Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-05-21
M | s c E L l. A n Y.
From The Historical Magazine
THE WESTMINSTER MASSACRE"
BY u. H. HALL.
Read before the New York Historical Society, March
1st, 1859.

M ID. II. HALL.
Read before the New York Historical Society, March
1st, 1859
GcoNCLUDED.1
1t seems that Lieutenant Leonard Spaulding,
of Dummerston, one of the southern towns in
Cumberland county, had made use of language
unfriendly to the king of Great Britain. The
civil officers of Cumberland county holding
their appointments under New ork, and being
favorable to the Crown, ordered the doughty
lieutenant to be confined. On the 2Sth of Oc-
tober he was arrested, but being a resolute
man, sit took three or four Workers." as one
living at the time said, ''to conquer him when
put in jail" But we will let the old hummer
ston records, kept by the accurate town clerk
of that period, Dr. Solomon Harvey, tell the
story in their own way. Lieut. Leonard Spaul-
ding, having been committed to the common
Jail on the 2Sth of October, for high treason
against the British tyrant George the Third, by
the direction of the infamous Cream Brush his
attorney, and Noah Sabin, William Willard,
and Ephraim Ranney, Esqrs., and VIM. Patter-
son, the high shrieve, and Benjamin Gorton,
and the Infamous Bildad Easton, his deputies,
on the following day. viz, October Goth, a ma
jority of the inhabitants met near the house OF
Charles Davenport, on the green, and made
choice of sundry persons to serve as a commit
tee of correspondency, to join with other towns
or respectable bodies of people, the better to
secure and protect the rights and privileges Of
themselves and fellow-creatures from the rava-
ges and embarrassments of the British tyrant
and his New-York and other emissarics The
persons made choice of were these viz: Solo
mon Harvey, John Butler, Jonathan Knight
Josiah Boyden, jun, and Daniel Gates, by
whose vigilance and activity Mr. Spaulding was
released from his confinement, after about elev-
en- days, the committee finding it necessary tc
be assisted by large concourse of their free.
born neighbors and brethren, consisting of the
inhabitants of Dummerston, Putney, Guilford
Halifax, and Draper, who discovered patriotic
zeal and true heroic fortitude on the important
occasion. The plain truth is, that the BRAY,
sons of freedom, whose patience was worn ou
with the inhuman insults of the imps of power
grew quite sick of diving after redress in le
gal way, and finding that the law was only
made use of for the emolument of its creatures
and the emissares of the British tyrant, resoly
| ed upon an easier method, and accordingl,
opened the Jail without key or lock k-picker; anc
after congratulating Mr. Spaulding upon the re
covery of his freedom, dispersed every man il
peace to his respective home or place of abode.
"The aforegoing," adds DIR. Harvey, sis tru
and short relation of that wicked affair of TIN
New-York cut throatly, Jacobitish, High-church
toretical minions of George the Third the pop
of Canada, and tyrant of Britain"
Such were the feelings of many of the inhab
ltants of this region Of country, four month
before the affray at Westminster, and the fue
which success on this occasion added to tn
| flame which before was not dimly burning, CAV
them resolution for the prosecution of othe
and more important deeds.
by the old French war, and by the deprecia
ton of bills of credit consequent thereupon
many in all parts of the colonies had becom
very much reduced in their circumstances. Tn
sufferers were mostly those who had been off
GERS or soldiers in the provincial service, an,
who now returning from their tolls and strug
giles, found themselves weakened by suffering
their families starving around them, paramen
tary acts of unusual severity enforced in the ci
ties, creditors clamoring for their dues, an,
their own hands filled with paper, worthless a
rags to pay them with
"In Boston," remarks historian of thos
times, "the presence of the royal forces KEEP
the people from acts of violence, but in tn
country they were under no such restraint
The courts of justice expired one after anothe
or were unable to proceed ON business. Tn
inhabitants were exasperated against the sol
diers, and they against the inhabitants TIL
iormer looked on the latter as instruments @