Speaker 1: Chapter one of the Capture of Fort William and Mary
Speaker 1: by Charles L. Parsons. This is a LibriVox recording. All
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Speaker 1: Robert Morrel, The Capture of Fort William and Murray, December
Speaker 1: fourteenth and fifteenth, seventeen seventy four. Few events in the
Speaker 1: history of New Hampshire have excited more interest or caused
Speaker 1: more controversy than the successful attack upon Fort William and
Speaker 1: Mary into Port Smith Harbour on December fourteenth, seventeen seventy four,
Speaker 1: the removal of the powder contained in its magazine on
Speaker 1: the same afternoon, and the second capture of the fort,
Speaker 1: together with the small arms and other stores, on the
Speaker 1: night of the following day. Too much has been written
Speaker 1: that is not history, and many statements concerning these events
Speaker 1: are generally accepted as facts which have had their rise
Speaker 1: in the fertile imagination of some writer. Many articles have
Speaker 1: appeared in the public press, but only a few really
Speaker 1: scholarly attempts have been made to determine the actual facts.
Speaker 1: Throughout the year seventeen seventy four, the people of Portsmouth
Speaker 1: and Vicinity shared in full measure the unrests that was
Speaker 1: felt throughout the entire country. Much sympathy was expressed for
Speaker 1: the people of Boston, and the populace were beginning to
Speaker 1: show signs of resisting the odious domination of the British ministry.
Speaker 1: The Assembly had shown a disposition to refuse to vote
Speaker 1: the necessary supplies and men for Fort William and Mary.
Speaker 1: In May, a message was sent from the Committee at
Speaker 1: Portsmouth to the Committee at Boston, promising assistance in anything
Speaker 1: agreed upon by the colonies. On June eighth, Governor Wentworth
Speaker 1: dissolved the Assembly, which he had from time to time
Speaker 1: adjourned to prevent action toward the appointment of delegates to
Speaker 1: a provincial Congress. On July uy four, twenty seven, chests
Speaker 1: of tea had been quietly brought into Portsmouth. A town
Speaker 1: meeting was immediately called. The consignee was forced to export
Speaker 1: the tea, and the vessel carrying it was kept under
Speaker 1: guard until it finally sailed for Halifax. On July sixth,
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth ordered the sheriff to direct the committee of correspondents,
Speaker 1: who had met to choose delegates for a General American
Speaker 1: Congress to disperse and keep the King's peace. This they did,
Speaker 1: but only to beat privately later in a tavern, where
Speaker 1: they chose delegates to assemble in Exeter. On August twenty nine,
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth wrote the Earl of Dartmouth that the Assembly
Speaker 1: had met in Exeter, and adds, I think this province
Speaker 1: is much more moderate than any other to the southward,
Speaker 1: although the spirit of enthusiasm is spread and requires the
Speaker 1: utmost vigilance and prudence to restrain it from violent excess. Again, later,
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth reported the arrival of a second cons assigmon
Speaker 1: of Tea, with the results similar to the first. On
Speaker 1: November fifteenth, he reported continued discontent through the province and
Speaker 1: fears that disturbances will continue unless quiet is restored in
Speaker 1: Massachusetts Bay. On December second, he wrote that there is
Speaker 1: a growing unrest and a disposition on the part of
Speaker 1: the people to follow all the resolves of the Congress
Speaker 1: and to approve them fully. Thus, it will be seen
Speaker 1: that when Paul Revere brought his message on December thirteenth,
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four, from the Committee in Boston to mister
Speaker 1: Samuel Cuttz, of the Portsmouth Committee, announcing that troops were
Speaker 1: to be sent to reinforce the fort, and bringing information
Speaker 1: also of the removal of the military stores in Rhode Island,
Speaker 1: and of the King's order in Council prohibiting the exportation
Speaker 1: of gunpowder and military stores to America. The people were
Speaker 1: in a state of mind ready for revolt. Mister Cutts
Speaker 1: immediately called the committee together, and they proceeded to plan
Speaker 1: for the capture of the powder upon the following day.
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth seems to have had some intimation of what
Speaker 1: might happen, for he sent word to Captain Cochrane, commanding
Speaker 1: at the fort, to be upon his guard. In Wentworth's
Speaker 1: report on the affair, however, he states that before any
Speaker 1: suspicion could be had of their intentions, about four hundred
Speaker 1: men were gathered together. Certain it is that about twelve
Speaker 1: o'clock on Wednesday, December fourteenth, all secrecy ended for members
Speaker 1: of the Committee, accompanied by Drum and Fife, paraded the
Speaker 1: streets of Portsmouth and called citizens together by order of
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth. The Chief Justice of the Province, made proclamation
Speaker 1: that what they proposed was open rebellion against the King.
Speaker 1: But they did not waver, and having finally gathered together
Speaker 1: a company of their townsmen and such others as could
Speaker 1: be obtained from the adjoining towns of Newcastle and Rye,
Speaker 1: in all about four hundred men, they proceeded to Fort
Speaker 1: William and Murray. There they were warned by Captain Cochrane
Speaker 1: not to enter, and were fired upon both by cannon
Speaker 1: and small arms. No one appears to have been injured, however,
Speaker 1: and they immediately stormed the fort and easily overcame such
Speaker 1: resistance as the one officer and five effective men could offer.
Speaker 1: Having captured the fort, they proceeded to haul down the
Speaker 1: King's colors and then removed all of the gunpowder in
Speaker 1: the magazine, with the exception of one barrel. About one
Speaker 1: hundred barrels of powder were so obtained, and these were
Speaker 1: sent up the Pascatawa to Durham that same evening with
Speaker 1: a letter to General Sullivan, who had not been in
Speaker 1: Portsmouth that day. On the following day, Thursday, December fifteenth,
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four, a party of men came from Durham
Speaker 1: to Portsmouth, and that night, together with other citizens, under
Speaker 1: the leadership of John Sullivan, they again took the fort
Speaker 1: and carried off the lighter cannon and all of the
Speaker 1: small arms. On Friday, a party under command of Captain
Speaker 1: Nathaniel Folsom of Exeter came to Fort Smith and remained
Speaker 1: on guard all day until in the afternoon, on the
Speaker 1: rising tide, the arms were sent up the river. They
Speaker 1: finally reached Durham, but only after many weary hours of
Speaker 1: cutting through the ice which had just formed in the
Speaker 1: branch of the Piscatawa which leads up to that town.
Speaker 1: The main details of the proceedings of the three days
Speaker 1: may easily be gathered from the following official documents and
Speaker 1: letters of the time, which have fortunately been preserved to us.
Speaker 1: On Wednesday, December fourteenth, seventeen seventy four, Governor Wentworth wrote
Speaker 1: to Governor Gage as follows Portsmouth, New Hampshire, December fourteenth,
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four. Sir, I have the honor to receive
Speaker 1: your Excellency's letter of the nineteenth incident with the letter
Speaker 1: from the Secretary of State, which were both delivered to
Speaker 1: me on Monday evening last by mister Whiting. It is
Speaker 1: with the utmost concern I am called upon by my
Speaker 1: duty to the King to communicate to Your Excellency a
Speaker 1: most unhappy affair perpetrated here this day. Yesterday in the afternoon,
Speaker 1: Paul Revere arrived in this town, expressed from the committee
Speaker 1: in Boston to another committee in this town, and delivered
Speaker 1: his dispatch to mister Samuel Kutts, merchant in this town,
Speaker 1: who immediately convened the committee of which he was one, and,
Speaker 1: as I learned, laid it before them this day before
Speaker 1: any suspicions could be had of their intentions. About four
Speaker 1: hundred men were collected together and immediately proceeded to His
Speaker 1: Majesty's castle William and Mary at the entrance of this harbor,
Speaker 1: and forcibly took possession thereof, notwithstanding the best defense that
Speaker 1: could be made by Captain Cochrane, whose conduct has been
Speaker 1: extremely laudable, as your Excellency will see by the enclosed
Speaker 1: letter from him, and by violents carried away upwards of
Speaker 1: one hundred barrels of powder belonging to the King, deposited
Speaker 1: in the castle. I am informed that expresses have been
Speaker 1: circulated through the neighboring towns to collect a number of
Speaker 1: people tomorrow or as soon as possible, to carry away
Speaker 1: all the cannon and arms belonging to the castle, which
Speaker 1: they will undoubtedly affect, unless some assistance should arrive from
Speaker 1: Boston in time to prevent it. This event, too plainly
Speaker 1: proves the imbecility of this government to carry into execution
Speaker 1: his Majesty's Order in Council for seizing and detaining arms
Speaker 1: and ammunition imported into this province without some strong ships
Speaker 1: of war in this harbor. Neither is the province or
Speaker 1: custom House treasury in any degree safe if it should
Speaker 1: come into the mind of the popular leaders to seize
Speaker 1: upon them. The principal persons who took the lead in
Speaker 1: this enormity are well known. Upon the best information I
Speaker 1: can obtain. This mishift originates from the publishing of the
Speaker 1: Secretary of State's letter and the King's Order in Council
Speaker 1: at Rhode Island prohibiting the exportation of military stores from
Speaker 1: Great Britain, and the proceedings in that colony in consequence
Speaker 1: of it, which have been published here by the forforementioned
Speaker 1: mister Revere, and the dispatch brought before which all was
Speaker 1: perfectly quiet and peaceable. Here I am, etc. Signed Jay Wentworth,
Speaker 1: the report of Captain Cochrane to Governor Wentworth, referred to above,
Speaker 1: dated the fourteenth of December seventeen seventy four, reads, May
Speaker 1: it please your Excellency, I received your Excellency's favor of yesterday,
Speaker 1: and inobedience thereto kept a strict watch all night and
Speaker 1: added two men to my usual number, being all I
Speaker 1: could get. Nothing material occurred till this day one o'clock,
Speaker 1: when I was informed that there were a number of
Speaker 1: people coming to take possession of the fort, upon which,
Speaker 1: having only five I have effective men with me. I
Speaker 1: prepared to make the best defense I could, and pointed
Speaker 1: some guns to those places where I expected they would enter.
Speaker 1: About three o'clock the fort was beset on all sides
Speaker 1: by upwards of four hundred men. I told them, on
Speaker 1: their peril not to enter. They replied they would. I
Speaker 1: immediately ordered three four pounders to be fired on them,
Speaker 1: and then the small arms, and before we could be
Speaker 1: ready to fire again, we were stormed on all quarters,
Speaker 1: and they immediately secured both me and my men and
Speaker 1: kept us prisoners about one hour and a half, during
Speaker 1: which time they broke open the powder house and took
Speaker 1: all the powder away except one barrel, and having put
Speaker 1: it into boats and sent it off. They released me
Speaker 1: from confinement, to which I can only add that I
Speaker 1: did all in my power to defend the fort, but
Speaker 1: all my efforts could not avail against so great a number.
Speaker 1: I am your excellencies, et cetera, Signed John Cochrane. On
Speaker 1: Thursday the fifteenth of December, Governor Wentworth ordered thirty effective
Speaker 1: men to be enlisted or impressed for the protection of
Speaker 1: Fort William and Mary without result, as the following will
Speaker 1: testify Province of New Hampshire. To Captain John Dennett and
Speaker 1: the Commissioned Officer of the First Regiment of Militia in
Speaker 1: the Province of New Hampshire. Gentlemen, you are, without delay,
Speaker 1: out of your several companies, to enlist or impress thirty
Speaker 1: effective men to serve His Majesty as a guard and
Speaker 1: protection to his Fort William and Mary at Newcastle, and
Speaker 1: make return immediately to me of your doings therein, with
Speaker 1: the names of the person so enlisted, et cetera, that
Speaker 1: provision may be made for their being regularly placed in
Speaker 1: the said garrison. For all which this is your warrant.
Speaker 1: I am, gentlemen, your friend et cetera. Theodore Atkinson, Major General,
Speaker 1: dated at Port Port Smith on the fifteenth of December
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four, twelve o'clock at noon. Endorsed on the
Speaker 1: back of the foregoing order, is the following. Pursuant to
Speaker 1: the within warrant. We have paraded the streets, caused the
Speaker 1: drums to be beat, in proclamation to be made at
Speaker 1: all the public corners, and on the place of parade,
Speaker 1: no person appearing to enlist. We wait for further orders.
Speaker 1: John Dennett, James Stooley, Commanding Officer, Portsmouth, fifteenth December, six
Speaker 1: o'clock PM. On Friday. Governor Wentworth wrote to General Gage
Speaker 1: a further report, dated Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the sixteenth of
Speaker 1: December seventeen seventy four. On Wednesday last after twelve o'clock
Speaker 1: and insurrection suddenly took place in town and immediately proceeded
Speaker 1: to His Majesty's castle, attacked, overpowered, wounded and confined the captain,
Speaker 1: and thence took away all the King's powder. Yesterday numbers
Speaker 1: were assembled, and last night brought off many cannons et
Speaker 1: cetera and sixty muskets. This day the town is full
Speaker 1: of armed men who refused to disperse but appeared determined
Speaker 1: to complete the dismantling of the fortress entirely. Hitherto the
Speaker 1: people have abstained from private or personal injuries. How long
Speaker 1: they will be so prevailed on? It is impossible to say.
Speaker 1: I most sincerely lament the present distractions which seemed to
Speaker 1: have burst forth by means of a letter from William
Speaker 1: Cooper to Samuel Kuttz, delivered here on Tuesday last PM
Speaker 1: by Paul Revere. I have not time to add further
Speaker 1: on this lamentable subject. On December sixteenth, a gentleman in
Speaker 1: Portsmouth wrote to a gentleman in New York the following letter, Portsmouth,
Speaker 1: New Hampshire, December sixteenth, seventeen seventy four. We have been
Speaker 1: in confusion here for two days on account of an
Speaker 1: express from Boston informing that two regiments were coming to
Speaker 1: take possession of our forts. By beat of drum. Two
Speaker 1: hundred men immediately assembled and went to the castle, and
Speaker 1: two gondolas, who on their way were joined by one
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty more, and demanded the surrender of the fort,
Speaker 1: which Captain Cochrane refused, and fired three guns, but no
Speaker 1: lives were lost, upon which they immediately scaled the walls disarmed.
Speaker 1: The captain and his men took possession of ninety seven
Speaker 1: barrels of powder, put it on board the gondolas, brought
Speaker 1: it up to town and went off with it some
Speaker 1: distance into the country. Yesterday the town was full of
Speaker 1: men from the country who marched in force. Chose a
Speaker 1: committee to wait on the governor, who assured them he
Speaker 1: knew of no such design as sending troops, ships, et cetera.
Speaker 1: This morning I hear there are a thousand or fifteen
Speaker 1: hundred men on their march to town. The govern Diven
Speaker 1: and the council sat yesterday on the affair, and are
Speaker 1: now meeting again. The men who came down are those
Speaker 1: of the best property and vote in the province. Another
Speaker 1: gentleman in Portsmouth, writing on Saturday December seventeenth, gives also
Speaker 1: the main facts in the case, but he states that
Speaker 1: the powder was sent up to Exeter, which may have
Speaker 1: been reported at the time, but which is shown to
Speaker 1: be incorrect by the letter of General Sullivan published in
Speaker 1: the New Hampshire Mercury of May seventeen eighty five. He
Speaker 1: also magnifies some of the other facts. The letter, however,
Speaker 1: adds its testimony to the main occurrences of the week. Portsmouth,
Speaker 1: New Hampshire, December seventeenth, seventeen seventy four. On Wednesday last
Speaker 1: a drum and fife pervaded the streets of Portsmouth, accompanied
Speaker 1: by several committeemen and the Sons of Liberty, publicly avowing
Speaker 1: their intention of taking possession of Fort William and Murray,
Speaker 1: which were was garrisoned by six invalids. After a great
Speaker 1: number of people had collected together, they embarked on board
Speaker 1: scows boats et Cetera, entered the fort, seized the gunpowder,
Speaker 1: fired off the guns, and carried the powder up to Exeter,
Speaker 1: a town fifteen miles distant. The quantity was about two
Speaker 1: hundred to two hundred and twenty barrels. The day after,
Speaker 1: while the Governor and Council were assembled in the council chamber,
Speaker 1: between two and three hundred persons came from Durham and
Speaker 1: the adjoining towns, headed by Major Sullivan, one of the
Speaker 1: delegates of the Congress. They drew up before the council
Speaker 1: chamber and demanded an answer to the following question whether
Speaker 1: there were any ships or troops expected here, or if
Speaker 1: the Governor had wrote for any they were answered that
Speaker 1: his Excellency knew of no forces coming hither, and that
Speaker 1: none had been sent for, upon which they retired to
Speaker 1: the taverns. And about ten or eleven o'clock at night
Speaker 1: a large party repaired to the fort, and the Dia
Speaker 1: said they carried away all the small arms. This morning
Speaker 1: about sixty horsemen accoutered came into town by eleven o'clock.
Speaker 1: Their intention, it is suspected, is to dismantle the fort
Speaker 1: and throw the cannon, consisting of a fine train of
Speaker 1: forty two pounders, into the sea. In a letter to
Speaker 1: the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Portsmouth, twentieth December seventeen seventy four,
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth gives most complete account and says, on Thursday,
Speaker 1: the thirteenth Instant, in the afternoon one Paul Revere arrived,
Speaker 1: expressed with letters from some of the leaders in Boston
Speaker 1: to mister Samuel Kutt's merchant of this town. Reports were
Speaker 1: soon circulated that the fort at Rhode Island had been
Speaker 1: dismantled and the gunpowder and other stores removed up to Providence,
Speaker 1: and an extract of the circular letter directing the seizure
Speaker 1: of gunpowder was printed in a Boston newspaper of the
Speaker 1: twelfth in consequence, as I have been informed of the
Speaker 1: said letters having been commute unicated to the House of
Speaker 1: Assembly at Rhode Island, and it was also falsely given
Speaker 1: out that troops were embarking at Boston to come and
Speaker 1: take possession of William and Mary Castle in this harbor.
Speaker 1: These rumors soon raised an alarm in the town, and
Speaker 1: although I did not expect that the people would be
Speaker 1: so audacious as to make any attack on the castle,
Speaker 1: yet I sent orders to the captain at the fort
Speaker 1: to be upon his guard. On Wednesday the fourteenth, about
Speaker 1: twelve o'clock, news was brought to me that a drum
Speaker 1: was beating about the town to collect the populace together
Speaker 1: in order to go and take away the gunpowder and
Speaker 1: dismantle the fort. Immediately sent the Chief Justice of the
Speaker 1: province to warn them from engaging in such an attempt.
Speaker 1: He went to them where they were collected in the
Speaker 1: center of the town, near the townhouse, explained to them
Speaker 1: the nature of the offense they proposed to commit, told
Speaker 1: them it was not short of rebellion, and entreated them
Speaker 1: to desist from it and disperse. But all to no purpose.
Speaker 1: They went to the island, and being found there by
Speaker 1: the inhabitants of the towns of Newcastle and Rye formed
Speaker 1: in all a body of about four hundred men, and
Speaker 1: the castle being in too week a condition for defense.
Speaker 1: As I have in former letters explained to your Lordship,
Speaker 1: they forced their entrance in spite of Captain Cochrane, who
Speaker 1: defended it as long as he could, but having only
Speaker 1: the assistance of five men, their numbers overpowered them. After
Speaker 1: they entered the fort, they seized upon the captain, triumphantly,
Speaker 1: gave three huzzahs, and hauled down the King's colors. They
Speaker 1: then put the captain and men under confinement, broke open
Speaker 1: the gunpowder magazine and carried off about one hundred barrels
Speaker 1: of gunpowder, but discharged the captain and men from their
Speaker 1: confinement before their departure. On Thursday the fifteenth, in the morning,
Speaker 1: a party of men came from the country accompanied by
Speaker 1: mister General John Sullivan, one of the the New Hampshire
Speaker 1: delegates to the Congress, to take away the cannon from
Speaker 1: the fort. Also, mister Sullivan declared that he had taken
Speaker 1: pains to prevail upon them to return home again. And said,
Speaker 1: as there was no certain intelligence of troops being coming
Speaker 1: to take possession of the castle, he would still use
Speaker 1: his utmost endeavors to disperse them. While the town was
Speaker 1: thus full of men, a committee of them came to
Speaker 1: me to solicit for pardon or a suspension of prosecution
Speaker 1: against the persons that took away the gunpowder. I told
Speaker 1: them I could not promise them any such thing, but
Speaker 1: if they dispersed and restored the gunpowder, which I earnestly
Speaker 1: exhorted them to do, I said, I hoped his Majesty
Speaker 1: may be thereby induced to consider it an alleviation of
Speaker 1: the offense. They parted from me in all appearance perfectly
Speaker 1: disposed to follow the advice I had given them, and
Speaker 1: having proceeded directly to the rest of their associates, they
Speaker 1: all publicly voted about five o'clock in the afternoon near
Speaker 1: the townhouse to return home, which it was thought they
Speaker 1: would have done, and it was also further expected that
Speaker 1: the gunpowder would have been restored by the morning. But
Speaker 1: the people, instead of dispersing, went to the castle in
Speaker 1: the night, headed by mister Sullivan, and took away sixteen
Speaker 1: pieces of cannon about sixty muskets and other military stores,
Speaker 1: and brought them to the out borders of the town
Speaker 1: on Friday morning, the sixteenth. Mister Folsom, the other delegate,
Speaker 1: came to town that morning with a great number of
Speaker 1: armed men, who remained in town as a guard till
Speaker 1: the flow of the tide in the evening, when the
Speaker 1: cannon were sent in gondolas up the river into the country,
Speaker 1: and they all dispersed without having done any personal injury
Speaker 1: to anybody in town. They threatened to return again in
Speaker 1: order to dismantle the fort entirely, and to carry off
Speaker 1: or destroy the remaining heavy cannon about seventy pieces, and
Speaker 1: also to seize a upon the province treasury, all of
Speaker 1: which there was reasonable ground to fear they would do
Speaker 1: after what they had already done. But on the gunpowders
Speaker 1: being taken away, I wrote to General Gage and Admiral
Speaker 1: Graves for assistance to restrain the boisterous temper of the people,
Speaker 1: upon which the Admiral ordered the armships Canso and Scarborough here,
Speaker 1: and they arrived, the former the seventeenth and the latter
Speaker 1: on the nineteenth, in time to prevent the further dismantling
Speaker 1: of the fort. Further On, Governor Wentworth says, the government
Speaker 1: has no power to bring the offenders to punishment, no
Speaker 1: jail would hold them long, and no jury would find
Speaker 1: them guilty. For by the false alarm that has been
Speaker 1: raised throughout the country. It is considered by the weak
Speaker 1: and ignorant who have the rule in these times and
Speaker 1: act of self preservation. Again, he says, I tried to
Speaker 1: dissuade them by the civil authority sheriff, magistrates, etc. And
Speaker 1: did all I could to get the militia raised, but
Speaker 1: to no purpose. Under date of December twentieth, seventeen seventy four,
Speaker 1: a gentleman in Boston, writing to a mister Rivington of
Speaker 1: New York, says, on Monday the twelfth instant, our worthy citizen,
Speaker 1: mister Paul Revere, was sent express from only two or
Speaker 1: three of the committee of correspondents at Boston, as I
Speaker 1: am creditably informed of whom no number under seven are
Speaker 1: empowered to act, to a like committee at Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
Speaker 1: informing them as it is said that orders have been
Speaker 1: sent to the governors of their provinces to deliver up
Speaker 1: their several fortifications or castles to general gage, and that
Speaker 1: a number of troops had the preceding day embarked on
Speaker 1: board transports with a designed to proceed and take possession
Speaker 1: of said castles, that in consequence thereof the House of
Speaker 1: Assembly of Rhode Island had caused the fort to be
Speaker 1: dismantled and the guns, ammunitions, etc. To be removed to Providence.
Speaker 1: Upon receiving this until diligence, the Committee at Portsmouth was
Speaker 1: called together to advise what was to be done in
Speaker 1: so alarming a crisis. But not having a full meeting,
Speaker 1: nor able to determine upon any measures proper to be taken,
Speaker 1: they concluded to defer the matter till the next day,
Speaker 1: when a fuller meeting of said committee was expected. But
Speaker 1: two or three warm zealous members, having the good of
Speaker 1: their country at heart more than the others, in thinking
Speaker 1: any further deliberation on so important an affair unnecessary, gave
Speaker 1: out their order early the next morning for the drums
Speaker 1: to be beat to raise volunteers to go and take
Speaker 1: the King's fort. With difficulty, a number of men were
Speaker 1: persuaded to convene, who proceeded to the fort, which is
Speaker 1: situated at Newcastle, an island, about two miles from the town,
Speaker 1: and being there joined by a number of the inhabitants
Speaker 1: of said newcastle, amounted to near four hundred men. They
Speaker 1: invested the fort, and, being refused admittance by the commander
Speaker 1: of it, who had only five men with them, and
Speaker 1: who discharged several guns at them, scaled the walls, and
Speaker 1: soon overpowered and pinioned the commander. They then struck the
Speaker 1: King's colors with three cheers, broke open the powder house,
Speaker 1: and carried off one hundred and three barrels of powder,
Speaker 1: leaving only one behind. Previous to this, expresses had been
Speaker 1: sent out to alarm the country. Accordingly, a large body
Speaker 1: of men marched the next day from Durham, headed by
Speaker 1: two generals, Major Sullivan and one of the worthy delegates
Speaker 1: who represented that province in the Continental Congress, and the
Speaker 1: parson of the parish, who, being long accustomed to apply
Speaker 1: himself more to the care of the bodies than the
Speaker 1: souls of his parishioners, had forgotten that the weapons of
Speaker 1: his warfare ought to be spiritual and not carnal, and
Speaker 1: therefore marched down to supply himself with the latter from
Speaker 1: the King's fort, and assisted in robbing him of his
Speaker 1: warlike stores. After being drawn up on parade, they chose
Speaker 1: a committee consisting of those US persons who had been
Speaker 1: most active in the riot of the preceding day, with
Speaker 1: Major Sullivan and some others, to wait on the governor
Speaker 1: and know of him whether any of the King's troops
Speaker 1: or ships were expected. The Governor, after expressing to them
Speaker 1: his great concern for the consequences of taking the powder
Speaker 1: from the fort, which they pretended to disapprove and be
Speaker 1: ignorant of, assured them that he knew of neither troops
Speaker 1: or ships coming into the province, and ordered the Major
Speaker 1: as a magistrate, to go and disperse the people. When
Speaker 1: the committee returned to the body and reported what the
Speaker 1: Governor had told them, they voted it was satisfactory and
Speaker 1: that they would return home. But by the eloquent harangue
Speaker 1: of their demosthenes, they were first prevailed upon to vote
Speaker 1: that they took part with and approved of the measures
Speaker 1: of those who had taken the powder. Matters appeared then
Speaker 1: to subside, and it was thought every man had peaceably
Speaker 1: returned to his own home. Instead of this, Major Sullivan,
Speaker 1: with the out seventy of his clients, concealed themselves till
Speaker 1: the evening, and then went to the fort and brought
Speaker 1: off in gondolas all the small arms with fifteen four
Speaker 1: pounders and one nine pounder, and a quantity of twelve
Speaker 1: and four and twenty pounds shot, which they conveyed to
Speaker 1: Durham et cetera. The day following, being Friday, another body
Speaker 1: of men from Exeter, headed by Colonel Folsom, the other
Speaker 1: delegate to the Continental Congress, marched into Portsmouth and paraded
Speaker 1: about the town, and, having passed several votes expressive of
Speaker 1: their approbation of the measures that had been pursued by
Speaker 1: the bodies of the two preceding days in robbing the
Speaker 1: fort of guns Powder, et cetera, retired home in the
Speaker 1: evening without further mischief. Thus, by this false alarm was
Speaker 1: a great part of that province, which, though staunching the
Speaker 1: cause of liberty before, in a state of peace and
Speaker 1: good order, kept for three days in the greatest confusion,
Speaker 1: and the good people that persuaded by a few flaming
Speaker 1: demagogues to commit a most outraging, agious overt act of
Speaker 1: treason and rebellion. No history, I believe will furnish us
Speaker 1: with an instance of a king's fort being taken and
Speaker 1: his color struck by his own subjects, in time of
Speaker 1: peace and without any cause or provocation. In the New
Speaker 1: Hampshire Gazette of Friday, December twenty third appeared a letter
Speaker 1: which is somewhat humorous in its nature, directed to mister Printer,
Speaker 1: and signed a lover of order. This is interesting to
Speaker 1: us chiefly because it shows that the King's order prohibiting
Speaker 1: the exportation of arms was the cause here, as it
Speaker 1: had been in Rhode Island, of the seizure of the powder.
Speaker 1: This letter says, among other things, alarmed with the tendency
Speaker 1: of the Quebec Act, with the accounts that the Canadians
Speaker 1: and Indians were to be called forth to enforce the
Speaker 1: acts of Parliament, so disagreeable to all the colonies, long
Speaker 1: inured to defend themselves in the wide extended frontiers of
Speaker 1: this province by their valor against the restless savages of
Speaker 1: the wilderness, without any other aid, and while destitute of
Speaker 1: arms necessary for such defense, Finding that His Majesty, not
Speaker 1: knowing their peculiar defenseless state, had been pleased to prohibit
Speaker 1: the exportation of powder arms and other warlike stores to
Speaker 1: the colonies without special license. Some of the good people
Speaker 1: of this province, in the wonted honesty and simplicity of
Speaker 1: their hearts, imagined that no one would have just reason
Speaker 1: to complain of their too great forwardness if they seasonably
Speaker 1: removed some of the warlike stores from the fort, which
Speaker 1: they then accordingly affected without any great tumult or opposition. Again,
Speaker 1: in the same paper, the following notice appears, since our
Speaker 1: last arrived here his Majesty's ships Kencaeus, Captain Moat and
Speaker 1: the Scarborough Captain Barclay, both from Boston, with eighty or
Speaker 1: one hundred soldiers aboard. On the twenty sixth of December,
Speaker 1: Governor Wentworth issued the following proclamation. A proclamation by the Governor,
Speaker 1: whereas several bodies of men did, in the daytime of
Speaker 1: the fourteenth and in the night of the fifteenth of
Speaker 1: this instant December, in the most daring and rebellious manner,
Speaker 1: invest attack and forcibly enter into His Majesty's castle William
Speaker 1: and Mary in this province, and overpowering and confining the
Speaker 1: Captain and garrison. Did, besides committing many treasonable insults and outrages,
Speaker 1: break open the magazine of said castle and plunder it
Speaker 1: of above one hundred barrels of gunpowder with upwards of
Speaker 1: sixty stand of small arms, and did also force from
Speaker 1: the ramparts of said castles and carry off sixteen pieces
Speaker 1: of cannon and other military stores. In open hostility and
Speaker 1: direct oppunation of His Majesty's government, and in the most
Speaker 1: atrocial contempt of his crown and dignity, I do, by
Speaker 1: advice and consent of His Majesty's Counsel, issue this proclamation,
Speaker 1: ordering and requiring in His Majesty's name, all magistrates and
Speaker 1: other officers, whether civil or military, as they regard their
Speaker 1: duty to the King and the tenor of the oaths
Speaker 1: they have solemnly taken and subscribed, to exert themselves in
Speaker 1: detecting and securing in some of His Majesty's goals in
Speaker 1: this province, the said offenders, in order to their being
Speaker 1: brought to condign punishment, and from motives of duty to
Speaker 1: the King and regard to the welfare of the good
Speaker 1: people of this province, I do, in the most earnest
Speaker 1: and solemn manner, exhort and enjoin you His Majesty's leege
Speaker 1: subjects of this government, to beware of suffering yourselves to
Speaker 1: be seduced by the false art and menaces of abandoned men,
Speaker 1: to abet, protect or screen from justice any of the
Speaker 1: said high hundred offenders, or to withhold or secrete His
Speaker 1: Majesty's munition forcibly taken from the castle. But that each
Speaker 1: and every of you will use your utmost endeavor to
Speaker 1: detect and discover the perpetrators of these crimes to the
Speaker 1: civil Magistrate, and assist in securing and bringing them to justice,
Speaker 1: and in recovering the King's munition. This injunction, it is
Speaker 1: my bound and duty to lay strictly upon you, and
Speaker 1: to require your obedience there too, as you value individually
Speaker 1: your faith and allegiance to His Majesty, as you wish
Speaker 1: to preserve that reputation to the province in general, and
Speaker 1: as you would avert the most dreadful but most certain
Speaker 1: consequences of a contrary conduct to yourselves and posterity. Given
Speaker 1: at the Council Chamber in Portsmouth, the twenty sixth day
Speaker 1: of December, in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Speaker 1: our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace of
Speaker 1: God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, and King Defender
Speaker 1: of the Faith, etc. And in the year of Our
Speaker 1: Lord Christ seventeen seventy four j Wentworth, by his Excellency's command,
Speaker 1: with advice of Counsel Theodore Atkinson, Secretary God Save the
Speaker 1: King again, Governor Wentworth wrote to Lord Dartmouth under date
Speaker 1: twenty eighth December seventeen seventy four. He says, it is
Speaker 1: with the greatest concern I perceive the unlimited influence that
Speaker 1: the popular leaders in Boston obtain in this province, especially
Speaker 1: since the outrage of the fourteenth Instant, insomuch that I
Speaker 1: think the people here are disposed to attempt any measure
Speaker 1: required by those few men, and in consequence thereof are
Speaker 1: arming and exercising men as if for immediate war. And further,
Speaker 1: in a letter to George Irving Esquire, dated Portsmouth five
Speaker 1: January seventeen seventy five, referring to the fourteenth of December
Speaker 1: when the castle was seized, he says, the powers of
Speaker 1: magistracy have been faithfully and repeatedly tried. Governor, Council, Chief Justice,
Speaker 1: Sheriff and Justices of the Peace personally appeared. Proclamation made
Speaker 1: according to law for all to disperse and desist. The
Speaker 1: militia ordered out, drums, beat, et cetera. Yet all of
Speaker 1: no avail. Not one man appeared to assist in executing
Speaker 1: the law. And it was impossible for me, with four councilors,
Speaker 1: two justices, one sheriff, mister McDonough, and mister Benning wentworth
Speaker 1: to subdue such multitudes, for not one other man would
Speaker 1: come forth, not even the revenue officers. All chose to
Speaker 1: shrink in safety from the storm, and suffered me to
Speaker 1: remain exposed to the folly and madness of an enraged multitude,
Speaker 1: daily and hourly increasing in numbers and delusion. He says,
Speaker 1: Captain Cochrane and his five men defended a ruinous castle,
Speaker 1: with the walls in many places down, at length, knocked down,
Speaker 1: their arms broken, and taken from them by above one
Speaker 1: hundred to one. The captain was confined, and at last
Speaker 1: would not nor did give up the keys, notwithstanding every
Speaker 1: menace they could invent. Finally they broke the doors with
Speaker 1: axes and crowbars. Jeremy Belknap, whose History of New Hampshire
Speaker 1: was written some years before its publication, and who was
Speaker 1: a contemporary and friend of Sullivan and Langdon, gives us
Speaker 1: the following account, which, in spite of criticisms upon it,
Speaker 1: will bear the closest scrutiny, and is essentially accurate, as
Speaker 1: are most of the accounts of that first historian of
Speaker 1: New Hampshire, Belknap's History of New Hampshire, Volume two, page
Speaker 1: two eighty eight. In order having been passed by the
Speaker 1: King in Council prohibiting the exportation of gunpowder and other
Speaker 1: military stores to America, a copy of it was brought
Speaker 1: by express to Portsmouth at a time when a ship
Speaker 1: of war was daily expected from Boston with a party
Speaker 1: of troops to take possession of Fort William and Mary.
Speaker 1: At the entrance of the harbor, the committee of the town,
Speaker 1: with all possible secrecy and dispatch, collected a company from
Speaker 1: that and some of the neighboring towns, and before the
Speaker 1: governor had any suspicion of their intentions, they proceeded to
Speaker 1: Newcastle and assaulted the fort. The captain and his five men,
Speaker 1: which was the whole garrison, were confined, and one hundred
Speaker 1: barrels of powder were carried off. The Next day another
Speaker 1: company went and removed fifteen of the lightest cannon and
Speaker 1: all the small arms, with some other warlike storage, which
Speaker 1: they distributed in the several towns under the care of
Speaker 1: the committees. Major John Sullivan and Captain John Langdon distinguished
Speaker 1: themselves as leaders in this affair. It was transacted with
Speaker 1: great expedition and alacrity, and in the most fortunate point
Speaker 1: of time, just before the arrival of the Scarborough Frigate
Speaker 1: and Canso sloop with several companies of soldiers, who took
Speaker 1: possession of the fort and of the heavy cannon which
Speaker 1: had not been removed. The governor put the five men
Speaker 1: who belonged to the fort on board the ship of war,
Speaker 1: to be reserved as evidence in case of a prosecution
Speaker 1: of the offenders for high treason, and, having consulted counsel
Speaker 1: in this and the neighboring province, thought it his duty
Speaker 1: that he might prevent any charge of misprison of treason
Speaker 1: against himself, to dismiss from public trust all those persons
Speaker 1: concerned in the assault of the fort, who held any
Speaker 1: office under the government, and concerning whose proceedings he had
Speaker 1: authentic testimony. He also issued a proclamation commanding all officers
Speaker 1: civil and military, to assist in detecting and securing the offenders,
Speaker 1: and exhorting all the people to beware of being seduced
Speaker 1: by the false arts and menaces of abandoned men. This
Speaker 1: closes the list of documents of the immediate period bearing
Speaker 1: upon the affair, and they seem to be sufficiently clear,
Speaker 1: and to agree so closely as to leave little room
Speaker 1: for the controversies that have taken place. It is true
Speaker 1: that they mentioned but few names and give few details.
Speaker 1: From the patriot's standpoint, neither do they state anything authentic
Speaker 1: as to the disposal of the military stores, nor of
Speaker 1: the influence this uprising had upon the future course of
Speaker 1: the revolution. The main questions in dispute have been one
Speaker 1: the disposal of the powder and military stores. Two the
Speaker 1: names of the leaders in the affair, and such of
Speaker 1: their men as could be determined. Three whether the tradition
Speaker 1: of the use of this powder at Bunker Hill is
Speaker 1: founded on fact, and four whether or not this was
Speaker 1: the first real uprising of the revolution. A study of
Speaker 1: some of the later documents that bear upon these questions
Speaker 1: will will help our conclusion, and where tradition aids, it
Speaker 1: will be considered as tradition and not as history, giving
Speaker 1: weight to the traditional statements in accordance with the nearness
Speaker 1: of their origin, to the date of the occurrence or
Speaker 1: to the actor concerned Therein end of Chapter one, Chapter
Speaker 1: two of the Capture of Fort William and Mary by
Speaker 1: Charles L. Parsons, this LibriVox recording is in the public
Speaker 1: domain one the disposal of the powder. Among the more
Speaker 1: important data to which we can give unquestioned weight is
Speaker 1: an article heretofore unnoticed in the New Hampshire Mercury of
Speaker 1: seventeen eighty five and in the New Hampshire Spy of
Speaker 1: seventeen eighty nine. In one of these, General Sullivan refers
Speaker 1: to an anonymous attack made upon him in the New
Speaker 1: Hampshire Mercury of April nineteenth, seventeen eight, of which no
Speaker 1: copy appears to be in existence, although diligent search has
Speaker 1: been made. It is probable, however, that the article was
Speaker 1: the same as one appearing in the New Hampshire Gazette
Speaker 1: of about the same date and signed on Estes, which
Speaker 1: contains nothing new except that the author speaks of the
Speaker 1: powder as having been sent to Exeter, where eventually much
Speaker 1: of it was undoubtedly stored. General Solvent also refers to
Speaker 1: an Act of Congress of Tuesday, July thirty first, seventeen
Speaker 1: eighty one, when the Continental Congress ordered that the Board
Speaker 1: of Treasury passed to the credit of General Sullivan the
Speaker 1: following sums in specie viz. One hundred dollars as a
Speaker 1: compensation for the expenses incurred by him in securing the
Speaker 1: military stores and ordinances at Fort William and Mary, New Hampshire,
Speaker 1: in the year seventeen seventy five, and distributing them in
Speaker 1: various parts of the country for the use of the
Speaker 1: United States, one thousand dollars for the extraordinary expenses necessarily
Speaker 1: incurred by him as the commanding officer in a separate department,
Speaker 1: for which no provision or compensation has been made, and
Speaker 1: four hundred dollars as a reimbursement of the expense incurred
Speaker 1: by him after his resignation for the recovery of his health,
Speaker 1: which he had lost in the service, and was thereby
Speaker 1: induced to retire. The article of General Sullivan above referred
Speaker 1: to appeared in the New Hampshire Mercury of May third,
Speaker 1: seventeen eighty five, and was addressed to the impartial public
Speaker 1: and is as follows. Although I have no desire to
Speaker 1: satisfy or even to answer a malicious, false and cowardly writer, who,
Speaker 1: under a feigned and very unproper signature, has endeavored to
Speaker 1: wound my reputation by a publication in the New Hampshire
Speaker 1: Mercury of the nineteenth Ultimo, Yet inasmuch as I am
Speaker 1: conscious of having acted with uprightness in every part of
Speaker 1: my political conduct, I shall, for your satisfaction, answer the
Speaker 1: three charges which his malice has suggested, and which his
Speaker 1: knowledge of their falsity has prevented being signed by his
Speaker 1: proper name. The first charge is obtaining a considerable sum
Speaker 1: from Congress by false representations respecting the taking powder from
Speaker 1: Fort William and Mary, secondly giving up the fishing ground,
Speaker 1: and thirdly receiving a bribe in my office of Attorney General,
Speaker 1: which prevented my complying with my duty in endeavoring to
Speaker 1: confiscate a valuable estate, by which I suppose he means
Speaker 1: Colonel Boyd's. To answer the first, it will be necessary
Speaker 1: to relate the manner of taking the stores from the
Speaker 1: fort when I returned from Congress in seventeen seventy four,
Speaker 1: and saw the order of the British King and Council
Speaker 1: prohibiting military stores being sent to this country. I took
Speaker 1: the alarm, clearly perceived the designs of the British Ministry,
Speaker 1: and wrote several pieces upon the necessity of securing military stores,
Speaker 1: which pieces were published in several papers. On the eighteenth
Speaker 1: of December. Date is evidently given from memory and is wrong.
Speaker 1: Some gentlemen belonging to Portsmouth went to the fort and
Speaker 1: took sundry barrels of powder and sent in a gondola
Speaker 1: one hundred and ten barrels to my care, which myself
Speaker 1: and others deposited in places of security. The next day
Speaker 1: a report was spread that two vessels of war were
Speaker 1: coming from Boston to take possession of the fort and harbor.
Speaker 1: I went down with a large number of men, and
Speaker 1: in the night following went in person with gondolas, took
Speaker 1: possession of the fort, brought away the remainder of the powder,
Speaker 1: the small arms, bayonets and cartouche boxes, together with the
Speaker 1: cannon and ordnance stores. Was out all night, and returned
Speaker 1: to Portsmouth next day. I might here add that I
Speaker 1: bore the expense of all the parts the gondolas with
Speaker 1: the stores were brought to Durham after several days spent
Speaker 1: in cutting the ice Durham River, then being frozen over.
Speaker 1: The canon et cetera, was then deposited in places of security.
Speaker 1: These are facts known to almost every person in the state,
Speaker 1: and to all them concerned, that almost the whole expense
Speaker 1: was borne by me, notwithstanding which I never applied for
Speaker 1: a single farthing to Congress or any other body for
Speaker 1: this service. And when a committee of Congress, who were
Speaker 1: appointed to report what was due for my allowance its
Speaker 1: separate departments where I commanded, reported one hundred dollars for
Speaker 1: this service, I warmly opposed it and told Congress I
Speaker 1: never expected or desired a single farthing for it. For
Speaker 1: the truth of this, I appealed to the Honorable Judge Livermore,
Speaker 1: who was with me in Congress at the time and
Speaker 1: knows every fact relating to it. He is now on
Speaker 1: the circuit through the state. Consequently, any gentleman and may
Speaker 1: satisfy himself by asking him whether these facts are true
Speaker 1: or false. But to prove whether Congress has been generous
Speaker 1: to me in their grants, I beg leave to mention
Speaker 1: that by a resolve of Congress of the fifteenth of
Speaker 1: June seventeen seventy five, general officers in separate departments were
Speaker 1: to be allowed one hundred and fifty dollars per month
Speaker 1: over and above their wages. I served thirty months in
Speaker 1: separate departments, and Congress made me a grant of thirteen
Speaker 1: hundred dollars only in lieu of four thousand, eight hundred,
Speaker 1: which was my due. It is true one hundred of
Speaker 1: it was reported for the above mentioned service, but upon
Speaker 1: my objecting to it was not in reality granted in
Speaker 1: that light. And further to prove the generosity of Congress
Speaker 1: to me, I now say that, for near five years service,
Speaker 1: I have never received only the nominal sum in paper
Speaker 1: money for my services, and am the only officer in
Speaker 1: America that has received no debt, proprecation or allowance. Therefore,
Speaker 1: John Sullivan, Durham, April twenty third, seventeen eighty five. Among
Speaker 1: the many political feuds early existing among the prominent men
Speaker 1: of the state of New Hampshire, one had broken out
Speaker 1: between Judge Ebenezer Thompson of Durham and General John Sullivan.
Speaker 1: This had been fanned into open warfare from the fact
Speaker 1: that a quarrel had taken place between their sons, in
Speaker 1: which the fathers afterwards took sides. Lawsuits were begun and
Speaker 1: appeals made to the public through the press. Fortunately for
Speaker 1: our purpose, one of the points in controversy between them
Speaker 1: was the respective parts each had taken at the capture
Speaker 1: of Fort William and Mary. As many of the participants
Speaker 1: were alive who knew all the facts, both were naturally
Speaker 1: careful to have their statements accurate. The first number of
Speaker 1: this series appeared in an article in the New Hampshire
Speaker 1: Spy of Friday, March sixth, seventeen eighty nine, and signed
Speaker 1: an Enemy to Deceit, in which an unnamed gentleman, Judge
Speaker 1: Ebenezer Thompson is accused of appearing at Exeter at town
Speaker 1: meeting to work against the election of General Sullivan as
Speaker 1: President of the state, and of keeping back a number
Speaker 1: of votes in the election of seventeen eighty six. The
Speaker 1: only statement of interest to us is the following. It
Speaker 1: surely cannot be forgotten that this gentleman, in company with
Speaker 1: a number of others, went from Durham to Portsmouth in
Speaker 1: December seventeen seventy four to assist in securing the stores
Speaker 1: at Fort William and Murray, and when Governor Wentworth suspended
Speaker 1: him and sundry others on that account, he was restored
Speaker 1: by making oaths before George Atkinson Esquire, then Deputy Secretary,
Speaker 1: that he was not concerned. In the New Hampshire Spy
Speaker 1: of Friday, May thirteenth, seventeen eighty nine, Judge Ebenezer Thompson
Speaker 1: defends himself from the attack of an enemy to deceit,
Speaker 1: whom he assumes to be General Sullivan, and among other things,
Speaker 1: says that I ever was concerned directly or indirectly in
Speaker 1: taking the stores from Fort William and Mary in seventeen
Speaker 1: seventy four is absolutely false. But had it been the case,
Speaker 1: I should not have thought of applying to or receiving
Speaker 1: from Congress a large pecuniary reward by single service. But
Speaker 1: what a gentleman did who assisted in the matter will
Speaker 1: appear by the following extract from a resolution of Congress
Speaker 1: printed in the Journal, Volume seven, page one fifty nine,
Speaker 1: ordered that the Board of Treasury passed to the credit
Speaker 1: of John Sullivan in specie one hundred dollars as a
Speaker 1: compensation for the expense incurred by him. In securing the
Speaker 1: military stores and ordinance in Fort William and Mary, New Hampshire,
Speaker 1: in the year seventeen seventy five. It is a well
Speaker 1: known fact that the Honorable John Langdon Esquire and a
Speaker 1: number of other persons took the powder from the aforesaid
Speaker 1: fort and sent it into the country before the gentleman
Speaker 1: who received the reward knew anything about it. Signed Ebenezer Thompson, Durham,
Speaker 1: March eleventh, seventeen eighty nine. In the New Hampshire Spy
Speaker 1: of March seventeenth, seventeen eighty nine, General Sullivan addresses a
Speaker 1: reply to Ebenezer Thompson Esquire, and, after refusing to affirm
Speaker 1: or deny his authorship of the article, signed an enemy
Speaker 1: to deceit. He discusses the Exeter affair and the seventeen
Speaker 1: eighty sixth election, and then the following appears. As different
Speaker 1: ideas may be affixed to the words directly or indirectly.
Speaker 1: I shall not assert that you were directly or indirectly
Speaker 1: concerned in taking the stores from Fort William and Mary
Speaker 1: in seventeen seventy four, but will relate facts as they
Speaker 1: are In the night of the eighteenth of December seventeen
Speaker 1: seventy four. Again he has the date from memory incorrect.
Speaker 1: A messenger came to my house from the Honorable Colonel Long,
Speaker 1: and I think also signed by President Langdon, informing that
Speaker 1: one hundred barrels of powder were sent to my care,
Speaker 1: that they had been to the fort and secured as
Speaker 1: much of the powder as they could, and desired me
Speaker 1: to come down with a party to secure the remainder
Speaker 1: with the cannon and munitions of war, as they were
Speaker 1: in danger of being seized by the British ships. I
Speaker 1: musted hands took care of the powder, part of which
Speaker 1: was lodged in your house. The next morning we mustered
Speaker 1: and you went to Portsmouth in company with about thirty
Speaker 1: or forty, among whom was the Reverend mister Adams, Deacon Norton,
Speaker 1: Lieutenant Durgen, Captain Jonathan Woodman, and mister Aaron Davis, and
Speaker 1: I think mister Footmen of Dover, and many others. I
Speaker 1: think you did not go down to the fort. That
Speaker 1: was at night, when a number of us mustered what
Speaker 1: gondoles we could went to the fort and secured as
Speaker 1: much as our vessels could bring away. When the gondoles
Speaker 1: arrived in Durham, it was froze far down, and we
Speaker 1: were about two days in sawing the icing, getting the boats,
Speaker 1: and one more day in storing and distributing the stores.
Speaker 1: In this you were obliging enough to assist us. But
Speaker 1: whether that was being directly or indirectly concerned, I shall
Speaker 1: not determine. Nothing can be more unjust than your calling
Speaker 1: up again the matter of Congress voting me one hundred
Speaker 1: dollars for assisting to take the cannon, et cetera from
Speaker 1: the fort, when it was so fully discussed in the
Speaker 1: public prints about four years since, and the malicious charge refuted.
Speaker 1: The Honorable Judge Livermore, who was in Congress with me,
Speaker 1: publicly declared that all the then members of Congress will
Speaker 1: attest that the vote was passed in my absence, and
Speaker 1: upon a petition from my allowance in separate departments, in
Speaker 1: which it was incidentally mentioned my being one of the
Speaker 1: first opposition and amongst those who first dared to attack
Speaker 1: a king's fort, the committee reported to me one hundred
Speaker 1: dollars and cut me off three quarters of my allowance
Speaker 1: in separate departments. The vote passed before I returned into Congress.
Speaker 1: I was the person who rose and violently opposed the measure.
Speaker 1: Told them I was so far from asking or wishing
Speaker 1: such a grant that, as it would open the door
Speaker 1: for similar grants, I could not from principle accept it.
Speaker 1: But Congress, finding how much I was cut short in
Speaker 1: my allowance for separate commands, advised me to a compromise
Speaker 1: to take the sum voted in full and release my
Speaker 1: demands in separate departments. Thus, by a compromise, I had
Speaker 1: one hundred dollars voted for, releasing more than a thousand.
Speaker 1: Any person who wishes to be satisfied of these facts
Speaker 1: may apply to the Honorable Judge Livermore, or to any
Speaker 1: member then in Congress, or may, by having recourse to
Speaker 1: the statement of facts by me and the proofs adduced
Speaker 1: in my answer to letters signed candidates in the beginning
Speaker 1: of seventeen eighty five, be fully convinced of the injustice
Speaker 1: of the accusation. John Sullivan, Durham, March fourteenth, seventeen eighty nine.
Speaker 1: The trouble between General Sullivan and Judge Ebenezer Thompson, arising
Speaker 1: out of this and other disputes, seems to have been settled.
Speaker 1: The following year by a letter from General Sullivan, the
Speaker 1: original of which is now in the possession of mister
Speaker 1: Lucian Thompson of Durham, and of which the following is
Speaker 1: a facsimile. Reader's note. I am unable to translate the letter,
Speaker 1: which is illegible, and no transcripts are available to dictate
Speaker 1: from the contents, however, are explained as follows by the author.
Speaker 1: These letters leave absolutely no doubt that, in the first instance,
Speaker 1: the powder and other military stores were brought to Durham
Speaker 1: to be from there distributed. Whether or not part of
Speaker 1: the powder was lodged under the pulpit of the Durham
Speaker 1: Meetinghouse must remains, as heretofore, a matter of tradition. But
Speaker 1: the fact that the Reverend mister Adams was of the party,
Speaker 1: and that, with the exception of General Sullivan's own house,
Speaker 1: it was one of the nearest buildings to the landing
Speaker 1: where the powder was unloaded, lends probability to the report
Speaker 1: we know positively, as the family tradition has always held
Speaker 1: that some of the powder was stored in the house
Speaker 1: of Ebenezer Thompson, which is still standing in Durham and
Speaker 1: is still occupied by a descendant of the judge in
Speaker 1: the person of mister Lucian Thompson. There is little doubt too,
Speaker 1: that in the subsequent distribution a considerable portion of the
Speaker 1: powder was left with Major John Demerit of Madbury. Such
Speaker 1: has been the unvarying tradition in Durham. Powder and balls
Speaker 1: from Fort William and Mary, which had been kept in
Speaker 1: the original magazine built in the Madbury home, are now
Speaker 1: in the possession of the New Hampshire Historical Society, donated
Speaker 1: in eighteen eighty seven by mister John de Merit, now
Speaker 1: also Major of Madbury, New Hampshire, a direct descendant and
Speaker 1: namesake of Major Demerit, Miss Mary P. Thompson, writing for
Speaker 1: The Independent Statesman of November seventeenth, eighteen eighty seven, states
Speaker 1: that the wife of Major Demerit's grandson, who had charge
Speaker 1: of Major Demerit during the last six years of his life,
Speaker 1: related to her the accounts of the capture of the
Speaker 1: fort and the preservation of this powder, as she had
Speaker 1: heard it from Major Demerit. Also in Brewster's Rambles about Portsmouth,
Speaker 1: it is asserted that Daniel P. Drown calling upon Major
Speaker 1: Demerit in seventeen ninety nine or eighteen hundred was given
Speaker 1: two charges of this powder for his rifle, with the
Speaker 1: statement that it was taken from Fort William and Mary.
Speaker 1: It is certainly true that a large part of the
Speaker 1: powder was afterwards distributed among the several towns. This is
Speaker 1: indicated by General Sullivan's letter and by the Journal of Congress,
Speaker 1: and has also been well brought out by Honorable John G.
Speaker 1: Crawford in an article read before the New Hampshire Society
Speaker 1: Sons of the American Revolution. Several documents quoted in the
Speaker 1: New Hampshire Provincial Papers, Volume seven also show this to
Speaker 1: have been afact. The arms brought from Portsmouth were repaired
Speaker 1: and put in order at Durham. For in the Durham
Speaker 1: Town Records it is recorded that at March thirty first,
Speaker 1: seventeen eighty three Town Meeting it was voted that the
Speaker 1: Selectman be directed to allow Thomas Willie twenty nine in
Speaker 1: full for repairing the guns brought from Fort William and
Speaker 1: Mary end of Chapter two, Chapter three of the Capture
Speaker 1: of Fort William and Mary. This LibriVox recording is in
Speaker 1: the public domain. The participants it is unfortunate that so
Speaker 1: little is known about the actual leaders and those who
Speaker 1: joined with them in the attacks upon the fort. The
Speaker 1: newspapers of the time were silent upon the question, and
Speaker 1: even the official reports contained scarcely a reference, simply saying
Speaker 1: that the leaders were well known. The act was one
Speaker 1: of open treason to the King, and as it was,
Speaker 1: the almost unanimous act of the community, but little was
Speaker 1: written or published that might injure their participants. A few
Speaker 1: names only are preserved to us. Governor Wentworth says that
Speaker 1: the first attack was carried out by citizens of Portsmouth,
Speaker 1: Rye and Newcastle. No individual is named. General Sullivan says
Speaker 1: the powder was sent to him by messenger from Colonel Long, and,
Speaker 1: if he remembered correctly, signed also by John Langdon. John
Speaker 1: Sullivan was the unquestioned leader of the second attack. Jeremy Belknapp,
Speaker 1: who wrote during the lives of both Langdon and Sullivan,
Speaker 1: was a close friend of the latter, credits the leadership
Speaker 1: to those two prominent New Hampshire men. Judge Ebenezer Thompson
Speaker 1: in The New Hampshire Spy says Honorable John Langdon and
Speaker 1: others took the powder. John M. Whitton is the first
Speaker 1: to claim Thomas Pickering as a leader. No previous mention
Speaker 1: of his name in this connection has come to light,
Speaker 1: and Witton does not give his authority. The History of
Speaker 1: Manchester eighteen fifty six, Report of the Adjutant General for
Speaker 1: New Hampshire eighteen sixty six, and Brewster's rambles about Portsmouth
Speaker 1: speak of Thomas Pickering as being the leader in the
Speaker 1: first attack. All three take their authority from Daniel P. Drown,
Speaker 1: a nephew of Pickering, who had received his version of
Speaker 1: the affair from his father Samuel Drown, whom he stated
Speaker 1: as a participant. Brewster, obtaining his information from the same source,
Speaker 1: states also that Sullivan, Langdon, George Frost of Durham, and
Speaker 1: doctor Bartlett of Kingston were present. The account by Drown
Speaker 1: is so inaccurate in many particulars that it is doubtful
Speaker 1: if his memory of his father's story was correct in
Speaker 1: regard to the others. Brewster also states that Pierce Long
Speaker 1: assisted in the removal of the powder, which General Sullivan's
Speaker 1: article before quoted confirms. From the New Hampshire Spy we
Speaker 1: learned that Judge ebanez Er Thompson went with the party
Speaker 1: as far as Portsmouth, but was not present at the Fort,
Speaker 1: and that the Reverend mister Adams, Deacon Norton, Lieutenant Durgan,
Speaker 1: Captain Jonathan Woodman, Mister Aaron Davis, and probably mister Footmen
Speaker 1: of Dover were actively engaged in the second attack. Mister
Speaker 1: Elizir Bennett of Durham, who was probably the last survivor
Speaker 1: of those who took part in the affair, gave a
Speaker 1: full description to the Reverend mister Toby of Durham, who
Speaker 1: published it in an obituary notice of mister Bennett in
Speaker 1: the Congregational Journal of February eighteenth, eighteen fifty two. It
Speaker 1: is unfortunate for our purpose that mister Bennett was one
Speaker 1: hundred years old at the time mister Toby took down
Speaker 1: his statement, for his account is very inaccurate, and, with
Speaker 1: the exception of adding several names of those present, contains
Speaker 1: nothing of value. He enumerated John Sullivan, Wynborne Adams, Ebenezer Thompson,
Speaker 1: John Demerit of Madbury, Alpheus Chesley, Jonathan Chesley, Peter French,
Speaker 1: a law student in Sullivan's office, John Spencer, Mika Davis,
Speaker 1: Edward Sullivan, Isaac Small, Benjamin Small, and himself as members
Speaker 1: of the party. It is worthy of note that he
Speaker 1: makes no mention of Alexander scam although in the narrative
Speaker 1: as quoted in Amory's Life of Sullivan as coming from
Speaker 1: the same source, his name is included. It is probable
Speaker 1: that Amory copied this account from the highly imaginary article
Speaker 1: in Harper's Monthly of July eighteen eighty six, rather than
Speaker 1: from the original publication. However, in a letter to the
Speaker 1: Senate of New Hampshire of February fourteenth, seventeen eighty five,
Speaker 1: General Sullivan says that he was assisted by his three
Speaker 1: clerks in bringing the stores up the river, and this
Speaker 1: leaves but little doubt that Alexander Scammell, Peter French, and
Speaker 1: James Underwood, who were at that time in his office,
Speaker 1: were with him at the second attack. Another account, by
Speaker 1: a survivor of the Exeter party, and published by Governor
Speaker 1: Bell in his History of Exeter, also differs so much
Speaker 1: from the known facts that little credits can be given
Speaker 1: to any part of it. It does not seem wise
Speaker 1: to further quote either of these accounts. End of chapter three,
Speaker 1: Chapter four of the Capture of Fort William and Murray.
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain the powder
Speaker 1: at bunker Hill. It has always been the tradition in
Speaker 1: southeastern New Hampshire, founded upon the statements of persons who
Speaker 1: claim to have the facts from the actors themselves, that
Speaker 1: Major John de Merit took a cart load of the
Speaker 1: powder captured at Portsmouth from the magazine at his house
Speaker 1: to Cambridge and reached there just in time for its
Speaker 1: opportune use at bunker Hill. No inhabitant of Madbury or
Speaker 1: Durham doubts the story, but it cannot, with our present
Speaker 1: knowledge be proven. On the other hand, there is nothing
Speaker 1: to render it improbable. The official documents of the time
Speaker 1: are silent upon the question. On the fly leaf of
Speaker 1: an application dated April twenty first, seventeen seventy five from
Speaker 1: the Committee of Correspondence in Portsmouth to a like committee
Speaker 1: and Exeter, a statement made at the time is given
Speaker 1: of the quantity of powder stored in Exeter and vicinity.
Speaker 1: It states that at the time there were twelve barrels
Speaker 1: at Kingston, eight at Epping, four at Popland, eight at Nottingham,
Speaker 1: with Major Silly, six at Brentwood, one at Londonery, four
Speaker 1: at Portsmouth, and twenty nine at Exeter. It is quite
Speaker 1: probable that this represents part of the powder from Fort
Speaker 1: William and Mary, but there is nothing to indicate the fact,
Speaker 1: except perhaps that Major Scilly's name appears as a custodian,
Speaker 1: and he was directed by the Exeter Committee of Safety
Speaker 1: on the seventh of the following August to apply to
Speaker 1: the selectmen of the several towns in this colony with
Speaker 1: whom was lodged the powder taken last winter from Fort
Speaker 1: William and Mary, taken account of what is now in
Speaker 1: their custody, respectively, and requests them forthwith to convey the
Speaker 1: whole of it to Colonel Nicholas Gilman at Exeter. This
Speaker 1: request to Major Silly was the result of a letter
Speaker 1: from General Sullivan to the Committee of Safety under date
Speaker 1: of August fourth, at winter Hill, stating that the army
Speaker 1: was in sore straits for powder and asking that at
Speaker 1: least twenty barrels be sent at once. There is no
Speaker 1: doubt that Major Silly carried out his instructions, and that
Speaker 1: much of the powder from Fort William and Mary was
Speaker 1: carried to winter Hill for General Sullivan, in a subsequent letter,
Speaker 1: claims to have supplied the troops at winter Hill when
Speaker 1: in sore need with powder. On June's second, the Committee
Speaker 1: of Supplies had been ordered to apply and obtain the
Speaker 1: quantity and quality of the powder brought from the fort.
Speaker 1: William and Mary also take it into their possession and
Speaker 1: lay the state of it before the Committee of Safety,
Speaker 1: but there is no record of their having carried out
Speaker 1: their orders. In fact, the latter instructions to Major Silly
Speaker 1: would seem to indicate that this order was not carried
Speaker 1: into effect. Now. Although much of this order was probably
Speaker 1: sent to General Sullivan at winter Hill, there is nothing
Speaker 1: to indicate that the portion retained in Durham was not
Speaker 1: previously used at Bunker Hill. There are two facts apart
Speaker 1: from tradition, which seemed to show the truth of the statement,
Speaker 1: and that the tradition was not of recent birth. C. E. Potter,
Speaker 1: in his History of Manchester eighteen fifty six, page four ten,
Speaker 1: states in a footnote that Major Demerit took the powder
Speaker 1: to Bunker Hill, and further says that a gentleman is
Speaker 1: now living in Portsmouth, to whom he gave some of
Speaker 1: it for squirrel hunting. After relating the taking of the fort,
Speaker 1: remarking as he gave it here, try this powder. This
Speaker 1: is the kind we killed the Redcoats with at Bunker Hill.
Speaker 1: Still earlier, on May twenty first, eighteen twenty three, at
Speaker 1: the Portsmouth By Centennial Anniversary celebration, the following toast was
Speaker 1: printed on the program. Major Sullivan and Captain langdon Our
Speaker 1: delegates to Congress in seventy five, who supplied Bunker Hill
Speaker 1: with powder from His Majesty's Fort at Piscatterquak end of
Speaker 1: chapter four of the Capture of Fort William and Murray.
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Was the
Speaker 1: capture of Fort William and Murray the first overt act
Speaker 1: of the Revolution. There is no question that previous to
Speaker 1: December fourteenth, seventeen seventy four, bodies of men had destroyed
Speaker 1: private property owing to their disapproval of British methods, and
Speaker 1: in a few cases had even assaulted the Royal power.
Speaker 1: But the capture of Fort William and Mary was the
Speaker 1: first organized fight of the Revolutionary War, and on December fourteenth,
Speaker 1: seventeen seventy four, the first gun of that war was fired.
Speaker 1: It is true that on December fifth, seventeen seventy four,
Speaker 1: the Assembly of Rhode Island ordered the powder and shot
Speaker 1: in Fort George to be removed to a place of safety.
Speaker 1: And it is further true that it was done with
Speaker 1: the same intent and purpose, and undoubtedly influenced the subsequent
Speaker 1: action at Portsmouth. It was accomplished without opposition, simply the
Speaker 1: confiscation of stores already in their possession. The taking of
Speaker 1: the schooner gasby eight guns, commanded by Lieutenant Dunnington at
Speaker 1: Gaspy Point, Rhode Island, on June ninth, seventeen seventy two,
Speaker 1: has been held to be the first assault against the Crown,
Speaker 1: but erroneously, for it in no wise differs in principle
Speaker 1: from the act of firing upon the schooner Saint John
Speaker 1: in July seventeen sixty four, the seizure of the Maidstones
Speaker 1: Boat at Newport in May seventeen sixty five, or the
Speaker 1: scuttling of the British Armed Liberty at Newport in seventeen
Speaker 1: sixty nine. All were directed against the vessels of the
Speaker 1: British Navy carrying the King's colors. But they were directed
Speaker 1: against the particular vessel that suffered on account of real
Speaker 1: injuries to the participants or to the community, and not
Speaker 1: from any uprising against the general authority of Great Britain.
Speaker 1: Arnold states in his account of the destruction of the
Speaker 1: gasby that Lute Jennet Dunnington, the commander had practiced every
Speaker 1: arrogance upon vessels in the bay, detaining them, often without
Speaker 1: a colorable pretext, stopping even market boats, and in some
Speaker 1: cases plundering people on shore. The Battle of Alamance in
Speaker 1: North Carolina on May sixteenth, seventeen seventy one was entirely
Speaker 1: of a local nature, and was fought between a band
Speaker 1: of so called regulators and volunteer militia of their own province. Also,
Speaker 1: according to Hildreth History of Us, Volume two, page five
Speaker 1: seventy the regulators themselves became staunch supporters of the royal authority.
Speaker 1: The three and one half years intervening between this affair
Speaker 1: and that of William and Mary is sufficient in itself
Speaker 1: to separate it from the revolutionary period. The opinion of
Speaker 1: Reverend Alonso H. Quint d d in regard to the
Speaker 1: capture of Fort William and Mary is often well quoted
Speaker 1: in the words, the daring character of this assault cannot
Speaker 1: be overestimated. It was an organized investment of a royal fortress,
Speaker 1: where the King's flag was flying and where the King's
Speaker 1: garrison met them with muskets and artillery. It was four
Speaker 1: months before Lexington and Lexington was resistance to attack, while
Speaker 1: this was embittered assault. While the King heard of this capture,
Speaker 1: it so embittered him that all hope of concessions was
Speaker 1: at an end. It made war inevitable. End of the
Speaker 1: capture of Fort William and Mary