Connecticut Historical Collections

" Before the invention of this machine, it w ill be remembered, that this species of cotton was not known in commerce; the expense of cleaning it being .such, as abso- lutely to forbid its cultivation for market. Ifweaildto these considerations the im- mense increase of wealth derived from it to the southern stales, the incomprehensible increase of cheap, comfortable, and even haniUume clothing, especially for the poor and middle classes of mankind, the value cd this inveution can hardly be exaggerated, Of its benefits too highly apjirecialed."* Notwithstanding the immense importance of this invention to the southern states, "an invention," says Judge Johnson, of South Caro- lina, " hy which their lands trebled in value," Mv. Whitney declared to a friend, near the close of his Wlh, " that all he had received for the invention of the cotton gin. hail not more than compensated him for the enormous expenses which he had incurred, and for the time which he had devoted during many of the hest years of his life, in the prosecution of this suhjcct. He therefore felt that his just claims on the cotton growing states, esjiecially on those that had made him no returns for his invention, so importatit to his country, were still unsatisfied, and that both justice and honor required that compensation shoulii be made." In 1798, Mr. Whitney became deejily impressed with the uncer- tainty of all his hopes founded on the cotton gin, and of the necessity of devoting himself to some business in order to sustain himself and family. The enterprise which he selected in accordance with these views, was the manufacture of arms for the United States. Through the influence of the lion. Oliver AVolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, he obtained a contract for ten thousand stand of arms. The contract was concluded Jan. 14th, 1798, upon which he purchased the site in Haniden and erected his works. "Several other persons made contracts wiih the government at about the same ^iine, and atieinpied the manufacture of muskets, following, siibslanlially so far as they understood it, the meiluni pursued in England. The result of their etforts was a complete failure to'manufaclure muskets of the quality required, at the price agreed to be paid by the government : and in some instances ihey expended in the execution of their contracts a considerable fortune in addition to the whole amount received for their work. " The low state to which the arts had been depressed in this country by the policy of England, under the colonial system, and from which they had then scarcely begun to recover, together with the high price of labor, ami other causes, conspired to render ♦ Dr. Dwight. 222 II A M ij i: N . it impracticable at iliat time even for tlmse most competent to llie iimlertaling, to iiiamilactiiic nuiskiMs lieit- in the Ei\;<lisli iiietliod. And doubtless Mr, ■\Vliiinev' uiuild have shared the late of his enieiprisint,' but mi.Miceesslul eompelilois, had lie adiiptetl the course which they puisued ; but hi^ ^'enius slrucL out lur lam a course entirely new. ^ " in maturing his system he had many obstacles to combat, and a mucli lon^'cr time was occupied, than he had antici[>ated ; but with his characleiislic iirmness he pur- sued his object, in the lace of the obloqu}' and ridicule oC his competitors, the evil predictions of his enemies, and the still more di^ciiurayin^;,' and disheartening; mi.s- givings, doubis, and apprfhensions of his Iriends. His cllbris were at last crowned uilh success, and he had the satislaction to lind, that the business which had proved so ruinous to others, was likely to prove not nllogether unpruliiable to liimself. " (_>ur limits do not pi.-rmil us to give a minute and detailed account oT the system; and we shall only glance at two or ihree of its more jiruminenl features, lor the pur- pose of illustrating its gmieral character. " The several parts ol the inuskcl were, under/this system, carried along through the various processes of manul'acture, in lots of some hundreds or thousands of each. In their various sia^-es of progress, they were made to undergo successive operations by machinery, which not only vasily abridged iho labor, but at the same time so lixed and determined their loiin and diincnsKin.-., as lo make com])arali vely lillle skill ne- cessary in the manual opciMlions. Such was the constriiciioii and arrai:gciiient of this machinery, that it could be workei.1 by persons of little or no experience ; and yet it j)erformed the work with so much precision, that when, iu the later stages ot'ihe pro- cess, the several parts of the musket came to be put together, they were as readily adajited to each other, as if each had been made for its respective fellow. A lot of these parts passed through the haiuls of sitveral (.lilferent workmen successively, (and in some cases several times relDrncd, at intervals more or less lemote, to the hands of the same workman,) each perlorming upon them every lime some single and simple operation, by machinery or by hand, until they were completed. Thus Mr. Whitney vediiceil a complex business, embiaeing many ramifications, almost to a mere succes- sion of simple processes, and was thereby enabled to make a division of the labor among his workmen, on a princi[)le which was not only more extensive, but altogether more philosophical, than that pursued in the English method, lu England, the labor of making a musket was divided by making the diflerent workmen the manufacturers of didiirent limbs, while in Mr. Whitney's system the work was divided with reference 10 its nature, and several workmen performed dilicrenl operations on the same limb. " It will be readily seen that under such an arrangement any person of ordinary ca- pacity would soon acipiire sullicient dexterity lo perform a branch of the uork. In- deed, so easy did Mr. "Whilney find it to instruct new and inexperienced workmen, that lie uniformly preferied to ilo so, rather than lo allempt to combat the prejudices of those who bail learned ihe business under a diflerent sy.-,lem. " When Mr. Whitney's mode of conduciing the bii-^ine-^s was brought into success- ful operation, and the uiiliiv of hi> m.u hiiieiy \vas fullv deiiKiiisiialed, the clouds of prejudice which lowered over hi^ fiiM ellori.>, u ere .soon di.ssipaled, and he had the sat- isfaction ol' seeing not only his sy.>ieiii, but most ol'hi.s machinery, introduced iniei ev- ery other consideiable establishment for the manufacture ol'arms, both public and pri- vate, ill the United Stales,''* The following is from the muster roll of the first company organized in the East Plains society, in llamden. It is statetl to be " A true Roll of the 17th company, or train band, of the second regiment in the col- ony of Connecticut, under the command of Colonel Edward Ailing, Esq. Test, Charles Ailing, clerk of said company." This roll was previous to the Revolution, and from sonic entries thereon, it is believed that the company was formed about the year i-770. Tlie names of the five sergeants were torn off. Stephen Ford, Captain; John GiWi^, Llculcnanl ; Elislia Booth, /';«i!>?4; Charles Ailing, CZe/7. ; Samuel Cooper, Mezekiali Tuttle, Dnimviers; Caleb Ailing, Moses Gilbert, JosephGilbert, Moses Ford, Cmiionds. Zadock Ailing, Amos Ailing, Medad Alwater, Abraham Allin?, Ebenczer A , Bassctt, Ball, Bradley, Bassett, Timothy Coopei, Dan Carrington, Ilezekiah Dickerman, Jonathan Silliman's Journal of Science, Vol. xxi.— Memoir of Whitney. II A M D E N . '•2>'.l Ford, Stephen Fonl, Nathaniel Ford, Daniel Ford, Michael Gilbert, Gregson (?) Gil- bert, Lemuel Gilbert, Daniel Gilbert, Ebenezer M. Gilbert, John Gorhani, Aino^ Gil- bert, iSackit Gilbert, Nathaniel litaton, jr. John Hubbard, jr. Homberslon, John Munson, Daviit JSIunson, Nathaniel Alunsoii, John JNlanser, Jabez Miinson, John Munson, jr. Job Potter, Abel Potter, 'J'iniothy Poller, Levi Polteiv Steidien Potter, Thomas Potter, Amos Potter, jr. John Roe, Ahel iStockwell, Thos. ^Vm. Tallmage, Daniel Tallmaj,'e, jr. Gordain Turner, JaiihetTuiile, Josiah Tallinage, Israel Woodin, Silas Woodin, P^nvtto. jNIr. John Gilbert, it is believeil, was one of tlie sergeants whose names were lost ; he was aftei'wards a captain, and was killed, with five othei's of the Ilaniden company, at the time the British etttered New Haven, July 5th, 1779 : their names were JMichael Gilbert, Samuel Woodin, Silas Woodin, Joseph Dorman, and Asa Todd. IMost of these were killed outright, at the west end of B)'oadway, by a discharge of grape shot from the enemy. Capt. Stephen Ford, who was a member of the Hamden company, and from whom the foregoing roll was ob- tained, is still living in Hamden. He sta/es that Capt. Gilbert was wounded in the leg at the discharge mentioned above : he (led for his horse, which was tied near the College, and as he was not able to go very fast, he was overtaken by Capt. Parker: Cajit. Gilbert offered to surrender, if his life could be spared. Parker, calling him a d d rebel, ordered a soldier to shoot him down. Upon this, Capt. Gilbert discharged his gun at Parker, who fell from his horse, badly wounded ; of course Capt. Gilbert was immediately killed. Connecticut. Ga-ctle, {Xnv Li-mlun,) Jiihj 12, 1782. So. 071. New Haven, June 2G, 1782. Last Monday morning about 9 o'clock, Mrs. Mary Edwards, ijie consort ol'the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Jvlwanls ol'thi.s town, was droumed in iMr. .Sahinu's mill pond.*