USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > New Bedford > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 18
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Westport > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 18
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Dartmouth > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 18
USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > The history of New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts : including a history of the old township of Dartmouth and the present townships of Westport, Dartmouth, and Fairhaven, from their settlement to the present time > Part 18
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* Lord James Gambier, Admiral, long a distinguished officer in the British navy, and the commander of the fleet which took possession of the Danish navy in 1807. His grandfather was a French refugee, who left France on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He was President of the Church Missionary Society, and was characterized by - great piety and benevolence. He died April 19, 1832, leaving no heirs; and the peerage is extinct.
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I cannot particularize the damage done; but by the appearance of shipping before dark, and the conflagration, I suppose it must be very great.
Every thing is now reimbarked, and as the wind is southerly, all the ships and vessels are preparing to warp out of the bay, in order to proceed to Mar- tha's Vineyard, conformable to a requisition this instant made by Major-General Grey, to procure a supply of cattle ; but as we have not with the fleet a sufficiency of empty vessels to contain them, I am under the necessity of weakening the detach- ment, by sending, according to General Grey's de- sire, and my orders from Rear-Admiral Gambier, the Dilligent brig to Rhode Island, for vessels to receive the cattle, and afterwards to New York with the General's letters.
What further employment is intended for the ships and transports with me has not yet been dis- closed to me. I am, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient
and most humble servant. ROBERT FANSHAWE.
P. S. Prisoners report 70 sail destroyed, of which eight were large ships laden, and four privateers ; great quantities of canvas, cordage, pitch, turpen- tine, tobacco, coffee, &c."
The following additional account of this event is taken from the Travels of the late President Dwight, of Yale College, from information received of the late Edward Pope. It will be perceived that this, as well as the account of Capt. William Gor- don, given in a previous chapter, differs consider- ably from that of Gen. Grey, which is undoubtedly much exaggerated.
" No events of a peculiar importance occurred in the history of this town until the year 1778. On
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Saturday evening, the 3d of September, the British under General Gray landed 4000 troops upon Clark's Neck, the western boundary of the river at its mouth, and marched to the town. Here they burnt houses, wharves, &c., to the amount of £11,241, and destroyed English and West India goods, provisions, naval stores, shipping, &c., to the amount of £85,739, amounting in the whole to £96,980, or $323,266. From this place they marched around the head of the river to Sconticut Point, on the eastern side, leaving in their course, for some unknown reason, the villages of Oxford and Fair Haven. Here they continued till Monday, and then re-embarked. The following night a large body of them proceeded up the river with a design to finish the work of destruction by burning Fair Haven. A critical attention to their movements had convinced the inhabitants that this was their design, and induced them to prepare for their re- ception. The militia of the neighboring country had been summoned to the defence of this village. Their commander was a man far advanced in years. Under the influence of that languor which at this period enfeebles both the body and the mind, he determined that the place must be given up to the enemy, and that no opposition to their ravages could be made with any hope of success. This decision of their officer necessarily spread its be- numbing influence over the militia, and threatened an absolute prevention of all enterprise, and the destruction of this handsome village.
Among the officers belonging to the brigade was Israel Fearing, Esq., a major of one of the regi- ments. This gallant young man, observing the torpor which was spreading among the troops, in- vited as many as had sufficient spirit to follow him and station themselves at the post of danger. Among those who accepted the invitation was one
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of the colonels, who of course became the com- mandant; but after they had arrived at Fair Haven, and the night had come on, he proposed to march the troops back into the country. He was warmly opposed by Major Fearing, and finding that he could not prevail, prudently retired to a house three miles distant, where he passed the night in safety.
After the colonel had withdrawn, Major Fearing, now commander-in-chief, arranged his men with activity and skill, and soon perceived the British approaching. The militia, in the strictest sense raw, already alarmed by the reluctance of their su- periour officers to meet the enemy, and naturally judging that men of years must understand the real state of the danger better than Major Fearing, a mere youth, were panic-struck at the approach of the enemy, and instantly withdrew from their post. At this critical moment, Major Fearing, with the decision which awes men into a strong sense of duty, rallied them, and placing himself in the rear, declared, in a tone which removed all doubt, that he would kill the first man whom he found retreat- ing. The resolution of their chief recalled theirs. With the utmost expedition he then led them to the scene of danger. The British had already set fire to several stores. Between these buildings and the rest of the village he stationed his troops, and ordered them to lie close, in profound silence, until the enemy, who were advancing, should have come so near that.no marksman could easily mistake his object. The orders were punctually obeyed. When the enemy had arrived within this distance, the Americans rose, and, with a well-directed fire, gave them a warm and unexpected reception. The British fled instantly to their boats, and fell down the river with the utmost expedition. From the quantity of blood found the next day in their line of march, it was supposed that their loss was con-
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siderable. Thus did this heroic youth, in opposition to his superiour officers, preserve Fair Haven, and merit a statue from its inhabitants.
A wag, who had divined the true reasons of the colonel's retreat, followed him to the house where he lodged, and, finding by inquiry that notwith- standing his original declarations to the contrary he had concluded to take up his lodgings there for the night, resolved to be his sentinel. He therefore mounted the jaw bone of a horse upon a pair of small wheels, instead of a cannon. This piece of artillery he charged and discharged at regular inter- vals during the night, as the proper means of de- fence to his gallant commander, and had the satis- faction of seeing him safe and sound the next morning.
The township of New Bedford extends from Dartmouth to Rochester, four miles, and from Buzzard's Bay to Freetown, thirteen. In 1790 it contained 454 houses and 3313 inhabitants; in 1800, 626 dwelling-houses and 4361 inhabitants ; and in 1810, 5651."
I know of but two persons now living who re- member this event, Miss Rebecca Spooner, of Fair- haven, and Mrs. Mary Hawes, of this city, both past ninety years of age.
The fleet consisted of 32 vessels, under the com- mand of Rear-Admiral Gambier, the largest a ship of 40 guns, on board of which was Gen. Grey, the commander of the expedition. It was called by our old people "the New Lunnun fleet," from the fact of its lying off New London for some time previous to the invasion, causing much anxiety to the inhabitants from the expected attack.
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The Captain Andre mentioned in Gen. Grey's report was probably the unfortunate and lamented Major Andre, who embarked under Sir Henry Clin- ton, and who two years afterwards, October 2d, 1780, at the age of 29 years, was executed, in ac- cordance with the cruel and barbarous rules of war. A monument to his memory was placed in West- minster Abbey, by the order of King George III.
This fleet presented a terrific appearance to the peaceful inhabitants of old Dartmouth and the villagers of Bedford and Fairhaven, as anxiously viewed from their house-tops by the aid of their spy-glasses.
With a fair wind, according to the letter of Gen. Grey, they sailed up Buzzard's Bay. Aside from the inimical object in view, this fine fleet of armed vessels, led off probably by the "Carysfort," with Rear-Admiral Gambier and Major-General Grey on board, -their broad canvas spread to the fresh ocean breeze, and the bloody ensign of old Eng- land proudly flapping from its staff, - must have af- forded a noble and spirited sight.
Four thousand troops were landed upon a bridge of boats at Clark's Cove, and with quick step marched into the quiet little village, whose peace- able and affrighted inhabitants had already fled into the neighboring country.
The following additional account is taken from an old number of the New Bedford Mercury :
" A friend has furnished some items respect- ing the same affair, gathered from different sources,
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entitled to full credit, and more accurate in some respects than the statement given by the British generals. A letter from Edward Pope, Esq., in 1794, published in the 4th volume of His- torical Collections, gives the following account of this affair, which is probably correct, as Judge Pope was on the spot at the time, and a very intelligent man.
' The British troops, about 4000, landed on the west side of Clark's Neck, and at Clark's Cove, Saturday evening, Sept. 5th, 1778, and marched through Bedford village to the head of the river, passed over the bridge and down on the east side, through and near the villages of Oxford and Fair- haven, to Sconticut Neck, burning on their march houses, barns, mills, &c. They encamped on Sconticut Neck till Monday, when they embarked on board their ships. The night following they attempted to land a large number of troops on the Fairhaven side, with a view probably to burn that village ; but were discovered by Major (afterwards General) Israel Fearing, who had the command of about 140 or 150 men there collected, and deter- mined, if possible, to save the town. He placed his men behind houses and stores near where he sup- posed they would land. The enemy reached the shore with their boats; they were permitted to begin landing, and fired two or three buildings. Major Fearing then gave orders to fire upon them. They retreated with great precipitation, and returned to their ships in the harbor. By the shrieking, and marks of blood afterwards discovered, it was sup- posed many of the British were killed and wounded.'
It will be observed that the British account differs much from that given by Judge Pope; but his no doubt is the most correct. He does not refer to the vessels destroyed, but it is not probable
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there was so great a number as is mentioned in the British statement. The loss of property has been variously stated by different American writers, generally at £20,000. Judge Pope was a suf- ferer, and also a prisoner for one night with the British. On inquiry of Mr. William Russell, of this town, now living, aged ninety-two, it is ascertained that the British fleet consisted of thirty-two vessels, the largest a forty-gun ship, with Major-General Grey on board, the commander of the expedition ; that about forty sail of vessels were destroyed, chiefly ships, and most, if not all, prizes taken from the British by our privateers a short time before; that the British troops, in going up the river from Clark's Point, stopped about half an hour in Bedford village, and set fire to several buildings, nine dwelling-houses and four stores being consumed; that they opened a hogshead of rum, and that several of the soldiers were intox- icated, and carried away in carts ; that two young men, near the road where the British passed and not far from the village, who had fire-arms in their hands, were shot, one of whom was killed on the spot and the other mortally wounded. Near the head of the river, Lieutenant Metcalf, of the State Artillery Company, then stationed here, was badly wounded, and died soon after. The company was commanded by Captain Cushing. Some privateers were in the harbor at the time, and lay on the Fairhaven side, which was, indeed, probably the chief object of the expedition from the first. The fleet came from the New York station. Major Fearing and men came to Fairhaven on the alarm given after the first day's landing and marauding. Messrs. John Howland and Seth Russell were taken on board the large ship and detained some time; and by their influence several of our people who were made prisoners were released."
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General Grey speaks with great complacency of the sobriety of the troops, and their moderation ; but the real facts in the case are strongly against his statements.
A man by the name of Joe Castle, who had been employed by Joseph Russell, went over to the enemy at the time of their landing, and acted as their guide. The night he left he wrote with chalk upon the barn-door of his employer,
"I make no more stone-wall for old Joe Russell."
When the British troops were marching towards Acushnet, Dr. Eben. Perry, who had been into the village on horseback, was returning home, and seeing the enemy from the top of the hill near his house- the present residence of Thaddeus M. Perry -rode on a short distance, and fearing that they would overtake him, tied his horse to a bar- post and fled into the woods. After the troops. had passed, he returned, and found that his horse, a very valuable young animal, had been killed by the soldiers, -an act of mere wanton destruction.
For the following additional reminiscences I am indebted to Capt. Lemuel S. Akin, a retired ship- master of Fairhaven;
" Probably the first naval action during our Revolution took place in Buzzard's Bay, not far from West Island. The late Nathaniel Pope, of Fairhaven, was a lieutenant in the expedition. They captured two tenders belonging to the British sloop-of-war Falcon, afterwards one of the vessels that poured her volleys at the breastwork on Bun- ker Hill on the memorable 17th of June, 1775.
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On the 5th of May (1775) Capt. Linzee, of the Falcon, captured two provincial sloops at Bedford. He intended to send them to Martha's Vineyard, and freight sheep to Boston ; but the Bedford people fitted out two sloops with thirty men, and fetook the captured vessels, with fifteen men on board. In the action three of the Falcon's crew were wounded, and one of them mortally. Thirteen prisoners were sent to Cambridge." Frothingham's Siege of Boston, page 110.
" The vessels that took the Falcon's tenders were out from the village of Fairhaven."
" Nathaniel Pope commanded a company of twenty-five men, sailors and rangers; Captain Egery, another company of equal number. Their expedition was obliged to be a secret one, as many at that time had strong conscientious scruples against shaking off their allegiance to George III. The whole number of prisoners was twenty-five or twenty-seven. The fifteen marines were imme- diately marched off to Taunton to place them beyond the reach of a writ of habeas corpus, which the timid in this vicinity would procure to prevent reprisals. The balance-sailors- were permitted to wander where they pleased. The commanding officer was for some time in Fairhaven, and was wounded in the action. He was a North Briton or Scotchman, and undoubtedly as near as possible adopted the maxim of Hudibras,
He that fights and runs away May live to fight another day;
for he kept most of the time during the action in the cabin, occasionally showing his head from the com- panion-way to give orders to his men. It was in one of these venturesome visits to the door that a Yankee by the name of Shockley, having reserved his fire for that purpose, wounded him in the head."
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Extract from a statement of Joshua L. Pope, son of the late Nathaniel Pope, who commanded the expedition from Fairhaven.
" The captures were made on Sunday morning, 14th May, 1775, and the captured were from the Falcon; whilst the Machias capture is recorded as having occurred on the 12th June.
I am strongly impressed with the belief that the prisoners comprised twenty-five; the Congressional record says fifteen-marines, not mariners. I feel quite sure that the spoils embraced twenty-five ' king's arms.' Father had a 'king's arm and accoutrements,' besides a silver-trimmed cutlass, -that of an officer. I think also there were but twenty-five men on board the 'Success; ' it might have been twenty-five in the hold. Father had the deck, managing affairs there, and Captain Egery, with the drummer, was in the cabin. Captain Egery came on deck to counsel, at father's foot-rap. There was one other man and a boy, I think, on deck.
The first lieutenant (of the Falcon) was severely wounded, and was, with others (probably the other wounded and sailors,) some time at Bedford and Fair Haven. They were very clever fellows, and I think some of them remained there.
Joseph Rotch, Edward Pope, and many others, came from Bedford on Monday morning, and held counsel with some of the timid at the house of Esquire Williams, and concluded to send the prsioners and captured sloops, with an apology, back to the Falcon; but the captors were on the qui vive, and marched off the prisoners for Taunton before the council rose. Thus defeated, the council sent a committee to Captain Linzee, at Taunton Court, with an apology, 'making the best story they could.' Colonel Edward Pope and 'Squire Will- iams were of this committee.
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A strong delegation also met Egery's report at Cambridge, as it is fairly inferable from the lan- guage of the committee recorded.
It has for many years been to me a matter of re- gret that I had not had the curiosity to have retained from father every particular.
I think the 'sharp-shooter' who was ordered to stand by the mast and 'drop the dodging officer ' was a Shockley or a Jenney.
The men were equally from Captain Egery's militia and father's 'minute-men,' and each num- bered on their roll twenty-five or thereabouts. Father's numbered twenty-five in all.
I have before me a 'pay-roll' for an expedition from Dartmouth to the Elizabeth Islands, Sept. 25th, 1775. Charge,-1 penny per mile for forty miles, and two days' services ; 8 s. 6 d. for captain, 2 s. 10 d. for men ; together, 11 s. 10 d. and 6 s. 2 d .; aggregate, £8 6 s. 7 d."
We now return to Capt. Akin's statement.
" While the British were marching up to Bed- ford [in 1778] William Tobey - once Postmaster in New Bedford - was driving a team loaded with goods for a safe place of deposit, but was so hardly pressed by the British that he unyoked his oxen, and left his wagon and goods a prize to the enemy.
Arrived at the head of the river, a party left the main body, and went north as far as the old gam- brel-roofed house of Doctor Tobey, still standing. I believe that it was a general baking-day in these parts, for here they found in the cellar an oven full of bread and pork and beans. These they soon dispatched, and robbed the house of what they wanted, and endeavored to destroy the rest. But the British pilferers in going down the cellar left the door wide open, and that effectually pre- vented their seeing another door immediately
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behind it, leading to a room where their most valuable clothing was deposited, and by that means was saved. Another instance of the same kind occurred at Bartholomew Taber's.
They burned several houses at the head of the river, among others one belonging to Captain Crandon, who, to revenge himself on the British marauders, would not suffer his new house to be placed over his old cellar, nor suffer the cellar to be filled up, until his son, having the management in some measure of his father's business, at last accomplished it.
It was at Acushnet village that Lieutenant Metcalf was mortally wounded. He was from Boston, and belonged to the Continental army. Some verses were composed on his death at the time by a Mrs. Negus. She had not the inspiration of a Sappho, yet they were much esteemed at the time; in fact, much worse have been written, and printed too.
The first building they burned after leaving the head of the river was a house on the premises now owned by David Russell, then occupied by Colonel Pope. Eldad Tupper, a tory, and well acquainted in these parts, acted as their guide, and could inform them of all holding office or com- missions. As they proceeded south, and near by, they came to Stephen and Thomas Hathaway's. The latter was a man of handsome property in those days, and without children ; but he had a ward living with him, Jonathan Kempton, who event- ually inherited it. At the time the fleet anchored he was at the lower end of Sconticut Neck; and left immediately for home to remove the household furniture to a place of safety. After packing up, he took a small trunk, containing quite a valuable quantity of silver plate; and as he stepped to the door to leave the house, he was met by their advance- guard, who told him they would relieve him from
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any further care of the trunk. After taking what things they wanted from the house, they collected beds and bedding in a chamber, and set fire to them, and very luckily shut the doors. They took Mr. Kempton a prisoner, and told him they should carry him to New York. He entreated them to let him have his liberty. After carrying him to the end of the long lane leading to the house, they consented, after taking one of the two pairs of breeches that he had on-that he had two pairs on they knew from having robbed him of his watch; but they informed him they must fire at him as a deserter, which they did, but whether with an in- tention of hitting him or not, he never knew. The ball, however, hit a large cherry tree, one of a number that lined a long passage or lane leading to the house. Mr. Kempton returned to the house in time to extinguish the fire.
Proceeding on in something of a hurry, burning now and then a house or a store, and destroying property, and frightening men, women, and chil- dren, who generally, Indian-like, fled to the woods with what little they could carry for safety, some rather laughable scenes occurred amid the terror and confusion. One woman-it is charitable to suppose not till after mighty efforts and years of longing-at last procured a brass warming-pan. This, though previous to Lord Timothy Dexter's venture of warming-pans to the West Indies, was too valuable to fall into the hands of the rapacious 'regulars'; accordingly clothes, bedding, household furniture, - all, except the warming-pan, was abandoned to its fate. With this she, with many others, started for the woods. Fear is a great creator of phantoms. Arrived at the woods, helter- skelter, there was no time to choose their way- onward was the word. The bended elastic bushes and limbs of trees were continually striking the warming-pan with a force, in their judgment, suffi-
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cient to give the regulars a clue to their where- abouts. What was to be done ? The owner must leave the pan behind, or must herself be left: the former she would not do, the latter she could not prevent, and every one fled from woman and pan with as much eagerness as before they fled from the regulars.
The British fell in with a Quaker, Jethro Hath- away, father of the late Stephen; and took his broad-brim from his head, hurled it in the air, and after making much sport with it, said, 'Let the old Quaker have it again.'
Bartholomew Taber, a calm, courageous man, remained by his house, and was harshly treated by the British soldiery. One fellow threatened to shoot him, and aimed his musket several times at his head; but perceiving it was not cocked, he did not consider himself in much danger. He heard the bullet whistle in the air, fired from the bushes at the British, which caused the burning of the school-house on his premises, and heard them call for a match at the same time.
Near the Sconticut road, about one mile east of Fairhaven village, was the house and farm of Captain John Alden. He had a small stone build- ing some little distance from his house, in which he kept groceries for sale. He had moved his family and some goods to a place of safety, and had returned with his ox team for more goods or furniture. A neighbor came to purchase some rum, and while in the act of getting it, the British arrived and relieved him of the care of the team. They drove his oxen on the neck, where they were slaughtered for the use of the army. On the neck they stopped at the house of John West, who had in his pen a large fat hog. They put a bayonet through him, and left him dead.
Just before they came to what is called the ' narrows,' in a cleared field where there were
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several stacks of salt hay they left a detachment of their army, who, fatigued and sleepy, after setting a guard and scattering the hay, lay on it and took a nap. The remainder continued on about one mile, to where the widow Dean now lives, the place of their final embarkation. They had with them at this time an active, resolute person by the name of Pease as their prisoner. He was not very strictly guarded, and as they were surrounded by woods made his escape to the east side of the neck, and headed north by the edge of the woods and marsh, until he came to the narrows, where he entered the road. Being ignorant at the time of an enemy near, he was hailed by the guard in the road; and immediately advancing to him, with a club secreted under his jacket, with one blow over the head dispatched him, and effected his escape. It was supposed the act was witnessed by those on board the fleet, who with their glasses could easily do it; for immediately after the blow was given, a gun was fired from one of their ships. There is little doubt the guard was killed, as a grave was found made by the British near the spot. Many supposed Pease did wrong, and that a judgment overtook him at last, as he was killed by the falling of a well-sweep."
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