USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1890 > Part 13
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Regular Army mustered in 1864 .- Sandwich: Addison H. Cutting, into Nineteenth Infantry; William H. Wright, into signal corps. Brewster: Henry Hart, into engineer corps. Eastham: James Hennes- sey, signal corps. Falmouth: John Manning, Third Art. Harwich: Newell H. Miles, Eleventh Infantry.
The town of Barnstable is having made a careful manuscript
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HISTORY OF BARNSTABLE COUNTY.
record of her soldiers, for preservation in her town archives. The compiling, entrusted to Gustavus A. Hinckley, is to be finished in 1890. Other towns have revised their soldier lists since the publica- tion of the adjutant general's report on which this chapter is based.
Besides those soldiers above mentioned the Fourth Regiment had Neil McIntosh, of Dennis, and James Colvin, of Harwich; the Seven- teenth had William Fay and Frank Varnum; the Nineteenth had Charles Davis, William Miles and Conrad Wilson; and in the Twen- tieth, John H. Dimon was in Co. E; William Marshall was in Co. F; John McCawley was in Co. G; and John McDonald in Co. H.
We have purposely omitted the records of desertions which the official reports contain. They were largely from among the substi- tutes enlisted from non-residents of the county.
In 1865, after the close of the war, the survivors of this body of patriots returned to their homes and were received with every demon- stration of honor and thankfulness. The ex-soldiers have continued the memories and friendships of the war by the establishment of Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic at Sandwich, South Chat- ham, and Provincetown, to which the veterans of the surrounding towns belong. These organizations are more fully mentioned in the histories of the villages where located.
In grateful remembrance of fallen heroes, five towns have erected monuments to their memory, Barnstable having the most elaborate. It was erected at Centreville, dedicated July 4, 1866, being the first in the state in point of time. Its cost was $1,050, the site being donated by F. G. Kelley, and the beautifully proportioned pile of Concord granite bids fair to stand forever. Upon the four faces of the shaft the name, age and date of death of each of Barnstable's soldiers are deeply carved-on the north, Thomas Coleman, jr., Enoch Crocker, Eliphalet Doane, Ebenezer Eldridge, Josiah C. Fish, Cyrus B. Fish, Alfred C. Phin- ney, and Shubael Linnell; on the west the names of Timothy Robbins, Joseph C. Scudder, Martin S. Tinkum, Aaron H. Young and Nathan F. Winslow. On this west face are also the names of James C. Crocker and Anthony Chase of the navy. The south contains the names of William L. Lumbert, Allen Marchant, Solomon Otis, Samuel B. Otis, James Pendergrass, Albro W. Phinney, Nathan A. Pitcher, Andrew P. Cobb and James A. Hathaway; and on the east face are those of Clarence W. Bassett, George H. Bearse, James R. Blagden, Charles G. Cook, Simeon C. Childs, Job F. Childs, Obed A. Cahoon and Horace L. Crocker. The grounds around this monument are beautifully laid out and well kept.
The people of Chatham have indicated their gratitude by the erec- tion of a shaft on the corner of Main and Sea View streets. The deeply engraved inscription, "Erected by the town to those who fell 1861-1865,"
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MILITARY HISTORY. 109
surmounts the column, and on the east side are the names of Captain Charles M. Upham, Lieutenant Franklin D. Hammond, David G. Young, Benjamin F. Bassett, Zebina H. Dill, and Edwin S. Nickerson. The west face bears the names of Captain William H. Harley, Ser- geant Nathaniel B. Smith, Sergeant Francis M. Armstrong, Seth T. Howes, Nathan Eldridge, John Bolton, and James Blauvelt.
Orleans, a few years after the war, erected on the square opposite the town house a fine shaft surmounted by the life-size figure of a soldier at parade rest. On the north face of the monument are the names of James E. Studley, John M. Cowan, Joseph Moody, and Lewis Eldridge: and on the south, Isaac Y. Smith, Joshua Gould, Freeman A. Sherman and John W. Walker.
In 1866 the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society, assisted by the subscribers to the war fund, erected a monument at Wellfleet in the burial ground at the head of Duck creek. Upon the south square of the main shaft are the names of William A. Holbrook, Daniel M. Hall, and Charles R. Morrill; and on the north the names of those who died in the naval service-Levi Y. Wiley, John Y. Cole, John D. Langley, and John N. Langley. The monument, surrounded by an iron fence, stands adja- cent to the highway.
Provincetown, at a cost of about $2.800, erected a fine monument to the memory of her soldiers. The face bears this inscription: 19
ERECTED BY THE TOWN OF PROVINCETOWN IN 1867 IN GRATITUDE TO THE MEMORY OF THE FALLEN WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES TO SAVE THEIR COUNTRY DURING THE GREAT REBELLION OF 1861-1865.
The right face has this inscription:
ARMY.
THOMAS J. GIBBONS. GEORGE LOCKWOOD. HENRY A. SMITH. GEORGE E. CROCKER. JEREMIAH BENNETT. ELKANAH SMITH. TAYLOR SMALL, JR. JOHN G. LURTEN. JOHN W. HOBBINS. JOHN R. SMITH. SOLOMON R. HIGGINS. JOSEPH KING.
The inscription on the left face is:
NAVY. JOSIAH C. FREEMAN. SAMUEL T. PAINE. WILLIAM E. TUPPER. WILLIAM H. CHIPMAN. ASA A. FRANKEN.
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CHAPTER VIII.
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION.
BY HON. CHARLES F. SWIFT.
Packet Lines .- Mail Routes and Stage Coaches .- Railroads .- Express Lines .- Telegraph and Cable Lines .- The Telephone Service.
T HE methods of communication with the great centers of business and intelligence serve to mark the progress of modern civiliza- tion in a community. Travel on foot or on horseback between the Cape and Plymouth, or Boston, was the primitive method when such travel was imperative; but owing to the rude state of the roads, the frequent necessity of fording streams, and the poorly constructed bridges, this method of communication was resorted to only in cases of extreme urgency. How great was the burden may be inferred from the vote of the town of Yarmouth in 1701, when Mr. John Miller, the representative elect to the general court, was allowed two extra days to go and return, " in consequence of his age and the greatness of the journey." The water. under such circumstances, was the element which offered the greatest inducements to travellers on the score of comfort and speed, if not for perfect reliability. Though advantage was usually taken of transient vessels to procure passage to and from Boston, it does not seem probable that regular lines, running on fixed and stated days, were established much if any before the beginning of the present century; and it was thirty or forty years more before the business assumed anything like the proportions which it arrived at a few years prior to the establishment of railroad communications. It was probably somewhat later when stage coaches came into vogue, and they, too, had to give way to the all-conquering steam cars.
The mode of travel by the packets was much better adapted to the promotion of sociability and the cultivation of acquaintanceship than our present rapid transit by rail. With twenty-five to fifty persons crowded into the cabins and upon the decks of a small schooner, as was often the case, there was frequent occasion to exercise the graces of courtesy, self-forgetfulness and consideration for the convenience of others. Men and women, thrown together under such circum- stances, soon became sociable and communicative. All sorts of topics
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were discussed, from original sin to the price of codfish. Experiences were related and results compared. When these resources were ex- hausted recourse was had to amusements, and not unfrequently the younger and less rigid of the passengers would perhaps resort to a game of checkers, or a quiet game of " old sledge," down in the hold or the forecastle. Travel by packet was a great leveler of social dis- tinctions-the squire, the village storekeeper. the minister or the doctor being constrained to take up with the same fare as their more humble neighbors, upon whom they were obliged to depend for some degree of deference or courtesy. On the other hand, these important personages often felt impelled to exercise a degree of condescension to those with whom they were thrown in such intimate relations. A good steward was a great acquisition to a packet, as much dependence was placed by all who were not seasick upon the refreshments served to the passengers. It is well known that a sea trip is a great sharp- ener of the appetites of such as have any appetite at all, and it seems almost incredible, in view of the gastronomic feats accomplished on some of these trips, that a living business could be carried on under such conditions for twenty-five cents per meal.
Great was the excitement on land when the packet was signaled in the offing or back of the bar. The shores were swarmed long before her arrival, the wharf was crowded, and scores of expert hands were ready to catch the warp as it was tossed ashore from the approaching vessel. Then came eager inquiries for " the news," and an exchange of greetings between reunited friends, or words of regret because of the non-arrival of others. In those days scores of men from the Cape villages sailed from Boston, and this was the usual way of reaching home after their return from voyages abroad. The passengers landed and order restored on the cluttered decks, bulk was broken and the freight briskly passed ashore. There were innumerable barrels, hogs- heads, boxes, sides of beef, carcasses of mutton or pork, and jugs in infinite variety, and not all of them filled with vinegar or molasses. From the summits of the highest hills signals had been hoisted on staffs to apprise the people on the south side that the packet was in. Ample notice was given in the same way of her intended departure. There was a good deal of rivalry between these vessels in the matter of speed. The Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis packets, and those from the towns below, used to put forth their best efforts to make the quickest trips, and the regattas of modern times were anticipated by these rival packet craft. A good many five dollar bills changed hands on some of these occasions between the betting friends of the differ- ent vessels. Commencing on the bay side-because that was the scene of the greater portion of their achievements-and at Sandwich - by reason of its being the oldest town in the county-it will be a
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HISTORY OF BARNSTABLE COUNTY.
matter of general interest to trace the development, growth and ulti- mate abandonment of the two channels of communication -- the packet and the stage coach.
SANDWICH .- The first packet between Sandwich and Boston, of which there is any data existing, was the Charming Betty, a sloop of forty-five tons, built in 1717 by Thomas Bourne, and purchased by Simeon Dillingham. Other packets, we know by tradition, plied be- tween these ports, but their names have not been preserved. About 1825 the sloops Polly, Captain Roland Gibbs, and Splendid, Captain Sewall Fessenden, were on this route, and Captain Charles Nye run the Charles, which was built on the shore below the present town house. Deming Jarves afterwards built, just below the glass works, the sloop Sandwich (which was perhaps the first regular passenger packet), also commanded by Captain Charles Nye. The Henry Clay, built by Hinckley Brothers at West Sandwich in 1831-2, was com- manded by Captain George Atkins. The sloop Sarah, commanded by Calvin Fish, ran from the village with wood and passengers, and be- tween these last two there was a sharp rivalry. The village people, not satisfied with the sailing qualities of the Sarah, purchased the schooner Nancy Finley, and the competition continued. About 1840 the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company purchased the schooner Sarah, a fleet craft, also commanded by Captain Atkins. The village people tried again, and bought the schooner Cabinet; Captain Roland Gibbs commanded her, and afterward the sloop Osceola, a fast sailer.
The packeting business was in its glory just before the advent of steam cars, in 1848. Competition was brisk and rates were cut from one dollar to twenty-five cents per trip. After the opening of the rail- road the business began to decline. Captain Sears left the line and took command of a brig in the freighting business. The Glass Com- pany also took off its packet. The Wm. G. Eddie, Captain Stephen Sears, ran a few months, but was not remunerative. Early in the fifties, Mr. Jarves had a disagreement with the railroad company as to the rates of freight, and in conversation with Mr. Bourne, the super- intendent, threatened to put a steamer on the route between the Cape and Sandwich. Mr. Bourne, it is stated, remarked that " the acorn was not yet planted to grow the timber for such a steamer." But the steamer was built, and remembering the conversation, Mr. Jarves named her the Acorn. She ran a few years, and was commanded by Captain Roland Gibbs. But both steam and sailing vessels in the end succumbed to the railroad as a means of communication with the out- side world.
FALMOUTH .- The geographical position of this town rendered regu- lar water communication with Boston impracticable. But in the early and middle parts of the present century there was constant and regu-
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lar communication with Nantucket, which was then a place of great relative importance. Several vessels ran between Falmouth, East Falmouth and Nantucket, with wood for the island, and all these craft took passengers, particularly during the great local festival, "sheep- shearing," when the natives and their friends from abroad held high carnival together for a week! This intercourse continued after the glory of sheep-shearing had departed, until the opening of steamboat communication between Nantucket and the main land.
The first packet, of which any knowledge exists, running between Falmouth and New Bedford, was a large sail-boat owned and run by Captain James Stewart about the year 1826. About 1827 the sloop Henry Clay, Captain Ezekiel E. Swift, was put upon the route between the two places, and ran for several years. Owing to increase of busi- ness about the year 1834, another sloop, called the Swift, was built and run by Captain Swift, formerly of the Henry Clay, which latter was run by Captain John Phinney, both vessels running to and fro on alternate days. In 1836 another sloop, the Temperance, was put on the route and the Henry Clay was withdrawn. A few years later Captain Swift retired, and was succeeded by Captain Oliver F. Robinson for many years thereafter. Since the Woods Holl railroad was opened, no direct line of packets has run to New Bedford from this town. But daily and more frequent steamboat communication in summer is still maintained between Woods Holl and New Bedford.
Regular communication was maintained between West Falmouth and New Bedford by Captain William Baker of the packet sloop Nile, with which for years he made tri-weekly trips from West Falmouth. He and his craft were succeeded by Captain James D. Hoxie in the sloop Peerless, with which the three round trips weekly were made until the opening of the Woods Holl railroad.
BARNSTABLE .- The town of Barnstable had in 1800 but a small amount of shipping, and it is not known that any regular packet line was maintained here. In 1806 the schooner Comet, 105 70-95 tons bur- then, commanded by Captain Asa Scudder, made frequent trips be- tween Barnstable and Boston. At the time of the declaration of war with Great Britain, in 1812, the sloop Independence, of about thirty tons, Captain Richard Howes, was running transiently as a Barnstable and Boston packet. Before the close of the war, in 1814, on her return passage from Boston, this vessel was fired into, boarded and burned by the crew of the British frigate Nymph, having been set on fire with her sails all standing. The captain and passengers were taken in a barge to the frigate. Their names were: Richard Howes, John Lothrop, David Parker, Timothy Phinney and his young son, Syl- vanus B. Phinney, all of Barnstable. They were landed the day fol- lowing near Boston light. The cargo, mostly groceries, belonged to
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HISTORY OF BARNSTABLE COUNTY.
Mr. Parker, one of the passengers, a trader at West Barnstable. The frigates continued to annoy the packets on this coast until the close of the war.
Several ship-yards were established in this town after the war. Four of the most prominent packets between Barnstable and Boston- the schooners Globe, Volant, Sappho and Flavilla-were built here by Captain William Lewis. The sloop Freedom was also built at West Barnstable, and ran as a packet to Boston a few years, commanded by Captain Washington Farris. The sloop Science, Captain Joseph Huck- ins, and schooner Globe, Captain Simpson, were of this line until about the year 1826. In 1828-9 the sloop James Lawrence, Captain Goodspeed, and schooner l'olant. Captain Huckins, formed the regular line to Boston. In 1831-2, the schooner Volant, Gorham, and the sloops James Lawrence, Goodspeed, Betsey, Fish, and Velocity, Lewis, ran to Boston. In 1833-4, the schooners Globe and Volant were in the regular line. In 1836 Captain Matthias Hinckley took charge of the Globe, and Captain Thomas Smith of the Sappho, in this line.
At this period the travel by packets to Boston had largely in- creased, and it was felt that the time had come for vessels of greater speed. The sloop Commodore Hull of Yarmouth was considered the fastest on the coast, and in 1838 Captains Matthias Hinckley and Thomas Percival went to Sing Sing, N. Y., to contract for a new packet to compete with her. The sloop Mail was the result, and many are now living who remember the excitement which was created in the race which took place from Barnstable to Boston, between those two packets. With a strong southerly wind they left Barnstable bar, dur- ing the forenoon. Running side by side as far as could be seen from the shore. they made the passage in about six hours, the Mail having passed into the dock at Central wharf not over three lengths ahead of her rival. This slight victory was, however, believed to have been accidental, as the Commodore Hull was considered the fastest sailer of the two. Captain Percival made the passage with Captain Hinckley to give him the advantage of his own experience.
In 1841 the Mail, Emerald and Sappho were of the line. In 1843 the steamer Express, Captain Sanford, ran a part of the year, taking passengers between Boston, Plymouth, Barnstable and Provincetown. In 1845 the Sappho and Mail continued their regular trips, and the steamer Yacht, Captain Sanford, took the place of the Express. The steamer Naushon, Captain Paine, was then making occasional trips from Boston to Wellfleet and Provincetown, and less frequently to Yar- mouth and Barnstable. In 1846-7 the sloop Emerald, Captain Joseph Huckins, jr., and the Sappho and Mail comprised the regular line. The Flavilla also made several trips, when not in the fishing business. In 1850-1 the sloop Rough and Ready was added to the line, and in
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TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION.
1852-3-4 the Mail, Sappho and Premium, Captain Arey, constituted the line. During a portion of the season of 1854 the steamer Acorn, Cap- tain Gibbs, was running between Boston, Sandwich, Yarmouth and Provincetown. The excursions of the steamers, so frequently made, did not destroy the business, for in 1857 the Mail, Captain Crocker, Abby Gould, Captain Young, and schooner L. Snow, Jr., Captain Backus, continued to run through most of the year. During the season the Mail made occasional trips to Boston, under the command of Captain Aaron H. Young. The travel, however, had largely decreased, as the railroad cars had commenced running. In 1858 the Mail, Captain Young (which vessel had been changed into a schooner), and the sloop Simon P. Cole, Captain Crocker, continued to run through most of the season. In 1859 the Emerald was sold, and in 1860 the fleet was re- duced to the schooner Flora and the sloops Mail and Simon P. Cole. In 1861-2-3 there was not a vessel running regularly between Barn- stable and Boston, most of them having embarked in the coasting trade from other ports, and in 1864 it was rare that a flag was seen flying at mast-head from vessels at either of the three wharves at Barnstable.
YARMOUTH .- Probably before the commencement of this century packets were running with more or less regularity between Yarmouth and Boston. Captains Job Crowell, Nathan Hallet, Prince Howes and Ansel Hallet were the earliest packet masters of whom knowledge now exists. Captain Ansel Hallet commanded the sloop Betsey for some years after the war of 1812-15. He afterward sailed another sloop called the Messenger, and lost his life in 1832, while laboring to get her ready for sea. In swinging her around preparatory to start- ing, the vessel grounded on a sandbar. Captain Hallet, while assist- ing at low tide to dig beneath her in order to deepen the channel, was crushed to death by the vessel rolling over.
At Town Dock, Captain Thomas Matthews, sr., some sixty years ago, ran the sloop Martha Jane between that part of Yarmouth and Boston. Later Captain Isaac Hamblin commanded the sloop Emerald on the same line. This vessel was afterward sold and put on the line from Barnstable. The other wharf and landing was at " Lone Tree," a little to the eastward of the present Central wharf, which was built in 1832. This year the sloop Flight was placed on the Boston route under the command of Captain Edward Hallet, son of Captain Ansel, and the captain's brother, Ansel, went a part of the time as his mate. Captain Edward ran the Flight until about the year 1850, when she was sold, and Captain Hallet retired from the business. From some time in 1828 to 1836, Captain Paddock Thacher commanded the schooner Commodore Hull, and at the latter date was succeeded by Captain Thomas Matthews. In 1841 Captain Matthews built the schooner
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HISTORY OF BARNSTABLE COUNTY.
Yarmouth, the best planned and most convenient craft that ever en- gaged in the business from this port. Captain Matthews commanded her until 1849, when Captain Nathaniel Taylor took charge and ran her until she was sold. Messrs. H. B. Chase & Sons employed her for several years as a coaster between Hyannis and New York and vicin- ity. About 1850 Captain Ansel Hallet ran a packet sloop called the Maria. After that he engaged in the same business with the schooner Chas. B. Prindle, from 1856 to 1860, though not in that employment all the time. She was wrecked the latter year off Manomet, Plymouth.
Contemporary with the Flight and Yarmouth, from about 1841 to 1843, Captain Paddock Thacher ran the sloop Simon P. Cole. After the sale of the Yarmouth, Captain Nathaniel Taylor commanded the schooner Lucy Elizabeth from 1855 to 1859, when, in consequence of injuries received on board, he gave up the command to Captain El- kannah Hallet, who was in charge but a few months, being succeeded by his brother Charles, who ran her two or three years, until she was withdrawn. In 1862 Captain Edward Gorham, who had previously run the schooner H. S. Barnes, with others purchased the schooner North, of Dennis, which was run to Boston under the command of Cap- tain Gorham, until the year 1870, when the North was disposed of, and since that time there has been no Boston packet from this place, where two or three were formerly well supported. An attempt to run a small sloop after the withdrawal of the North, for certain kinds of freight only, proved a failure.
DENNIS AND EAST DENNIS .- There seems to be a good deal of evi- dence that regular communication by water between this part of the Cape and Boston commenced at an early date. In letters written as early as 1739, now in the possession of Captain Thomas P. Howes, reference is made to such channel of communication. In the latter part of the last century Captain Nathaniel Hall was running a packet -name unknown-from Dennis to Boston. Early in 1800 Captain Jeremiah Hall commanded a packet between Dennis and Boston, and was knocked overboard and drowned on a trip from the latter place. In 1821 the sloop Sally was built in the meadow below where Mr. S. H. Nye now lives, and was launched and passed down the cove west of the Bass Hole. She was twenty-eight tons burthen, and was mostly owned by Captain Uriah Howes, who placed her on the route to Bos- ton. She soon passed into the charge of Captain Ezra Hall, who ran her as a packet until 1832. The sloop Heroine, commanded by Captain Jeremiah Howes, sr., was put on the same route about the same time, but was withdrawn sooner. The schooner North was built in Connec- ticut in 1833, and commenced running under the command of Captain Oren Howes, who had for some time previous commanded the Sally. The North was for that day a fine craft, with ample accommodations,
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and Captain Howes was a popular and energetic commander. He gave up his command in 1854, and was succeeded by Captain Isaiah Hall, who had for some time been his mate. She continued on the route until 1862, when she was sold to Yarmouth parties, being the last of the Dennis packets.
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