The Romance of Norwalk

It will be remembered that about 30 houses were saved or rather escaped burning during the raid. One of these was the Bissell house, which stood on the corner of Mill hill and Park st., and is now the site of Le Cordon Bleu restaurant. During Revolutionary times it was the home of Thomas Belden and later the residence of Governor Bissell, according to Hall. When Tryon came to town, Belden’s housekeeper, in a fever of anxiety about the property under her care, ran across the Green to ask advice of Mrs. St. John, whose house stood where Morgan ave., and East ave. join. It was Saturday night and Mrs. St. John was preparing her bread for baking in the brick oven. In burst the housekeeper to ask Mrs. St. John if she were going to stay. The latter answered no, that she meant to “get out of the way.” Thereupon the housekeeper answered that she intended to plead with Tryon to save the house as he had once stayed there overnight. Mrs. St. John seeing her decision, said with true New England thrift: “If you are going to stay, take my dough” and so the housekeeper re¬ turned bearing the burning oven wood and the bread. Later, the housekeeper succeeded in saving her master’s home, by BURNING OF NORWALK 165 pleading with Tryon. The British put out the flames which were already licking the walls. Meanwhile, Mrs. St. John and her husband and family, with what effects they could carry, went up into the woods at East Rocks. They took with them a bedstead which they set up and slept on. With them also they took provisions and a cow which provided milk during the short stay in the woods. The St. John house was in the vicinity of the Grumman house, close to the foot of Grumman’s hill. On Main st., in a section then called Mill Plain, was the Gould Hoyt homestead which was saved from the flames through the efforts of Mrs. Hoyt, a former Fairfield lady, who had known General Tryon in the days of peace. Curiously enough it is said that the first ice cream made in Norwalk was served at the Hoyt table. It was of pure cream, flavored and frozen. Th rough the efforts of slaves, who were members of the household, the Benjamin Isaacs house which stood on the corner of Wall st. and Isaac st., was saved. The Anson Quintard house on Water st., once a handsome residence, was also spared. On West ave., near Berkley st., was the former home of John Belden of Revolutionary times. It was saved due to the fact, so it is said, that General Garth stored ammunition there during his short stay in Nor¬ walk. Isaac Belden’s house, on West ave., now owned by the Catholic club, was built just after the Revolutionary war, on the site of his father’s homestead. Through a lucky accident, the Reuben Mott house, on Belden ave., was saved. British soldiers broke into the milk room at the back of the house, helped themselves to the milk and then set fire to the shelves in the storeroom. It so happened that there was no floor in the place, and when the burning shelves fell, they simply struck the damp earth and smoldered out. The former home of Dr. and Mrs. Frederick J. Morrison, 502 West ave., corner of Maple st., was formerly the home of Congressman Ebenezer J. Hill, father of Mrs. Helena Hill Weed of Wilson Point, ROMANCE OF NORWALK 1 66 Mrs. Elsie Hill Levitt of Ridgefield, and Miss Clara Hill, now of Mexico. The house itself is on the site of the former Deacon Thomas Benedict home, where Garth’s Tory soldiers stopped to refresh themselves on that eventful Sunday morning, July 11, 1779, with wine and cider, placed on the stoop for the Norwalk guards. Back of the house, off Maple st., was a large well, now covered over. Here Washington and Lafayette on their way to and from Boston, are said to have stopped. The tale is told of the manner in which they sat around the curb of the great well and ate their lunch. The well supplied the Benedict home and later the Hill home, with water. Deacon Benedict was quite a well-to-do man, with farm, house, store, cider mill and distillery. His home was temporarily saved from fire, because Garth placed some of his wounded men in it. The store, cider mill and distillery, the British destroyed. Later, they even made an attempt to burn Benedict’s house, but as soon as they retreated the people rallied and put out the fire. Belden Selleck’s was another home saved, not because the soldiers didn’t make an attempt to burn it, but because they were in too much of a hurry. The house of Dr. Rogers, distinguished physician, which stood on Town House Hill, was not saved, but several articles in it were, including a silver headed cane, the gift of Governor Fitch, and the Rogers coat of arms. Piles of black smouldering wood which represented all that remained of quaint little green md white colonial homes; ruins of mills and stores like horrid dead blotches on the fresh, green landscape; charred Sower gardens; miles of burned grain fields; the useless 4pars of sunken ships still discernible above the waters near the docks; the prostrate bodies of dead horses and cows too slow to escape the enemy’s torch; streets strewn with wreckage and debris from battle splintered homes and from the effects of the fleeing villagers; a gaunt chimney here; a metal church bell there; such was Norwalk after the passing of Tryon. BURNING OF NORWALK 167 SOLDIERS RETURN HOME The patriot army, with the exception of a small force at West Point, was disbanded November 3, 1783, and Nor¬ walk soldiers hurried home as fast as ever their horses or their legs could carry them. Norwalk took an active part in the Revolutionary War, a very active part, Bancroft the historian says: “Norwalk sent more men to the Revolu¬ tionary War in proportion to its population than any town in the 13 colonies.” Of the companies which went to the front and of the fields on which they fought, C. F. Hallock, has the following to say, in the book, “Norwalk After 250 Years “The War of the Revolution was now upon our people and from 1775 to 1783 Norwalk was well represented, for the Colonial Army in the spring of 1775, the Fifth Regiment was mainly recruited from Fairfield County, and Norwalk sent a company. The officers of this company were Capt. Matthew Mead, First Lieut. Levi Taylor, Second Lieut. William Seymour. There were a large number of the citizens of Norwalk, but we are unable from the records to obtain the names of all those who enlisted from Norwalk. This company saw very severe service during its seven months’ campaign. Again in 1777 we were called upon to furnish another regiment from Fairfield county. This regiment was called the Fifth Regiment, Conn, line and in it Norwalk was again represented by nearly a whole com¬ pany, who were to serve three years or during the war. This regiment saw severe service, was engaged at the battle of Germantown, October, 1777, wintered with Washington at Valley Forge, winter of 1777 and 1778; was at battle of Monmouth, June, 1778; wintered at Redding, Conn., winter of 1778 and 1779, in what is now Putnam Park. Our men in this regiment were kept constantly on the move from this time until the expiration of their term of service. We find it impossible to obtain from the records the names and the number of men from Norwalk who participated in ROMANCE OF NORWALK 1 68 the War of the Revolution. But enough is found to warrant us in saying that whatever of patriotism we may have in our blood today we came honestly by it from the example of the heroes of the Revolution.” When in April, 1775, the battle of Lexington and Con¬ cord was fought, a young Norwalk boy found himself in the vicinity of Lexington and the battle ground. He was Captain Stephen Betts. Captain Betts fought heroically in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and he did not leave Mas¬ sachusetts until the British embarked under General Howe and said goodbye to Boston. We find him later in the battle of Norwalk. Through the efforts of the Norwalk chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the graves of many of the soldiers, interred in the Union Cemetery, the Town House Cemetery, the East Norwalk Cemetery, the Roway- ton Cemetery and the Pine Island Cemetery have been identified. Some of them are as follows: In the Union Cemetery: Hezekiah Betts, sergeant; Dr. Jonathan Knight, surgeon’s mate; Silas Betts, private. Town House Cemetery: Isaac Betts, private; John Betts, private; Jesse Bedient, private; Jabez Gregory, captain; Stephen Hoyt, private: Jarvis Kel¬ logg, private; Hezekiah Lockwood, private; Nathan St. John, private; Enoch Scribner, sergeant and ensign; Stephen St. John, private; James Selleck, private. East Norwalk Cemetery: Hezekiah Hanford, private in the coast guard; John Eversley, private; Stephen St. John, lieutenant colonel, who was taken prisoner at night in his house by Major Hubbell and a party of Loyalists, his son also being taken; Daniel Eversley, corporal; Samuel Marvin, Jr., private; William St. John, private; James Fitch Third, Daniel Hanford, James Smith, Josiah Raymond, David Comstock, all privates; Richard Camp, who saw service in New York, sergeant; Asa Hoyt, lieutenant; Aaron Keeler, ensign; John Lockwood, paymaster; John Street, Hezekiah Whitlock and Hezekiah Whitney, privates. BURNING OF NORWALK 169 Rowayton Cemetery: Moses Webb, private; John Rich¬ ards, householder keeping watch; Stephen Raymond, private; Jesse Reed, also a householder keeping watch; Eli Reed, lieutenant and captain; Gershom Raymond, commit¬ tee of safety, county congress and householder keeping watch; Paul Raymond, clerk and sergeant; Rev. Moses Mather, D. D., patriot pastor, Middlesex church, taken prisoner by British and in New York prison ship for six months; John Mather, private. Pine Island Cemetery: Nathan Hoyt, private; William Bouton, sergeant; Nathaniel Raymond and Stephen Hyatt, privates; William Seymour, lieutenant; James Seymour, quartermaster; John Seymour, private; Nathaniel Benedict, private; Samuel Keeler, captain, in prison at Fort Washing¬ ton; Stephen Wood, Daniel Hoyt and Daniel Lockwood, privates; Uriah Raymond, ensign; John Seymour, William Hoyt, Evert Quintard, James Quintard and John Hoyt, jr., and Nathaniel Raymond, jr., and Marvin David, privates. D. A. R. MONUMENTS