USA > Massachusetts > The history of Massachusetts, the provincial period. 1692-1775 v. II > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
England herself participated in this enterprise, and, by 1692-93. advices from Mr. Blathwayt, the government was informed that it had " pleased the king, out of his great goodness, and disposition for the welfare of all his subjects, to send a consid- erable strength of ships and men into the West Indies, and to direct Sir Francis Wheeler, the admiral, to sail to New Eng- land from the Caribbee Islands, so as to be there by the last of May or the middle of June at furthest, with a strength suffi- cient to overcome the enemy, if joined and seconded by the forces of New England." "There can never," continues the letter of the secretary, " be such an occasion for the people of New England to show their zeal for their religion and love to their king and country. His majesty has taken care, besides the ships of war, to send to you a thousand soldiers, if their number be not diminished by their service in the West Indies,
Feb. 20.
---
.. .
87
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FRENCH.
under a commander who has looked the same enemy in the face, CHAP. and will show an example worthy to be followed. Sir William IV. Phips, I suppose, will be at the head of the New England 1693. volunteers, and will readily acquiesce, according to the rules of war, in leaving the chief command as his majesty has deter- mined it." 1
Unfortunately for the success of these plans, the letter, which should have reached Boston by the first of April, did not arrive until July ; and the mortality which prevailed in the fleet dur- July. ing its stay in the West Indies was so great that, when the commander-in-chief, Sir Francis Wheeler, anchored off Nantas- Jun. 11. ket, - bringing himself the news of the projected invasion, - he had lost thirteen hundred out of twenty-one hundred sailors, and eighteen hundred out of twenty-four hundred soldiers. All thoughts of reducing Canada were therefore abandoned ; but a plan for another year was settled with the governor, the details of which were, that two thousand land forces should be sent from England to Canseau by the first of June, to be joined 1694. June 1. by two thousand from the colonies, and that the whole force should go up the St. Lawrence, divide, and simultaneously attack Montreal and Quebec. Changes in the government of the province, however, and other causes, prevented the execu- tion of this plan, whose success was problematical even if it had been attempted.2
But if the plans of the English for the reduction of Canada 1692. were doomed to disappointment, the plans of the French for the recovery of Acadia were more successful. For the first year after the conquest of that country, indeed, the French were as little concerned to regain, as the English were to retain, the possession of its territory ; nor was Massachusetts
1 This letter, addressed to Increase Mather, is given in Hutchinson, ii. 70, note. The letter to Admiral Wheel- er, directing him to repair to the north, was dated November, 1692. MS. Letter of Governor Phips.
2 Burchett's Mems. of Transactions at Sea, ed. 1703, p. 173; Walker's Journal, 32; Hutchinson, ii. 70-72 ; Harris, Voy. ii. 924; Holmes, Am. Ann. i. 447.
88
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FRENCH.
CHAP. able to bear the charge of a sufficient military force to keep its IV. inhabitants in subjection, though she issued commissions to
1691. judges and other officers, and required the administration of the oath of fidelity. In the course of that year, authority was given to Mr. John Nelson, of Boston, who had taken an active part in the overthrow of Andros, and who was bound thither on a trading voyage, to be commander-in-chief of Acadia ; 1 but, as he neared the mouth of the St. John's, he was taken by Mon- Nov. 26. sieur Villebon, who, under a commission from the French king, had touched at Port Royal, and ordered the English flag to be
1692. struck, and the French flag to be raised in its place. The next year an attempt was made to dislodge Villebon, but without success ; and Massachusetts, convinced of her inability to keep the country, though unwilling to relinquish its jurisdic- tion, petitioned the crown that the province might be freed from further expense in the defence of Port Royal and St. John's, and that garrisons might be placed there at the national charge. In the summer of 1696, Pemaquid was taken by the French, under D'Iberville and Castine, and the frontier of the dominion of France was extended into Maine; and by the 1697. treaty of the following year Acadia was re-ceded to France, and the English relinquished their claims to the country.2
1696. July 14.
The last year of "King William's war," as it was long termed in New England, was a year of especial alarm to the province, and rumors were rife that the French were on the eve
1 Nelson, who was a moderate Episcopalian, rendered important ser- vice to the province at this time, by communicating intelligence of the de- signs of the French and their contem- plated attacks. When he was taken prisoner, he was sent to France, where he was treated with the utmost rigor, being confined in the Bastile. Cir- cumstances requiring his presence in England, he was at length liberated on parole, and, after transacting the business for which he left prison, he prepared to return. The king inter-
fered, and commanded him, on his allegiance, to remain ; but his noble reply was, " Please God I live, I'll go ; " and go he did. The character of Nel- son was a marked one; and, had he sympathized in his religious opinions with the dominant party, he would doubtless have occupied a more con- spicuous place in our annals. MS. notes communicated by E. H. Derby, Esq.
2 Mass. Rec's, v. 579 ; Hutchinson, ii. 87-95 ; Williamson's Me. ii. 23; Bancroft's U. S. iii. 189.
89
PROJECTED INVASION OF NEW ENGLAND.
of fitting out a formidable fleet for the invasion of the colonies CHAP. and the conquest of New York.1 The year previous, there had IV. been intimations that an armament from Europe, joined by 1696. land forces from Canada, was to make a descent upon the coast ; and application had been made to the French mon- 1695. arch by the governor of Canada for ten or twelve men-of-war to be sent to encounter an English squadron, which was shortly expected to arrive ; but, as the intentions of the French court were principally to secure the possession of Newfoundland, and recover Acadia, - both which objects were accomplished, - no design was prosecuted upon Boston, nor was any particular alarm created by the expedition.
The new expedition was more dreaded ; and for several 1697. weeks the arrival of the French fleet was daily expected. It was supposed, on the part of France, that a strong squadron would be sent from England to recover the ports in Newfound- land, and great preparations were made for its defeat. Fron- tenac, the governor of Canada, though advanced in years, received orders to raise fifteen hundred men, in readiness to march at a moment's warning ; and the command of the French fleet, consisting of ten men-of-war, a galiot, and two frigates, was intrusted to the Marquis de Nesmond, an officer of great reputation, who was to leave Brest by the twenty-fifth of April Apr. 25. at farthest, with his own vessels, to join those at Rochelle under Commodore de Magnon, and, with the utmost despatch, proceed to the Bay of Placentia, in Newfoundland, and from thence sail for Penobscot, first sending a packet boat to Quebec to inform Frontenac of his route. Upon his arrival, the troops were to be immediately embarked for Boston ; and when that town was taken, they were to range the coast to Piscataqua, destroying the settlements as far back into the country as possible.
1 " Je prendrai encore la liberté de vous dire, que la prise de Manhatte étoit beaucoup plus utile pour la sû- reté de cette colonie, et pour la déli-
vrer des Iroquois, que celle de Bas- ton," i. e., Boston. Charlevoix, iii. 318, ed. 1744, 12mo.
90
PROJECTED INVASION OF NEW ENGLAND.
CHAP. Should there be time for further acquisitions, they were next IV. to go to New York, and upon its reduction the Canadian
1697. troops were to march overland to Quebec, laying waste the country as they proceeded.1
Tidings of this contemplated invasion reached Boston before the arrival of the fleet on the coast, and the inhabitants were in the greatest consternation. But feeble hopes were enter- tained of aid from England ; yet Mr. Stoughton, the lieutenant governor, making the best preparations in his power, caused the militia of the province to be held in readiness to march for the seaports ; and the Castle in the harbor, which was in a comparatively defenceless condition, was strengthened as fully as time would permit. But the schemes of the French were July 24. not destined to succeed. De Nesmond, on reaching Placentia, found there a letter awaiting him from M. le Comte de Pont- chartrain, informing him that eighteen English ships from Lisbon, laden with salt, under the convoy of a man-of-war, purposed to proceed to Newfoundland to be employed in the cod fishery ; and he was instructed to do every thing in his power to prevent their escaping him before leaving for Boston. Detained by contrary winds, however, his passage from France was so long, and his arrival so late, that nothing could be heard of the English fleet; and when a council of war was held to consider the expediency of proceeding to Boston, the proposal was unanimously negatived. The grounds of this decision were, that they were entirely ignorant of the situation and circumstances of the enemy, and that, with whatever de- spatch messengers were sent to Frontenac, the Canadian forces could not be expected at Penobscot before the tenth of Sep- tember, and by that time the provisions of the fleet would be so far expended that they would be in no capacity to prosecute such an enterprise.2
1 Charlevoix, iii. 318-321; Hutch- inson, ii. 99; Holmes, Am. Ann. i. inson, ii. 96-99.
2 Charlevoix, iii. 321, 322; Hutch- 463, 464.
91
THE PEACE OF RYSWICK.
The peace of Ryswick, which soon followed, led to a tem- CHAP. porary suspension of hostilities.1 France, anxious to secure as IV. large a share of territory in America as possible, retained the whole coast and adjacent islands from Maine to Labrador and Hudson's Bay, with Canada, and the valley of the Mississippi. The possessions of England were southward from the St. Croix. But the bounds between the nations were imperfectly defined, and were, for a long time, a subject of dispute and negotiation. Each nation had land enough for all practical purposes, and more than it could colonize or suitably protect. Yet the ambi- tion for territorial aggrandizement seems to be an inherent passion ; and, where national honor and private interest are in- volved, mutual jealousies are sure to arise, nor can they be allayed until one party or the other is constrained by more powerful motives to modify or relinquish its extravagant claims. With- out doubt, both parties would gladly have assumed jurisdiction over the whole North American continent, could they have done so with the prospect of maintaining their assumptions ; nor did the French exhibit a greater desire to encroach upon the English, than the English exhibited to encroach upon the French. Each accused the other of trespassing upon its dominions, and neither was content that the other should gain the least advantage, or secure to itself a monopoly of the fish- ery or the fur trade.2
The suspension of hostilities in Europe was but temporary ; for in 1702 war was again declared. In the mean time the French were secretly employed in encouraging the Indians bor- dering upon New England to violate the leagues which had been formed with them, and ravage the country.3 It may 1698,
1702. May 4.
1 Notice of the peace was transmit- ted to the colonies in October, 1697, with orders for its proclamation, which were obeyed in December. Stough- ton, MS. Letter to England, and MS. Contin. of Chalmers's Polit. Ann. Pt. II.
2 Chalmers, Revolt, i. 276; Coke's
Detection of the Court and State of England, iii. 57; Hutchinson, ii. 104 ; Haliburton's N. S. vol. i.
3 On these leagues, made in 1698, see Hutchinson, ii. 104; Holmes, Ann. i. 473 ; N. H. Hist. Coll. ii. 265 -267.
1697. Sep. 20.
e re
ed
ly re
, e
92
ATTACK UPON DEERFIELD.
CHAP. seem hardly credible that so treacherous a design should have IV. been deliberately conceived by a nation which boasted of its 1703. superior enlightenment ; but the testimony of Charlevoix, the Jesuit historian of New France, abundantly proves the correct- ness of the charge, for he glories in the conduct of his country- men, and speaks of it in terms of extravagant eulogy.1 Thus countenanced, it may well be supposed that the fierce Abenakis manifested no reluctance to avail themselves of this opportu- nity to satiate their revenge; and in a very short time they burst like an avalanche upon the country, spreading desolation wherever they went.
1703-4. Feb. Their first principal attack was upon Deerfield, one of the pleasantest of the western villages, which had suffered severely in Philip's war, and which had been recently rebuilt and par- tially fortified.2 The assailants, three hundred in number, French and Indians, under Hertel de Rouville, a merciless mis- creant, with the aid of snow shoes skimmed over the snow, which was four feet deep, and, on the evening of the last day Feb. 28. but one of February,3 reached the dark pine forest which loomed up at the outskirt of the village, where they were shel- tered for the night.4 Trembling hearts and tearful eyes were in the settlement, for the inhabitants had been warned of im- pending danger by Colonel Schuyler, of New York, and the Mohawks. A body of twenty soldiers had been sent to defend the place, and sentinels were posted at different points, who kept anxious watch until two hours before day, when they Feb. 29. retired. Immediately the enemy, who had been secretly recon- noitring, perceiving all to be quiet, crept stealthily up to the
1 Charlevoix, Nouv. Fr. See also Dummer's Defence ; 3 M. H. Coll. i. 233, and vi. 247; Chalmers, Revolt, i. 277; Penhallow, in N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 22, 44.
2 MS. Letter of John Pynchon to Governor Dudley, dated August 3, 1702, in the possession of J. W. Thornton, Esq.
3 Bancroft, from oversight, says the last day of February. That year was leap year.
4 Holland, Hist. Western Mass. i. 148, says the spot where the Indians lodged was "at a pine bluff overlook- ing Deerfield meadow, about two miles north of the village - a locality known as Petty's Plain."
-
93
ATTACK UPON DEERFIELD.
palisades, and, aided by the drifts, which were piled up nearly CHAP. to their top, sprang into the enclosure, and the wild war whoop IV. pealed upon the air. The garrison house was first surprised ; 1704. and another party breaking into the house of Mr. Williams, the minister, he was seized, with his wife, and five of his chil- dren ; his house was plundered, and two children and a negro woman were cruelly murdered. Falling upon other houses, upwards of forty persons were slain, and more than a hundred were made prisoners.1 When the sun was an hour high the work was finished, and the enemy took their departure, leaving the snow reddened with blood, and the deserted village envel- oped in flames. The sufferings of the prisoners who can por- tray ? Children who grew weary, and women who tottered from weakness and hunger, were remorselessly slain and scalped by their captors. A Bible had been saved, which was read to them at night as they halted for rest ; and its inspiring truths were never more cheering than then. The strength of Mrs. Williams, who had been recently confined, rapidly failed, and a blow from a tomahawk ended her sorrows. Mr. Williams, her husband, was carried to Canada, but eventually returned, with 1706. four of his children. The youngest, a daughter of but seven years old, remained, was adopted into a village of Indians near Montreal, and became a proselyte to the Catholic faith, and the wife of a Cahnewaga chief. After many years she revisited her childhood's home, with her husband, clad in an Indian dress ; but neither the entreaties of her friends nor the prayers of the people could induce her to tarry with them. She returned to lier wigwam, and to the love of her children.2
1704. The same summer of the attack on Deerfield, a body of four July 31.
1 The accurate Prince, in his Ap- pendix to Williams's Redeemed Cap- tive, p. 109, 6th ed. 1795, computes the number of killed at 49, and the number of captives at 109, and gives the names of the persons. See also Holland's Hist. Western Mass. i. 151, note ..
2 The narrative of Mr. Williams, entitled the "Redeemed Captive," first published in 1706-7, is the princi- pal authority. See also Hutchinson, ii. 127-129, 140, 141; Penhallow, in 2 N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 29, 30 ; Holmes, Ann. i. 487, 488, and notes ; Holland's Hist. Western Mass. i. 148-156.
-
94
ATTACK UPON HAVERHILL.
CHAP. hundred French and Indians fell upon Lancaster, and burned IV. the meeting house and several dwellings ; 1 another party way- 1704. Aug. laid a scout sent from Northampton to Westfield, and killed 1705-6. one man and took two prisoners ; 2 and during this and the two following years, other towns in the Bay province suffered by their depredations.3 The barbarities perpetrated in this war equalled, if they did not exceed, those of Philip's war. Women, far advanced in pregnancy, were violently delivered, and the tender babes dashed to the ground. Infants were de- spatched in the same manner ; or sometimes, half strangled, they were thrown to their mothers to quiet. Of the captives, some were roasted alive ; others were gashed in all parts of their bodies, brands were thrust into the wounds, and then set on fire. The condition of those who fared the best was far from enviable. They were subjected to the hardship of trav- elling, barefoot and half naked, through pathless deserts, over craggy mountains, through horrible swamps and thickets. They were obliged to endure frost, rain, and snow, and all the inclemencies of the season, both by night and by day. No pity was shown, nor allowance made, for the aged or infirm. Such as, through infirmity, hunger, fatigue, or sorrow, fainted under their burdens, or could not keep pace with the enemy, were despatched with the tomahawk.4
1708.
The attack upon Haverhill is memorable in the annals of that town. The little village contained about thirty cottages, mostly of logs, clustered upon the slope of the hill whose base is bathed by the beautiful Merrimac. In the centre stood a new meeting house, the pride of the settlers, within whose walls they gathered from Sabbath to Sabbath, to listen to the word of life dispensed from the lips of the amiable Rolfe. Like most of the villages of New England, it was tenanted by the
1 Boston News Letter, Nos. 16 and 31. 2 3 M. H. Coll. vi. 259; N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 39, 40.
3 N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 42, 49, 50.
4 Trumbull's U. S. i. 228, 229.
95
ATTACK UPON HAVERHILL.
yeomanry of the land, who industriously cultivated their patches CHAP. of maize, on the few acres which the hand of toil had redeemed IV. from the wild magnificence of towering forests. The scene 1708. was one of rural quietude, too peaceful to be invaded by the ruthless destroyer. Yet at the dawn of a summer's day, whose Aug.29. eve had closed in with no warning of the danger which threat- ened, the bloodthirsty Rouville, with his desperate followers, after impiously calling upon God to sanction his deed, raised the shrill war cry, and sprang upon the village which his murder- ous heart had devoted to destruction. The crack of the rifle, and the crash of the tomahawk as it broke through the skull of its helpless victim, were mingled with shouts and groans of despair. The family of Rolfe were among the first suffer- ers, and the father was beaten to death ; the hatchet sank deep into the brain of the mother ; her infant was snatched from her dying grasp, and its head dashed against a stone. Two children escaped, who were secreted in the cellar by a negro slave. Vain was the attempt to drive out the foe. The surprise was so sudden as to admit of no concert. Each fought for his own family, and was shot down in their midst, struggling for their defence. A few only escaped the general massacre, indebted for their deliverance to the gallantry of Davis, and others from Salem, posted in the neighborhood and hastily mustered, who, as the destroyers retired, hung on their rear to rescue the captives. At the close of the day the tragedy was over; the bodies of the slain were mournfully interred ; and though nearly a century and a half has elapsed since they fell, an ancient mound marks their resting-place, and a moss-grown stone, with its rude inscription, stands by the grave of Rolfe and his family.1
Is it surprising that such cruelties inspired the deepest hate towards the French and their missionaries ? Scarcely had
1 Charlevoix ; Hutchinson, ii. 157; Penhallow, in N. H. Hist. Coll. i. 59; Mirick, Hist. Haverhill, 117-134 ; Bancroft, iii. 215, 216. A second at-
tack was made upon Haverhill shortly after, but without much damage. Bos- ton News Letter, No. 233, Sept. 27 to Oct. 4, 1708.
1697. Dec.
96
NEW EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA.
CHAP. peace been proclaimed in New England, when the designs of IV. the French against the English were renewed ; and Villebon,
Sept. 5. .
1698. the governor at St. John's, forwarded a letter containing his instructions to seize and defend the whole country to the Ken- nebec. The Board of Trade was informed of these proceed- ings ; but the only result was a message, insisting on the right of the English as far as the St. Croix, and urging Massachu- setts to rebuild the fort at Pemaquid.1 With this order the General Court was reluctant to comply. It was not a “ rep- rehensible parsimony " which prompted their refusal. The place was so distant that the force of the province was inade- quate for its defence, and the funds of the government were needed for other purposes. Besides, it was contended that the work of rebuilding the fort was entirely uncalled for, as it would prove insufficient for the protection of the frontier.3
Before long, however, it became evident that a more decided course must be taken. The encroachments of the French were daily increasing ; and their connection with the Indians, whom they had prompted to ravage the country, demanded some action to check their proceedings. Accordingly, intelligence 1707. having been received that an armament from England was to be sent against Acadia or Canada, it was resolved that one thousand men should be raised in Massachusetts to aid in the prosecution of that design. Proposals were made to the other provinces to join in the project ; but Connecticut declined ren- dering assistance, though New Hampshire and Rhode Island promptly responded to the call. The forces from England did not arrive, the war with Spain preventing their departure. Hence the whole charge of the expedition devolved upon New England. The command of the troops, consisting of two regiments, was intrusted to Colonel March ; and the fleet,
1 Stoughton's Lett. to Board of Trade; Hutchinson, ii. 105, 106; Chalmers, MS. copy of his Polit. Ann. Pt. II., and Revolt, i. 278; 3 M. H. Coll. i. 135; Grahame, ii. 12; Holmes, i. 470 ; Williamson's Me. ii. 26, 27.
2 Discov. and Sett. of the English in Amer. quoted in Hutchinson, ii. 68; Williamson's Me. i. 636.
3 Mass. Rec's ; Collection of Pro- ceedings of Gen. Court, ed. 1729, pp. 20, 21; Hutchinson, ii. 138.
97
NEW EXPEDITION AGAINST CANADA.
which consisted of three transport ships, five brigantines, CHAP. and fifteen sloops, with " whaleboats answerable," attended IV. by her majesty's ship the Deptford and the province galley, 1707. sailed from Boston early in May,1 and reached Port Royal May 13. towards the close of the month.2 Here the soldiers were May 26. landed, and the fort was attacked; but after several skir- mishes, which resulted disastrously, the siege was abandoned, June 7. and the army reembarked - Colonels Rednap and Appleton returning to Boston for further instructions, and the rest pro- ceeding to Casco Bay. The orders of the governor, returned by the messengers, were, that the attempt should be renewed. The army once more sailed, and landing opposite the fort, Aug.10. prepared for an attack. But the troops were dispirited ; the weather was unfavorable ; sickness was spreading ; the men were incapable of sustaining the fatigues of a siege ; and ten days after, the design was relinquished, and the fleet returned Aug.20 to Boston.3
Not thus, however, was the attempt to be abandoned ; and England, resolved on increasing her colonial acquisitions, and punishing the audacity and insolence of the French, prepared 1709. to send a fleet to America for the reduction of Canada, Aca- dia, and Newfoundland. The plan was extensive. A squad- ron of ships was to be at Boston by the middle of May. Five May. regiments of regular troops, numbering three thousand men,' were to embark in this fleet, and twelve hundred men were to be raised in the northern colonies to ally with them on their arrival. Massachusetts and Rhode Island were expected to raise these men ; and the governments were to provide trans- ports, boats, pilots, and provisions. With this force Quebec
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.