Proclamation Concerning the Militia
Martin Chittenden, Governor of Vermont

10 November 1813

Whereas it appears, that the third brigade of the 3d division of militia of this state, has been ordered from our frontiers to the defence of a neighbouring state; and whereas it further appears, to the extreme regret of the captain general, that a part of the militia of said brigade have been placed under the command, and at the disposal of, an officer of the United States, out of the jurisdiction or control of the executive of this state, and have been actually marched to the defence of a sister state, fully competent to all the purposes of self-defence, whereby an extensive section of our own frontier is left, in a measure, unprotected, and the peaceable, good citizens thereof are put in great jeopardy, and exposed to the retaliatory incursions and ravages of an exasperated enemy; and whereas disturbances of a very serious nature are believed to exist, in consequence of a portion of the militia having been thus ordered out of the state:

Therefore-to the end that these great evils may be provided against, and as far as may be, prevented for the future.

Be it known, that such portion of the militia of said 3d division as may be now doing duty in the state of New York, or elsewhere, beyond the limits of this state, both officers and men, are hereby ordered and directed, by the captain general and commander in chief of the militia of the state of Vermont, forthwith to return to the respective places of their usual residence, within the territorial limits of said brigade, and there to hold themselves in constant readiness to act in obedience to the orders of brigadier general Jacob Davis, who is appointed, by the legislature of this state, to the command of said brigade.

And the said brigadier general Jacob Davis is hereby ordered and directed, forthwith, to see that the militia of his said brigade be completely armed and equipped, as the law directs, and held in constant readiness to march on the shortest notice, to the defence of the frontiers: and, in case of actual invasion, without further orders, to march with his said brigade, to act, either in co-operation with the troops of the United States, or separately, as circumstances may require, in repelling the enemy from our territory, and in protecting the good citizens of this state from the ravages of hostile incursions.

And in case of an event, so seriously to be deprecated, it is hoped and expected that every citizens, without distinction of party, will fly at once to the nearest post of danger, and that the only rallying word be-"our country."

Feeling, as the captain general does, the weight of responsibility which rests upon him, with regard to the constitutional duties of the militia, and the sacred rights of our citizens to protection from this great class of the community, so essentially necessary in all free countries: at a moment too, when they are so eminently exposed to the dangers of hostile incursions and domestic difficulties, he cannot conscientiously discharge the trust reposed in him by the voice of his fellow citizens, and by the constitutions of this state and the United States, without an unequivocal declaration, that, in his opinion, the military strength and resources of this state must be reserved for its own defence and protection, exclusively; excepting in cases provided for by the constitution of the United States; and then, under orders derived only from the commander in chief.

Given under my hand at Montpelier, this 10th day of November, in the year of our Lord 1813, and of the independence of the United States, the 38th.

John Brannan, ed. Official Letters of the Military and Naval Officers of the United States During the War with Great Britain in the Years 1812, 13, 14, & 15 With Some Additional Letters and Documents Elucidating the History of that Period. (Washington: 1823), pp. 261-262.