The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of

bounty Bounty or bounties commonly refers to: * Bounty (reward), an amount of money or other reward offered by an organization for a specific task done with a person or thing Bounty or bounties may also refer to: Geography * Bounty, Saskatchewan, a g ...

land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War.

Establishment

The

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

(predecessor of the U.S. state) had already guaranteed each soldier at least at the end of the war (depending on rank), but by 1781, New York had enlisted only about half of the quota set by the U.S. Congress and needed a stronger incentive. The legislature authorized an additional per soldier, using land from 25 Military Tract Townships to be established in central New York State. Each of the townships was to comprise 100 lots of each. Three more such townships, Junius, Galen, and Sterling, were later added to accommodate additional claims at the end of the war. The

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

approved in 1789, and the arrangement became final in 1799.

Townships

The townships were at first numbered (1 through 28), but were later given (mostly)

classical tradition The Western classical tradition is the reception of classical Greco-Roman antiquity by later cultures, especially the post-classical West, involving texts, imagery, objects, ideas, institutions, monuments, architecture, cultural artifacts, ritu ...

Greek and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

names, along with the Carthaginian general

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

, and a few honoring English authors: #

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...

# Cato # Brutus # Camillus #

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

# Manlius # Aurelius # Marcellus #

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these ...

# Scipio # Sempronius # Tully # Fabius #

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

# Milton # Locke #

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politic ...

# Hector # Ulysses # Dryden #

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Cincinnatus ...

# Junius #

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be o ...

# Sterling

Overview

The tract covered the present counties of

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada * Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinoi ...

, Cortland, Onondaga, and Seneca, and parts of Oswego, Tompkins, Schuyler and Wayne. Most of these township names are reflected in current town names in these counties, but the area of the military townships do not correspond exactly with any of the modern towns, which only cover a fraction of the original townships. The names themselves have been attributed to

Robert Harpur Robert Harpur (January 25, 1731 Ballybay, County Monaghan, Ireland - April 15, 1825) was an Irish-American teacher, politician, pioneer, and landowner. He participated in surveying lands within the Central Military Tract in New York State and is ...

, who served in various political roles, and was at the time a clerk in the office of New York's Surveyor General,

Simeon De Witt Simeon De Witt (December 25, 1756 – December 3, 1834) was Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and Surveyor General of the State of New York for the fifty years from 1784 until his death. Life ...

. Townships were as far as geographically feasible made up of a 10x10 square of mile-square () lots; were used for boundary roads, leaving to be deeded in each lot. Ninety-four lots in each Township were to be deeded, with the other six reserved for public purposes such as churches and schools. The portion of the Military Tract north of Seneca Lake (i.e. townships of Galen and Junius) was divided by the New Preemption Line from land to its west assigned by the Treaty of Hartford of 1786 to

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. The tract immediately to the west became the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. The west limit of most of the tract was Seneca Lake. Two Indian reservations were included in the Tract, for the Onondaga and

. All of the Cayuga and most of the Onondaga (including the City of Syracuse) were taken a few years later by New York State by treaties whose legality has been repeatedly challenged, since following the Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790 only the United States could conclude treaties with Indians.

Timeline

* June 18, 1779: The

Sullivan Campaign The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Genocide) was a United States military campaign during the American Revolutionary War, lasting from June to October 177 ...

begins. On George Washington's orders, they commit acts described by some historians as genocide against the Haudenosaunee nation. More than 40 villages were destroyed, along with stores of winter crops. More than 5,000 Haudenosaunee people fled to Canada as refugees. * March 20, 1781: New York legislature authorizes a military tract as part of law to raise its quota of regiments. * October 19, 1781: Cornwallis surrenders, end of Revolutionary War. * July 25, 1782: Approximate boundaries (to be surveyed) of original 25 townships established by NY legislature. * September 3, 1783: Treaty of Paris: Peace settlement with Great Britain. * September 12, 1788:

Treaty of Fort Stanwix The Treaty of Fort Stanwix was a treaty signed between representatives from the Iroquois and Great Britain (accompanied by negotiators from New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania) in 1768 at Fort Stanwix. It was negotiated between Sir William ...

: the Onondaga Indian title to the land was extinguished, and the Onondaga Indian Reservation created. * February 25, 1789: Treaty at Albany: the Cayuga Indian title to the land was extinguished, and the Cayuga Indian Reservation created. * 1789: Military tract surveyed. * July 3, 1790: Names given to the first 25 townships at a meeting of the Commissioners of the Land Office of New York, chairman Governor George Clinton. * 1791: Lots drawn and assigned to settlers. * 1791: Name given to Township 26 (Junius) by Commissioners. * 1792: Name given to Township 27 (Galen) by Commissioners. * 1795: Name given to Township 28 (Sterling) by Commissioners. * 1799: Deadline to settle.

References

External links

Names of Townships in the Military Tract

{{coord missing, New York (state) American toponymy New York (state) in the American Revolution Former regions and territories of the United States Military operations in Syracuse, New York History of Syracuse, New York 1790s in New York (state) 1780s in New York (state) Central New York Veterans' settlement schemes