26 



CIV^IL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part II. 



ELOCK-UOUSES BUILT. 



RESOLUTIONS OF NEW YORK ASSEMBLY. 



After having secured the New Hamp- 

 shire settlers in their possessions on Otter 

 Creek, and with a view to prevent the 

 intrusion of New York claimants upon 

 tlie lands on the WinoosK*! river, Allen and 

 Baker proceeded thither, with their men 

 and erected a blockhouse near th^ lower 

 falls on that stream. It stood on the Col- 

 chester side of the river, in the midst of 

 what is now called " Winooski Village ;" 

 and had 32 port-holes, in the upper story. 

 The settlement upon this river was com- 

 menced the next year, 1774, and npon^tjie 

 breaking out of the revolution, in I77.'>, 

 the block-house, being furnished with 

 arms and ammunition, aiforded the settlers 

 shelter and protection till the settlement 

 was abandoned in 177G. 



In consequence of the second expul- 

 sion of Col. Reed's tenants, governor Try- 

 on applied to general Haldimand, the 

 military commander-in-chief, for a milita- 

 ry force to protectthe New York claimants 

 in their possessions, but the general, 

 doubting the propriety of employing the 

 regular troops for such a purpose, refused 

 to "comply with His Excellency's wishes. 

 Clarendon and vicinity was settled by 

 people, who were generally in favor of 

 New York. Those in the south part of 

 Clarendon held their lands under deeds 

 from Col. Henry II. Lydius, who pretend- 

 ed to derive his title from governor Pow- 

 nal of Massachusetts, and their township 

 was called Durham. The north part of 

 Clarendon and a part of Puitland had been 

 granted by New York under the name of 

 Social-borough. Some of the principal 

 men of Durham and Social-borough hav- 

 ing accepted offices and thus recognized 

 the jurisdiction of New York, and fre- 

 quent disturbances having arisen in that 

 quarter, in the fall of 1773, Allen and Ba- 

 ker raised a force of 100 men for the pur- 

 pose of compel! lug the Durhamites, as they 

 were called, eitiier by terror or force to re- 

 cognize the New Hampshire title. On 

 the advance of this force they, who held 

 offices under New York, fled. Allen and 

 his party remained several days, and after 

 sundry exhortations and threatenings, re- 

 turned without inflict'.ng any serious 

 injury upon the persons or property of tlie 

 inhabitants. 



The leaders of the Durhamites fled to 

 NewYork,and laid before the governor and 

 council a full statement of the outraues 

 committed by what they were pleased to 

 call the "Bennington mob," The gov- 

 ernment of New York regarded these out- 

 racres as open acts of treason and rebellion, 

 which could no longer be endured. They 

 looked upon the Green Mountain Boys as 

 a lawless banditti, and, confiding in their 



own strength, and miscalculating the 

 power and resistance of a few determin- 

 ed spirits acting on the defensive and 

 driven to desperation, they resolved to 

 bring them to merited punishment. For 

 this purpose they proceeded to adopt 

 measures " the most minatory and des- 

 potic of any thing which had ever appear- 

 ed in the British Colonies." 



A comittee of the general assembly of 

 New York, on the 5th day of February, 

 J 774, passed several resolutions, expres- 

 sive of their opinion of what they were 

 pleased to call the lawless and riotous 

 proceedings of the "Bennington Mob;" 

 and, among other thinofs, they desired his 

 Excellency, the governor to ofier, by 

 proclamation, a reward for apprehending 

 and securing the ringleaders, in tliose 

 transactions, in the jail at Albany. This 

 committee also recommended that a law 

 should be passed, the object of which 

 .should be, more eifectuall}' "to suppress 

 riotous and disorderly proceedii3gSj.and to 

 bring oifenders to condigq punishment."" 



A knowledge of the doings of this com- 

 mittee having reached the settlers,through 

 the public prints, a general meeting of 

 tlie committees of the several townships, 

 was held at ihe house ofEliakim Wellers, 

 in Manchester, March 1st, 1774, and af- 

 terwards by adjournment, at .Tehial Haw- 

 ley's in Arlington, on the 3d Wednesday of 

 the same mouth. t At this meeting, was 

 drawn up a sketch of the proceedings pre- 

 vious to this period, and, after recom- 

 mending to the government of New York 

 to wait the determination of his Majesty, 

 before proceeding to further extremities, 

 it was resolved, " that as a country, we 

 will stand by and defend our friends and 

 neighbors who are indicted at the expense 

 of our lives and fortunes." It was also 

 resolved "that for the future every ne- 

 cessary preparation be made, and that our 

 inhabitants hold themselves in readiness, 

 at a minute's warning, to aid and defend 

 those friends of ours, who, for their activ- 

 ity in the great and and general cause, 

 are falsely denominated rioters." It was 

 at the same time agreed, that they should 

 act only on the defensive, and should en- 

 courage the execution of the laws in civil 

 cases, and also in criminal prosecutions 

 '■^ that were so indeed." 



While the convention of the New 

 Hampshire grants was discussmg and 

 •adopting these resolutions, the general 

 assembly of New York was proceeding 

 to carry into effect the resolutions of the 

 .5ih of February ; and on the 9th of March, 



*For these Resoluliona see Sladc's VermoiitState 

 Papers, pase 37. 

 f For these proceeuiogs, see Slade's S. P. p. 3a. 



