THE MILITARY TRACT

The Brutus-Weedsport area is part of that interesting section of state known as the Military Tract. This territory exerted so much influence on the future development of Central New York that it warrants inclusion in a local history narrative.

The Military Tract was a vast area of about 1.75 million acres located in the heartland of central New York. It extended roughly from Lake Ontario southward to the south end of Seneca Lake and from the east line of present Onondaga County westward to Seneca Lake. The present counties of Onondaga, Cortland, Cayuga and Seneca were included as were parts of Oswego, Schuyler, Tompkins, Yates and Wayne. The Military Tract was established by the New York State Legislature on 16 September, 1776. It did not become Onondaga County until 5 March 1794.

Earlier the Continental Congress passed resolutions calling for the raising of 88 regiments of troops among the colonies. New York's quota, based on population, was four regiments but as late as March 1781 only two regiments had been activated. New York argued that since its militia was maintaining the Mohawk frontier it was fulfilling its obligation. However, pressure was exerted and on March 20, 1781 the legislature passed the proper laws and two more regiments were authorized. These troops became known as the New York Line and were enlisted for three years.

The Continental Congress guaranteed every man fighting in the Revolution a bounty of 100 acres of land from the public domain. Since the State of New York had a vast surplus of land and a need for two regiments of military men it decided to add 500 acres to the Colonial 100, and thus did arrive at the somewhat odd figure of 600 acres in its military lot.

Since earlier legislation had assigned the lands in the Military Tract to the Cayuga and Onondaga Indian tribes it was necessary to negotiate with the Indians before the area could be awarded to veterans. The Indians finally agreed to accept the Onondaga Reservation of about 100 square miles, lying south from Onondaga Lake; three reservations on Cayuga Lake, known as the Cayuga Residence and East and West Cayuga Reservations; also several small reservations in the Cayuga Lake, Seneca River areas. Prices paid for the remainder of the big tract were low, even by the standards of that day. Some years later the State "repurchased" all but a very small proportion of the above Reservation lands.

The time element is interesting at this point. The two Line Regiments were established in March, 1781. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown seven months later, on October 19. The Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary hostilities was signed September 3, 1783. The boundaries of the Military Tract were established on July 25, 1782, but it was 1789 before the division of the area was agreed upon and still another year passed before the surveyors completed their job. The Legislature decided to proceed to lay out 25 townships of 60,000 acres each, that is 100 lots of containing 600 acres. Later three additional townships were ordered surveyed.

Only men who were members of infantry regiments commanded by Colonels Philip Van Cortlandt and Goose Van Schaick; Colonel John Lamb's regiment of artillery and a corps of Sappers and Miners were eligible to receive land bounties in the Military Tract. Land entitlement to men of various ranks was as follows: Privates and Non-commissioned officers, 600 acres; Lieutenants, 1,200 acres; Captains, 1,800 acres; Majors, 2,400 acres; Colonels 3,000 acres.

The survey was finally completed and on January 1, 1791, almost ten years after the war had ended, balloting for the lots began.

The surveyors had laid out 25 "Military Townships" in the tract. Each was divided into 100 lots of 600 acres. Naturally because of unsophisticated surveying instruments, difficult terrain etc. not every lot contained exactly 500 acres. But every township came up with 100 lots except Cicero ! Somewhere along the line Cicero lost one lot.

In the actual balloting process the names of all men entitled to land were placed in a barrel, one name for each lot of entitlement. One hundred numbers were then placed in the "Township Box" as the balloting proceded. a name was drawn from the barrel and a number from the Township Box. The clerk then recorded the name, the township and the lot number in the Balloting Book. 94 names were drawn for each township. The remaining six lots were assigned for "school, gospel, certain commercial offices and water-covered land." Monies for the sale of these lands was used as designated but most importantly to build churches and schools. Some of these "Gospel Funds" are said to be in existence.

Original patents to military tract lands often contain the term "States Hundreds." These 100 acre plots were deducted from the 600 acre award if the veteran had taken his Colonial Congress bounty in another state or outside the Military Tract in New York. Another term "survey 50's" is also. found. The law required that each ballotee must pay the state 48 shillings cash to cover the cost of surveying. Failure to pay the fee resulted in the forfeiting of 50 acres which were later sold by the State.

The names applied to the Military Townships are most interesting. They are as follows: Aurelius, Brutus, Camillus, Cato, Cicero, Cincinnatus, Dryden, Fabius, Galen, Hannibal, Hector, Homer, Junius, Locke, Lysander, Manlius, Marcellus, Milton, Ovid, Pompey, Romulus, Scipio, Sempronius, Solon, Sterling, Tully, Ulysses, Virgil.

It is notable that a few Englishmen crept into the list but Rome and Greece carried away most of the honors. It appears now that credit for the above names may go to a young student of the classics by the name of Robert Harpur. Mr. Harpur was a clerk in the office of Surveyor General Simeon DeWitt and could well have been responsible for the names. His own name has been perpetuated in Hatput College at Binghamton.

Not everybody agreed that the name choices were the best. One English gentleman who traveled thru the region in the 1820's was completely scandalized as he found hose, "--- numerous and inadequate hamlets with such classical names as Tully, Pompey, Aurelius ---" It indicated the poor taste of these Americans, he said.

Since the first ballot did not absorb all of the land in the military tract the legislature decided to make awards to other service groups. Accordingly, the 26th Township, Junius was ordered surveyed and was balloted to Indian officers who held military commissions. Galen, number 27, was balloted to "surgeons and surgeon's mates" since they were originally excluded from land bounties. Finally the township of Sterling, Number 28, was balloted to the families of men who died in the war or soldiers who were judged to have been wronged or omitted from previous ballots.

Perhaps the most unfortunate facet of the Military Tract Story is the fact that very few ballotees even settled on their land. The young soldiers who should have populated the tract tired of waiting for their patents, purchased land and settled elsewhere.

The time lapse was also responsible for a plethora of errors and fraud and many of these problems were created before the war was over.

While still in the service many men signed their bounty rights over to others for practically nothing. The ranks included, as now men of all walks and grades. Even as now many lived for the moment so if a few pounds or a suit of clothes seemed important at the time a trade was made. It is said that one lot in the northern part of Cayuga County is-still known as the "Whiskey Lot" as a result of such a transaction. Five, ten or fifteen pounds were common values placed on 600 acres of bounty land. Smart officers were often the recipients in these cases. In addition to being smart (or sharp) they often had wealth, coming as they did from the more affluent families of the state. Later, after the balloting, some of these officers bought large acreages of Survey-Fifties and States Hundreds at bargain prices. However, most modern authorities agree that little money was ever made by Military Tract speculators.

Doubtless some less scrupulous operators bought up some cheap bounty rights by getting the soldiers drunk and then obtaining their signatures. But some soldiers themselves got into the fraud game - by selling the same lot several times. Many Albany and New York merchants secured assignments to bounty lands. Authorities feel that at least a portion of these transactions were made in exchange for goods.

Squatters were another problem for people who decided to settle on bounty lands. One veteran is said to have come in from the East with his family and ox-team only to find his land occupied by a squatter. He bought the unauthorized one off only to be dispossesed himself, sometime later, as the result of a mix-up in titles. Inaccurate and inadequate survey descriptions were another cause of such controversy: "A beech tree," "A stake with a pile of stones."

Despite a rather inauspicious start, the rich and varied Military Tract area finally came into its own. But not until the middle 1820's, when the Erie Canal was dug across its north central section. Then, between 1840 and 1870 a railroad network blanketed the entire area and opened it up to trade and communication. The military Tract can probably go down in history as our most quietest land boom.