Haldimand Affair
Vermonters had been battling Indian raids, sponsored by the British, and engaged in a long-running dispute with New York State over jurisdiction of the territory.
In 1749, Benning Wentworth, the British provincial governor of New Hampshire, began issuing land grants for territory west of the Connecticut River.
[citation needed] General Frederick Haldimand, in command of British military forces in New York City, refused to become involved in the dispute.
[3] Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga in May 1775, and also participated in the invasion later that year of the Province of Quebec.
[4] The Wentworth grantholders, led by Ira Allen and Thomas Chittenden, declared independence from New York, establishing the Vermont Republic in July 1777.
However, New York and New Hampshire's representatives expressed reservations over its admission until the competing land claims and jurisdictional issues could be resolved and effectively blocked any actions by Congress.
[citation needed] Congress took up the subject of the territorial dispute in June but decided to defer discussion until September due to other pressing concerns.
Haldimand accepted the offer, and appointed Justus Sherwood, a Loyalist from Vermont who eventually became his spy chief, as his principal negotiator.
[11] On September 26, Major Christopher Carleton left Quebec on a raiding expedition into the upper Hudson River valley, causing some alarm in Vermont.
Sherwood and a small company of men also left Quebec; these headed up Lake Champlain for Skenesboro (present-day Whitehall, New York).
There, he met openly with Vermont officials to formally discuss prisoner exchanges and arrange a truce, but he also had a private meeting with Ethan Allen.
[15] As a precaution, Haldimand ordered Carleton, who was preparing to leave Fort Ticonderoga for Quebec, to remain there until Sherwood's safety could be assured.
Mutually distrustful, with the British wary over the safety of their agents in light of André's hanging, they agreed only for the Vermont representatives to meet with Haldimand that winter.
Chittenden wrote to the governors of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, suggesting a united defense against British threats if they relinquished claims to Vermont territory.
New York Governor George Clinton turned a more demanding letter from Chittenden over to his legislature in February 1781 and noted that it was "insolent in its nature and derogatory to the honor of this state.
[23] Shortly thereafter, Allen's friend Seth Warner, who still held a colonel's commission in the Continental Army, spoke with him about the ongoing negotiation and his concern that about their potentially treasonous character.
Allen refused to sign any sort of preliminary agreement, claiming that although Vermont's leaders were disposed toward the idea, the populace was not, and it would have to be convinced first.
[14][27] On May 11, Sherwood wrote, "My opinion corroborates with the Major's that Mr. Allen's errand here is to prolong the time and if possible to alarm Congress into a compliance with their demands.
Chittenden also wrote to Haldimand in July, indicating that George Washington was unwilling to release back to him British prisoners that had been captured in Vermont.
[32] Justus Sherwood met with Joseph Fay for two weeks in July, with a fruitless outcome that did nothing to relieve British concerns that Vermont's delays were intentional.
[39] The threat was followed up with the movement of British troops under the command of Barry St. Leger to occupy Fort Ticonderoga in October that was timed to coincide with the next meeting of the assembly but sent with the expectation that they would be welcomed into Vermont.
[40] Sherwood reported after the meeting his opinion that as much as a third of the Vermont population was unhappy with the rule of Chittenden and the Allens and was in favor of a change of government.
In January, the "east side Yorkers" made another in a series of petitions to Governor Clinton and the Congress, complaining in part about the ongoing "intrigue with Canada.
"[50] This led Clinton to call a special meeting of the New York assembly to discuss the "dangerous intercourse" going on between Vermont and the British, in which they decided to forward papers on the matter to Congress, and move to enforce the state's authority over the territory.
[51] Chittenden also received a letter from George Washington in January, who wrote that he supported statehood for Vermont if it adhered to its original boundaries.
In June, Allen wrote, "I shall do everything in my power to render this state a British province", and made additional scathing commentary on the Congress.
[63] The novel The Green Cockade (an abridgment of 1949's Catch a Falling Star) by Frederic Franklyn Van de Water depicts the Haldimand Affair along with other activity in Vermont during the Revolutionary War.
