USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > History of the town of Plymouth, from its first settlement in 1620, to the present time : with a concise history of the aborigines of New England, and their wars with the English, &c. > Part 22
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Capt. Balfour, with his company remained at Marshfield for several weeks unmolested, but the day after Lexington battle, governor Gage, apprised of their danger, took off his troops, by water, to Boston.
At this period, minute companies were organized in town, and immediately on hearing of the bloodshed at Lexington, Col. Theophilus Cotton, of this town, marched to Marshfield with a
* 'The shop occupied by Dr. Hicks, was the one attached to the house of Captain Cornelius White, now occupied by Dr. N. Hay- ward.
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detachment of militia under his command. There were at the same time about sixty fishing vessels with their crews on board at anchor in Plymouth harbor. The fishermen voluntarily left their vessels, and speedily marched to Marshfield with their arms resolutely determined to attack the company of British troops. When arrived at Marshfield, their numbers had increas- ed to near one thousand men, collected from the different towns, burning with the feelings of revenge : they might have surrounded and captured the whole company before they could get to their vessels, but were restrained by Col. Cotton, who it is said had received no orders for the attack. A company of fifty men belong- ing to this town was enrolled under the command of Capt. Na- thaniel Morton, jr. who with other companies formed the detach- ment under Col. Cotton, which, after the affair at Marshfield, marched to Roxbury and joined the provincial army stationed there, where they continued through the year. They formed a part of the detachment ordered to throw up entrenchments on the heights of Dorchester, on the 4th of March, 1776, where the author was present in the capacity of surgeon's mate. From this period, through the whole revolutionary war, this town con- tributed its full proportion of officers and men for the continen- tal service, a considerable number of whom were victims to the cause of their suffering country; and it would be gratifying could their names be transmitted to posterity, but no research in the writer's power could effect the desirable object.
Col. Theophilus Cotton was the son of Josiah Cotton, Esq. of this town, noticed in page 147. He was a zealous and ac- tive whig and patriot, served some time in the provincial army, and died February, 1782, aged sixty-six, leaving many children; one only, the widow of Capt. Charles Dyer, is still living in this town.
The colonies were now involved in actual hostilities with one of the most powerful nations in Europe, whose fleets and armies were at our doors. Our means of defence scarcely adequate to a single exigency, and opposition was considered by many as the extreme of folly and presumption. But appealing to Al- mighty God for the justness of their cause, the people resolved to buckle on their armor, and the motto, Liberty or Death, was every where displayed on their banners. The colonies had virtually absolved themselves from all British authority and laws, and were, by that authority, declared to be in a state of actual rebellion.
1776 .- The momentous subject of independence, from Great Britain now called forth all the wisdom of our councils, and de- manded the united energies and co-operation of the whole peo-
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ple. Unanimity of sentiment, on a subject of such infinite im- portance, was not to be expected. Some, even of the wisest and best patriots, were extremely reluctant to exchange a noble, ancient edifice, ever held in honor, for simple materials of a novel structure, liable to be deracinated by uncertain contingen- cies. But hear the high-toned voice of our town on this great occasion.
May 10 .- Instructions to the town's representatives in Provin- cial Congress :-
' GENTLEMEN : We, in the most solemn manner, charge you, that you use all your influence, that you exert every power in you vested, in defence of the rights, the liberties, and property of the American colonies in general, and of this colony in par- ticular, in opposition to the efforts of the proud and imperious court of Great Britain, which seems to be lost to all sense of justice, and determined to deluge all America in blood and car- nage, unless we, by a tame, unmanly submission, will put our- selves in their power, to be controlled by them as they please in all cases whatever. We, your constituents, resenting such insolent and notoriously unjust demands of the British parlia- ment, and of their tyrannising king, instruct you; 1. That you without hesitation, be ready to declare for independence of Great Britain, in whom no confidence can be placed, provided the honorable the continental congress shall think that measure necessary, and we, for our parts, do assure you, that we will stand by the determination of the continental congress in the important, and, as we think, necessary measure, at the risk of our lives and fortunes. 2. We wish you to use your influence, that such a form of government may be adopted as may appear most salutary, and which may bid fairest to ensure a permanent harmony to the colonies, and the real happiness and prosperity of America, to the latest posterity. In particular, we recom- mend it to you to use your influence, that executive and legisla- tive offices in the government do not meet in the same person.'
A British armed brig, commanded by Captain Dawson, ap- peared in our outer harbor, when two small privateers, one commanded by Captain Corban Barnes, the other by Captain Charles Dyer, both of this town, attempted to reconnoitre her; a number of shots were exchanged, but they finally separated without much damage on either side.
There is in Kingston a hill of great elevation, usually called Monk's Hill. In the early part of war, a tall mast was erected on this hill, on the top of which was placed a barrel of tar and other combustibles, as a signal of alarm on the approach of the enemy. Captain Manly having captured a number of British
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prizes, made his appearance with other privateers like a formida- ble fleet in the bay. ' It is his majesty's fleet coming to burn the town,' said the tories. 'Fire the beacon and call in our country friends,' said the whigs. All was confusion and alarm, military music was heard in the streets, the minute-men were summoned to arms, and sentinels were posted at their stations. A man was despatched to Monk's Hill to fire the tar-barrel, the light and smoke ascended to the clouds, and spread the alarm far and wide: soon the town was filled with armed men, who crowded into private houses, claiming to be fed as the defenders of the town, and were provided for accordingly. The agita- tion and bustle continued through the night, and in the morning the joyful tidings were proclaimed that the valiant Manly had entered the harbor with a number of valuable prizes !*
1777 and 1778 .- The town experienced unexampled priva- tions and sufferings in consequence of the loss of commerce and fishery, the whole sea coast and harbor being completely obstructed by the British armed vessels. The seamen of the town were driven almost to despair, some of them engaged as soldiers in the continental army, others shipped on board of privateers, leaving their families destitute, while the vessels belonging to the town were perishing at the wharves. Here were numerous examples of poverty without hope of relief; the community embroiled in party excitements, families and friends at variance and the glorious cause of our country in a state of awful suspense; still, however, the noble spirit of patriotism remained unbroken, and the fortitude and patience of the major- ity of the people were truly remarkable.
At this distressing period, complaints were made against sev- eral of the most respectable inhabitants, as being inimical and disaffected to the common cause, as appears recorded in the town's book as follows.
'To Thomas Mayhew, Esq., one of the justices of the peace of the county of Plymouth. I, the subscriber, clerk of the committee of correspondence, inspection and safety for the town of Plymouth, hereby represent to you a justice of peace in the county aforesaid, that there is in the opinion of said com- mittee sufficient reason to suspect that the following persons, naming them, nine in number, residing in said town of Ply- mouth, within the state of Massachusetts Bay, are inimical to the United States; and you are requested upon this representa-
* The reader of Scott's novels will be reminded of the consterna- tion produced among the good citizens of Fairport, by a similar mistake of Caxton and Edie Ochiltree .- Antiquary, vol. ii.
18*
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tion to proceed immediately against the above named persons, agreeably to an act of said state, passed the present session of the general court, entitled an act for prescribing and establish- ing an oath of fidelity and allegiance. By order of the com- mittee of correspondence, &c.
ANDREW CROSWELL, Clerk.
Plymouth, February 11th, 1778.'
In consequence of the foregoing representation, Thomas Mayhew, Esq. issued his warrant to the sheriff of the county, to notify the several persons therein named to appear on the 12th day of February to take the oath prescribed, which he performed accordingly. The assemblage of people on this novel occasion was very numerous, and considerable excite- ment and agitation were manifested. The persons arrested were tories, but highly respectable; they were treated with lenity, and having complied with the requirements of the law were liberated, and consequently found among our most peace- able and useful citizens.
1778 .- December 26th and 27th. The inhabitants of this town were called to witness a catastrophe, truly appalling to humanity. The brig General Arnold, mounting 20 guns, hav- ing a crew of 105 men and boys, commanded by Captain James Magee of Boston, sailed from that port on Thursday, 24th of December, bound on a cruise. On Friday, anchored off Ply- mouth harbor, being destitute of a pilot. In the night a heavy gale drove her on the White Flat. She soon filled with water and it become necessary to cut away the masts. Unfortunately, a great disturbance was occasioned by intoxication among some of the seamen in the steerage, which was with difficulty quelled by the officers. A tremendous storm of wind and snow came on, and a considerable number of men died on Saturday after- noon and in the night. Three men, not of the crew, being on board, took the yawl, and passed eight or ten rods to the ice, and were taken on board a schooner that was frozen in. Had the boat been returned as promised, many lives would have been saved.
Sunday morning, the vessel was seen in a most distressful situation, enveloped in ice and snow, and the whole shore was frozen to a solid body of ice, the winds and waves raging with such dreadful violence that no possible relief could be afforded to the miserable sufferers. The inhabitants made every effort to reach the wreck in boats, but were obliged to put back, al- though aware that the seamen were in the arms of death, and when the miserable victims on board saw the boats returning leaving them in a condition of utter hopelessness, their spirits
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were appalled, and numbers were seen to fall dead on the deck. On Monday, the inhabitants passed over the ice to the wreck. Here was presented a scene unutterably awful and distressing. It is scarcely possible for the human mind to conceive of a more appalling spectacle. The ship was sunk ten feet in the sand, the waves had been for about thirty-six hours sweeping the main deck, the men had crowded to the quarter deck, and even here they were obliged to pile together dead bodies to make room for the living. Seventy dead bodies frozen into all imag- inable postures were strewed over the deck, or attached to the shrouds and spars; 'about thirty exhibited signs of life, but were unconscious whether in life or death. The bodies remained in the posture in which they died, the features dreadfully distorted; some were erect, some bending forward, some sitting with the head resting on the knees, and some with both arms extended, clinging to spars or some parts of the vessel. The few surviv- ors and the dead bodies, were brought over the ice on sleds and boards, and the dead were piled on the floor of the court house, exhibiting a scene calculated to impress even the most callous heart with deep humility and sorrow. It has been said that the Rev. Mr. Robbins fainted when called to perform the religious solemnities. Those bodies that were to be deposited in coffins were first put into the town brook; a considerable number were seen floating on the water, fastened by ropes, that their form might be made to conform to the coffin. But about sixty were thrown into a large pit as they were taken from the vessel. This pit is in a hollow on the southwest side of the burial ground, and remains without a stone. The greater part of those who were found alive, expired soon after. Capt. Magee survived, and performed several profitable voyages af- terwards. He abstained entirely from drinking ardent spirits, but was of opinion that he was greatly benefitted by putting rum into his boots. Those who drank rum were more imme- diate victims, several being found dead in the very spot where they drank it. A man named Downs, belonging to Barnstable, was apparently dead, but on being seen to move his eyelids, was put into a vessel of cold water for several hours, by which he was resuscitated, but with the most exquisite pain. He lost both of his feet, but lived many years after. Among those who perished were Dr. Mann, of Attleborough, Dr. Sears, Cap- tain John Russell, of Barnstable, commander of the marines, and Lieutenant Daniel Hall. The two last were buried in one grave on the south side of the burial hill. Note .- It should be observed that when persons are exposed to intense cold there is always a propensity to sleep, but the moment it is indulged it becomes the sleep of death.
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1779 .- At a meeting of the town, Resolved, as the laws en- acted by our provident ancestors, with wonderful wisdom and sagacity, for the establishment and regulation of schools, have diffused an universal spirit of knowledge and inquiry, not to be met with in other states or kingdoms, and have been a great means, under Providence, of preserving this people from the shackles fabricated for them by a foreign power, and as the preservation of the freedom, health, and vigor of the state de- pends in a great measure, upon the strictest attention being paid to this institution: Resolved, that the school committee be or- dered to provide (if such one be not already provided) an able and faithful master to keep the grammar school in this town, possessed of such qualifications as are required by law.
The town was this year subjected to extreme difficulty and expense in raising soldiers for the army, and supporting their families in their absence, having been reduced to the necessity of selling real estate and hiring money for that purpose. They retained nevertheless the true and inflexible principles of patri- otism, still resolved to defend the noble fabric which our fathers reared, and that if the star of their country's glory must set, its setting should be marked with the avenging hand of the op- pressed. The inhabitants were divided into classes; each class was required to furnish one able-bodied man, to serve for a specified term in the continental army. The demand for such ser- vice, besides the common bounty allowed by congress, was very exorbitant, and on some occasions it was stipulated that the com- pensation should be paid in silver money, as the paper currency had become so depreciated that no confidence could be placed in its value .* At one period, a silver dollar would purchase one hundred in paper. A farmer in a neighboring town sold a cow in the spring for forty dollars, and in the next autumn he paid the whole sum for a goose for a thanksgiving dinner.
The whole Plymouth Bay and harbor were almost constantly infested with small picaroons, called 'shaving mills.' One of these approached the shore at Manomet Ponds, on a Sunday, by which the town was so much alarmed that a company of militia, with a piece of cannon, marched to that place for the protection of the inhabitants, and on this occasion, as well as on several others, the people in that parish, that they might be prepared for defence, carried their fire-arms into the meeting house on the sabbath, and were firmly determined to resist to the utter- most every attack.
* The bounty given to the soldiers raised by the town of Plymouth, up to July 11, 1783, amounted to £3056.7.3. all in hard money.
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1781, 82, 3]
1781 .- The town was reduced to the necessity of remonstrat- ing to the general court, that, from the many peculiar difficul- ties, which they labored under by reason of the war, they were unable to pay the taxes, and procure the soldiers the clothing and provisions required of them, and praying for an abatement or remission of the same. The town voted to instruct their representative, Major Joshua Thomas, to use his influence that the general court make application to the congress, that our commissioners for negotiating a peace make it an article of indispensable necessity, that the fishery be restored to us, as being of the greatest importance to the town, having hitherto depended on it for support.
1782 .- Captain Horatio Nelson, afterwards Lord Nelson, commander of the British ship, Albermarle, took a small schooner of 35 tons, in the bay, belonging to Plymouth. After she had been used as a tender for some days, Captain Thomas Davis, of this town, owner of the vessel, encouraged by the representations given by Nathaniel Carver, master of the ves- sel, (who with the crew had been liberated,) of the character and deportment of Captain Nelson, went on board, Captain Carver accompanying him. Some vegetables and fruit, which had been hastily collected after the frigate appeared in view of the town, were presented, and the vessel was generously re- stored, and a certificate was given by Captain Nelson that she was released. We honor the noble spirited hero who displays the qualities of humanity and benevolence.
1783 .- This year is remarkable for a happy termination of the horrors of war, which had for eight years been an awful scourge to our country.
Through the goodness of Divine Providence, liberty and in- dependence were obtained. From this era, the United States of America claim existence among the nations of the world, and no people have ever advanced with more rapid strides to pre-eminence in national glory and importance.
On the first of January this year, the author having terminat- ed his services of seven and a half years in the American army, became a private citizen, and in March following com- menced his professional career in the town of Plymouth. After having suffered the ravages and privations incident to a war of eight years continuance, the inhabitants of this town, in com- mon with the general community, welcomed the return of peace with emotions of unfeigned gratitude and joy. Not a few had to lament the loss of friends; all were sufferers in their pecu- niary interests, but the mighty boon obtained was deemed more
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[1785, 86
than sufficient remuneration for every sacrifice and privation. The town was reduced to a state of destitution, its navigation almost annihilated, a renewal of the former means of support was very precarious, and the taxes now were very heavy.
1785 .- The town has been called to deplore the death of an estimable fellow-citizen, Capt. Thomas Davis, who died March 7th, aged 63 years. He was the head of the respectable firm of Davis & Spooner, for many years noted for probity and cor- rectness in their mercantile transactions, and for integrity and benevolence of character. Captain Davis left six sons and one daughter; the latter, Sarah, married Le Baron Bradford, son of Lieut. Governor Bradford, of Bristol, R. I. Her only son Le Baron, still lives. The sons of Capt. Davis were Thomas, (see page 219;) William, John, now Judge of the District Court in Boston, and President of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Samuel, Isaac and Wendell; the latter was by profession a lawyer, and was Sheriff of the county of Barnstable, and died at Sandwich, 1831. His remains are deposited among his re- latives in our burial ground.
In town-meeting December 26, 1785. Then voted, and di- rected the town treasurer to discount the debt due from the heirs of Mr. Thomas Davis, deceased, by paying the said estates, dues from the town, when the circumstances of the treasury will admit the same, taking into consideration the original gift of money by John Murdock, Esq., deceased, viz: the design of that gift.
1786 .- This year is memorable for an alarming insurrection, instigated by Daniel Shays, which occasioned the greatest com- motion throughout the New England States. There were, in almost every town, some who encouraged the insurgents ; but in Plymouth, not an individual appeared openly to advocate their vile proceedings. The town instructed its representative to the general court, to use his influence to have suitable mea- sures adopted for the removal of all grievances, and to quiet the minds of the people. That he oppose the emission of paper money, and discourage the importation of foreign superfluities, and articles of British manufacture, &c.
A detachment of the militia of this town was ordered to march to Taunton, to oppose the insurgents in their audacious purpose of preventing the sitting of the court of common pleas in that place. Gen. Nathaniel Goodwin marched at the head of a large detachment of militia from this and other towns. The writer of this article accompanied the expedition in the capacity of surgeon. A very formidable collection of insurgents made
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their appearance, and arrayed themselves in a menacing atti- tude on Taunton Green. Gen. David Cobb, judge of the court at that place, assumed the command of the militia, and declared that he would on that day 'sit as a judge, or die as a general.' The result was a total dispersion of the insurgents without bloodshed.
Among the intrepid patriots who distinguished themselves in the naval service during our revolutionary contest, was Simeon Sampson, Esq. 'He was born in Kingston, in the year 1736. . In youth he began a sea-faring life, and performed many im- portant voyages in the employment of the merchants of Ply- mouth.' In the year 1762, Mr. Sampson was taken prisoner by the French, in a vessel belonging to Goodwin & Warren, which was redeemed by the captain for a large sum of money, and Mr. Sampson was left as a hostage for the payment of the ransom. From this imprisonment he escaped by assuming the dress of a female, and was soon restored to his family in Plymouth.
At the commencement of the revolutionary war, when a ma- rine force was deemed necessary to protect our commerce from the depredations of the British cruisers, he was honored by the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts with the appointment of the first naval captain in the service of the country. . He imme- diately took the command of the brig Independence, belonging to the colony, and which was built at Kingston, under his direc- tion. In this vessel, he was eminently successful, and in one cruise captured and sent in five prizes. among which was the Roebuck, Captain White, in the autumn of the year 1776. Im- mediately after this, he himself was captured by Capt. Dawson, of distinguished memory in these seas. Capt. Sampson did not surrender, until an engagement of a character as severe and bloody as perhaps is recorded in the annals of naval warfare. The skill and intrepidity manifested by him was applauded even by his enemies. Had he been sustained by all his men, he would undoubtedly have been the conqueror, rather than the vanquished. It is said in the gazette of that period, that he was driven to the awful necessity of running through the body two or three of his men, who abandoned their guns in the most trying moment of the conflict. One of these victims was his third lieutenant. Soon after his return from captivity, which was at Fort Cumberland, near Halifax, he was appointed command- er of the brig Hazard, a public vessel belonging to the state. In this vessel he likewise took several prizes, among which was the ship Live Oak. In 1779 he was selected to the command of the packet ship Mercury, built at Plymouth, by Mr. John Peck, for Congress. She was employed to carry despatches to
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[1788-93
our ministers in France. In this ship he returned from Nantz during the severe winter of 1780. Soon after which, he was promoted to the command of the Mars, a large ship, likewise belonging to the state, and in this vessel he was employed in the most responsible trust, in carrying despatches, and in one cruise carried out one of our ministers to Europe. The British flag ship Trial was captured by him while in the Warren. At the close of the war, he retired, like most of the faithful servants of our country, with a very scanty estate, and a numerous fam- ily dependent upon him for support.
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