Connecticut Historical Collections

" Oil llie 7ih July, 1770, Gm'. Tryim, wiili the array which I l)avo alifady iiiuiitioncd, sailed I'rotii ]Ne\v'Havcii loPaiiliLdd: and ihe next morning disembarked upon, ihe beach. A lew niililia assembleil to oppose ihein ; and in a desultory, scattered man- ner, tbiig-ht wiih ^'reat inlrepidily through most ol' the day. They killed some; look .several prisoners ; and wounded'more. I3in the e.xi)edition was so sudden and unex- pected, that ihe ellorts, made in this manner, were necessarily finilless. The town was iilimdercd ; a great part of Ihe houses, toy;etlier with the two chnrches, the court house. Jail, and school houses, were burnt. The barns had been ju-^t filled with wheal, and other produce. The inhabiiunts, therefore, were turned out into the world, almost lilerally dcsliiuie. " Mrs. Burr, the wife of Thadileus Burr, E.sq. high sherilTof the county, resolved to eoniiiiiie in the uiaiisii)ii house of ilie family, and inalce an atleinpl to save it fioni the coiidagration. 'J'he liou.se stood at a suliicieiU distance from other buildings. Mrs. Burr was adorneil wiih all the qualilies, which gave distinction to her sex ; pos- sessed of line accomplisliiaents, and a dignity of character, scarcely rivalled; and |irobably iiad never known what it was to be treated with disresiiect, or even with in- attention. She made a personal application to Gov. Tryon, in terms, wliich, from a lady of her liiich respectability, could hardly have failed of a satisfactory answer from any ))erson, who claimed the title of a gentleman. The answer whieli shtl actually received, was, howeviM, rude and briilal ; and spoke the want, not only of fiolitene.ss and humanity, but even of vulgar civility. The hou.se was sentenced to the tlanies, 352 FAIRFIELD. and was speedily set on fire. An attempt was made, in the mean time, by some of the soldiery, to rub her of a valuable watch, with rich furniture : for Gov. Tryon refused to protect her, as well as to i)reserve the house. The waich had been already con- veyed out of their reach ; but the house, filled with every ihing which contributes either to comfort or elegance of living, was laid in ashes. "While the town was in flames, a thunder storm overspread the heavens, just as night came on. The conflagration of near two hundred houses illumined the earth, the slcirts of the clouds, and the waves of the Sound, with an union of gloom and grandeur, at once inexpressibly awful and magnificent. The sky speedily was hung Avith the deepest darkness, wljerever the clouds were not tinged by the melancholy lustre of the flames. At intervals, the lightnings blazed with a livid and terrible splendor. The thunder rolled above. Beneath, "the roaring of the fires tilled up the intervals, with a deep and hollow sound, which scemetl to be the protracted murmur of the thunder, reverberated trom one end of heaven to the other. Adl3"to this con- vulsion of the elements, and these dreadful effects of vindictive and wanton devasta- tion, the trembling of the earth ; the sharp sound of muskets, occasionally discharged; the groans, here and there, of the wounded and dying; and the shuuts of triumph: then place belbre your eyes crowds of the miserable sufferers, mingled with bodies of the militia, and from the neighboring hills talcing a farewell pro^pect of their prop- erly and their dwellings, their happiness and their hopes: and you will Ibrm a ju^t but imperfect picture of the burning of Fairfield. It needed no great elfori of imagin- ation to believe, that the final day had arrived ; and that amid this funereal darkness, the morning wouM speedily dawn, to which no night woulii ever succeed ; the graves yield up their inhabitants; and the trial commence, at which was to be finally settled the destiny of man. " The apology made by Gov. Tryon for this Indian elfoil, was conveyed in the fol- lowing sentence. 'The village was burnt, to resent the fire of the rebels from their houses, and to mask our retreat.' This declaration une(|uivocally proves, that the rebels were troublesome to their invaders; and at the same time is to be considered as the best a|)ology, \^hich they were able to make. But ii contains a palpable falsehood, intended to justify conduct which admits of no excuse, aud rejects with disdain every attempt at iialliation. Why did this body of men land at Fairfield at all? There were here no stores; no fortress; no enemy; except such as were to be found in every village throughout the United States. It was undoubtedly the original object of the expedition to set fire to this town, and the aj)ology was created after the work was done. It was perfectly unnecessary to mask the retreat. The townsmen, and the little collection of farmers, assembled to aid them, had no power to disturb it. No British olficer, no British soldier, would coiitess, that in these circumstances he felt the least anxiety concerning any molestation from such oppoters. "The injuries done to a single family, were an immense overbalance for all the good acquired in this expedition, either by tlie individuals engaged in it, or the nation in whose service ihey acted. Particularly, that highly respectable pair, Mr. and Mrs. Burr, in the loss of the mansion of their aiiceslois, and the tre.Tsnres witii which it had been stored through a long siiei'osiou of ye.ir.s; when- the elegant hospitality, which had reigned in it; the refined enjoyments,' which were ihiily fell, and daily distributed to the friend, and the stranger; the works of charily, which were there multiplied; and the rational piety, which was at once the animating and controlling jniuciple; difl'used a brilliancy, marked even by the passing eye; lost more than the whole Brit- ish nation gaineil b\' this devastation. " The next morning the troops re-embarked ; and, proceeding to Green's Farms, set fire to the church, and consumed it; together with filteen dwelling houses, eleven barns, and several stores. Among the houses was that of the Rev. Dr. Ripley, the respectable clergyman of this parish. Here, also, was another proof, that biirning was the object of the expedition. The number of dwelling houses consumed in Fair- field was eighty five; of barns, fifty five; of stores, fifteen ; of shops, fifteen; &c." The building seen in the center of the print is the court house ; the church is on tlie right, and the jail on the left. All these buildings are erected on the very same foundations on which similar buildings stood in 1779, when Tryon laid them in ashes. The church is built precisely in the same form as the one burnt, it being the wish of the el- derly people, that the house should have the same appearance as for- merly; the same Aict is believed to be true of the form of the court house and jail. The stotie steps of the church remain in their former-^ F A I 1! r 1 i; 1, n ;]53 East view of the Court ilonse, Church and Jail, Fairjldd. position, thouL^h somowliat broken hy the fulling of timbers, &:c. at the time the liouse was buiiit. 'J'akiiiu; these facts into consideration, it may be fairly presumecJ, thai thi-; jihice, the green, houses, &:c. have the same appearance as they (hJ in 177i). At the time of the burning of the town, there weie five hun(he(l barrels of rice, which had been smug- gled, storerl in the cellar of the court Ikjliso ; it was all destroyed by the fire. As a IJritish olhccr was coining out of this cellar, a 24 lb. shot came so near him, tlial Ik; baiely savcil himself by springing up- wards, and \\\v Itall pav-cd l.rtwccn his h'g>. The hou^e of iNIr. Burr, mentioned by \)\-. Dwight, wa> about ten rods distant liom the jail, on the eastern side of \\\v road. Mr. ,\o\M^i huu-^c, one of the handsomest in the place, i^ built upon its foimdation?. One of the Hessians who was killed, was buried at the western side of the church. •it. t nil III] III"! iiiiij filli] [iiiil i i'li P ■111 Vi^Ki ■til liiii ■III iiiiii I'ii'l I' li'ii] Il'cstcrn view of the JJucLitij house, Fairfield. This building is one of the oldest in the town, having stood one hun- dred and fifty years, and has been used as a tavern ever since the year 1740, till vi'ithin one or two years past. Jt stands on the easTern side 45 351 r ,v 1 u V I \: l i» . of the green, fronting the church, which is ahout thirty roils dislant. "When this house was erecteil, it was necessary to clear away tlie forest trees. It was huilt hy Mr. J3uckley, and has ever remained in possess- ion of his descendants of that name to the present time. Tiiere has been however two modern additions ; one is seen at the south end, the other on the west side of the house. At the time of the invasion of the British, a 24 pound shot, which was fired from Black Rock, entered the chimney. In the entrance at the door, are still to be seen the marks of twenty seven bullets, on the stair-way. The heat was so great during the conflagration, that all the window glass in front oC^this house were broken. This house was Tryon's head-quarters while in the place; lie lodged in the chamber in the south part of the house, shewn in ihe en- graving by the letter a. It was also the head-ciuarlers of Col. Tal- madge, who arrived from While Plains the day after Tryon left. His army encamped before the house, and their tents covered the green. Soon after the army had departed, Capt. Sturges, who commanded a company of militia, came into the street, placed a field ]iicce in front of where the churc!) now stands, and pointing it at the Jiuckley house, in- formed l\Irs. Buckley that he would allow hur a short time to clear the liouse, and unless she left it, woidd blow her to atoms. Mrs. Buckley found means to let Gen. Silliman (who li\cd a!)oiit two miles distant) know her situation, lie itmnediately came, and found about 150 men by the cannon. He ordered them to dispeise, and unless they obeyed him, he would put them under guard. This threat had the desired effect.