Vermont's Revolution (1/4) Independence: 1775-1777

[Music] the American Revolution was a civil war it divided colonies and towns and pig friends and family members against one another it began as a colonial struggle against Parliament to protect the colonists English liberties but it became a war for independence from loyal Authority fought on a global scale huge British armies engaged American and Allied forces from Quebec to Florida and from Boston to the Mississippi River there were actions in all 13 colonies in Canada and the Caribbean in the Mediterranean and in India the New Hampshire grants already embroiled in controversy with neighboring New York with conflicting internal factions east and west of the Green Mountains and left on the frontier to settle its own disputes between Patriots and loyalists became one of the most dangerous places on the continent for over a century northern New England was a no-man's land in a global conflict between France and Great Britain native peoples played one European power off of another and raids on towns and villages during a series of Wars of empire left large areas unsettled the last of these conflicts the French and Indian War ended with the British conquest of Canada thousands of eager British colonists moved into the now peaceful frontier often led by veterans of the war who had seen the area firsthand Bening Wentworth the governor of the colony of New Hampshire began issuing grants for the formation of towns in the Green Mountains and the area became known as the Hampshire grants the settlers who poured into the grants came in to Maine migrations one consisted of settlers from western Connecticut and Massachusetts who moved north into the remote wilderness west of the Green Mountains far from the seats of government and developed a strong sense of their own independence and autonomy the other migration was mostly people from New Hampshire who believed that they were pushing the settlements of their home colony into and beyond the Connecticut River Valley and felt themselves directly tied to their neighbors to the east the differences between those on the eastern and western sides of the Green Mountains would grow into a chasm as a series of crises arose in the grants [Music] the colony of New York also claimed ownership of the grants and incensed over the New Hampshire settlements brought the matter to King George the crown was presented with false reports that the settlers favored New York Dominion when the King declared in New York's favor it inaugurated a decade of turmoil New Hampshire granted land two groups of grantees to form townships settlers who moved into the towns cleared the land and cultivated it they owned their land and all they produced elected each other to public offices and governed themselves at town meetings New York granted land to wealthy and connected individuals who ran their grants like personal fiefdom New York would not honor grants issued by New Hampshire and began regretting the land to clients of the governor many of the settlers had sold everything to build a life on the frontier and the land they owned was equivalent to their life savings New York rule meant the loss of everything that had in the world though unhappy with the Kings decision many towns along the Connecticut River simply applied for and received a grant from New York identical to the one they already held from New Hampshire but many settlers west of the Green Mountains lived on land already being granted to others they were to be evicted or forced to pay rent for the privilege of remaining on land they had already purchased people like Ethan Allen Seth Warner and remember Baker formed an outlaw militia called the Green Mountain Boys they forcibly ran off Yorker settlers surveyors tax collectors and sheriff's sent to bring the grants under New York rule under the leadership of Ethan and Ira Allen's Beddington party the Western grants became increasingly autonomous they hoped to establish a new colony between New York and New Hampshire and to be the ruling part of that colony in the Eastern grants another party formed around the leadership of Jacob Bailey their primary goal was that the Connecticut River should not be a boundary at various times they hoped that New Hampshire might reassert its claim or that a new Valley Colony could be created between the green and white mountains if the willingness of the towns along the Connecticut River to be peaceable under New York rule cause suspicion among the Bennington party the Green Mountain Boys violent and illegal tactics created mistrust on the part of the Connecticut River towns but the growing divisions would find new breath in the crisis to come the people in the grants took great interest in the political protest movements against the British Parliament following the engagements at Lexington and Concord most of the militias in the grants took up arms for the American cause the Green Mountain Boys set out to capture the British Garrison's at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point before they could make their move Benedict Arnold arrived with orders from Massachusetts to capture the fort the Green Mountain Boys made it clear that he was free to come along but they would not follow him on the night of May 10th 1775 Ethan Allen led his men to take Ticonderoga but several hours were spent acquiring boats and ferrying the men across Lake Champlain the approaching dawn forced Allen to attack before he had got half his men across they rapidly overwhelmed the sentries and raced to the British commanders room and demanded the fourth surrender the guard was so surprised that contrary to expectation they did not fire on us but fled with precipitancy we immediately entered the fortress and took the garrison prisoners without bloodshed or any opposition they consisted of one captain and a lieutenant and 42 men along with a fort they captured dozens of cannon and a sizable quantity of liquor the following day Seth Warner led a detachment and captured Crown Point Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold both sought credit for the fort's capture and further glory Arnold won the race to attack fort st. John's in Canada after Alan's party ran out of food and route but Allen got accounts of the events to everyone who mattered both obtained prestige from their involvement in the affair but Allen went from criminal leader of an outlaw band to Patriot legend overnight the Green Mountain Boys were recruited as a regiment of infantry Ethan Allen jumped at the chance for legitimacy but his logistical mismanagement around Ticonderoga was fresh in the men's minds and when elections for officers were held he was passed over in favor of Seth Warner for the command the unit was known from then on as Warner's regiment in the fall of 1775 American forces moved north into British Canada one column advanced up Lake Champlain and laid siege to the British fort at st. John's Ethan Allen led 50 adherents in an attempt to single-handedly capture Montreal after a brief fight Allen was taken prisoner he was put aboard a ship and sent in captivity to England the siege of st. John's dragged on for almost two months before the British and Montreal launched an attempt to relieve the garrison at the Battle of long gay Warners outnumbered regiment repulsed a British attempt to land 800 men on the southern bank of the Saint Lawrence River several cannonball came very near me and the musket balls came close to our heads and great plenty this was the first time I ever shot at a man there was a very steady firing of both sides all the afternoon to after dark I shot 13 times [Music] st. John's surrendered four days later and the American army captured Montreal and advanced down the st. Lawrence River general Benedict Arnold led another column on a difficult march through the wilds of Maine the two forces combined and besieged Quebec City on New Year's Eve they launched an assault in a blinding snowstorm one part of the attack breached the walls and got within the city but the British reacted quickly general Arnold was wounded and the unsupported American troops were defeated they spent a cold winter of privation in front of the walls in desperate need of supply and reinforcements smallpox swept through the camps jacob Bailey convinced General Washington of the advantage of building a road in the Hampshire grants from the Connecticut River to st. John's to send men and supplies to the army and Canada Bailey built 25 miles of road before a change of fortunes in Canada ended the project the spring brought nearly 10,000 British reinforcements to Quebec the Americans abandoned the siege and retreated up the Saint Lawrence River Warners regimen was the last to withdraw bringing off the sick and wounded from the hospitals before joining the retreat as the British closed in on the American forces in Canada a New Hampshire militia regiment containing many residents of the grants was captured outside of Montreal at the Battle of the Cedars in the summer of 1776 the United States declared independence from Great Britain and American forces were expelled from Canada a naval arms race ensued as each side put warships onto Lake Champlain as fast as they could the opposing fleets came to grips in October at the Battle of Valcour Island the American fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold took serious damage but held its own against the Royal Navy during an intense day of battle during the night the American ships slipped past the enemy Anchorage but in the morning the British fleet chased Arnold down the lake and caught up with them near button Bay after a running fight Arnold was forced to burn most of his fleet on the grants shore and retreat overland to Ticonderoga the British were quick to follow up the success but the Continental Army had spent the summer turning Fort Ticonderoga and mount independence into the largest fortified position on the continent when the British commander got a view of the fortifications he determined that an attack would have to wait until the following year and returned to Canada for the winter the divide between the eastern and western grants was as wide as ever but events would force them to lay aside their differences for a time the Continental Congress urged the former colonies to create new state constitutions the New York and New Hampshire constitutions were circulated throughout the Glantz and caused great consternation among the inhabitants New York apportioned political influence by population leaving the glance essentially powerless New Hampshire system did the same and so the Valley Party abandoned any hope of salvation in a renewed claimed by the Hampshire the grants became United in one cause independence On January 15th 1777 a convention met in the town of Westminster and proclaimed the grants to be the independent state of new Connecticut they had hoped to be admitted into the United States but New York maintained its claim to the area and blocked their admission they remained an independent country fighting a parallel war of independence from Great Britain the name of the little Republic was soon changed to Vermont was agreed that a convention be held in the coming months to draft a constitution the document they crafted was truly revolutionary the Vermont Constitution was the first to provide for public education it ensured the right to vote even for those who owned no land and an abolished slavery for the first time in North America it created a unicameral legislature composed of one assembly made up of town representatives and every town regardless of population would have equal representation the Vermont Constitution was ratified by a convention in the town of Windsor on July 8 1776 but by that time the war had come home to the law [Music]

Channel: Seth Warner's Regiment - The Green Mountain Boys

Views: 7,723

Rating: 4.9749999 out of 5

Keywords: vermont, history, revolution, ethan allen, jacob bayley, canada, st johns, longueuil, quebec, valcour island, ticonderoga, crown point, green mountains, green mountain bouys, seth warner, warners regiment, constitution, independence, republic, 1777, 1776, 1775

Id: Xn58Cna0e0U

Length: 14min 38sec (878 seconds)

Published: Sat May 09 2020