While the war continued against the French in Canada, Connecticut made great exertions, and did more most of the time than double her proportion, compared with the rest of the colonies. In the year 1759, she had more than six thousand men in actual service. At this period the militia were more numerous than at present, according to the population, as all from the age of sixteen to sixty, were obliged to bear arms. In the year 1762, the New England colonies rendered very important services in the reduction of Havana and Martinique. It was, however, a fatal enterprise to most of the New England troops; of nearly 1000 men who were engaged in the expedition, not 100 returned. Such as were not killed in the service, were swept away by the bilious plague.

After the definitive treaty of peace, signed at Paris, Feb. 10th, 1763, which ended the French wars, the extension of settlements, commerce, wealth and population in Connecticut, were extremely rapid. "After the peace, an almost boundless scope of commerce and enterprise was given to the colonists. In these favorable circumstances, with the return of thousands of her brave and industrious inhabitants to the cultivation of their fields, and the various arts and labors of peace, the colony was soon able to exonerate itself from the debt contracted by the war." These prosperous circumstances continued till the beginning of the Revolution.

Connecticut, by her charter, granted in 1662, extended from Narragansett river on the east to the South Sea on the west, excepting such lands as were then occupied by prior settlers. Nearly nineteen years afterwards, William Penn obtained a grant of lands on the west side of the Delaware river, extending northward to the 43d degree of latitude; this covered part of the territory embraced in the Connecticut charter. For nearly a century after the charter was obtained, Connecticut neglected to claim these lands, which lay westward of the colony of New York. But after she had granted all her lands eastward of that colony, a company was formed with the design of planting the lands within her charter, on the Susquehannah. This company was formed in 1753, and the next year a purchase was made from the sachems of the Six Nations of a large tract, at Wyoming. In 1774, the settlement was formed into a town, called Westmoreland, which sent representatives to the Assembly of Connecticut.

The treaty of the Connecticut men with the Indians, and their purchase of the lands, excited the jealousy of the proprietaries of Pennsylvania. They proceeded to take a deed of the same lands from some of the chiefs, who declined signing the deed to the Connecticut purchasers. Grants of land were made by Pennsylvania, and settlements begun, which excited warm disputes, and an attempt was made to drive the Connecticut settlers from the lands by force of arms. In 1770, the Legislature of Connecticut sent certain questions to England to be proposed to the most able lawyers there, respecting her title to the lands in question. The answers were favorable to her claims, and she determined to support them. But the Revolutionary war suspended the controversy, until 1781, when both states agreed to appoint

commissioners to settle the dispute. An act of Congress was passed, constituting these commissioners a court to hear and determine the controversy. In November, 1782, the commissioners met at Trenton, N. J. This court decided that Connecticut had no right to the lands in question, and that the territory comprised in the chartered limits of Pennsylvania belonged of right to her. Although Connecticut acquiesced in the decision at Trenton, yet she maintained her claim to all the territory within the range of the north and south boundaries of the state, as expressed in the charter, lying west of Pennsylvania, and extending to the Mississippi. With a view to obtain the implied sanction of their charter claims, Connecticut in 1786, by their delegates in Congress, ceded to the United States all the lands within the charter limits, west of Pennsylvania, excepting a tract 120 miles in length, adjoining that state on the west. This cession was accepted. A part of the reserved lands, amounting to half a million of acres, was granted by the state to the inhabitants of New London, Fairfield and Norwalk, whose property had been destroyed by the enemy during the Revolutionary war. The remainder was sold in 1795, and the money arising from the sale constitutes the School Fund, for the support of schools throughout the state. The title of Connecticut to the reserved lands, was confirmed by Congress in 1800. This territory, now forming part of the state of Ohio, is still called the Connecticut or Western Reserve.

During the great struggle of the Revolution, Connecticut was one of the foremost in the confederacy in resisting the tyranny of Britain, and was lavish of her blood and treasure in sustaining the conflict against her oppressions. Her soldiers were applauded by the commander in chief of the American armies for their bravery and fidelity. In the last war with Great Britain, in the first conflict on the ocean, the first flag was struck to a native of Connecticut: on the land, the first flag which was taken, was also surrendered to one of her sons.

The founders of Connecticut were men of intelligence, virtue, and piety, and understood the great principles of civil and religious liberty; hence they laid the foundations of those institutions which distinguish her among her sister states of the Union. Ever republican in her form of government, she has, in effect, ever been a free and independent commonwealth; and whilst the other colonies were suffering under the domination of Royal Governors, she has from the beginning been governed by rulers of her own choice.

After the declaration of independence, Connecticut did not follow the example of most of the other states, and adopt a written constitution, but continued the government according to the ancient form; a statute being enacted, the session following the declaration of American independence, July 4th, 1776, which provided that the government should continue to be organized and administered according to the provisions of the charter. This form of government continued without any very essential alterations till 1818. In this year, a convention of delegates from the several towns, elected by the people, convened in Hartford, and after a Session of about three weeks, framed a constitution of civil government for the state. This being submitted to the

electors on the 5th of October, 1818, was ratified by them by a majority of fifteen hundred and fifty-four votes.

Although small in her territorial limits, Connecticut can boast of distinguished men in almost every department in life. For patriotism and love of country, she can point to a Sherman, her Trumbulls, and her martyrs, Hale, Ledyard, and Wooster. For bravery, bold and daring enterprises, she can point to an Allen, Eaton, Arnold, and Ledyard. "In theology," (says the Edinburgh Review,) "Jonathan Edwards is the very Euclid of divines; and the Americans would do well, in claiming due honour for their geniuses, to put him at the head of the list, for the country never produced a greater." In holy zeal and devotion to the sacred cause of Christianity, as a missionary, David Brainerd stands confessedly the first in modern times. For men of genius in the various departments of science, the mechanic and other arts, Connecticut is second to none of her sister states. Trumbull, Barlow, Dwight, and others, are among the first American poets; and Trumbull, in every thing that constitutes a great historical painter, is the first among his countrymen.

HARTFORD COUNTY.

HARTFORD COUNTY was constituted such in 1666. Its original limits comprised an extensive district of country on both sides of Connecticut river, the entire county of Tolland, most of the counties of Middlesex and Windham, and a part of the counties of Litchfield and New London. The present extent of the county is about 30 miles from north to south, and averages 25 miles in breadth from east to west. It is bounded N. by Hampden County in Massachusetts, E. by Tolland County, w. by Litchfield, and s. by the counties of Middlesex and New Haven. This county as a whole, in resources, wealth, and population, will rank before any other in the state; and, in many respects, before any in New England. The valley of the Connecticut is justly celebrated for the extent and richness of its meadows; and there is no section throughout its whole course, where they are more enlarged or fertile than in this county. The soil generally is rich, various and fertile, and is for the most part highly cultivated; well adapted to a grain culture, particularly that of rye and Indian corn, of which large quantities are annually raised. The county is intersected nearly in the center by Connecticut river; in its western part by a range of greenstone mountains, called in some parts the Talcott Mountains. It is watered by several streams, among which are the Farmington, Hockanum, Scantic, and Podunk rivers, all of which discharge their waters into the Connecticut.

A great variety of manufactures is carried on in the county, many of which are extensive, and employ a considerable amount of capital. They will be noticed in the account of the several towns. The following is a list of the several towns in the county, with the population according to the census of 1830.

THE first English settlement in Hartford was commenced in 1635, by Mr. John Steel and his associates from Newtown, (now Cambridge,) in Massachusetts. The main body of the first settlers, with Mr. Hooker at their head, did not arrive till the following year.

"About the beginning of June, (says Dr. Trumbull,) Mr. Hooker, Mr. Stone, and about one hundred men, women, and children, took their departure from Cambridge, and travelled more than a hundred miles, through a hideous and trackless wilderness, to Hartford. They had no guide but their compass, and made their way over mountains, through swamps, thickets, and rivers, which were not passable but with great difficulty. They had no cover but the heavens, nor any lodgings but those that simple nature afforded them. They drove with them a hundred and sixty head of cattle, and by the way subsisted on the milk of their cows. Mrs. Hooker was borne through the wilderness upon a litter. The people carried their packs, arms, and some utensils. They were nearly a fortnight on their journey." "This adventure was the more remarkable, as many of this company were persons of figure, who had lived in England, in honor, affluence, and delicacy, and were entire strangers to fatigue and danger."*

The Indian name of Hartford was Suckiag. A deed appears to have been given by Sunckquasson, the sachem of the place, about 1636, to Samuel Stone and William Goodwin, who appear to have acted in behalf of the first settlers.

The town of Hartford is bounded N. by Windsor and Bloomfield, E. by Connecticut river, s. by Wethersfield, and w. by Farmington and Avon. It is about six miles in length from north to south, and averages about five in breadth. The western part of the town has a soil

* At that period, it is believed that the forests were much more passable than at present. Dr. Hildreth, of Ohio, in describing the new lands at the west, says: "While the red men possessed the country, and every autumn set fire to the fallen leaves, the forests presented a most noble and enchanting appearance. The annual firings prevented the growth of shrubs and underbrush, and destroying the lower branches of the trees, the eye roved with delight, from ridge to ridge and from hill to hill; which, like the divisions of an immense temple, were crowded with innumerable pillars, the branches of whose shafts interlocking, formed the arch work of support to that leafy roof which covered and crowned the whole. But since the white man took possession, the annual fires have been checked, and the woodlands are now filled with shrubs and young trees, obstructing the vision on every side, and converting these once beautiful forests into a rude and tasteless wilderness."

of red gravelly earth, very rich and productive. That part near the river is covered with a strong clay, or a rich black mould. The latter is principally in the valuable tract of meadow adjacent to Connecticut river.

HARTFORD CITY was incorporated in 1784; it is over a mile in length upon the river, and about three-fourths of a mile in breadth. The alluvial flat upon the river is narrow, being from 40 to 100 rods, and is connected with the upland by a very gradual elevation. It is situated on the west side of Connecticut river, 50 miles from its mouth, in lat. 41° 45′ N. and long. 4° 15' E. from Washington. It is 123 miles N. E. New-York, 34 N. N. E. New Haven, 15 N. Middletown, 44 N. W. New London, 74 w. Providence, 100 w. s. w. Boston, and 97 S. E. Albany. The legislature of the state assembles alternately at Hartford and New Haven, the odd years at Hartford. The city is rather irregularly laid out, and is divided at the south part by Mill or Little

river. Across this stream a fine bridge of freestone has been thrown, which connects the two parts of the city. This structure is 100 feet wide, supported by a single arch, 7 feet in thickness at the base, and 3 feet 3 inches at the centre, the chord or span of which is 104 feet; elevation from the bed of the river to the top of the arch, 30 feet 9 inches. Another bridge, across Connecticut river, 1,000 feet long, and which cost over $100,000, unites the city with East Hartford. Hartford is very advantageously situated for business, is surrounded by an extensive and wealthy district, and communicates with the towns and villages on the Connecticut above, by small steamboats, (now 8 in number,) two of which, for passengers, ply daily between Hartford and Springfield. The remainder are employed in towing flat bottomed boats of 15 to 30 tons burthen, as far as Wells' river, 220 miles above the city. The coasting trade is very considerable, and there is some