assertion are as follows, to wit: four armed men & in the common dress of the citizens of this state, appeared some time last winter in the town of Sheldon, alias Hungerford, within this state (a place about twenty miles distant from any place ever known or pretended to be claimed by British subjects) in disturbance of the peace-there made a violent assault upon the body of one John M'All, an inhabitant of that town, and then being in the peace of God and the state, in consequence whereof, in defence of the public peace, the said four men were taken into custody by a constable, and agreeable to the civil laws of this state convicted of breaking the peace, and accordingly fined.-It is said they were British subjects, which I am willing to admit-But that they had any authority as such from the British nation, to break the peace of this state within the known and acknowledged bounds of the same, did not appear from any credentials which they produced, nor does it yet appear - But the contrary I believe to be true, therefore as persons under the common protection of this government, they have been holden to respond for their breach of that protection, according to the civil law.

"From the above statement it is conceived that Mr. Hammond's complaint of the capture before Dutchman's Point, is illfounded and unjust. Of this you may be assured, that every attention has been paid by me to prevent all the movements which may tend to thwart the friendly negociations now taking place between the two powers; and I have pleasure to say, that nothing hath hitherto transpired, wherein I can think myself or any of the citizens of this state culpable.

"And of this you may be further assured, that every precaution and means within my power will still be used to ensure the continuation of all good harmony, between citizens of the two governments."

This communication from the governor of Vermont (continued Mr. Randolph,) leaves no room for a comment on my part; although to contrast it, sentence by sentence, with the representations which have occasioned it, would afford grounds more and more striking, to apprehend, that the governor general of Quebec has been mistaken.

On the appointment of John Jay as minister to England, the negotiation on this subject was transferred to London, and an agreement was speedily reached, indicated by the following documents:

Secretary of War to Gov. Chittenden.1

WAR DEPARTMENT Oct 7 1794 Sir I have the honour to transmit your Excellency the extract of a letter from Mr Jay dated London 12 of July 1794, with a request in behalf of the President of the United States that the agreement which it specifies should be duly observed as it respects the frontiers of Vermont. The statu quo as it existed immediately after the peace of 1783 is to be inviolably observed. All encroachments since that period are to be abandoned.

I have the honor to be with great respect Your Excellency's Obedient Servant II. KNOX Secy of War.

His Excellency the Governor of the State of Vermont. Extract of a letter from John Jay Esq. Envoy of the U. S. dated London 12th July 1794.

We had an informal Conversation relative to Simcoe's hostile measure We concurred in Opinion that during the present negotiation & untill the conclusion of it all things ought to remain & be preserved in Statu

'From the original in Ms. Vt. State Papers, Vol. 24, pp. 72, 73.

quo-that therefore both parties should continue to hold their Possessions, & that all Encroachments on either side should be done awaythat all hostile measures (If any such should have taken place) shall cease & that in case it should unfortunately have happened that prisoners or Property should have been taken the Prisoners shall be released & the Property restored. And we have agreed, That both Governments shall immediately give orders & instructions accordingly

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 19th Sept. 1794. I hereby certify that the above is a true extract from the original letter from Mr. Jay to the Secretary of State.

(Signed) GEO. TAYLOR Jun' Chief Clerk.

Compared with the official Extract

JNO FLAGG Jun Chf Clk W. D.

If the organization of Alburgh in 1792 was really in violation of the treaty of 1783, then the continuance of that organization, by representation in the Vermont legislature, and the appointment of magistrates for the town by that body, in 1794 and 5, was in violation both of the treaty of 1783 and Mr. Jay's agreement of July 1794; but as no further complaint or difficulty is discoverable in the American State Papers, or elsewhere, it is fairly presumable that the point was not insisted on, aud thus Gov. Chittenden was sustained. The clouds of internal and foreign wars-with Indians, insurrectionists, and foreign countries-induced President Washington to send John Jay as envoy to London in the spring of 1794. The agreement in July arrested for the most part the dangers growing out of the British posts, though as late as the 20th of August Gen. Anthony Wayne fought a fierce battle on the very Council ground of 1793, to which Lord Dorchester had referred in his speech to the Indians, and almost within gun-shot of Fort Miami which Simcoe had built. It was a battle with "Indians and Canadian malitia and volunteers," "the latter armed with British muskets and bayonets," and three British officers, one of them Col. McKee the British Indian Agent, were on the battle field, "but at a respectable distance, and near the river." On the 22d, Gen. Wayne totally destroyed houses and cornfields above and below the fort and within pistol-shot of it, including "the houses, stores and property of Col. M'Kee, the British Indian agent and principal stimulator of the war" then "existing between the United States and the savages."" In Wayne's victory the Vermont company bore their share. The north western Indians were so far discouraged by their defeat that on the 3d of August 1795 they concluded a treaty of peace. Jay's "Treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation" was concluded Nov. 19 1794, and proclaimed Feb. 29 1796, by the second article of which the British posts in the United States were evacuated “on or before the first day of June, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six."

From Gen. Wayne's reports, in The Great West, Vol. 1, pp. 170-173 and Vermont Gazette of Oct. 17, 24, and 31, 1794.

APPENDIX F.

REQUISITIONS UPON VERMONT FOR THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES-1792 to 1800.

THE VERMONT COMPANY IN GEN. WAYNE'S WAR AGAINST THE NORTHWESTERN INDIANS-1792 To 1795.

Under the act of Congress of March 5, 1791, for the protection of the frontiers, which added three regiments to the army, President Washington assigned the first company of the third of these regiments to Vermont, and appointed as its officers Captain William Eaton, Lieutenant James Underhill, and Ensign Charles Hyde.' Eaton, who owed his appointment to Stephen R. Bradley, then resided at Windsor; Underhill is supposed to have been from Dorset ; and Hyde from Poultney. The enlistments were for three years, the bounty for each recruit eight dollars, and the monthly pay of privates three dollars. A recruiting office was opened by Ensign Hyde at Bennington about the first of May, and under the spurs of glittering promises of glory, and fervid appeals in prose and verse," the ranks were filled, and the Vermont Gazette of Aug. 31 announced the departure of the company for the seat of war as follows:

This morning the company of recruits raised at the rendezvous in this town, under the command of captain William Eaton, consisting of near 70 of the hardy and brave sons of Vermont, set out on their march for the western country. It has been observed by the muster master and other gentlemen who have seen a number of the other companies of levies, that capt. Eatons company is by far the best that have marched from any rendezvous whatever. They left the ground in good spirits and with that military ambition that becomes a soldier.

Other items in the Gazette show that Eaton's discipline was severe. He was president of a court martial at Albany on the 26th of May, when

The regiment consisted of one company each from the states of Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and North Carolina, and three companies each from Maryland and Virginia.

'Eaton raised a part of the company at Windsor, before he joined Hyde at Bennington.

See Vermont Gazette of May 11, 1792.

a private in a New York company of the regiment was found guilty of desertion, and was on the same day punished by one hundred lashes. On the 7th of Aug. a private in Eaton's company attempted to force the guard, and was shot dead. The company reached Lancaster, Pennsylvania, (on its way to join the army under the command of Gen. Anthony Wayne at Pittsburgh,) on the 20th of Sept., and on the 30th Capt. Eaton wrote as follows to a friend in Bennington:

Extract of a letter from Capt. William Eaton to his friend in this town, dated Lancaster, (Pennsylvania,) Sept. 30.

Our detachment arrived in this city on the 20th instant; not a single man has attempted to escape me since I left Bennington, and I have the reputation of marching the best company of recruits that have passed through the country. Ensign Charles Hyde has once more met the smiles of fortune, and had a very handsome and honorary compliment paid to his abilities, in receiving from the war-office an appointment of Judge Advocate General of the United States army.1

The Vermont company met Wayne at Pittsburgh on the 22d of October, and shortly after joined the army in winter quarters at Legionville; and the succeeding summer [1793] was spent in thoroughly organizing and drilling the army for fighting Indians, on a plan prescribed by President Washington, and in attempting negotiations with the Indians. The latter failing, Gen. Wayne advanced eighty miles north of Cincinnati and erected a fort on the site of Greenville, Ohio, where he remained until the spring of 1794, still actively preparing for a vigorous campaign. A few glimpses only of Eaton's company are found in the Vermont newspapers. The following is from the Vermont Gazette of Nov. 15 1793, preceeding Wayne's advance:

Extract of a Letter from Captain Eaton, to his friend in town, dated Head Quarters, [Hobson's choice,] Sept. 22d, 1793.

The Legion' marches Monday next. Our object is to extend the chain of fortifications. The Indians are collected in large numbers at the Ox Gaze [Au Glaize river, at its junction with the Maumee, the site of fort Defiance,] on the Miami of the Lake, and are determined to meet us on our route-they are elated with their former successes [the defeat of St. Clair]-they are resentful, determinate, and laugh at the idea of our approaching their towns. These circumstances concur to make them less contemptible as an enemy. That they will fight with desperation, we expect and God grant they may have enough of it. We are well disciplined and well reconciled to the expedition, and whatever may be our success, I will venture to assure you, that we shall not fly. Our business will be serious and decisive provided we are engaged, of which I have not a doubt.

Thomas Avery and Benjamin Coburn of my company are dead, the former died May 22, the latter June 1, both of an intermitting fever.

2

Vermont Gazette of Oct. 12, 1792.

President Washington styled Wayne's army "The Legion of the United States," and divided it into four sub-legions, each commanded by a General. Eaton's company was in the sub-legion under Gen. James

Wilkinson.

They were excellent soldiers, I consider their death a very great loss in my company. But death is arbitrary.

From the Vermont Gazette of April 25 1794:

Extract of a letter from an officer in the western army to the editor, dated headquarters Greenville, Jan. 16 [1794.]

A few days since a sergeant, corporal, and twelve men of Capt. Eaton's Vermont company, under the conduct of a Mr. Collins [as guide,] advanced into the Indian country about thirty-five miles from this place, and fell in with a considerable large party of Indians, surprised and routed them; they assembled and fought our Vermonters, with a truly savage fury, killed three and wounded one through the shoulder slightly. Among the former was Samuel Wilder, William Sweetman, and Joel De Bell.

About this time the company was out in various skirmishing and scouting parties; assisted in gathering and burying the bones of those who were killed in St. Clair's defeat; and also in constructing Fort Recovery on that disastrous battle ground.1

The Vermonters were engaged in the decisive battle near the British fort Miami on the 20th of August 1794, which forced the Indians to sue for peace. The following list of Vermonters killed is from the Vermont Gazette of Oct. 31 1794:

Extract of a letter from Capt. James Underhill, to his friend in this town [Bennington,] dated Fort Randolph, Sept. 1, 1794.

For the information of their friends, I send you a list of those Vermont Heroes, who had the misfortune to fall in the glorious action of the 20th of August, at or near Rush_Debeigh [Roche de Boeuf.] Their names are as follows, viz. John Louson, Levi P. Senter, Nehemiah Bracy, John Murray, and Peter Gordon. This information I received from Captain Slough, who was wounded in the action, and who was personally acquainted with all the men. Senter fell by the side of Capt. Slough, within reach of his espontoon.

Capt. Slough, of the Pennsylvania company, was in the regiment with the Vermont company; and in Gen. Wayne's report, he is returned among the wounded of the fourth sub-legion. Hence it appears that the Vermonters were in that legion. The official report of the casualties in that legion was as follows:

Killed-1 lieutenant, [Henry B. Towles of Virginia,] 1 sergeant, 11 privates. Wounded, 1 captain [Slough,] 1 lieutenant [Campbell Smith of Maryland, acting as aid to Gen. Wilkinson,] 2 sergeants, 1 corporal, 23 privates.

The fact, that the Vermont company lost five out of the eleven privates killed, is conclusive proof that the Green Mountain Boys were in the thickest of the battle.

2

It appears above that Lieut. Underhill had succeeded Eaton in the command of the company. This occurred doubtless in Feb. 1794, when

'Life of Eaton, 1818, p. 19.

2 For Gen. Wayne's roport of the battle, see American State Papers, folio edition, title Indian Affairs, Vol. 1, pp. 491–495.