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CHAPTER VII.
FROM THE REVOLUTION TO THE PRESENT TIME.
The Beneficent Reign of Peace -- Advance of Settlements -- The Second War with Great Britain -- Its Chief Causes-Effects in Addison County -- Defense of the Mouth of Otter Creek -- The Battle of Plattsburgh -- Local Effects of the War -- The "Cold Summer"-Agricultural Pursuits Early in the Century -- The First Newspaper -- The Panic of 1837-38 -- The Railroad Era -- The Period of Prosperity Preceding the Civil War.
SETTLEMENTS advanced and general prosperity was inaugurated throughout Western Vermont during the period immediately following the declaration of peace between Great Britain and the United States, and particularly after the final settlement of the difficulties with her sister State of New York. This reign of peace and prosperity was, however, to be once more disturbed by the mutterings of war on the border of the State, which for a time checked her growth.
The causes which led to the second war with Great Britain are well understood, and a brief reference to them and to the events which transpired in this immediate vicinity will serve the purpose of these pages. Causes of complaint against the mother country had existed for several years, and as early as 1809 led to the passage by Congress of a law interdicting all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. On the 3d of April, 1812, Congress laid an embargo on all shipping within the jurisdiction of the United States for ninety days, and on the 18th of June following an act was passed declaring war with Great Britain. The principal causes which led to the adoption of this measure were declared to be the impressment of American seamen by the British, and the plundering of American commerce.
On the assembling of the Vermont Legislature in October, the governor, Jonas Galusha, in his message urged the members to second the measure of the general government, and provide means for defending the borders and for sustaining the national rights and honor. The Assembly majority concurred in the sentiments thus expressed, while a minority entered a protest. A law was
page 72 HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
passed prohibiting all intercourse between the people of Vermont and Canada, without a permit from the governor, under penalty of $1,000 fine and seven years' confinement at hard labor in the State prison. A tax of one cent per acre was laid on the lands of the State, in addition to the usual assessments, and other acts were passed relating to the payment of the militia.
These regulations proving oppressive to the people, many of the supporters of the war went over to the opposition. As the election of 1813 approached, both parties exerted their utmost endeavor to preserve their ascendancy. No governor was elected by the people. The Legislature elected a governor whose opinions were in direct opposition to the war. The laws relating to the support of, and providing ways and means for, the war were repealed. The party spirit ran so high that opponents branded each other with opprobrious epithets. The impartial administration of justice was endangered. Opposition to the measures of the government became so strong that the laws of Congress, especially the act relating to customs duties, were treated as a nullity, and so general became the practice of smuggling cattle and other supplies into Canada and bringing out goods of English manufacture in return, that it was regarded less as a crime than as a justifiable act.
The people of Addison county were in no degree behind those of other sections of the State, nearer to the scenes of actual hostility, in the virulence and bitterness of their political animosities. So far was the question of peace or war with England carried into the political contests between the rival parties, that it became the chief topic of contention and the source of the bitterest enmity. Families and friends were separated and stood in hostile array against each other; a man's politics constituted his passport or his mark of rejection at his neighbor's door, and matters reached such a pitch that the dread of civil commotion hung heavily on the minds of the more considerate portion of the community.
Men of prominence in the political field were arrayed against each other on the question of war or peace, and in the wake of the leaders followed the masses, lending the influence of acts and speech to one side or the other. Rumors of every nature were abroad. The news was disseminated with almost telegraphic rapidity, flying from town to town by express riders and speeding from one scattered settlement to another, throughout Western Vermont.
Notwithstanding this hostility, even up to the brink of civil war, the spirit of patriotism and devotion to the Union burned in every soul with its accustomed fervor. All were ready when the hour of trial came to defend the country with their lives, if necessary, from external foes; and when the British army and fleet moved out of Canada to Plattsburgh, to crush our defenses there and invade the soil of a sister State, that moment the bitterness and clamor of party were hushed and, so far as the grounds of contention were concerned, hushed forever.
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On that occasion the people of Addison county, without distinction of party and in common with the people of adjacent counties, volunteered their services to repel the common enemy. With such weapons as they had at command they hurried from their homes, and within a few days after the first alarm were on their way to join their New York friends on the banks of the Saranac. But few of the volunteers from this county reached Plattsburgh, as the news of the battle and the decisive American victory met them on their way, and they quietly returned to their homes and disbanded.
Addison county occupied a conspicuous position in the War of 1812. Vergennes was looked upon as a very important point for the defense of the border, if the State should be invaded, as well as being admirably situated with relation to the lake for a fleet headquarters. The mouth of Otter Creek was fortIfied with breastworks and a detachment of troops posted there. This position was attacked by the British flotilla on the 10th of May, 1814, the attacking fleet comprising five sail and eight row galleys; but they were repulsed without loss to the Americans. The force of the latter consisted of only one hundred and ninety men, commanded by Captain Thornton, of the artillery, and Lieutenant Cassin, of the navy. Vergennes [Note1].was an early ship-building point of importance, and it was here that MacDonough's fleet was fitted out, consisting of the brig Eagle, the schooner Ticonderoga, and the ship Saratoga, which were to win such a glorious victory on the beautiful lake.
Into the details of the chief events of the War of 1812 it is not the province of this work to enter; they are found on the pages of general history from many able pens. Many local incidents connected with the contest will be found detailed in the subsequent town histories.
The battle of Plattsburgh was fought on the 11th of September, 1814, and many Vermont men took part in it. A large number from the various towns of Addison county were enrolled and hurried to the front. These particulars will be found in their proper place in the pages devoted to the town histories.
After the battle of Plattsburgh nothing further occurred in this vicinity worthy of particular mention during the war. In October the Legislature assembled. No governor had been elected by the people; Martin Chittenden was accordingly again elected by a small majority. Many accusations were made against the governor, a number of which were presented from Rutland county, because the militia was not ordered out for the defense of Plattsburgh, instead of being called out as volunteers. He replied that a call upon our patriotic citizens for their voluntary services was, in this case, considered to be the only method by which timely and efficient aid could be afforded.
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[Note 1]. During the period of non-intercourse with Great Britain manufacturing enterprises sprang up with great rapidity about the Falls of Vergennes, among which were a blast furnace, rolling-mill, grist- mill, saw-mills and fulling-mills, wire factory and forges, and not less than one hundred and seventy-seven tons of shot were cast here during the war. (See history of Vergennes in later pages of this work.)
page 74 HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
The war had ceased; the gloom which had hung over the people disappeared, and a general congratulation prevailed, as the soldiery returned to their homes as citizens, and again turned the implements of war into instruments of husbandry. The violence of party spirit declined; the sentiment of the people became united, and the peaceful pursuits of business were renewed.
Notwithstanding the naturally deleterious effect of this war upon the general growth and prosperity of the county, these features were not entirely wanting. A glance at the census returns, however, will perhaps give some idea of what the war meant. In 1800 they show the county to have had a population of 13,417 souls, an increase of 5,810 during the preceding decade, and from 1800 to 1810 they show an increase of 6,575; but from 1810 to 1820, which included the period of the war, the increase was only 476, while during the next decade, ending with 1830, the increase suddenly leaps again to 3,470 souls.
While these latter figures show an era of growth (and we may add it was not alone in population, but in general thrift and prosperity), the two years immediately subsequent to that in which peace was declared, 1816 and 1817, by no means presaged this result. The county was exclusively a rural community. Its citizens depended entirely upon the products of the soil not only for the luxuries, but for the necessaries of life. With the constant fear of hostile invasion removed, it was natural for them to look into the future with hope and confidence, and to expect a liberal return for their labor. But fate, Providence, or the elements willed it otherwise. The "cold summer of 1816," as it is known, but really of two summers, 1816 and 1817, blighted nearly all crops in many parts of the State and caused great loss and considerable suffering.
The following facts show what these seasons must have been for farmers in this region: On the 17th of May, 1816, there was snow on the ground and the earth was frozen hard enough to bear the weight of a man. As late as June 4 apple trees were hardly in full bloom, while the 6th, says an old diary, was "very cold with snow-squalls-we think the coldest day we ever knew in June -men work with their great coats and woolen mittens on." On the morning of the 10th ice half an inch thick was found in some localities. On the 29th of July the ground was covered with frost, and on October 18 the snow was six inches deep. The following summer was less phenomenal for cold and frost, but still was sufficiently severe to nearly ruin crops. Great scarcity of provisions ensued and much suffering prevailed.
Previous to the year 1820 the chief agricultural pursuits of the county were the production of wheat and cattle. A few Spanish Merino sheep had been brought into the territory by Horatio Seymour, Hallet Thorne, Daniel Chipman, Zebulon Frost, and others, which were added to during the war with England, the high price of wool at that time having stimulated their production; but the price rapidly declined after the removal of the embargo, when
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the commerce of the country again became unrestricted. This decline in the value of wool had, naturally, a corresponding effect on the value of sheep, and most of these importations, if not all, became scattered and lost among the common flocks. In 1823 Charles Rich, of Shoreham, member of Congress for this district, with rare foresight laid the foundation of the first permanent flock of pure-bred Spanish Merino sheep in Addison county, they being purchased in company with Messrs. J. Beedle and E. Wright. The portion of the flock that went into the hands of Mr. Beedle was extensively crossed with Saxony blood, and not many years after was broken up. The failure of wheat from the invasion of insects, together with the passage of the tariff act in 1828, greatly stimulated the production of wool, and pure-bred flocks soon began to rapidly increase, both in numbers and quality, and the county soon attained the distinction it still bears, of "the banner sheep-producing county of the United States." In the mean time manufacturing interests had not been entirely neglected, especially in Middlebury and Vergennes, as will be detailed in the chapters devoted to those towns.
In 1798 the first local newspaper made its appearance at Vergennes, an important event in the growth of any community. The Vergennes Gaxette, published by Samuel Chipman, had a brief existence of only a few years, however, and from that time no newspaper was published there until 1825, when Gamaliel Small commenced the Vermont Aurora, which, through several changes in title and proprietors, is continued in the Vergennes Vermonter of today. In the mean time, beginning with 1801, several different papers made their appearance in Middlebury, details of which will be found in a future chapter.
The year 1830 was characterized by an unusual quantity of rain, the month of July witnessing one of the most general and destructive freshets ever known in the county. By this freshet a number of lives were lost, and property, consisting of mills, bridges, buildings and crops, was destroyed to the extent of many thousands of dollars. In New Haven and Bristol the loss of life and property was especially severe, for a detailed account of which we refer the reader to the pages devoted to those towns.
In 1837 occurred the great financial panic, when the currency system was deranged, confidence destroyed, business paralyzed, and the banks obliged to suspend specie payments from one end of the Union to the other, entailing distress and ruin throughout the land. Numerous causes united to produce this great disaster, the principal of which were the vast importations of foreign goods, the increase of trade upon borrowed capital, the unparalleled speculations in public lands, the failure of the wheat crop, which rendered the importation of breadstuffs necessary, the removal of the deposits of public money from the United States Bank, and the effort of that bank to close its concerns. In Addison county, however, the results of this panic were comparatively little felt. Though the county had three banks in operation-at Vergennes, Middlebury and Orwell, respectively-the wealth of its inhabitants was principally
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invested in farms and live stock. To this fact, doubtless, and the remoteness from the great centers of trade and whirlpools of speculation, the county owed its escape from that unparalleled crisis.
While the country was new and the settlers were engaged in clearing their lands, pot and pearl ashes were the staple articles for market, though lumbering was carried on to considerable extent. Up to the time of the opening of the Champlain and Hudson Canal in 1823, Quebec was the county's natural market, though Albany received a share; but after that event Albany and New York became the markets for exports. Finally, beginning about the year 1843, the passion for railroad building was ushered in, rivaling that for turnpike construction. On November 1, 1843, the Legislature, among other railroad charters, granted the "Champlain and Connecticut River Railroad Company" the privilege of building a road "from some point at Burlington, thence southwardly through the counties of Addison, Rutland, Windsor and Windham, to some point on the western bank of the Connecticut River." The first blow towards the construction of this road was struck at Rockingham, near Bellows Falls, in the month of February, 1847. In two years and nine months it was completed and was opened December 18, 1849. This gave comparatively convenient facilities for commerce with Boston, while the subsequent building of other roads has given the county ample facilities for rapid and convenient commercial connections with all of the great markets of the country.
From this time down to 1861 we have no great or striking eras in the county's growth to record. A continuous period of growing prosperity and increasing wealth prevailed, during which time the population reached 24,010 souls. But the great cloud so long gathering broke on the fatal 12th of April of that year, whirling the county into the general storm -- our great civil war.