History of Montgomery & Fulton Counties byF. W. Beers & Co. Chapter 5

OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

CHAPTER V

THE ALLEGED PLOT TO BURN NEW YORK.-FRENCH AND ENGLISH HOSTILITIES-THE CONTEST FOR THE OHIO VALLEY.

In 1741 several fires having occurred in New York, suspicions were awakened that a conspiracy had been formed for the destruction of the city. It was not long before it was charged upon the negro slaves, who at that time constituted about one-fifth of the population. Universal consternation seized upon the inhabitants and a general panic ensued, in which reason and common sense were scarcely entertained. Rewards were offered for the arrest and conviction of the offenders, and a full pardon tendered to any of their number who would reveal their knowledge of the conspiracy, A weak negro servant girl, in a low boarding house, named Mary Burton, after much importunity -and full promise of pardon, implicated several negroes, by confessing to have. heard them talking privately about burning the city. They were arrested and executed on this slender testimony. Others, among them several whites, were implicated by her, and suffered the same fate. Other informers appeared, arrests became numerous, and the popular fury and delusion did not subside until Mary Burton, the chief informer, after frequent examinations, began to touch characters above suspicion and known to be innocent. Then; as reason began to return, the delusion passed away, but not until one hundred and fifty-four negroes and twenty-four whites had been committed to prison, and nearly forty of these unfortunates executed. In the commencement of his administration, Clarke had succeeded in conciliating both parties, to a considerable extent, but managed before its close to lose the confidence of both, insomuch that his retirement, on the arrival of his successor, Admiral George Clinton, September 23d, 1743, was but little regretted. Favorable accounts of Clinton's talents and liberality had been proclaimed, and he was received with demonstrations of universal satisfaction. The election of a new assembly was ordered, and a spirit of harmony so far .prevailed that he concurred in all its measures.

In March, 1744, war was declared between England and France, and measures were again taken for the conquest of Canada. The colonies of New York and New England united in an expedition, to co-operate with a fleet under Commodore Warren, for an attack on the French fortress at Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island, which capitulated in June, 1745. The country north of Albany was seriously molested by attacks from the Indians and French. The fort at Crown Point was garrisoned with a force sufficient to enable its commander to send out detachments to destroy the English settlements. The settlement at Saratoga was burned, and nearly all the inhabitants either killed or taken prisoners. This was followed by an attack on the village of Hoosick. The fort at that place was commanded by Colonel Hawks, who was compelled to surrender, thus leaving the settlements, all the way to Albany, open to the enemy; but measures were speedily adopted for putting the frontier in a state of defense. In 1746 an expedition against Canada was resolved upon by the English government. The colonies, with the promise of assistance from England, entered upon the design with much zeal. New York raised sixteen hundred men-for the forces directed upon Crown Point and Montreal. England failed to furnish the promised assistance and the expedition proved unsuccessful. Peace-was concluded at Aix la Chapelle in 1748. Hostilities ceased, and the colony enjoyed a short period of tranquility. The harmony between the assembly and the Governor did not long continue, for, in 1745, an open disagreement occurred, and almost constant bickerings followed. In 1748 Clinton sent a message to the assembly, demanding an appropriation for the support of the government, for five years. The assembly, justly regarding it as a direct attempt to render the crown independent of the people, indignantly refused; and after a few weeks' contention, the Governor prorogued that body, and by successive prorogations prevented it from sitting for nearly two years, until the affairs of the colony were in an alarming condition for v/ant of funds. His reiterated demands for a permanent revenue met with persistent refusal. Opposec and embarrassed by political factions, he tendered his resignation, after an administration of ten years, and was succeeded October l0th, 1753, by Sir Danvers Osborne. The new Governor immediately informed the council that his instructions were to maintain the royal prerogative and demand a permanent support for the government. He was told by the member present that the assembly would never submit to the demand, and appeared greatly depressed, the loss of his wife a short time before having already thrown him into a melancholy state of mind bordering on insanity. Knowing the difficulties that his predecessor had experienced, and being charged with instructions still more stringent, he saw in the tempest before him a prospect which so worked upon his morbid mind, that the next morning he was found dead, having hung himself at his lodgings. On his death, James De Lancey, by virtue of his commission as Lieutenant-Governor, assumed the administration of the government. He had formerly been a leader in the aristocratic party, but recently had opposed the demands of the crown, and consequently had become highly popular. Striving to retain his popularity by favoring the representatives in measures advantageous to the colony, while holding his office at the will of the English government, and being compelled by the instructions of his predecessor to convince the ministry that he was zealous to promote the interests of the crown, his task was peculiarly difficult; but it was performed with a shrewdness and skill creditable to his ability as a statesman.

By the treaty of Aix la Chapelle, the boundary between the French and English colonies.was left as indefinite as before, and consequently those lands which both claimed the right to possess were still in dispute. The French had established their trading posts, missionary stations and fortifications, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and were vigorously pursuing their designs for the extension of their power and dominions. The English Ohio Company, formed for settlement and trade with the Indians, obtained, in 1749, a grant from the British government of an extensive tract of land on the Ohio river, Christopher Gist was sent out in 1751 to explore this region, and found that it had already been visited by the French traders, who had so influenced the Indians that they were very suspicious of the designs of the English. The claim of the French to the ownership of this region was priority of discovery and occupancy. The English had from the first claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific by right of discovery; but they now based their claims on the ground that the country belonged to the Six Nations, who had placed all their lands under the protection of England. Commissioners were sent to treat with the Ohio Indians and win them over to the English interest. They succeeded in obtaining a deed of the lands in question from the Indians, and a guaranty that their settlements should not be molested by them. The Governor of Canada, perceiving the design of the English to occupy the Ohio valley, informed the Governors of New York and Pennsylvania of the encroachments of the English traders upon what he claimed as his territory, and of his intention to seize them whenever found. Accordingly, in 1752 some English traders were seized and confined in a fort at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie. From this point the French were engaged in establishing a chain of posts to the Allegheny, opening communication 'to the Ohio, and keeping it clear by means of troops stationed at convenient points along the way. The Ohio Company, seeing this intrusion upon their lands, complained to the Governor of Virginia, of which colony their territory was a part, under the grant of the crown. He resolved to send a trusty messenger to the French commander to remonstrate against these encroachments, and George Washington was entrusted with this delicate mission. On reaching the post at Venango, he could obtain no satisfaction, the officer in command boldly declaring that the French intended to seize on the whole valley of the Ohio. He proceeded to Waterford, the headquarters of the French commandant. St. Pierre received him with courtesy, but did not disguise the intentions of the French. His answer to the' Governor of Virginia was, that he had taken possession of the Ohio valley under the authority of the Governor of Canada, and by his orders should destroy all English posts therein. It was now obvious that the Ohio would not be relinquished without a struggle. The Ohio Company commenced to construct a fort at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela, on the present site of Pittsburgh. The Governor of Virginia dispatched a small force to protect the laborers and aid in constructing the fort, and wrote to inform the Board of Trade, of the design of the French to occupy the Ohio valley. He likewise sent to the Governors of New York and Pennsylvania for aid to resist their aggressions.

When the assembly met in the spring of 1754, Governor De Lancey, in his message to that body, called their attention to the recent encroachments of the French, and to the request by Virginia for aid from the colony of New York. The assembly voted only a thousand pounds for aid, and to bear its share in erecting forts along the frontier.

Early in the spring of 1754, Washington, with a small body of troops from Virginia, set out for the disputed territory, with supplies for the fort in course of construction at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela. When near Will's creek, he was met by the ensign of Captain Trent's company, which had been sent out to protect and help build the fort. From him he received the mournful intelligence, that while they were at work on the fort, the French troops from Venango came down the river with their artillery, and resistance being useless, they were/obliged to surrender it to them. The French completed it and named it fort Duquesne, after the Governor of Canada. On hearing this news, Washington reported to the Governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania the situation of affairs, and urged them to hasten forward reinforcements. Moving forward, he soon learned that the French were on their way to intercept his progress, and not knowing their strength, he fell back to Great Meadows, and began to throw up an intrenchment, which he called Fort Necessity. While here, he received a courier from Half King, who, with a party of Indian warriors, was a few miles distant, informing him that a body of French were in- his vicinity. He immediately set out with a part of his men for the camp of Half King. An attack on the enemy, whose position had been discovered, was at once agreed, upon, and successfully executed. Receiving additional troops, Washi'ngton proceeded towards Fort. Ouquesne, but had not gone far before he heard of the advance of a large body of French and Indians, and returned to Fort Necessity. Here he was soon after attacked by a superior force, and after an obstinate resistance, accepted the terms of capitulation offered, which gave him permission to retire unmolested to Virginia.

Thus were the French left in undisputed possession of the entire region west of the Alleghanies. The necessity of concerted action on the part of the English colonies to resist their aggressions had now become obvious, but unworthy sectional feelings often prevented harmony of action for a general defense. The Six Nations were also becoming alienated from the English by the influence of French emissaries. The English ministry, aware of this critical state of affairs, had advised a convention of delegates from all the colonial assemblies, to secure the continued friendship and alliance of the Six Nations, and to unite their efforts in the common defence. In accordance with this recommendation, a convention of delegates from the colonies of New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland, was held at Albany, in June, 1754. The chiefs of the Six Nations were in attendance, and the proceedings were opened by a speech to the Indians from Governor De Lancey, who had been chosen president of the convention. A treaty with the Six Nations was renewed, and they departed, apparently, satisfied. While this treaty was in progress, at the suggestion of the Massachusetts delegates, a plan for the union of the colonies was taken into consideration. The suggestion was favorably received, and a committee, consisting of one member from each colony, was appointed to draft plans for this purpose. The fertile mind of Benjamin Franklin had conceived the necessity of union, and before leaving home, he had prepared a plan which was adopted. This plan was similar in many of its features to our Federal .Constitution, framed many years afterward. The provincial assemblies, considering it too much of an encroachment on their liberties, rejected it, and. it was rejected by the English government, because it gave too much power to the people.