Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1868-03-26
4 Remlpiscence Of Gen. washing.
INN.

| 1t is well known that Col. Seth Warn.
err, of Revolutionary memory, who, with
his noted regiment of Green Mountain
Boys, as rear guard of st. Glars retreat.
ing army, after the evacuation of Ticon.
deroga, beat back whole brigade Of the
hotly-pursuing British in the battle OF
Hubbardton, and thus saved, probably,
that luckless Generals entire forces, hur-
rying on, just in front, from rout or cap
ture-who came down like a thunderbolt
on the flushed foe in mid-battle at Ben
nington, and occurred the victory for the
wavering and half-beaten Stark, and who
finally was everywhere known as one OF
the best looking, most heroic, and accom-.
plished military officers of the Continen-
tai army-that Colonel Warner was an
especial favorite of General Washing
| ton.
This preliminary, however, is here in
troduced less on account of any particu-
lar pertinency most of it may have to the
subject than for the purpose or explana-
ton, and securing reader appreciation
and credence to the interesting personal
anecdote which is about to be related, and
which, it is confidently believed, that new
er before appeared IN print.
One son of Col. Warner still survives
or was surviving few years ago, an I'M
pretending resident of Lower Canada
from. which-though then seventy-five
years old, but very active, and in full pos
session of all his strong native faculties
he came to the capital of Vermont with
the object of petitioning the Legislature
for compensation for some lands formerly
granted to the heirs of Col. Warner, but
unwittingly trenched upon by subsequent
grants ; and it was there and then that
the writer of this Renaissance was intro
duced to him, and held several very inter
esting conversations.
In one of these conversations, while
speaking on the private affairs Of his
father, Colonel Warner, he frankly said
that the Colonel was very thoughtless
about precuniary matters; that he not
only expended in the cause Of the country
or aiding the needy families of his soldiers
all his available property, but contracted
many debts, which finally compelled him,
short time before his death, to place a
mortgage on his homestead, amounting at
least to over nine hundred dollars, and
causing the family great deal of depres-
sion and uneasiness. But of this depres-
sing load they were at length suddenly
relieved in the occurrence of most un-
expected incident, and one which formed,
as well it might, quite an era in their fam
lily history But we will let Mr.. Warner,
whose Christian name, we believe, was
that of his father, Seth, relate the men,
orable incident in question in his own
language, which, by the aid of the min
utes before us, we know we repeat sub
stantiafy, and we think very near literal
ly as he made use of it.
at was" he said, in the month of Sep
TENDER, 1880, the Fall that Gen. Wash
ington made his tour through the East
ern States. We had kept ourselves teler-
ably well posted about the progress of this
tour, and heard he was to be in New Ha-
ven or Hartford, Connecticut, somewhere
near the time at which the event l am
going to relate to you took piece. But a,
either Of those places was quite number
of miles from Woodbury., where welived,
we had no more idea Of seeing him than
a man in the moon. My elder brother,
Israel Putnam Warner, then man grown
and myself lad Of twelve or thirteen,
were both living with our mother at that
time. And at the particular time Of the
day I refer TO Israel was in the yard
grooming fathers old war-horse, which he
had been compelled to go with father
through all his campaigns to take charge
of; for the fiery and proud old fellow
would never let anybody but his master,
the Colonel, and his son Israel, mount or
come near him, though he had now got so
much tanned by old age that he would be-
have quite decently with me or anybody
/ was in the house with mother, who hap
pened to be unusually downcast that day,
and was brooding over our family embar-
and had just been saying:
"No, no, Seth Il can never pay, nor, with
our means, hardly begin to pay this dread
full mortgage. And as hear it is about
to be foreclosed, we must now soon be
driven from our pleasant home, where we