USA > Massachusetts > Dukes County > Marthas Vineyard > The history of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 40
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MISCELLANEOUS INCIDENTS.
Lemuel, son of Joseph and Abigail (Little) Jenkins, had several perilous adventures during the war. At one time he escaped with his vessel from a British squadron, after a close pursuit. At another time he was captured, with his vessel, by a British ship of war, near Charleston, S. C., whither he was carrying military stores, intended for the Southern army under command of General Greene. The captain of the ship of war took him on board of his own ship, and placed a prize master on board the captured vessel. Captain Jenkins, not being closely guarded, made his escape while lying off Charles- ton, by letting himself down by a rope from a port hole into a small boat alongside of the frigate. The tide flowing into the harbor, he suffered the boat to float in with the tide, in the wake of the stern of the ship, until he got some distance from it, unnoticed by the guard on deck. Then he sculled the boat up near the city, where he landed about daylight, and surrendered himself to a sentinel. He was taken before the American general, who, having heard his story, gave him a passport and some money to enable him to return to Massachusetts. This he did travelling the whole distance on foot.1
1Vineyard Gazette, June 22, 1888.
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History of Martha's Vineyard
THE LIBERTY POLE.
Among the incidents of the Revolutionary war as it af- fected our island none is more characteristic than the exploit of the three young girls of Homes Hole, who preferred to destroy the "liberty pole" from which their flag of freedom was hoisted rather than have it become a spar of one of the king's ships. The story of it had been handed down from the sires to sons and daughters, in the traditions of the war, but the first appearance of it in print, as far as the author is aware, is to be found in a volume published half a century ago. As there given it is as follows: -
Some time in the year '76, the British sloop-of-war, Unicorn, put into Holme's Hole, on the island of Marthas Vineyard, and having landed a detachment of marines, pressed into service a number of pilots. Upon this island, a liberty-tree had been erected, around which the citizens were wont to assemble, and pledge their fortunes and their sacred honors in the cause of liberty. Now his Majesty's ship was in want of a new spar, and as the only stick of timber on the island that would answer for the purpose, was the liberty-tree, down it must come. The panic stricken citizens consented to sell it to them, and on the morrow it was to be deliv- ered on board. But there was a numerous party who did not agree to this contract, and resolved to prevent its execution. Three young girls, named Parnell Manter1 Maria Allen, and Mary Hillman, whose young eyes had not yet beheld the frosts of sixteen winters, met together on that evening around the sacred tree, and by means of augurs, pierced it with numerous holes, which they filled with gunpowder; they then cautiously applied the match and their emblem of liberty was shattered in many pieces.1
This version of the story seems to have in it some of the elements of all traditionary tales, much that is improbable and fanciful, but there is in it the basis of the simple adventure of those patriotic maidens in their night task of preventing the desecration of the "liberty pole," which had been dedi- cated to the cause of American freedom. In the first place, as to the pole itself, the location of it is said to have been in the present village of Vineyard Haven, on Manter's Hill, not far from the spot where now stands the flag-staff erected as a memorial of the event under consideration. It is some- what absurd to suppose that it was "the only stick of timber on the island that would answer for the purpose" of repairing
1Bunce, "Romance of the Revolution " (New York, 1853), p. 365. The names of the heroines are curiously misspelled, which error is corrected in the copy. Horiah Allen and Mary Milman would not be recognized by their descendants or friends.
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or replacing a spar, as the island was then heavily wooded. If there is any basis for this idea, it may be in the fact that the pole was chosen because it was used as a "liberty-pole," and the British officers wished to make their needs an excuse for claiming it, under the law, for one of the king's masts, and so irritate the people here. The story quoted above assigns the occurrence to the year 1776, and gives the name of the ship as the Unicorn. The author of this history had the log-book of this vessel, now preserved in the Admiralty office, London, examined for the purpose of verifying the incident, if possible, and it was found that the Unicorn was not in Homes Hole harbor during that year. She was, however, here in the year 1778, as will be described shortly, and if the name of the ship is correctly given, the incident took place in the latter year. It also appears from the published account that the ship impressed a number of pilots, but this incident does not have any confirmation in contemporary documents which will fit the log of the Unicorn. In February, 1778, a committee of the General Court considered what was proper to be done "for the Release of those persons taken by the Enemy from Marthas Vineyard to pilot their Transports to the Harbour of Boston." This date does not fit the conditions of the appearance of the Unicorn at Martha's Vineyard, al- though the piloting incident has a circumstantial flavor. The charges against the selectmen of Tisbury of a craven attitude is not borne out by what we know of the patriotic spirit always exhibited by the leading men of Tisbury, and their usual leadership in all concerted measures for the cause of American liberty. In 1776 the selectmen were Shubael Cottle, Stephen Luce, and Joseph Allen; in 1778, the two latter were re- placed by James Athearn and Abijah Athearn, all men of approved courage and patriotism, who had borne the standard of Revolution from its incipiency without flinching in the face of the enemy, as we have already seen, when the king's ships came to demand aid of them. It looks like an effort to add a touch of detraction to the men for the purpose of increasing the glory of the girls. Their act needs no such contrasting color to bring out the spirit of the young rebels into better light.
On April 19, 1778, his majesty's ship Unicorn sailed up the Sound and, according to the log, signed by Captain John Ford, commander, "Moored in Holmes Hole." Her business was convoying some transports and making some repairs to
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her foretopmast. The log continues: "Struck & unrigged the Foretopmast to fit new Crosstrees (that was sprung) rigged it again and swayed it up and set up the lower fore- topmast Rigging fore and aft." This is the only reference which bears upon the subject in her log, and granting the name of the vessel be correct, it offers us but a slight con- firmation of the incident. It may have been that such an incident would not be entered in the log, where the ship was defeated in an effort to obtain a new spar by the cunning of some patriotic girls, and that is a reasonable conclusion. This does not in the least discredit the main story.
Of the three actresses a few words may be said to identify them for posterity. Maria Allen was daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah (Chase) Allen of Homes Hole. She was born about 1758, and married Nov. 13, 1788, David Smith, as his second wife. She died March 1, 1820, "in the 62nd year of her age," and lies buried in the cemetery in rear of Associa- tion Hall, Vineyard Haven. Of her two daughters, Jane born Oct. 4, 1789, married Timothy Luce, Junior, of Tisbury, May 5, 1816; and Hannah, born February, 1791, was never married.
Mary Hillman was born Mary (Polly) Daggett, daughter of Seth Daggett, housewright of Tisbury, and she married May 13, 1779, Peleg Hillman, who had been a soldier in the seacoast-defence establishment, under Captain Benjamin Smith. She lived to a great age, and during the latter part of her life is said to have received a pension.
Parnell Manter was the daughter of Jonathan and Sarah (Chase) Manter, and their eldest child, born Sept. 5, 1757, in Tisbury. She died July 19, 1778, aged twenty-one years, unmarried, and lies buried in the Crossways cemetery, Vine- yard Haven.
MARTYRS IN PRISON SHIPS AND PRISONS.
There are no available lists of our soldiers who suffered captivity during the war, either in the prisons maintained on shore, or on shipboard in this country, or who were trans- ported to the established military prisons in England. Frag- mentary reference in scattered and unofficial records, family tradition, and a few direct documentary evidences, make up our sources of information about the many who died or suffered living deaths in the pestilential prison ships and the
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insanitary confinement in the Mill Prison, Plymouth, England, but the infamous prison ship "Jersey" claimed the greatest number of victims of all the devices maintained by the King to punish and discourage his rebellious subjects. Its history is a disgraceful chapter in the conduct of the war, but the ethics of warfare at that time rested on almost savage stand- ards.
Those known to have died as prisoners of war, or as a result of captivity after release are: Anthony Allen "in prison in New York," June 29, 1777;2 Eleazer Allen, August 29, 1782, in H. M. S. "Royal George" at Spithead;3 William Allen, "returning from captivity," 1781;1 Henry Butler, "in a prison ship," 1781;4 John Butler, "returning from captivity," 1781;1 Elverton Crowell, "in Captivity," February, 1778;1 Simeon Coffin, "in a prison ship," 1781;4 Joseph Dias, "in the Prison ship Jersey," 1781;2 William Harding, in Mill Prison, Ply- mouth, May, 1779;5 Eliphalet Leach, "in captivity," January, 1778;1 Aaron Luce, "in captivity," 1778;1 Jeremiah Luce, "in captivity in England," 1781;1 Andrew Newcomb, "re- turning fom captivity," 1781;1 Edmond Purcell, "returning from captivity," 1781;1 John Pope, "returning from captivity," 1781; Benjamin Smith, "in captivity," 1778;1 and Ebenezer Shaw, "in a prison ship," 1781.1
Other casualties recorded are the deaths of Augustus Allen, William Draper and Thomas Gardiner, all of Tisbury, "in the army" in 1777.1
Those who suffered imprisonment, but survived were : Barzillai Crowell, Mill Prison, Plymouth,5 1779, and ship "Jersey";3 Seth Cleveland, Forton Prison, 1778;6 Samuel Daggett, ship "Jersey";7 Samuel Huxford, "on a prison ship";3 Samuel Lambert, Mill Prison, Plymouth, 1777, where he lost the sight of his right eye from small pox;8 Thomas Luce, Mill Prison, Plymouth, 1779,5 and Elijah Luce, Forton Prison, 1778.6
'Tisbury Church Records.
2Grave Stone Inscription.
3Tradition.
4Thaxter's Obituary Record.
5Dukes Co. Probate, VI, 230-2.
6N. E Hist. Gen. Register, XXXIII, 38.
"Daggett Genealogy.
8 Journal of Samuel Cutler (Register XXXII, 207).
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i
CHAPTER XXVII. MILITARY HISTORY, 1800-1900.
THE WAR OF 1812.
The war which was declared against England on June 18, 1812, and which was terminated by the Treaty of Ghent on Dec. 14, 1814, had its theatre remote from New England, and was-scarcely felt by the Vineyard, save in the privations occasioned by the interruption of business and the scarcity of foreign commodities. Most of the people on the island, as was a majority of the state, were decidedly opposed to the war and the measures of the administration, and at its close did not believe any advantage had been gained. The citizens of this country were then divided into two great parties in politics, which denominated each other the French or English party, and accused each other of undue partiality towards those nations respectively. These lines had been drawn for twenty years past, with increasing tensity, and the people of this section of the country were partisans of the Federal party, as represented by the opposition to President Jefferson. Eng- land and France were then at war, and in their struggle they paid little or no regard to the rights of neutrals. Both belliger- ents made prize of American vessels without ceremony or ex- planation. In the case of England, however, she claimed a right to search American vessels to recover sailors of British birth, in time of war, because of her right to their services on such occasions. This was done with such evident unfairness, distinctions not being made between Americans and English- men, that by 1812, over six thousand cases of impressment were registered at Washington, while Lord Castlereagh, in a speech before Parliament, admitted half that number as prob- able erroneous detentions. Vessels were left in mid-ocean, stripped of their crews, and left to the dangers of the deep with half their force gone. England alleged that British sub- jects purchased certificates of protection belonging to Ameri- can sailors, adopted their names in order to escape military duty, and despite vigorous protests, continued in this course, until an exasperated nation had but one recourse to obtain redress. Among the other grievances held against Great
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Britain were the obnoxious laws relative to trade and commerce, by which she was endeavoring to drive the American mer- chant marine from the seas. Failing not only to secure any modifications of these acts, but met with harsher orders from the king's ministers at each additional representation upon the subject, President Jefferson forced through his celebrated Embargo Law in December, 1807, which fell like a doom upon New England industries, and caused universal opposition hereabouts. Being dependent upon the sea and the industries allied to it, the people of the Vineyard and New England felt this measure as no other part of the country did. Jefferson delayed the rupture with temporary measures until the end of his term, and it was left to Madison to declare war against our ancient enemy.
The townsmen of Tisbury promptly assembled in town meeting to discuss the situation, and it is significant that no resolutions were passed to sustain the government in the crisis. They voted not to appoint a watch and
then it was Voted the following persons Should be a Committee of Safty for Sd Town to act in behalf of Said Town as Circumstances and necessaty requires for the benefit & Security thereof the persons chosen were William Daggett William Down's Lot Luce Jeremiah Manter Ed- mund Cottle Jabez Smith Peter Norton Francis Norton John Cottle to act for the Safety of Sd town.1
This action was taken on July 12, 1812, and four days later Edgartown's citizens met in town meeting to consider the situation from their point of view. The following is a trans- script of their proceedings on that occasion, in which it will be seen that there is also a lack of enthusiastic response to the call to arms: -
Whereas war exists between the United States and Great Britain, and considering the defenceless situation of this place this meeting was for the purpose of choosing a committee of nine to negotiate conciliatory terms with the enemy who should land at this place.
Voted Daniel Coffin, Wm Butler Esq, Elijah Stewart, Ebenezer Jones, Melatiah Davis, George Marchant, Jethro Daggett, Martin Pease, Timothy Coffin a Committee of Safety.
The following were a Committee of five to draw up instructions for the above committee to act upon: James Coffin, Wm. Mayhew Esq., Wm. Jernegan jr Esq., Thomas Cooke jr., Peter Pease jr., the above instructions to be laid before the town for the town's inspection at the adjournment.
Met July 15th and the following report and resolves were read: -
1Tisbury_Records, 362.
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Your Committee appointed to take into consideration the exposed, alarming and dangerous situation and circumstances under which this town is placed in consequence of the war lately declared by the Govern- ment of the United States against the Kingdom of Great Britain and her dependencies and to advise upon and recommend such Constitutional ways and measures for the safety and preservation of said town as shall be thought most desirable, have attended that service and after due con- sideration, beg leave to report: -
Ist Resolved that we lament the calamity of war and that our safety under God depends on our prudence, and whereas this County has been exempted from Militia duty by the General Court of this Commonwealth ever since the Revolutionary war, that being thus situated it is our wish to take a pacific position.
2d Resolved that the Committee chosen to act for the general safety of said town be instructed to meet any hostile party who may attempt the invasion of said town and act as they shall think best for the preserv- ing thereof, and should there be any requisition made then take the sense of the town if circumstances will admit.
3d Resolved that any three or more of said committee shall be com- petent to act on any sudden emergency until a Coroum of the whole can be convened.
4 Resolved that the said Committee have power and it shall be their duty as occasion may require to confer with any Committee that may be appointed for similar purposes by the other towns in this County and to concur with them in any matter or measure calculated for the safety of this island in general.
After reading the town voted that they fully approbated and accepted the report of the Committee.1
It is not known that any committees were appointed in the other towns, and probably nothing came of this proposi- tion. This attitude was not far from "non-resistance," and little separated from unpatriotic neutrality. Indeed, that was the situation generally along the seaboard. One town on the mainland actually voted to notify any British cruisers, who might enter its harbor, that they were neutral and did not approve of the war. On Nov. 30, 1812, Tisbury held another town meeting, and passed the following votes: -
Ist to petition the Legislature of the United States to prohibit the Exportation of Corn and flour during the presant Scarsaty
2nd to petition the Said Legislature that the Nonimportation Act may be rigidly & strictly Enforced against England to prevent Silver & cold from going out of the United States and particularly out of the Town2
This was the most serious circumstance of the war for the people of the Vineyard. In the next year commerce between
1Edgartown Records, II, 188.
2Tisbury Records, 364.
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the states had become so interrupted that the prices of sub- sistence became prohibitive. Sugar sold for forty cents per pound; tea at four dollars a pound; coffee doubled in price; salt brought five dollars a bushel, and other things in like proportion. It caused much actual suffering when such things as flour bore the price of eighteen dollars a barrel, and corn went as high as two dollars and fifty cents a bushel.1 For seven years the commerce of New England had been tied up by the "embargo" and it had proven worse than useless as an act of retaliation. "It had probably saved some of our sailors from the press-gangs," said one writer, "but it had sent them to the poor-houses instead. It had ruined many of our merchants, and had benumbed the seafaring instincts of the people."2 The cost of it to the nation would have built a magnificent fleet of battleships of the line, and we could have waged a brilliant and effective naval war, but when the de- claration was promulgated in June, 1812, there were but seventeen vessels in the navy, frigates and sloops combined, not one of which was of first-class power, carrying four hun- dred forty-two guns, manned by five thousand trained men, Against this, England had one thousand and forty-eight ves- sels of war, mounting twenty-seven thousand eight hundred guns, manned by nearly one hundred and fifty thousand men. It was David and Goliath on the ocean. In this predicament our merchants hastened to repeat their marvelous achieve- ments on the seas in the struggle for independence, but there was not an American privateer in existence when hostilities broke out. It now became the opportunity for them to retali- ate, and they did it with speed and precision. Within sixty days after the declaration, one hundred and fifty of them, con- verted out of every available pilot boat, merchant craft, coasting vessel, and fishing smack, were harrying British commerce on the North Atlantic, commissioned "to burn, sink, and destroy."3 These venturesome craft upheld the honor of American sea- manship while the vessels of the navy were being held in port, under orders from the government, on account of their in- ferior numbers. The history of the war of 1812 is a story which sheds equal glory upon the merchant privateers, and
1Deane, "History of Scituate," 141; Marvin, "The American Merchant Marine," 127. In June, 1813, the British people were paying famine prices for the same articles, - flour at $58 per barrel, and other staple articles in the same proportion.
2Marvin, "The American Merchant Marine," 123.
3Maclay, "History of American Privateers," 225-6.
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the navy after the latter had got into condition. During the war there were 517 of these private armed ships, mounting 2893 guns, while the navy had but 23 vessels of all classes, mounting 556 guns. The men-of-war captured 254 merchant ships of the enemy, valued at $6,600,000 (estimated), while the privateers took no fewer than 1300 prizes, the money value of which was estimated at $39,000,000. In this terrible attack upon England's "pocket nerve," our great merchant marine proved six times as potent as our little navy.1 This feature of the war was peculiar to that struggle, and the history of it is lodged in the private records of the old mercantile houses of the New England seaports, rather than in the archives of the nation, as is the case with the Revolutionary war. The land fighting occurred in the remotest parts of the country, except one short and disgraceful campaign around Washington, and New England furnished few of the troops for any of the forces sent against the enemy. Except upon the sea, the story of this war is not creditable to American military annals. Massa- chusetts had refused to put the militia at the service of the general government, and in turn the government had declined to reimburse Massachusetts for her outlay in defensive opera- tions; but the people gradually recognized that it must be fought out, and slowly yielded their prejudices against the party in power and, at least, gave no aid to the enemy, as they were at first inclined to do. Holding these sentiments, the commercial spirit prevailed among some classes of mer- chants who engaged in the profitable and illicit trade of carry- ing supplies of bread-stuffs to the British armies in Spain engaged in the Peninsular campaign against the French. The high prices for such supplies tempted many of our merchants not only to run the risk of capture and confiscation, but to brave the odium of their neighbors and countrymen. Eng- land even licensed such vessels for that particular purpose, guaranteeing them from seizure by British cruisers. This kind of traffic in supplies that were so dear at home, as well as scarce, aroused great indignation among all classes. Our courts declared them denaturalized by the acceptance of licenses from the enemy. This condition of affairs called forth protests from communities who were suffering from the famine prices of food. On May 13, 1813, the voters of Tis- bury held a meeting and addressed the following petition to Congress on the subject: -
1Marvin, "American Merchant Marine," 128.
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To the Honourable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress Assembled
Your Memorialist and petistioners Inhabitants of the town of Tisbury and County of Dukes County State of Massachusetts In legal town meet- ing assembled beg leave to state that your petitioners in consequence of the War with Great Britain are many of them destitute of employment by being deprived of their real Occupations and the present high price of bread considerably adds to their embarrasment while your petitioners are dayly obliged to give nearly double the Usual price of bread they see with infeighed Sorrow Vessels dayly carrying Bread stuff (under British Linners) out of the United States to the ports & Countries under the controul of the British Nation & their Armies In return we see the Manu- factures of Great Britian filling our ports & Towns thereby aiding our enemies as well as drawing out precious Metails (now so much wanted in our Country, We the Inhabitants of Tisbury do petition the Legislator of our nation that the Exportation of Bread Stuffs may be prohibited dur- ing the present Scarsity and in imitation of our Forefathers of the Revo- lution do request that the Nonimportation Law may be strictly and rigidly enforced against Great Britain which will we believe alleviate many of our Citizens in the price of Bread and find Employment for our own Manufacturing Citizen to the Exclusion of the Manufactures of Enemies, and will also keep the Specia In our Country your Memmorialists beg leave further to Remark that no Nation (to our Knowledge) even become a great maratime power Untill they could manufacture for themselves no nation that ever admited British goods to be Imported amongst them without some restriction but what Experienced a decline In their own Manufactories a scarcity of specia frequently a dismemberment of their Empire Wherefore your Memmoralist & petitioners for the reason before mentioned do request that the above petition if consistant with the national welfare may be carried into Effect.1
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