USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > History of New Bedford and its vicinity, 1620-1892 > Part 19
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The Nimrod continued to be a constant menace during the summer of 1814. A short respite from her mischievous work occurred when she left the coast August 5, only to return again after a few weeks' absence.
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
Traces of her work still exist in many of the old residences. Shot are frequently taken from the roofs of shingled houses in Falmouth. Charles H. Nye says that forty years ago there was a pile of these shot about the base of the sign post of the Lewis tavern in Falmouth. Mrs. A. C. Jennings, daughter of Capt. John Crocker, whose house received such marked attention from the Nimrod's guns, says her father fished up from the mill-pond back of the house one of the shot that had passed through the building. Having fitted the shot with a chain he hung it upon the front gate as a weight to keep it closed, and also as a memento of the bombardment.
The Nimrod was a great annoyance to the fishermen along the coast, who were frequently captured and set free after their catch of fresh fish had been transferred to the larder of the brig. Records show instances where hundreds of pounds were taken ; and so it happened that every- body stood in constant fear of losing his catch. Early one morning a company of Newport boys went down the bay on a fishing excursion, and though a thick fog prevailed, they reached the fishing ground and soon secured a good haul. Their sport was suddenly terminated by the ominous rattle of the morning reveille and the tramp of hurrying feet on board the Nimrod, which lay close to their boat, but invisible to the boys because of the fog. They lost no time in raising anchor, and in starting for home.
Early on the morning of July 24 a barge from the Nimrod landed at Holmes Hole. The crew proceeded to the house of Capt. William Daggett, took him from bed and carried him off, probably to perform some compulsory service as a pilot. The very boat they came in they had only a few days before captured from Mr. Arey, of that village. But the Nimrod was not always successful in her raids. One day she went into Holmes Hole, minus a spar. A boat's crew was sent ashore who took possession of a flag-staff from which floated the stars and stripes. They cut it down and made it ready for transportation to the brig the next day. During the night two plucky Vineyard girls bored a hole in the center of the staff, plugged it with powder, and blew it up. When the British came after the spar the next morning they found it in better condition for kindling wood than for the purpose desired. One of these patriotic girls, Mrs. Harding, died in Vineyard Haven in 1878 at the advanced age of ninety-four years.
1
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A PERTURBED PEOPLE.
July 29 a man was arrested in New Bedford by the deputy marshal, who professed to be a deserter from the British frigate Endymion. He stated that he held the position of poulterer and butcher on the vessel He was suspected of being a spy. Miss Charlotte Nelson told the writer the story of his arrest, as she heard her mother relate it, for it occurred at her father's hotel. " A squad of soldiers came down Union street, filed into the dining-room, and seized him as he was sitting at the table. They carried him to an upper room and stationed sentinels at his door and on the street. After a brief detention, the Frenchman (for such he claimed to be) was set free, only to be rearrested after he had mounted the stage coach to take his departure. He was finally allowed to go." Several years after he returned to New Bedford and resided here for some time, teaching French for a livelihood. He often expressed his gratitude to the Nelsons for their care in providing for his comfort while a prisoner at the hotel.
The agitated condition of affairs remained unchanged as the season advanced. Rumors of approaches of the enemy were set afloat that seemed to have foundation, for the New England coast was closely be- sieged with British war vessels, and they were passing and repassing through Vineyard Sound. This gave good ground for the fears that steadily oppressed the people. A significant item we found in the record book of the Oxford Village Fire Engine Company dated Sep- tember, 1814 :
" At a special meeting of the proprietors of Oxford Engine, held at Nicholas Tabe 's house, it was voted that the engine be removed to Capt. Jolin Howland's for ' safety, and it was done without delay."
And so the machine was carried up North street into the back road, passing Master George H. Taber, then six years old, as he stood in front of the house and saw the engine on its way to neighbor How- land's.
September 27 and 28 must have been eventful days for our little town. Five hundred soldiers marched into the village from the towns in the northern part of the county. They passed down the roads to the music of fifes and drums and with ensigns waving, and took their as- signed stations along the seacoast line. That there was need of a strong coast guard is apparent, for on October 6, a fleet of six war ves- 25
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
sels came down Vineyard Sound and anchored at Tarpaulin Cove. There were three 74-gun frigates, the Superb, Pactolus and Armidi; gun brigs Forth and Narcissus, and a store brig. With such a formid- able fleet in the adjacent waters, we are not surprised at the perturbed state of the community.
A sad accident occurred on Friday morning, October 7, 1814, at Fort Phoenix. A soldier in the barracks was fixing his gun, which happened to be loaded with ball and buckshot. It went off accidentally, the ball passing through two wooden partitions and striking John Dunham, of Attleborough. He expired about four hours after the ac- cident. The victim was twenty-eight years old and left a family con- sisting of a wife and two children.
In Godwin's life of William Cullen Bryant, who in his early career as a lawyer seriously contemplated settling in New Bedford, are mentioned several events relating to the condition of affairs in our vicinity during the fall months of 1814. In August Mr. Bryant went to Plymouth and received his certificate of recommendation for admission to the bar at the August term, 1815, he in the mean time to continue his studies. In a letter to his father, written October 15, from Plymouth, he makes refer- ence to a portion of the same troops that marched into New Bedford September 25 and 26. He says: " The militia, which were ordered to Plymouth and New Bedford, upon permission obtained by General Goodwin, after he had made a terrible representation to the Governor (Strong) of the dangers which threatened the former of these places, are now about to return. Two hundred are, however, to be left at New Bedford." Here is an extract that sheds a little light upon the experiences of the people and soldiery, at this time : " Our people here grumbled very considerably at being thus destitute of hands to get in their corn and potatoes, but it was observed, however, that those who remained at home were the most disconcerted. The soldiers enjoyed themselves soundly and were attentively supplied with every comfort and convenience which their situation could admit of." A glance through the letters of this afterwards distinguished poet and journalist reveals many surprising statements that evidently express the state of public opinion at the close of the year 1814. To his father he writes, October 15, showing why he ought to enter the army of the
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SHOOTING OF CHARLES GILBERT.
State, be it remembered, not for the service of the United States: " If I should enter the service of the State, I should procure the means of present support, and perhaps, with prudence, might enable myself to complete my studies without further assistance. I should then come into the world with my excessive bashfulness and rusticity rubbed off by a military life, which polishes and improves the manners more than any other method in the world. It is not probable that the struggle in which we are to be engaged will be a long one, the war with Britain certainly will not. The people cannot exist under it, and if the govern- ment will not make peace, Massachusetts must."
It is a matter of record that the legislatures of several Eastern States not only condemned the war with England as " unpatriotic, impractica - ble and unjust," but took measures of protection against the "violence and tyranny of the United States government." Out of this widespread feeling of discontent grew the celebrated Hartford convention, composed of delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. It met December 15, 1814, and passed resolutions phrased in severest terms, condemning the United States government for this needless war. Whatever praise or condemnation be meted out to New England for its bitter opposition to this conflict with Great Britain must be shared by New Bedford, which was in close sympathy with its neighbors. It is a fact that not a single object for which the war was instituted was obtained. The victory achieved at the battle of New Orleans, January 8, furnished the administration with a brilliant set- ting to the closing scenes of the war.
On Friday night, August 12, 1814, Charles Gilbert was shot dead by a sentry on duty near the gun-house, which was located near the south- east corner of South Sixth and Spring streets. He had been on duty and was on his return from a visit to the stationed sentries in company with a fellow soldier who was on horseback. As they approached the gun-house the sentinel on duty at this point, Nathan Buck, of Easton, hailed the latter and allowed him to pass. He then ordered Gilbert to advance and give the countersign. It is evident from the limited ac- counts of the affair that he was slow in obeying the command. This hesitancy cost him his life, for the sentinel discharged his musket, the ball entering Gilbert's breast. He fell and immediately expired. The
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
tragedy created a profound 'sensation in the town and the sentinel was placed under arrest. A coroner's jury rendered a verdict of willful mur- der against the prisoner, who was placed in the county jail to await his trial. Nothing was done about it, however, the general conviction being that the soldier had simply done his duty, and he was finally dis- charged.
Thomas Durfee said that he with his company, Captain Nelson's, was on duty at the time of this unfortunate affair, their barracks being located on South Second street near Walnut. A few nights before he was on duty near the barracks when the grand rounds were made. The sergeant undertook to pass him without giving the countersign and also tried to persuade him to let him have his musket. Instead of comply- ing with this request, he leveled it at him and brought him to a halt. While this parley was going on Mr. Gilbert came to the door of the barracks and ordered Durfee to let the sergeant pass, which of course he did. He heard the sergeant say to Gilbert as he passed into the quarters, "I meant to get that fellow's gun from him if I could." "I would have shot him sure had he attempted it," said Mr. Durfee. These attempts to disarm the sentinels and otherwise bother them were no doubt but tests of their responsibilities. The results were some- what unfortunate, as in the case of Gilbert, who, it seems, was in charge of the grand rounds.
Mr. Durfee also related an incident of Drill-Sergeant Hathaway who was on the grand rounds, when Captain Nelson's company was on duty. He was halted by the sentry, and the hail " Who comes here ? " was answered, " A friend." "Advance and give the countersign." But Mr. Drill-Sergeant was for some reason unable to give it. The sentry cov- ered him with his gun and kept him prisoner until the change of guard. The weather was bitter cold and Sergeant Hathaway did not find the situation one of great enjoyment. He pleaded to be let go, saying " You know me perfectly well." " I know no one without the counter- sign," was the reply of the faithful soldier.
Mrs. Gideon P. Sawyer remembered the sad occurrence at the gun- house and saw the dead body of Charles Gilbert as it was carried into his home on North street just below Purchase. Mr. Durfee remarked that Sentry Buck was a disconsolate individual as he saw him in the gun-
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A RELIC OF PRISON LIFE.
house on the morning after the tragedy. Mr. Gilbert was spoken of as an industrious and worthy citizen, on whom a wife and family de- pended for subsistence. The editor of the Mercury closed an account of ' the affair in these words: " O war! thy cup is a cup of bitterness. Widows and orphans are multiplied, and millions mourn thy cruel dev- astations."
CHAPTER XIII.
DARTMOOR PRISON.
An Interesting Memento - Impressment of American Seaman - Arrival in New Bedford Harbor of Cartel Ship -- A Fragmentary Account of the Arrival - Charles Andrews's Journal - Partial List of Sufferers -- Thrilling Personal Accounts -- Joseph Bates's Account -- Captain Mckenzie's Narrative --- Militia Rosters of 1814 -- Peace -- Enthusiastic Celebration.
A MONG the valuable relics owned by Willard Nye, jr., is one that has interest in connection with the Dartmoor Prison. Stand- ing in his museum is a box case with glass front, containing a full-rigged model of a 74-gun frigate. Masts, rigging, shrouds, running gear, flags, are all in place, and correctly arranged. The decks are supplied with everything that belongs to a well-furnished ship. Seventy-four guns may be counted at the portholes and in other parts of the vessel. Boats complete with oars, hooks, and coils of rope hang on the cranes that will swing and allow them to be lowered into the painted sea on which this beautiful craft gracefully floats. The hull shines like polished ivory and looks staunch and strong. This model has an interesting history, and it seems proper to make mention of it at this time. It was made in Dartmoor Prison by Cape Cod sailors who were impressed during the War of 1812. But what gives this craft peculiar interest is the fact that it is constructed of "beef bones" that were served out in the rations. Sheets of bone cover the vessel's sides, and this material enters into almost everything in its construction. It is a fine piece of
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
mechanism, such as only New England Yankees could construct. When the prisoners were released they brought home the model and presented it to Col. Obed B. Nye, of Sandwich, grandfather of the present owner.
Allusion has before been made to the impressment of 14,000 Ameri- cans into the British navy during the Napoleonic wars. This forced service was grievous to render when directed against other nations; but when English guns were directed against their own beloved country, thousands of patriotic Americans refused obedience, and so the prisons and prison ships along the English coast were filled with these brave fellows, many of whom were incarcerated till the end of the war.
It was Saturday, the 25th of September, 1813, when a strange-ap- pearing vessel came into Buzzard's Bay, sailed up the Acushnet river, and dropped anchor in our harbor. She was a large craft of peculiar model and revealed her nationality by the Russian flag floating at the masthead. Her decks swarmed with men, and but for the emblem that betokens a friendly visitor, she might have been taken for an evil pres- ence ; and such a company of ill-conditioned, ill-dressed and rough- appearing men might naturally have caused a panic among the peace- loving people of our towns. The absence of arms in the hands of this company, and the shouts and huzzas that floated over the water, indi- cated that they were friends at least. Prisoners from Dartmoor! Here is the exact entry :
" Marine Diary, New Bedford Mercury :
" Arrived -- September 25th, 1813. Cartel Russian ship Hoffming, Harms, 47 days from Plymouth, England, with 402 prisoners."
Says a writer, a fragment of whose manuscript letter is in the archives of our Free Public Library : "I well remember the arrival of the big cartel ship with the flag of the northern bear at the masthead. Al- though but a youngster of half a score, that event, like most others which during the war for ' free trade and sailors' rights,' occurred in our then little community, made a strong impression upon my memory. The ship was a large one, one of the largest I had ever seen, and com- ing to our port with over 400 of our gallant sailors, who had been the victims of English cruelty and neglect in Dartmoor Prison, she was an object of special interest. The two-headed eagle of the Russian Czar came to us freighed with a multitude of our countrymen who had lost
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DARTMOOR PRISON.
the protection of our own noble land, and had been suffering wrong and outrage in that dreadful house of bondage, the prison at Dartmoor ; a place of confinement which never had but one rival in enormity, and that the Jersey prison ship of Revolutionary memory. The Sun- day following the arrival of the ship (she arrived on Saturday) was a bright September day, and the poor fellows with their feet once more upon their native soil, with the buoyancy of spirits so characteristic of the sailor," * * Here this interesting account abruptly ends. As there will be much to relate of this place, it is important that the reader should have an idea of this noted English prison. The following de- scription is taken from a rare book called "The Prisoner's Memoirs, or Dartmoor Prison," compiled from a journal of Charles Andrews, a prisoner from the commencement of the war until the release of all the prisoners, published in 1815 :
He says : "The prison at Dartmoor (seventeen miles from Plym- outh) is situated on the east side of one of the highest and most barren mountains in England, and is surrounded on all sides as far as the eye can see by the gloomy features of a black moor, uncultivated and unin- habited except by one or two miserable cottages, the tenants of which live by cutting turf on the moor and selling it at the prison. The place is deprived of everything that is pleasant or agreeable, and is pro- ductive of nothing but woe and misery. . On entering this depot of living death we first passed through the gates and found our- selves surrounded by two circular walls, the outer one of which is a mile in circumference and sixteen feet high. The inner wall is distant from the outer thirty feet, around which is a chain of bells suspended by a wire, so that the least touch sets every bell in motion, and alarms the garrison. On the top of the inner wall is placed a guard at the dis- tance of every twenty feet, which frustrates every attempt to escape, and instantly quells every disorderly motion of the prisoners.
Inside of the walls are erected large barracks capacious enough to contain 1,000 soldiers, and a hospital for the sick. This much for the court- yard of this seminary of misery ; we shall next give a description of the gloomy prison itself. On entering we find seven prisons . . sit- uated quite within the walls before mentioned. Prisons 1, 2, and 3 are built of rough, unhewn stone, three stories high, 180 feet long
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
and forty broad, each of the prisons to contain 1,500 prisoners. There is attached to the yard of these prisons a house of correction, called a cachot. This is built of large stone, arched above, and floored with the same. Into this cold, dark and damp cell, the unhappy prisoner is cast if he offends the rules of the prison, and remains days and often weeks, on two- thirds his usual allowance of food, without ham- mock or bed, and nothing but a stone pavement for his chair or bed. These three prisons are situated on the north side. Number 4 is next to these, but separated from all the others by walls on each side. Numbers 5, 6 and 7 are along the south side of the circular wall. To each prison is attached a small yard with a constant stream of water passing through it."
The writer speaks of the weather as constantly wet and foggy, on account of the situation of the prison, which was on a mountain, 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. It was in the midst of clouds during a storm, and hence these fogs and torrents of rain. In the winter it was much colder than the country below.
Mr. Andrews says: "We entered the prison ; but here the heart of every American was appalled. Amazement struck the unhappy victim; for as he cast his hopeless eyes around the prison he saw the water con- stantly dropping from the cold stone walls on every side, which kept the floor (made of stone) constantly wet and cold as ice. All the prison floors were either stone or cement, and each story contained one apart- ment, and resembled long, vacant horse stables. There were in each story six tiers of joists for tlie prisoners to fasten their hammocks to. The hammocks have a stick at each end to spread them out, and are hung in the manner of cots, four or five deep, or one above the other. On each side of the prison is left a vacancy for a passage from one end of it to the other. We were informed that the prisoners must be counted out and messed, six together, every morning by the guards and turn- keys."
These extracts are sufficient to give the reader an intelligent idea of this prison, in which were thousands of American citizens; among them were many who belonged to our own and in neighboring towns.
The opportunity has long since passed for a complete record to be made of the prisoners of Dartmoor and of other English prisons. These
Augustus A Greene
Humphrey Maxfield was my. Mother's Brother 2 .B. Visitantes
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PARTIAL RECORD OF PRISONERS.
men have all passed away, and with them much that would be of inter- est to their descendants. Scores of sailors belonging to New Bedford and to our neighboring towns were taken from merchant ships sailing from our harbor, and were either forced into the English service or in- carcerated in English prisons for refusing to fight against their own flag. From the limited resources now available the following facts have been gathered :
New Bedford men who were prisoners in Dartmoor : Daniel Mc- Kenzie, Edmond Allen, Clement P. Covell, John Underwood, Captain Sawdey, Jacob Taber, James Rider, Humphrey Maxfield, Elijah Tobey, William Dunham, David Shepherd, James Tilton, Richard Luscumb, Martin Sutten, Enos Chandler.
Amasa Delano died at Dartmoor, November 18, 1813.
John Montgomery died at Dartmoor, February 25, 1814.
Matthew Stetson died at Dartmoor, February 22, 1815.
Martin Sutten died at Dartmoor, February 22, 1815.
Captain Swain escaped from Dartmoor, October, 1814.
Mr. Russell escaped from Dartmoor, December, 1814.
The Fairhaven men were : Joseph Bates, James O'Neil, Lemuel C. Wood, Charles Proctor.
Acushnet .- Samuel Parker.
Holmes Hole .- Peter Amos died at Dartmoor, February 18.
Westport .- Henry Alden.
Tiverton, R. I .- Samuel Cook.
Gayhead .- John Jennings died at Dartmoor, February 22, 1815 ; Joseph Williams also died there.
Nantucket .- William Davis, Caleb Coffin, Shubæl Folger.
New Bedford men who were confined in prison ships at Chatham, England : John Brown, Asa Bumpus, John Fitz, John Barks, William Denning, John Jackson.
Nantucket .- Benjamin Melvin, Ebenezer Skinner, David Pinkham, Reuben Moslard.
Holmes Hole .- Henry Dison.
In prison at Cork, Ireland .- John James, of New Bedford.
Isaac Bly and Peter Amy suffered imprisonment during the War of 1812 in prison ships.
26
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HISTORY OF NEW BEDFORD.
The following Dartmouth men were confined in the Mill Prison, at Plymouth, England, during the Revolutionary War : William Cuff, Henry Wrightington, Samuel Knast, John Hathaway, James Rounds, Silas Hathaway, Prince Hart, Humphrey Potter, Ebenezer Willis, Absolam Nero, Thomas Brightman. They were captured in sloop Charming Sally, January 16, 1777.
Daniel Ricketson and son, grandfather and father of our historian, Daniel Ricketson, merchants in Bedford village in the early years of the century, sent a ship to London laden with a cargo of oil. Thence she went to Bremen and took on board a cargo of iron. While in the North Sea she sprang aleak and went into Greenock, Scotland, for re- pairs While these operations were in progress, war was declared be- tween the United States and England. The vessel was seized by the British government, and the crew sent to Dartmoor Prison. When the ship lay in London docks, the captain (Sawdey by name) purchased, at the request of the junior member of the firm, a gold watch with an old fashioned double case, which cost at the time twenty or thirty pounds sterling, regarded a great price in those days. This watch the captain kept during his imprisonment and on his return brought it to our his- torian's father, Joseph Ricketson, which was all that was ever received from ship or cargo. The matter was twice brought before the English admiralty court for adjustment, but without success. One of the crew was Samuel Parker, of Acushnet, who died twenty years ago at an ad- vanced age.
Among the vessels captured during the War of 1812 was the ship William Rotch, of this port. Among her crew were two New Bedford men who were thrust into Dartmoor, James Tilton and Richard Lus- cumb, both of whom will be remembered by many of our citizens. They lived to the advanced age of eighty- three and eighty-six years respectively. Mr. Tilton brought home as mementoes of his prison life a large pitcher and two bowls. These he probably purchased of the peddlers who, as Mr. Andrews, in his book, says, "to the number of twenty or thirty, were allowed to daily hold market in front of each prison," and who supplied the prisoners with such provisions, clothing and other articles as their limited means would admit of their pur- chasing. The pitcher, now owned by his son, Edward M. Tilton, is of
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