by Brian Murphy

Everyone with roots in Chester is familiar with our great landmark, the Cooper Mill, which is located about a mile west of Chester village. Nathan Cooper erected this gristmill in 1826 where an “ancient” mill once stood, on the east side of the Black River along the Washington Turnpike. In 1834, “Uncle” Nathan died without any children of his own and left the mill property to his nephew, “General” Nathan A. Cooper. Back then, Cooper’s mill property included not only a gristmill, but a sawmill as well.

The Cooper mill complex was certainly a great asset to the local economy in and around Chester. Local farmers would cart their grain and corn to the gristmill for processing into useable foodstuffs and the sawmill converted raw timber into more useful boards. But not all of the local landowners were happy having Cooper as their neighbor. Mills require power to run. The Black River provided Cooper’s mill with that necessary power; therein laid the problem.

It seems that General Cooper’s legal troubles began in 1861 when Eliza Carlile brought a suit in the State Supreme Court against Cooper claiming that he had raised his milldam in 1846 to such an extent that it flooded her pastures.  The real flooding began, according to Carlile and others, when Cooper’s millwright added two more runs of stone in 1852 and a new waterwheel in 1853 to replace the old upper water wheel. More power was needed to run these additional millstones. If more water could be held in reserve to power the Mill, then it would be more productive. Records show that many of Cooper’s upstream neighbors believed that he had flooded their low-lying lands by raising the height of his milldam. At least nine of these neighbors helped to fund Carlile’s litigation against Cooper in order to force him to lower the height of the dam. Mrs. Carlile, whose land bordered the west side of the Black River about ½ mile above Milltown, claimed that by raising his milldam, General Cooper had caused her land to become flooded and had the effect of producing “unwholesome malaria,” “noxious vapors,” “disagreeable odors” and had rendered her dwelling house “ very unhealthy.” During one of the trials, Foster Waters testified under oath that he had lost the use of 6 or 7 acres due to flooding caused by the raising of General Cooper’s dam. These lawsuits were essentially about water use rights and property rights, issues which we continue to struggle with today.

While Cooper did not deny that he raised his tumble dam about nine inches in 1846, his defense maintained that he was not the only one trying to tame the nature of the river. Other factors like “ditching,” may have eventually contributed to the flooding of the lands up river. Ditching was the common practice of draining marshes along the river so they could be farmed.  Cooper’s upstream neighbors also had work done to widen, deepen and straighten the course of the river in order to improve its flow. Cooper’s defense tried to show that these alterations in the natural flow of the river may have caused the river to form sand bars and may have caused the water to back up in certain places.

It’s difficult to figure out what the final outcome was as a result of all these lawsuits. At one point, Cooper is ordered by the court to lower his tumble dam to its pre – 1846 height and to pay damages for the flooded meadows above his mill. One very astute witness, a millwright named William Bartley, made the following point during his testimony, “One day in a joking way talking with [General Cooper], I told him if he would give me half the money this suit was costing, I would make the mill better than it ever was, and give both parties all they asked.”

The Historical Society of Chester, New Jersey owns a rare set of law books that document the legal controversy between Cooper and his neighbors from 1861 to 1868.  These three volumes contain a whopping 1,743 pages of exhaustive testimony by 95 witnesses, and reveal amazing details about Cooper’s mill, the Black River and the people whose lives were intertwined with both of them.

During our War of 1812 – 1815 with Great Britain, dozens of Hunterdon County men served in the Fifteenth Regiment of U.S. Infantry. This unit earned an excellent reputation for its contributions to battles along the New York-Canadian border. John Lambert Hoppock, who was born and raised in the vicinity of Lambertville, commanded a company of this unit. Hoppock was the grandson of then U.S. Senator John Lambert who lived on his farm at Mt. Gilboa, just outside of Lambertville.

Shortly after receiving his military commission from Washington around March of 1812, Captain Hoppock began recruiting volunteers for the army. Many of those who enlisted were his friends and neighbors. The recruiting headquarters was located at the “rendezvous” near Coryell’s Ferry and one of the first men to enlist was the captain’s forty one year old uncle, Thomas Dennis.

The U.S. War Department’s primary objective once war was declared in June of 1812 was to invade Canada and drive the British permanently out of North America. Once formed, the Fifteenth Regiment was ordered north. The Hunterdon County soldiers spent their first winter with the regiment at “Camp Saranac” near Lake Champlain and Plattsburgh, New York. On Christmas Day 1812 Corporal Charles Wilson (one of the many Wilson brothers who enlisted) died after suffering from a “tedious sickness.” Three months later Private Andrew Aston’s feet froze on the march to Sackets Harbor and he lost one of his “little toes.”

The Fifteenth Regiment was part of the brigade chosen by New Jersey’s own Zebulon Pike to lead the invasion of York, the tiny capital of Upper Canada. In April 1813, the naval fleet, with 1700 of the army’s best troops onboard, including the volunteers of Hunterdon, sailed west across the Lake Ontario looking for a fight. As the soldiers attempted to land near York, Captain Hoppock was hit in the thigh by a musket ball and was sent back to the fleet. After a couple of hours of hard fighting, General Pike prepared his troops for a final assault on the enemy’s fortifications, but the British troops were in retreat and their commander, General Sheaffe, had ordered the destruction of the gunpowder magazine. The result was an enormous explosion that hurled heavy timbers and large stones far up into the air. These continued to rain down on the men for a couple of terrifying minutes. Two hundred sixty soldiers were either wounded or killed by the blast including General Pike, who was mortally wounded by the falling debris.

Captain Hoppock did not survive his gunshot wound. His body was brought onshore after the battle and was buried under the American flag in Canadian soil. Unfortunately, his final resting is forever lost to history. The capture of York had come at a terrible price. Still, more sacrifice was to come from the Hunterdon volunteers.

Staffordshire Pitcher Depicting Battle of Plattsburgh and the bridge where Lt. George W. Runk of New Jersey was Mortally Wounded

On Christmas Eve in 1813 “Uncle” Thomas Dennis died at the army hospital near Albany. The following year Andrew Aston was discharged from the army “due the loss of one foot to frostbite.” Another Hunterdon volunteer who never returned home was Captain Hoppock’s neighbor, Lieutenant George W. Runk of the Sixth Regiment, who died from a wound he received defending the bridge at Plattsburgh in September of 1814. In his book, A History of the English Speaking People’s, Winston Churchill called this battle at Plattsburgh “the most decisive engagement of the war.”

The brave volunteers of Hunterdon had surely suffered more than their share defending the country’s honor. As the bicentennial of the War of 1812 approaches, let us revive the memory of our Hunterdon ancestors and honor their sacrifice.

George W. Runk and John L. Hoppock of Hunterdon County, New Jersey

by Brian Murphy

“…terrible in battle, in death triumphant,

the gratitude of their country is the monument of their fame.”

The above toast was made in September of 1814 to honor the memory of Lieut. Runk

and the other Americans who lost their lives at the Battle of Plattsburgh.

September 11, 1814 was a momentous day in the history of the United States. For on that day, at the cost of many lives, the American navy on Lake Champlain, off Plattsburgh, New York, won a complete and total victory over the invading British fleet. Several days after this spectacular victory, the citizens of Plattsburgh organized a dinner celebration to personally honor Commodore Thomas Macdonough, commander of the American fleet. Among the toasts made that evening was one to the memory of Lieutenant George W. Runk. Unfortunately, very few people alive today have ever heard of Lt. Runk.

George W. Runk of Hunterdon County, New Jersey was the only commissioned regular army officer killed during the land battle that was so crucial to the naval victory on Plattsburgh Bay. The Riverside Cemetery in Plattsburgh contains the graves of several British and American officers who, while enemies in life, now rest side by side in that hallowed plot. Lieutenant Runk is now among those buried there, but this was not always the case. Four days before this famous clash of navies took place; Lt. Runk was severely wounded at Plattsburgh trying to prevent an overwhelming British land force from crossing the Saranac River. Lieutenant Runk was sent to the temporary “hospital” set up on Crab Island, but Dr. Mann could not save him. He was buried in a shallow grave on that tiny island where his body remained until 1816.

The Plattsburgh Republican of September 21, 1816 reported that the Lt. Runk’s remains were removed from Crab Island and brought to the Riverside Cemetery. A solemn funeral procession was held on that occasion, complete with music, and his remains were reinterred “with the customary military honors, by the side of the American and British officers” who had fallen during the same campaign. A generation later, on the 29th anniversary of the battle, the citizens of Plattsburgh and the Clinton County Military Association placed marble gravestones over the unmarked graves of the officers. Over the years the elements have taken their toll on these soft stone markers and they are now mostly illegible. At some point during the 20th century, more durable granite markers were added.

Lt. George W. Runk's letter informing Senator John Lambert of the death of his grandson at the Battle of York on April 27, 1813.

One of Lt. Runk’s friends, a neighbor from back home, was John Lambert Hoppock of Amwell. “Lambert,” as some of his family members called him, was a captain in Colonel Zebulon Pike’s Fifteenth Regiment. (This regiment spent several months under Pike’s command at the camp near Plattsburgh in 1812-13.) In one letter written from Sackets Harbor in the spring of 1813, the captain confided to his mother that Lt. Runk “appears to be too lazy to write as I have frequently wished him to do- He told me today he had written but one letter since he left home.” Sadly, Capt. Hoppock’s wish for his friend to write home did come to pass, but not for the reasons he would have hoped for. When Capt. Hoppock was killed less than a week later at the American invasion of York, Upper Canada, the unpleasant task of notifying family and friends fell to Lt. Runk.

York was the same battle that claimed the life of Zebulon Pike, who by then had been promoted to Brigadier General and who personally led the attack there. In the same letter, Lt. Runk informed Senator Lambert that General Pike’s body had been returned to Sackets Harbor “preserved in a hogshead of spirits.”

George W. Runk was from the area near Lambertville, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He was undoubtedly named for the most famous living American at the time of his birth, circa 1785. His father, Jacob, was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd New Jersey, or “Jersey Blues,” Continental Army, Revolutionary War. Officer Runk received his commission as Ensign, in January of 1812 and was assigned to the Sixth Regiment, U.S. Infantry. He was eventually promoted to1st Lieutenant, which was his rank at the time of his death.

Every September, the Plattsburgh community hosts a solemn and inspiring memorial ceremony at the Riverside Cemetery honoring the fallen heroes of Plattsburgh. It is part of a week-long commemoration of the Battle of Plattsburgh. It is well worth attending. The people of Plattsburgh have many reasons to be proud of the town’s tradition with regard to the honor paid to the soldiers who fell here in 1814. As a native of New Jersey, with Lieutenant Runk, John L. Hoppock and others in mind, I thank the people of Plattsburgh.

Note: A version of this piece appeared in the newspaper the Plattsburgh Press – Republican.

The Military Career of White Youngs

Local history buffs know that troops of the Fifteenth Regiment of U.S. Infantry spent a good deal of time at Plattsburgh during the War of 1812. This respected unit was known as “Pike’s Regiment” or the “New Jersey Regiment” because a majority of its officers and soldiers were indeed from that state, including its first colonel, Zebulon M. Pike. Nevertheless, New Yorkers have reason to boast the unit as well, for one of its most distinguished officers was a young lawyer from New York City named White Youngs.

Mr. Youngs seems to have begun his military career around 1810 as officer in the New York County militia. Then, in preparation for the coming war with Great Britain, Congress passed a bill to raise an additional military force in January of 1812. Youngs received a captain’s commission for the regular army and was assigned to the Fifteenth Regiment, which arrived at Plattsburgh in September that same year.

Captain Youngs quickly gained the confidence of Colonel Pike and was entrusted with some important missions. In October, Pike ordered Youngs to Burlington, to apprehend five army deserters. A few months later, he was sent on a tour to gather intelligence about the enemy’s troops, and to survey the condition of the roads and rivers along the Canadian border. This information was needed for the intended invasion of Canada, but when the War Department’s plan to attack Montreal was shelved, most of the troops at Plattsburgh were ordered to the naval base at Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario in preparation for a secret mission. At this early stage in the war, Americans were in desperate need of a victory due to a string of discouraging military embarrassments.

Colonel Zebulon M. Pike's Feb. 1813 instructions to reimburse Capt. White Youngs for a trip to Burlington and a reconnaisance mission along the New York - Canadian border.

The Fifteenth Regiment was one of three infantry regiments chosen by Zebulon Pike to lead the attack on York, the provincial capital of Upper Canada, located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. (By this time Pike had been promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.) York had a fortified garrison, a large gunpowder magazine and was an important link in the Canadian supply chain to the west. Commodore Chauncey’s fleet sailed the American troops from Sackets Harbor across the lake and on the morning of April 27th Pike’s forces debarked the ships in rowboats and headed for the Canadian shoreline. Captain Youngs and his men were some of the first to make landfall there despite the hot reception they received from the enemy’s muskets. Although the American army claimed victory at York after the British commander decided to abandon the garrison rather than dig in and fight, this “victory” had come at a terrible price: General Pike was mortally wounded by the explosion of the gunpowder magazine. The Fifteenth Regiment alone lost one captain and one lieutenant to enemy fire and dozens of soldiers to ball or explosion. Many of the surviving wounded were probably maimed for life. Considering the dangers of the amphibious landing under fire and the devastating gunpowder explosion at York, Captain Youngs was lucky to escape with his life.

Later in the war, Youngs bravely distinguished himself during the legendary clash of navies on Plattsburgh Bay, September 11, 1814. On that day he commanded a detachment of “marines” from aboard Commodore Macdonough’s flagship Saratoga. These makeshift “marines” were actually infantry soldiers lent by the army to aid Macdonough who did not have enough sailors to man the ships. One can hardly read the contemporary accounts of this violent battle without concluding that only a string of miracles could have spared the lives of the survivors. Saratoga was twice set on fire from hot shot and sustained the force of 55 round shot in her hull alone. Out of two hundred and ten men on Saratoga, approximately twenty-six were killed and thirty were wounded in about 2 ½ hours. Once again, Captain Youngs escaped the violent fate that claimed so many of his comrades. After the battle, Commodore Macdonough wrote to General Macomb, commander of the land forces, in praise of Captain Youngs:

After that monumental victory on Plattsburgh Bay, Captain Youngs was given the responsibility of transporting a few hundred British captives down Lake Champlain to the garrison near Albany. He was also in charge of receiving and disbursing the shares of prize money to the marines as their reward for the capture of the British ships. As compensation for his valiant service at Plattsburgh, White Youngs was awarded the rank of brevet major.

His last recorded act in the service of his country occurred in 1818 when, as commander of Fort Crawford, Alabama, he headed a force that captured a band of Seminole Indians that were murdering and terrorizing local settlers. Sadly, his military career ended the following year when he was convicted by a military court for drunkenness and behavior unbecoming an officer. He resigned from the army and died in Baltimore in 1822.

Note: A version of this piece appeared in the Plattsburgh Press – Republican.