H.G. — 1875 Assembly nomination

This is the latest in an occasional series of posts about the 19th century politics of Henry G. Burleigh of Ticonderoga and Whitehall.

The Republican nomination of Henry G. Burleigh for state Assembly on Oct. 14, 1875 took a tragic turn as enthusiastic Burleigh supporters in Whitehall repeatedly fired off a canon in celebration.

“The canon had been fired several times, and becoming very hot, it was necessary to use extra precaution in loading,” The Granville Sentinel reported on Oct. 22, 1875.

A premature discharge sent the ramrod through the hand of Peter Lamoy, scouring his arm, face and eyes with powder.

“It is thought that he will lose the entire sight of his eyes.”

The nomination process, itself, went off without a hitch.

“The convention was very harmonious throughout, and the best of feeling prevailed,” The Granville Sentinel reported on Oct. 15, of the Washington County 2nd Assembly District convention at North Granville.

The only competition heading into the convention was a “Mr. Reid” of Hebron, who, “wishing perfect harmony to prevail,” withdrew from consideration.

A nominating committee met briefly and recommended Burleigh, and the convention, after applauding, unanimously ratified the nomination by voice vote.

“In accepting the nomination he (Burleigh) stated that he was more of a worker than a talker, and that he was a friend of the canal.”

The only contention was among the press corps.

Burleigh had submitted letter to the convention outlining his campaign platform, but there was only one copy.

“We desired very much to publish the letter in connection with the report in last week’s paper,” the Sentinel reported on Oct. 22.

“But this we failed in as the editor of the (Whitehall) Chronicle first got hold of it, and then, as he remembers, ‘thoughtlessly’ gave it to Brother Dwyer, meaning the editor of the Sandy Hill Herald, under the impression that he would be able to get it into last week’s paper. The result was that neither of us published it. … There is question in our mind whether they had any more right to the letter than we.”

Click here to read the most recent previous post in the series.