The Romance of Norwalk

Immediately after the declaration of war between Eng¬ land and France, May 18, 1756, Connecticut commenced shipping men to the front just as fast as she could muster them, adding to the regiments she had already sent to the aid of England in 17 55. Norwalk cheerfully shouldered her burden in both expenses and soldiers during the war. There were Norwalkers in the expedition to Cape Breton, in the battle of Quebec, when both the brave English General Wolfe and the brave Frenchman, General Montcalm fell, mortally wounded; in the skirmishes at Crown Point, at Ticonderoga and at Montmorency and in the capture of Louisburg. The Connecticut Historical Records, volumes nine and ten, reveal the names of the following officers: 1755, Thaddeus Mead, fourth company, first regiment, second lieutenant under Captain Nathan Payson of Hartford. 1755, Samuel Hanford, captain, fifth company, fourth regi¬ ment. 1756, Thaddeus Mead, appointed commissary in the third regiment, March, 1756, for the forces raised for the expedition against Crown Point, March, 1756. 1756, Daniel Fitch, second lieutenant, tenth company, fourth regi¬ ment under Captain Moses Stoddard of Litchfield. 1757, Thaddeus Mead, lieutenant under Captain Pevey Fitch of Stamford. This was in the expedition against Fort William Henry, in August, 1757. 1757, Samuel Marvin of Norwalk, first lieutenant under Samuel Handford, captain, in the expe¬ dition against Fort William Henry. A footnote says that: “one hundred of the above named (the soldiers in the com¬ pany) rode horses from Norwalk.” Thaddeus Mead, 1759, captain, ninth company, third regi¬ ment, Connecticut troops. 1759, Levi Taylor, ensign, twelfth company, third regiment under Captain Reuben Fer¬ ris of Greenwich. 1759, Thaddeus Mead, captain, tenth company, third regiment. Mead commanded this company which included two sergeants, three corporals, 63 privates 1 14 ROMANCE OF NORWALK who had served in previous campaigns, and 28 new men, probably in addition to the commissioned officers. A foot¬ note is to the effect that: “Captain Mead is said to have been killed during the campaign, probably in August.” (Mead Family.) That Mead was most active in the cam¬ paigns is evidenced by the number of times his name, with different forces, appears in the records. Daniel Belden of Norwalk was wounded while in service in 1758. Mathew Mead was a quartermaster from March 27 to November 21, 1758, in the fourth regiment. In addition there was the famous Colonel Fitch of Nor¬ walk, son of Governor Thomas Fitch. During the war, in the early years, he commanded four regiments encamped at Greenbush, before Albany. Later in the war, Fitch was named senior colonel and commanded sixteen Colonial regi¬ ments. Four of these came from Connecticut, two from New York, two from New Jersey, eight from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Flampshire and Vermont. While her soldiers were giving their life’s blood at the front, during the French and Indian War, Norwalk, behind the lines, was energetically taking care of her own private end of the struggle. The town records show that on No¬ vember 2, 1757, it was voted at meeting that the residents of the community tax themselves a penny on the pound for all rateable estate, in order to care for the 350 regular sol¬ diers scheduled to be stationed in Norwalk. The soldiers erected winter quarters here and remained in town through¬ out the cold months. Men and women in the settlement cheerfully supplied the soldiers with all they needed, denying themselves when necessary. Throughout the war, this community proved itself un¬ questionably loyal to king and country. The drain on pocket- books and manhood, caused no murmur of dissatisfaction. The king called, England needed Norwalk, and Norwalk was ready and willing to do all she could. The war ended with the signing of a preliminary peace pact in Paris, No- FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 1 1 5 vember 3, 1763. Final signing took place February 10, 1764. YANKEE DOODLE HOUSE HERE The name of Colonel Thomas Fitch, son of Governor Thomas Fitch, has come down to us through history, as being something more than honorably mentioned in connec¬ tion with the French and Indian War. Tradition has it, that Col. Fitch was the originator, or perhaps it would be better to say, the cause of the origin of the famous song, “Yankee Doodle.” It is said that when Fitch marched his ragged men into Albany to meet the English during the French and Indian War, a British army surgeon, Dr. Rich¬ ard Shuckburg, by name, composed the song in derision of the badly dressed Colonial soldiers. The song “took” and shortly all the troops were singing it. To perpetuate the honor, linked with the name of Colonel Thomas Fitch, the home in which the brave officer lived in East Norwalk, was forthwith called “Yankee Doodle” house, which name it still bore when it was torn down in 1917. H owever, Norwalk is not to be allowed to enjoy her memories without dispute, for there are other cities in the United States, which claim to harbor the real and original Yankee Doodle Elouse. Chief among these is Rensselaer, New York. Rensselaer offers Fort Cralo, supposedly the oldest building in the country, having been erected in 1642, as its claim. Local tradition in that section has it that Dr. Shuckburg was attached to the fort at the time he composed “Yankee Doodle” and that he wrote the words of the song within the fort. Which city has the right to claim ownership of the real Yankee Doodle House? Rensselaer, the place in which the song is said to have been composed? Or Norwalk, the place from where the cause of all the hubbub is said to have come? The writer, in an endeavor to ferret out some in¬ formation on the subject, made inquiries at the New York state library in Albany, the Rensselaer library at Rensse- 1 16 ROMANCE OF NORWALK laer, New York; the New York public library in New York City; the Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport libraries, and the Connecticut State library at Hartford. Let us see first what can be offered in Norwalk’s favor. Mrs. J. E. Russell of 9 Putnam ave. is in possession of an old clipping which tells how Col. Fitch and his soldiers left Norwalk. It is in part as follows: “Elizabeth Fitch came out of the house with her brother Thomas and looked with dismay at the strangely costumed ‘cavalry’ straggling along the road. ‘Oh,’ she cried, ‘you should have uniforms of some kind.’ She hurried into the chicken run at the rear of the house and emerged a few minutes later with a handful of feathers. ‘Put these in your hats,’ she commanded, ‘soldiers should wear plumes.’ And the solemn New Englanders grinned sheepishly and obeyed. With these feathers as the sole badge of their hastily as¬ sumed profession, Connecticut’s militia took the trail for Al¬ bany. Dr. Shuckburgh, when he saw them said: ‘Now stab my vitals, they’re macaronis, every one of them!’ He used the slang of the day for a fop, an exquisite.” Historian Charles Selleck, author of Selleck’s “Norwalk” tells the generally accepted story of Fitch and Yankee Doo¬ dle and says that “in derision of the appearance of his (Fitch’s) command, an English officer wrote, near East Albany, the wordy jargon, Yankee Doodle.” Rev. Augustus Beard, D.D., of Main st., is of the opinion not only that Col. Fitch of Norwalk was responsible for the song “Yan¬ kee Doodle Came To Town Riding on a Pony” but “that the horse thus made immortal also came from Norwalk.” In addition, the “Colonial and Revolutionary Homes of Wilton, Norwalk, Westport, Darien and vicinity,” gives the story of Fitch and the Yankee Doodle House as being similar to that quoted above. This house, home of Colonel Thomas Fitch, stood for many years on Flendricks ave., near East ave., in the vicinity of what is now called Elton Place. In 1917, the house, which had long been in a state of decay, was demolished by Yankee Doodle House in Norwalk, Connecticut Yankee Doodle House in Rensselaer, New York . . - / FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 1 17 a storm and it was found necessary to tear down the re¬ maining supports. The cellar is still standing and may be seen quite plainly. Part of the old well may also be dis¬ cerned. It was filled in some time ago and flowers grew above its rim. Lately, however, due possibly to water action below, the filling has sunk some seven feet. The property is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Hendrick of 166 East ave., and has been in the Hendrick family for generations, having been originally bought by the family from Colonel Thomas Fitch. Mr. Hendrick’s grandfather was born in the house and his great grandfather owned it. Mrs. Hend¬ rick says she had many times been through the old building which was a two story frame structure, clapboarded. On the ground floor was a huge kitchen with great fireplace, a bedroom leading off the kitchen and a “parlor” in front. Upstairs were two more bedrooms. The Hendrick family members intend to retain the property, but will not build on it. Rather they will keep it as it is, overgrown with flowers, a tribute to the memory of the brave Colonel Fitch. YANKEE DOODLE HOUSE IN NEW YORK Rensselaer, near Albany, New York, is loud in its claim of being the home of the original and authentic Yankee Doodle House. The story of Fort Cralo goes back a good deal farther than does the story of Norwalk’s Yankee Doo¬ dle house. In 1642, one Stephen Van Rensselaer had a fort and manor house, named Fort Cralo, after his estate on the Zyder Zee, erected on his farm just outside the precincts of the village of Greenbush, now Rensselaer, near Albany. Of this fort, Kenneth MacFarland, student and historian of Rensselaer, says: “Fort Cralo is without doubt, there being no evidence to the contrary, the oldest house in the United States . “In the year 1758, during the French and Indian War, General Abercrombie, ‘Aunt Abbie,’ as the soldiers called him behind his back, was in command of the British forces 1 1 8 ROMANCE OF NORWALK