It Happened Here -- At the Liberty Pole

Fourth of July weekend is a time for parades, fireworks and patriotic displays. One of the first displays of patriotism, (or at this time--rebellion), was erected a little way west of Caughnawaga (present day Fonda) near the house of John Veeder.

The Liberty Pole dates back to Roman times when a pole was erected in ancient Rome to celebrate the assassination of Julius Caesar, and the brief restoration of the power of the democratic Senate over the Emperor. It was topped with a red cap (Latin--pileus) traditionally worn by freed slaves on feast days. In the last decade, in America, the "Sons of Liberty" had erected poles in Boston and New York to protest British taxes and sanction imposed on the Colonies.

N. William St., Johnstown

Events were moving rapidly in the spring of 1775 both in the Colonies, and locally in Tryon County to polarize Whig and Tory factions. In March, Loyalists at the courthouse in Johnstown had put forth a declaration condemning the actions of the Continental Congress; in April militamen and the King's troops had come to blows at Lexington and Concord;

 In June a much more serious battle would occur at Bunker hill;  in June a local Committee of Safety would be formed in Tryon County to protect citizens from the threatened actions of the Tories; and Sir John Johnson and his loyalists would begin fortifying Johnson Hall.

Hall Avenue, W.State St. Johnstown

 At the Veeder homestead perhaps two hundred farmers and tradesmen had gathered to hear speeches and declarations of resistance to British taxation and regulation. At the culmination of the rally the crowd surged forward to lift a large liberty pole and set it in a prepared hole in the ground.  As they did Sir John Johnson came thundering up in his carriage, surrounded by his lieutenants, Col. Guy Johnson, Col. Daniel Claus, and Walter Butler, with a retinue of retainers from Johnson Hall, armed to the teeth.

Rte. 5, west of Fonda

Guy Johnson forced his way onto the front stoop,which served as a speakers platform. Had Johnson chose to address the crowd in a conciliatory manner, reminding them of the great affection they had had for his late-uncle, Sir William Johnson and the role the British monarch had played in bringing many of their Palatine fathers and grandfathers to this valley he might have won over many of the uncommitted participants and spectators.  But instead, Johnson, his blood up, began to berate the participants for their disloyalty and ridicule any thoughts they might harbor of warring against the mighty British empire, capping his tirade with a threat to turn loose the feared Iroquois into the valley to scalp and pillage.  Johnson's words only served to infuriate the crowd.

Standing among participants was a respected farmer, Sampson Sammons and two of his sons, Jacob and Frederick.  Jacob, a volatile teenager rushed the platform shouting "Villian!"
Johnson holding the whip from Sir John's carriage struck him with the lead-weighted handle of the whip, then struck him again when he attempted to rise and aimed a pistol at the boy before it was batted away by another bystander. Shoving and blows followed until cooler heads in the crowd intervened to stop a melee between unarmed protestors and the Johnson's armed retainers that could have turned into a massacre.

DAR Monument at the site

The crowd dispersed, but the feelings generated at the Liberty Pole that day would ignite a war that would burn in the Valley for the next seven long bloody years.






                      
                                      Rte 30A,  Fonda

The Sammons family would
suffer greatly during the Revolution.

Rte 5, Amsterdam

Guy Park was abandoned 
when Col. Guy Johnson
left for Canada later that
year 


A few years ago Guy Park
was severely damaged by
Hurricane Irene floodwaters

Marker of the Week -- Reflected Glory?

Rte. 7, Worcester

In the U.S., Presidents are the closest
thing we have to royalty, so any
connection with a president is apt
to have a certain cache, even if that
connection is only that it was the
residence of the father of a  president
born, raised and served as a
congressman from Ohio, who served
only seven months and is known
mainly for being assassinated.




I suppose it is at least as "historic" as this marker:

 Broad St., Port Henry