Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1891-08-21
BENNINGTON.
VERMONT'S DAY OF GLORY,

4 Glance at the Meaning of Wedmes-
days Celebration and the Events Conn
memOrated.
The week which is now drawing to a
close is a historic one in Vermont, and not
in Vermont alone, but in New England,
and throughout the United States, when
its import is rightly understood. Wednes-
days great celebration at Bennington com
memorated two separate and distinct events
which have left their impress on American
history. The story of the battle of Ben
nington, which was fought IA years ago
last Sunday, was told in the excellent arti-
Gle printed in The Phoenix of last week.
and it should be read in connection with
the account of Wednesdays celebration by
every one who would read intelligently. 1t
was this event which had the place OF first
significance in Wednesday, brilliant cere-
monial.
The second event commemorated was
that of Vermont's admission to the Union
as a free and Independent state, March !,
1871. The long struggle of which this
event marked the end was fraught with no
less of interest to the people of Vermont,
and it was carried on with no less of hero
ism, determination and self-denial, than
the war of the Revolution by the United
colonies. The history of Vermont. As il is
usually written. names the first white set
tlement as having been made in Vermont
at Fort Dunmer. Just below the village of
Brattleboro, in 1924, but recent historical
research, given to the public within the
past year through the columns of The
PhuniX, has established the fact that the
first white settlement was actually made in
what is now the town of Vernon. about
the year 1880. From that time on the
sturdy pioneers from Massachusetts, and
Connecticut steadily pushed their way into
the Vermont wilderness to possess its fer
tile lands. The original charters or land
grants were given by Gov Benning Went
worth of New Hampshire, and it was from
this fact that the territory derived its orig
inal name of the "New Hampshire Grants.
In 1862 it is stated that nearly ljO town
ships, six miles square, had been granted
in this way to the Vermont settlers under
the authority of the king. Then arose the
contest with New York, when that colony
set up its claim to all the land west of the
Connecticut river, under royal grant to
the Duke of York The courts We're in the
hands of the New York authorities and
through them a systematic effort was made
to dispossess the Nermonters of their lands.
Their innate sense of justice, and the pug
nacity which was equally an Unborn char
acteristic, rebelled against such an outrage,
and it was then that ETHAN Allen and the
Green Mountain boys of 1776'' came to the
front They fought loyalty for the indie
pendence of the colonies, but along with
this was a continuous fight for their own
Independent rights. and up to her final adj
mission to the Union Vermont was in a
certain sense as much an Independent ma
tionality as if she had been geographically
separated from the other colonies.
The first of the overt acts of REBEL
| ion which eliminated at Lexington and
Bunker Hill, took place on Dummerston
common in this county, when Leonard
Spaulding, arrested for speaking his mind
| too freely, was let out of gaol without "key
or lock-pcker.n Following this came the af-
| fray at Westminster court house March H.
| 1878. when William French was shot and
| killed. The purpose of French and the
others who had gathered there was to pre-