The Bennington daily banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1877-1877, 1877-08-11
THE WE sTMINsTER MASSACRE.

BY the month of March. 1775, warlike at
tack upon the people by the kings troops
which had been collected in force al Boston,
was almost daily expected. and preparations
for resistance were extensively made, es-
pecially in the New England colonies. The
business of the inhabitants had become much
interrupted, and the courts of Justice which
had been held under the royal authority
were, in general, either shut up or had been
adj .urned without doing any business. A
term of the county court, for Cumberland
county, was to be held by appointment at
Westminster on the 14th of that month. The
conduct of this court had long been COM
planned of as unjust and oppressive, and the
judges and other county officers were either
known to be advocates Of the kings meas
ures, or strongly suspected of being Sc cretly
favorable to them. Under these circumstan-
ces the wings of the county. to use their own
language, felt it to be their duty to God, to
themselves and pOsterity, TO oppose all au-
thor1ty that would not accede to the resolves
of the Continental Congress" and especially
to prevent the exercise of such authority
over themselves, by the holding Of term Of
such obnoxious court. All efforts to persuade
the judges not to hold session of the court
proved unavailing, and the people, to the
number of eighty or ninety, assembled at
the court house late in the afternoon of the
18th of March, the day previous to the inten-
ded session, with the determination to hold
possession Of it until the hour of opening the
court the next morning. Sheriff Patterson,
hos ptx kI,,o
had industriously collected body of men, a
large portion of whom 'were armed with
guns swords, and pistols" while those in
the house had only slaves and clubs. To-
wards night the sheriff with his posse APP
peared in front of the court house, aud COM
manded those within to dispense, which
demand not being complied with, lie caused
the kings proclamation against riots to be
read, and threatened, with an oath, that IF
they did not comply with his demand In
fifteen minutes he would blow a hole through
them" The sheriff with his party then re-
tired, and not appearing again at the APP
pointed time. some negotiations were entered
into with one of the judges, by which those
in the house were led to believe that they
would be suffered to occupy it peacefully
until morning, when the negotiation would
be renewed. Under this impression large
portion of the party left the house and took
lodgings in the village, leaving the residue
to keep guard. But little before midnight
the sheriff with his posse again appeared in
front Of the house. aud demanded entrance,
which being refused, he commanded his men
to fire. and the order being obeyed, and the
doorway thereby cleared, the Rssailants
rushed into the house where. after short
hand to hand contest, during which several
more shots were fired, the sherif's party OBJ
tanned n complete victory. Some Of the
wings had escaped from the house by side
passage, but ten we're wounded two Of them
MORALLY, and seven taken prisoners, who
were all thrust into the Jail After a night
of revelry by the sheriff and his party, the
court was opened at the appointed hour, but
no business was transacted. The news of
this rash aud bloody attack upon the people
spread with great rapidity in all directions.
and by noon of the 14th, several hundred
men, varionsly armed, and burning with in
dignation at the court party, had collected
tOgetherI at Westminster The prisoners