more was done in the matter. 
 She, who had lived in wealth and splendor, and^imparted 
 charity to hundreds of the poor, was indebted -to others for 
 a grave. She died in the most destitute condition ; and her 
 last days passed under the soothing care of a charitable 
 society of Irish females in New York, by whom she was 
 buried. The reverses in this accomplished woman's for- 
 tune, and in that of her amiable husband, illustrate the un- 
 certainties of human life, and unfold the mysterious doings 
 of Providence with the children of men. More than forty 
 years have passed away since these events were transacted, 
 and not a vestige now remains of the splendid and happy 
 home of Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett. All has 
 passed away like the vision of a pleasant dream ; while the 
 thousands of passengers who annually travel up and down 
 the Ohio on steamboats, still eagerly inquire after, and gaze 
 upon "the inland of Blennerhassett" with wonder and delight.
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 [NOTE A.] The acquaintances formed during his college residence at Cambridge, 
 ia many cases ripened into close intimacy and friendship. Among his early friends 
 and correspondents, is the name of John Adams. The following extract of a letter, 
 written by this distinguished statesman, at Brnintrcc, Mass., December 5, 1760, 
 exhibits at that early period, their mental character and their insatiable thirst for 
 intellectual improvement, upon which were based their subsequent elevation. The 
 perusal may stimulate others to imitate so laudable an cxairple. 
 
 BRAINTREE, December 5th, 17CO. 
 
 SIR : I presume upon the merit of a brother, both iu the academical and legal 
 family, to give you this trouble, and to ask the favor of your correspondence. The 
 science which we have bound ourselves to study for life, you know to be immensely 
 voluminous, perhaps intricate and involved ; so that an arduous application to books 
 at home, a critical observation of the course of practice, the conduct of the older 
 practitioners iu courts, and a large correspondence with fellow students abroad, as 
 well as conversation in private companies, upou legal subjects, arc needful to gain a 
 thorough mastery, if not to make a decent figure in the profession of law. The 
 design of this letter, then, is to desire that you would write me a report of any cause 
 of importance and curiosity, either in Courts of Admiralty or Common Law, that 
 you hear resolved iu your colony. And on my part, I am ready and engage to do the 
 same of any such causes that I shall hear argued iu the province. It is an employ- 
 ment that gives me pleasure, and I find that revolving a case in my mind, stating it 
 on paper, recollecting the arguments on each side, and examining the points through 
 my books, that occur in the course of a trial, makes the impression deeper on my 
 memory, and lets me easier into the spirit of law and practice. 
 
 Iu view I scud you the report of a cause argued in Boston last term, and should 
 be glad to know if the points, whether the statutes of mortmain were ever stirred iu 
 your colony S and by what criterion you determine what statutes are, and what are 
 not extended to you." (Here follows the case reported, which is too long for 
 insertion.) 
 
 [NOTE B.] " In the House of Representatives of the colony of Connecticut, Fri- 
 day, 21st of May, 13th, George iii, 1773. Mr. Speaker h.-wkg laid before the House 
 letter from the Speaker of the House of Burgesses of the coloi.y of Virginia, 
 34
 
 530 APPENDIX. 
 
 containing certain resolutions entered into by said house on the 1 2th of March last ; 
 this House taking into consideration the contents of said letter, the above-mentioned 
 resolutions, and the reasons on which they are grounded, arc of opinion that they 
 are weighty and important .in their nature and design, calculated and tending to 
 produce happy and salutary effects, in securing and supporting the ancient legal and 
 constitutional rights of this and the colonies in general, do approve and adopt the 
 measure, and thereupon 
 
 Resolved, That a Standing Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry, to consist 
 of nine persons, viz. : The Hon. Ebcnezer Silliman, Esq., William Williams, Benja- 
 min Payne, Samuel Holden Parsons, Nathaniel Wales, Silas Dean, Samuel Bishop, 
 Joseph Trumbull, and Erastus Wolcott, Esq., whose business it shall be to obtain 
 all such intelligence, and take up and maintain correspondence with our sister colo- 
 nies, respecting the important considerations mentioned and expressed in the afore- 
 said resolutions of the patriotic House of Burgesses of Virginia, and the result of 
 such their proceedings from time to time to lay before this house. 
 
 Resolved, That the Speaker of this House do transmit to the Speakers of the dif- 
 ferent Assemblies of the British colonies on this continent, copies of these resolu- 
 tions, and request that they would come into similar measures, and communicate, 
 from time to time, with the said committee, on all matters wherein the common 
 welfare and safety of the colonies are concerned. 
 
 [NOTE C.] In the House of Representatives of the colony of Connecticut, June 
 3, 1774. Whereas a Congress of Commissioners from the several British colonies in 
 America, is proposed by sonic of our neighboring colonies, and thought necessary : 
 and whereas, it may be found expedient that such Congress should be convened be- 
 fore the next session of the Assembly, 
 
 Resolved, by this House, that the Committee of Correspondence be, and they are 
 hereby, empowered, on application to them made, or from time to time as may be 
 found necessary, to appoint a suitable number to attend such Congress or Convention 
 of Commissioners, or Committees of the several colonies in British America; and 
 the persons thus to be chosen, shall be, and they hereby are. directed, in behalf ol 
 the colony, to attend such Congress, to consult and advise on proper measures for 
 advancing the best good of the colonies ; and such conferences from time to time to 
 report to this House. 
 
 [NOTE D.] " NEW LONDON, July 28th, 1774. 
 
 DEAR SIR : On the refusal of three of our commissioners to attend the Congress, 
 I have received a notification to attend a meeting of the Committee of Correspond- 
 ence, at Hartford, next Wednesday, to make a further appointment, and also a de- 
 sire to notify you of the time and place of our meeting. If you will come to New 
 London on Monday, we will go together. I hope no business of a private nature 
 will divert you from attending this important public business. As tlu; eyes of al".
 
 APPENDIX. 531 
 
 the continent are upon the Congress for relief, so I think we should be unpardonable, to 
 suffer small things to divert us from attending to make the appointment. 
 
 I am, sir, your friend, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 Col. Joseph Trumbull, Norwich." 
 
 [NoTE E.] The following letter, written June 7, 1774, to Samuel Adams, by a 
 member of the Committee of Correspondence, soon after the pasta.zc of the resolution 
 of June 3d, by the Connecticut Assembly, illustrates the ardent patriotism which 
 inspired the gentlemen composing that committee, and their earnest desire and effi- 
 cient influence in promoting the important object of a Convention of the Colo- 
 nies, or General Congress. It alludes to a letter which may be found in Force's 
 Archives. 
 
 " SIR : You will have received a letter from our General Committee of Corres- 
 pondence before this comes to hand. By that you will find that a General Congress 
 of Commissioners from all the colonies is expected, and that in the opinion of people 
 here, that will be a necessary step to unite the several colonies in the most effectual 
 measures to oppose the designs of Administration ; who doubtless expect that the 
 other governments will sit still, tame spectators, while they wreak their vengeance on 
 Boston, if they are left untouched. 
 
 This town had a full meeting yesterday, in which it was easily seen that the spirit 
 of our people is as high as ever, and full as determined to oppose, with vigor and 
 resolution, the wicked and unjust attempts of our enemies. The Committee of Cor- 
 respondence have this day written to the Committee of Correspondence for the town 
 of Boeton, on the subject." 
 
 F.] " To THE HONORABLE GENERAL ASSEMBLY now sitting, the memo- 
 rial of Samuel H. Parsons, humbly showcth : That in April, 1775, the memorialist^ 
 Mr. Silas Dean and Col. Samuel Wyllys, with others, were induced, from the partic- 
 ular situation of public affairs, to undertake surprising and seizing the enemy's post 
 at Ticonderoga, without the knowledge and approbation of the Assembly ; and to 
 prosecute the business, were necessitated to take out a quantity of money from the 
 treasury, for which they gave their promissory receipt ; that the whole moneys were 
 delivered to the gentlemen sent on that service, and were actually expended therein. 
 That said receipts are still held against the promissors, notwithstanding the public 
 fiave taken the post into their own hands, and repaid the expense. Your memorialist 
 therefore prays your honors to order said receipts to be given up ; that the suns 
 thereof be allowed the treasurer in settlement ; and he, as in duty bound, &c. 
 
 Dated in HARTFORD, the 30th of May, 1777. 
 
 SAMCEL II . PARSONS. 
 
 The action of the Legislature, and the original receipts, are recorded in the office 
 of the Secretary of State at Hartford.
 
 532 APPENDIX 
 
 [NOTE G.] Gen. Parsons to Gen. Washington : 
 
 "NEW HAVEN, May 25th, 1777. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL : Having received information that the enemy were collecting 
 forage, horses, &c., on the east end of Long Island, I ordered a detachment from 
 the several regiments then at this place, consisting of one major, four captains, viz. : 
 Troop, Pond, Mansfield, and Savage, and nine subalterns, and two hundred and 
 twenty men, commissioned officers and privates, under the command of Col. Meigs, 
 to attack their different posts on that part of the island, and destroy the forage, &c., 
 which they have collected. Col. Meigs embarked his men here, in thirteen whale- 
 boats, the 21st inst., and proceeded to Guilford, but the wind proving high, and the 
 sea rough, could not pass the sound until Friday, the 23d. He left Guilford, at 
 10 o'clock on the afternoon of the 23d, with one hundred and seventy of his de- 
 tachment, and under convoy of two armed sloops, and in company with another un- 
 armed, (to bring off prisoners.) crossed the sound, to the north branch of the island, 
 near Southold, where he arrived about 6 o'clock in the evening; the enemy's troops 
 on this branch of the island had marched for New York two days before ; but 
 about sixty of the enemy remaining at a place called Sagg Harbor, about fifteen 
 miles distant, on the south branch of the island, he ordered eleven whale-boats, with 
 as many men as could be safely transported across the bay, over the land to the bay, 
 where they re-embarked, to the number of one hundred and thirty, and at about 12 
 o'clock, arrived safe across the bay, within about four miles of the harbor; where, 
 having secured the boats in the woods, under the care of a guard, Col. Meigs formed 
 his remaining little detachment in proper order for attacking the different posts and 
 quarters of the enemy, and securing the vessels and forage at the same time. They 
 marched in the greatest order and silence, and at 2 o'clock arrived at the harbor. 
 The several divisions, with fixed bayonets, attacked the guards and posts assigned 
 them, whilst Capt. Troop, with the detachment under his command, secured the ves- 
 sels and forage lying at the wharf. The alarm soon became general, when an armed 
 schooner of twelve guns and seventy men, within one hundred and fifty yards of the 
 wharf, began a fire upon our troops, which continued, without cessation, for three- 
 quarters of an hour, with grape and round shot; but the troops, with the greatest 
 intrepidity, returned the fire upon the schooner, and set fire to the vessels and forage, 
 and killed and captured all the soldiers and sailors, except about six, who made their 
 escape under cover of the night. Twelve brigs and sloops, one an armed vessel with 
 twelve guus. about one hundred and twenty tons of pressed hay, oats, corn, and other 
 forage, ten hogsheads of ruin, and a large quantity of other merchandize, were en- 
 tirely consumed. It gives me the greatest satisfaction to hear the officers and sol- 
 diers, without exception, behaved with the greatest bravery, order, and intrepidity. 
 
 Col. Meigs, having finished the business on which he was sent, returned safe, with 
 all his men, to Guilford, by 2 o'clock, P. M., yesterday, with ninety prisoners; hav- 
 ing, in twenty-five hours, by land and water, transported his men full ninety miles,
 
 APPENDIX. 53.'{ 
 
 and succeeded in his attempts, beyond my most sanguine expectation!, with.-mt losing 
 a single man, either killed or wounded. 
 
 It gives me singular pleasure to hear no disposition appeared in any one soldier, to 
 plunder the inhabitants, or violate private property, in the smallest degree ; and tbat 
 even the clothing and othei articles belonging to the prisoners, the soldiers, with a 
 gsnerosity not learned from British troops, have, with great cheerfulness, restored to 
 them, where they have fallen into their hands. 
 
 Maj. Humphreys, who waits on your excellency, with the account, was in th 
 action, with Col. Meigs, and will be able to give any further necessary inform- 
 ation, &c, : &.c." 
 
 [NOTE H.] " PEEKSKILL, July 30th, 1777. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL: The designs of the enemy, and the importance of the posts in 
 the various parts of the country, are, doubtless, better understood by your cicelleucy, 
 than I can pretend to know them. This ought not to prevent my proposing my seu 
 timents to your excellency's consideration : in this I do no more than my duty, and 
 if I am mistaken, it can be no ill consequence to any one but myself. The posts ou 
 the North river have always appeared to me of greater importance to the enemy, 
 than any in America, and the most difficult to obtain, if any considerable body of 
 men were left to defend them. In this light they have been generally viewed, as 
 the communication between the eastern and southern states will be almost wholly 
 cut off, if the enemy hold the passes in or near the river. When I was last at head- 
 'quarters, it was thought of so much importance, that Gen. Nixon's brigade was 
 'ordered not to march for Albany, until I should arrive within a day's march of 
 Peckskill, when three brigades and the militia would have then been left at the post. 
 If the post is of so much importance to be held, and the intention of the enemy not 
 fully known, it appears to me very necessary that a body of troops, sufficient for the 
 defense of it, should be left here. The militia are to leave us to-morrow ; two brig- 
 ades are ordered over the river for Philadelphia. About two thousand men are then 
 left to defend the forts, man the ships, and other commands, and to defend the 
 passes through the mountains ; one thousand of which will be necessarily detached 
 over the river, and in the ships, and to other posts ; the remaining number much 
 too small to answer the expected purposes. Tlmt the enemy do not design to attack 
 any other place at present, I think most probable for these reasons : That no object 
 can be of so much importance toward subjugating the country; and if a junction of 
 Mr. Howe's army, with that at the northward, is an evcut they wish to take place, it 
 can no other way be so easily effected, as by this river. The force It- ft in and about 
 York island, is ctrtaiuly much larger than is necessary for the defense of New 
 York. I think there can be doubt but they have six thousand men left there, and 
 unless this army is much greater than I conceive it to be. he cannot have with the 
 fleet, men sufficient to effect anything considerable agaiust the force he would expect 
 to meet at any other place southward of this post. On these grounds, I am still oi
 
 534 APPENDIX. 
 
 opinion, the enemy are designed here, and the present maneuver is to draw off our 
 troops from this place. The difficulty of carrying the post, if a good body of troops 
 were left here, I think will fully justify the maneuver of the enemy. They have 
 never attempted to obstruct our passage over the river, which was always in their 
 power. This I think strengthens the opinion they design to attack here. Under 
 these circumstances I feel myself exceedingly concerned that so many of the troops 
 are drawn to so great a distance; 'tis not my own reputation only which, gives me so 
 much concern, though I am very sensible the little I have will be forever lost, if the 
 post is not maintained, a>id I think the most sanguine person can have very little 
 hope of it, with no greater force than will remain here ; with the four brigades, and 
 what assistance we can have from the militia, there might be a prospect of maintain- 
 ing it against the main body of the enemy until your excellency's arrival here; 
 otherwise I see very little prospect of holding out one day, However, I hope I may 
 be mistaken in my conjecture ; if I should be, I shall be heartily rejoiced. The two 
 brigades should join you, and I wish I may be added to the number. 
 I am your excellency's obedient servant, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 To Gen. "Washington. 
 
 [NOTE L.] Gen. Parsons to Gov. Trumbull : 
 
 THE ATTACK ON FORT MONTGOMERY. 
 
 Extract. DANBURY, October 7th, 1777. 
 
 SIR : I came this morning to forward, with all possible expedition, such troops as 
 I should find coming to our aid from Connecticut. I am much pleased to find my 
 countrymen seem again roused from the stupor which had seized them. I think by 
 appearances that we shall soon receive a re-enforcement of tic a thousand men from 
 this Stale. Happy would I have been had the fourth of this body arrived yesterday. 
 
 I am sorry to inform your excellency that the enemy made a successful attack on 
 Fort Montgomery yesterday. The 5th, they lauded about fifteen hundred men at 
 King's Ferry, on the east side of the river, under cover of their ships and armed ves- 
 sels, and the night after, re-embarked most of them. "Which, with a large additional 
 number, (about twenty-five hundred in the whole,) were lauded on the west side 
 (the Cth) in the morning, keeping a large reserve on board and at King's Ferry. 
 
 About 10 o'clock the enemy began the attack on the fort, which lasted without 
 cessation, until near half-after six in the evening, when the fort w;.s carried by 
 storm, after eight or ten unsuccessful attempts, in which they were repulsed, with 
 great loss. The courage and bravery displayed by the troops (priuciimlly miliiia from 
 New York) who defended the p';-t, would do honor to the bc-t disciplined regiment. 
 No terms would be accepted, but with fortitude seldom found, they undauntedly 
 stood the shock, determined to defend the fort or sell their lives as dear r.s pussible. 
 The fort was finally taken, merely for want of men to man the lines, and not for 
 want of spirit in th'c r.ien. But about five hundred was afforded toman the post and
 
 AIT KM) IX. 
 
 outworks belonging to them : a number of men not more than sufficient to Jtfcinl 
 the largest fort. The post on the east side was left in a weak, defenseless stMu, am! 
 could afford but little aid. 
 
 Thus was a post of importance, and the lives and liberties of some of the bravest 
 men, made a sacrifice to the carelc-s inattention of or.r countrymen to objects of 
 great and extensive public importance. The. enemy must have suffered much, a> 
 more than three hours of this attack the musketry was inccs <mt within forty yards. 
 and less a greater part of the time. Gov. Clinton, who commanded, and Col. Lamb 
 aud some other officers, escaped after the enemy had entered. (Sou. James Clictor. 
 was wounded, and is a prisoner. Maj. Humphrey, Col. Duhois, Lieut. I'ol. Liv- 
 ingston, ami sundry other officers, are missing. 
 
 This event is unfortunate, but I hope will not be attended by any very ill conse- 
 quences. I think a little more patience and public virtue, (which is now very scarce.) 
 will set all things right again. 
 
 I am, with esteem, your excellency's obedient servant, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PAKSOXS. 
 
 Letter from Gen. Parsons to Gov. Trumbull : 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF FORT MONTGOMERY, AXD THE ADVANCE OF GEX. CL1K- 
 TON UP THE NORTH RIVER. 
 
 FISIIKILL, October 'Jth, 1777 
 
 SIR : I wrote yesterday, from Panbury, an account of the misfortune vrhich had 
 befallen this post, merely for the want of a timely rc-eiiforccmcut of men sufficient to 
 man the lines. Oil that head I can only add, that should this misfortune have thr 
 happy effect to rouse my countrymen to more vigorous exertions, and to the exercise 
 of a degree of patience, submission and perseverance, necessary to accomplish anr 
 thing great, or save the country from inevitable ruin, we may consider the event ac 
 fortunate, rather than as an event from which any ill effects will follow. 
 
 Gov. Clinton, his brother, Gca. James Clinton, Col. Lamb, Col. Maj. Humphrey 
 r.ud most of the officers, and a great part of the men, who were supposed to be lost. 
 have got in. many of them badly wounded. The garrison was defended with th* 
 utmost bravery: no men could do more. Our loss cannot j'ct be ascertained : I 
 hope not so considerable a 5 we feared. The army of the enemy arc now advancing. 
 We have no doubt Albany is their object. Should they attack this po^t. from which 
 they are seven miles distant, and the same spirit of inattention seize our country men 
 I fear you will hear no better news from here. TVc shall fight the enemy if pjtj-i- 
 blc. We shall do our utmost to defend ourselves, if attacked. The troops arc in 
 good spirits. The issue is iu the tli.-posal of the great Arbiter of all events. I thin>. 
 it of absolute necessity that all who can bear arms, and can lie spared, should bt 
 immediately scut forward to Poughkeepsic, except those on their march for this post 
 who will join us here. 
 
 Gen. Clinton, who commands the British forces in person; must be defeated c!
 
 536 APPENDIX. 
 
 Albany, or before he arrives there, or Gen. Gates will be undone. Every exertion is 
 necessary to animate and encourage the people, in this important crisis. That we 
 are embarked in the cause of justice and truth in the cause of God and man- 
 kind is beyond a doubt. That we shall finally succeed, I think equally certain. 
 When public spirit prevails over private interest and injustice (so scandalously prev- 
 alent at this time) is restrained, and religion, and virtue, and a sense of our depend- 
 ence on Heaven for all our mercies, and especially deliverance from imminent dan- 
 ger, takes place of the vain confidence in our own arm and on our own strength : 
 then, and not till then, will our salvation be brought out; but I cannot say that a 
 profound belief of these things, and a careless neglect of using the means put into 
 our hands for our own deliverance, is any evidence of the sincerity of our profession. 
 As Gen. Putnam is exceedingly busy, I have wrote by his desire. 
 I have the honor to be, 
 
 Your excellency's obedient servant, 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 
 Letter from Gen. Parsons to Gov. Trumbull. 
 
 THE RETREAT OF GEN. CLINTON DOWN THE KORTH RIVER. 
 
 PEEKSKILL, Oct. 22d, 1777. 
 
 SIR : The enemy prevented our designed attack upon them by a very sudden em- 
 barkation of their troops on board their ships, which still lie off Vcrplank's Point. 
 Every favorable opportunity has offered for their going to New York, but no move- 
 ments have taken place. Their Northern Army is more within your excellency's 
 knowledge than mine. If we should soon be ordered toward New York, I think 
 some aid from Connecticut will be much wanted. As I understand fourteen hun- 
 dred men are ordered from the east side of Connecticut river to join Gen. Gates, 
 nnder his present situation would it not be best to order them to join this part of the 
 army as soon as possible. 
 
 The militia from this post are all returned home. 
 
 I am your excellency's obedient servant, 
 
 S. II. PARSONS. 
 
 [NOTE K.] Gen. Parsons to Gen. "Washington. 
 
 THE STATE OF THE GARRISON AT "WEST POINT, AND THE CONTINUANCE 
 OF HIS COMMAND AT THAT POST. 
 
 WEST POINT, June 5th, 1779. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL : In answer to your questions, by Capt. Christie, of the Pennsyl- 
 vania regiment, I have given him general information of the state of this garrison, 
 whicli will be explained by the proper key. The garrison are in high spirits, and 
 are very desirous to receive the enemy's attack. I cannot promise the post will be 
 successfully defended, but I am certain every exertion will be made by the troops to 
 secure the possession of that honor to themselves and their country, whicli they so
 
 A P P E X D I X . 537 
 
 frequently anticipate in reflection. If any more troops are ordered here, and should 
 [ continuf in command of the post for any length of time, 1 would beg your eiccl- 
 leucy to order my brigade to compose part of the garrison. Two regiments of that 
 brigade are perfectly acquainted with the country, and in that respect are better able 
 to answer all the purposes expected from the garrison. 
 
 S. H. PARSONS. 
 
 [NOTE. M.] Letter from Gen. Parsons to Gen. Washington, 
 IN RELATION TO THE INVASION OF CONNECTICUT BY GEN. TRYON, 
 JULY, 1779. 
 
 REDDING, July 9th, 1779. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL : I have this moment arrived here, after a tour of sixty miles since 
 eleven o'clock last night. The few militia at New Haven, behaved exceedingly well, 
 repulsed the enemy several times, aud considerable loss was suffered by the enemy. 
 They burnt a number of houses at East and West Haven, and plundered New Haven. 
 They have destroyed Fairfield almost every house; the abuses of women, children, 
 and old men, are unparalleled. They embarked from Fairfield yesterday aud passed 
 over the sound, but there is reason to think they design an attack on Norwalk and 
 the other towns. Gen. Wolcott has received an express, informing him that fonr 
 thousand of the enemy are in possession of Horscncck, and marching eastward. 1 
 have wrote to Col. Wayland, and the small number of infantry, desiring them to 
 march, to the coast. I hope it will be agreeable to yonr excellency's intentions. I 
 hear nothing of Glover's brigade. Is it possible to send one thousand continental 
 troops 5 They will serve to steady the militia, and render them a formidable body. 
 I will write you from Norwalk, where I shall be to-night. 
 
 I am your excellency's obedient servant. 
 
 SAMUEL H. PARSONS. 
 
 Gen. Parsons to Gcu. Washington, 
 
 INFORMING HIM OF GEN. TRYON's LANDING AND BURNING OF NOR- 
 WALK BATTLE WITH TRYON RETREAT OF THE ENEMY, ETC. 
 
 WILTON, July llth, 1779. 
 
 DEAR GENERAL : In my last I informed you that the enemy lauded last night. 
 This morning, the enemy, on their advance, were met by the militia, and some skir- 
 mishing ensued, but without any considerable effect on either side. At about six 
 o'olock the troops under Gcu. Wolrott, and my small detachment of about one hun- 
 dred and fifty continental troops joined and took possession of an eminence the north 
 end of the town. The enemy advanced in our front aud on our left flank, until 
 about nine o'clock, when they were checked in their progress by the vigorous exer- 
 tions of the parties of militia and continental troops sent out to oppose them, and in
 
 53S APPENDIX. 
 
 turn were compelled to retire from hill to hill, sometimes in great disorder. \Ve 
 continued to advance upon them until near eleven o'clock, when a column having 
 nearly gained our right flank, the militia in the center gave way and retreated in 
 disorder. This gave the enemy possession of our ground. Gen. \Volcott, who com- 
 manded, exerted himself upon this occasion to rally the troops and bring them, to 
 ordtir again, but without effect, until they had retired about two miles, when some 
 troops being again formed, returned to the aid of the right and left wings, who had 
 retired but a small distance, and in order. With these the enemy were pursued again, 
 and retreated with precipitation to their ships. 
 
 I have the pleasure to assure your excellency the continental troops, without 
 exception, they being all engaged, behaved with the greatest bravery. Capt. Betts, 
 who was the first engaged with the enemy, and who continued longest in the action, 
 deserves particular notice for his great fortitude and prudent conduct in the battle. 
 He continued advancing on the enemy until the center of the main body gave way, 
 and he with his party advanced near a mile at the time, by his prudence was able to 
 effect a regular retreat, without any considerable loss. Capt. Eels, on the right, and 
 Capt. Sherman, on the left, were also engaged, and when obliged to retire, kept 
 their order, and retreated with regularity. A body of the militia I think they were 
 commanded by Maj. Porter and another considerable detachment, deserve honorable 
 mention to be made of them. 
 
 I am not yet able to ascertain our own or the enemy's loss, but in my next shall 
 be able to give a more particular account. In my handful of continental troops I 
 have lost five men killed, a lieutenant and six privates wounded ; I don't know of 
 any missing: some loss the militia have sustained. I am satisfied the loss of the 
 enemy must have been considerable. 
 
 About twenty boats lauded on the west side of the harbor, at five o'clock, and 
 immediately began to set fire to the buildings. They completed burning the town at 
 about twelve o'clock. This appeared to have been their sole business, as they did not 
 stay to carry off any plunder of considerable value. A few Tory houses are left, which 
 I hope our people will burn, as the burners are here, and have committed no act by 
 which the public can seize them. I imagine Stamford will be the next object to 
 wreak their hellish malice upon. To that place I shall repair to-morrow. 
 
 I am fully persuaded that five hundred more men, such as the brave militia I have- 
 before mentioned, and the one hundred and fifty continentals, would have given the 
 enemy a total defeat. The numbers of the enemy were about two thousand our 
 numbers between nine and eleven hundred. 
 
 I am, dear General, your obedient servant. 
 
 SAMUEL II. PARSONS. 
 
 A more full and detailed statement of the movements of Gen. Tryon, and the 
 depredations committed by him upon the sea coast, may be found in letters from
 
 APPENDIX. 5.TJ 
 
 Gen. Parsons to Gen, Washington, dated July 1-lth and 20th, 1779, and to Gen. 
 Heath, July 12th. 
 
 His correspondence with Gen. Washington is large, and detail.-with great precision 
 and minuteness the movements of the enemy, as well as the plans and continued 
 movements of the few under his command; aud likewise exhibits the mutual confi- 
 dence existing between the writer aud th; comiuander-in-chief. Time and space, 
 however, do not admit a transcript.
 
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