Stephen Bradley and Vermont Statehood 1784-1791
In 1784 the southeastern corner of Vermont was in great turmoil. Two hundred and forty years ago, residents loyal to New York were in revolt against the Vermont government. At the time, the Attorney General of Vermont was Stephen R. Bradley. On January 10th he issued a document addressed to those residents refusing to comply with Vermont laws. He said that the Vermont government was willing to forget past transgressions if those refusing to follow Vermont laws would pledge allegiance to the state. This offer was not accepted by the Yorkers. Stephen R. Bradley was also a colonel in the Vermont Militia and reported the following event to the Vermont Journal publication. We have paraphrased his reporting to make it more easily understood. On Saturday morning, January 17th, I received a report that the night before a group of twenty armed men had marched from Guilford to Brattleboro and arrived at the Arms Tavern around […]