USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Topographical and historical description of Boston > Part 36
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Captain Clap's description may be correct in general, but he certainly erred in his names of persons men- tioned. The Lieutenant Monish, who, he says, suc- ceeded Captain Simpkins, was Lieutenant Richard Mor- ris, and he succeeded Captain Edward Gibbons on the third of March, 1635-6, Gibbons having probably suc- ceeded Captain Nicholas Simpkins. By the Dutchman, whom he called Durother, he probably meant De Rui- thier, or De Ruiter, a noted naval commander of that time.
The colonial records abound in votes for the im- pressment of men to work on the fort, and on the third of November, 1635-6, an order was passed by the Gen- eral Court, requiring six towns, Dorchester, Roxbury, Boston, Newton, Watertown and Charlestown, to pro- vide each two men weekly to work at the fort, and these were to be paid out of the treasury of the colony.
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These towns, though sometimes remiss, performed the task required of them, and in due time the fort was completed, and supplied with the proper ordnance, munitions, and garrison. But this did not last long; for the sham-built fort soon fell to decay, and the General Court became discouraged about it.
From what has been said above, it would appear that Captain Nicholas Simpkins was the commander of the fort from the time it was built until 1635, when he gave displeasure to the General Court by a remissness in his accounts, and was removed and the place given to Lieu- tenant Edward Gibbons, who in his turn was dismissed the next year, and Lieutenant Richard Morris appointed to his place. Morris was not more successful than his predecessors, for he fell into difficulty about the red cross in the country's colors, as our fathers at that time trained under, and gave allegiance to the English jack, although Captain Endicott considered it heathenish; and, not long after his appointment, giving support to Mrs. Ann Hutchinson in her theological quarrels, he was disarmed in November, 1637, and banished from the colony in September, 1638, to Rev. Mr. Wheelwright's settlement at Exeter, New Hampshire; and Captain Robert Sedgwick was ordered to take charge of the castle in his stead, in June, 1641. In the interim, there probably was no official commander.
During the administration of Lieutenant Morris, an affair took place which so clearly illustrates the manner of doing things in the olden time, that a narration of it is taken from Governor Winthrop's journal, as printed by his learned commentator, Hon. James Savage, the orig- inal of this part of the journal having been destroyed by fire: "Three ships arrived here from Ipswich with three
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
hundred and sixty passengers. The last being loath to come to an anchor at Castle Island, though hailed by the castle boat, and required, etc., the gunner made a shot, intending to shoot before her for a warning, but the powder in the touchhole being wet, and the ship having fresh way with wind and tide, the shot took place in the shrouds, and killed a passenger, an honest man. The next day the governor charged an inquest, and sent them aboard with two of the magistrates (one of them being deputed coroner), to take view of the dead body, and who, having all the evidence, etc., found that he came to his death by the providence of God." This verdict of the jury of inquest undoubtedly gave great satisfaction to Lieutenant Morris and his gunner, and perhaps to the staid townsmen of Boston; but it probably proved of no great account to the poor fellow who had been sent to his long home, or to the fellow-pas- sengers, who were obliged to abide by it, and be thank- ful that they had escaped a similar providence.
On the twelfth of March, 1637-8, the fortification gave so little promise to the Colonial Legislature that the authorities came to the conclusion to abandon the design, and therefore authorized a committee to remove the ammunition therefrom, and dispose of what else they deemed fit; but on the second of the May following, so much of this determination was reconsidered as to al- low private individuals to man and maintain the fort, if they would satisfy the court within eight days that they would do so. These undertakers must have done some- thing, for they kept the fort along a few years, getting at one time a hundred pounds from the colony, and at another time two hundred and fifty pounds, this last amount for building a house and repairing the batteries,
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and also a grant to take wood from the islands in the harbor. Notwithstanding these efforts, the fort went to decay, insomuch that on the tenth of May, 1643, orders . were given for the removal, within two months, of the ammunition and ordnance, which were to be distributed to Charlestown, Cambridge and Ipswich, and a commit- tee was appointed "to let the iland as they can yearly." In this they succeeded, for on the seventh of September following, " the Court gave Castle Iland & the house there to Capt. Gibons, unlesse it bee implied to publiq use for fortification at any time hereafter."
The inhabitants of Boston, as well as their Governor, were very much alarmed, on the fourth of June, 1643, by the arrival in the harbor of a ship of one hundred and forty tons, having on board the same number of persons. The Governor and his family were on their island when Mr. La Tour came up the harbor in his ship. The neighboring towns of Boston and Charles- town betook them to their arms, and three shallops with armed men went forth to meet the Governor, and to guard him to his house in town. The Governor, in his journal, says: "But here the Lord gave us occa- sion to notice our weakness, etc., for if La Tour had been illminded towards us, he had such an opportunity as we hope neither he nor any other shall ever have the like again; for coming to our castle and saluting it, there was none to answer him, for the last Court had given orders to have the Castle-Island deserted, a great part of the work being fallen down, &c., so as he might have taken all the ordnance there. Then having the Governor and his family, and Captain Gibbon's wife, etc., in his power, he might have gone and spoiled Bos- ton, and having so many men ready, they might have
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
taken two ships in the harbor, and gone away without danger or resistance." This fright produced a good effect upon the inhabitants of the neighboring towns, if it did not upon the General Court, and measures were very soon afterwards taken for renewing the fortifications at Castle Island. as will be seen in the next chapter.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CASTLE ISLAND AND FORT INDEPENDENCE.
Castle Island continued . . . Restoration of the Castle in 1644 . .. Six Towns to Repair it at their own Expense . . . Small Annual Allowance for its Mainte- nance · · · Appropriation for securing Bird Island Passage . . . Lieut. Richard Davenport appointed Commander in 1645 . . . English Colors to be displayed from the Castle, in 1651 . . . Small additional Fort erected in 1653 . . . Death of Captain Davenport in 1665 . . . Appointment of Capt. Roger Clap . . . The Castle burnt in 1673 . . . Immediately repaired . . . Resignation of Capt. Clap in 1686, and Capt. John Pipon appointed in his place . . . Captain John Fair- weather ... Commanders during the Provincial Period ... Castle William built in 1701, by Col. Romer .. . Old Inscription . . . Pownal's Picture ... Wharves built in 1720 . .. New Battery, 1735 . . . Governor Belcher's Pow- wow .. . Form and Appearance of the Castle .. . Destruction of the Castle in 1776 · · · Castle Rebuilt and called Fort Independence · · · Used for Convicts, 1785 to 1798 · · · Used as a State Prison, 1785 to 1805 . . . Island ceded to the United States in 1798 . . . New Fort . .. Topography of the Island .. . Old Block House, Shirley's Battery ... Site of the Old Castle . . . The Mas- sie Duel in 1817 . . . Old Memorial Stone . . . New Graveyard.
IN consequence of the fright caused by the arrival of La Tour in June, 1643, the inhabitants of Boston and the neighboring towns began seriously to think of the importance of having the Castle restored and garri- soned; therefore certain men from each of the towns were chosen to take the subject into consideration, and for this purpose they held a meeting in Boston, where it was proposed that, as the colony was weary of maintain- ing the Castle, the neighboring towns should repair and maintain the same at their own proper charge. But here a new difficulty arose, as to how it could be done
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
without giving offence to the General Court, which had ordered its abandonment. Fortunately, five of the neighboring Indian Sachems, Wossamegon, Nashowa- non, Cutshamache, Mascanomet and Squa Sachim, about that time came to the determination of voluntarily sub- mitting themselves to Massachusetts, and of coming under the colonial government, as Pumham and Sacono- noco had done sometime before; and, therefore, it be- came necessary to hold a session of the General Court. Taking advantage of this necessity, six towns, Boston, Charlestown, Roxbury, Dorchester, Cambridge, and Watertown, appointed a committee, who advised with the governor and several of the magistrates, who en- couraged them to go on, as did also the ministers and elders of the churches, and they petitioned the General Court to do something about repairing and carrying on the fortification. But it was all to no purpose; and they were obliged to ask for liberty to do it at their own expense and charge. Even in this laudable and liberal endeavor the towns were seriously opposed by some of the country members; for the Court thought that it would be too great a charge, that it could afford but little help against a strong enemy, and that if the fort were recon- structed and manned, there was still another passage by Bird Island which could be used by inimical vessels in coming up to the town. Nevertheless, after a great deal of persuasion, the towns prevailed, and the follow- ing order was passed by the General Court on the seventh of March, 1643-4: "It is ordered, that it shalbee lawfull for the inhabitants of the townes wthin the Bay, or any convenient number of them, to erect a fortification upon the Castle Iland, such as the psent time & their abil- ities will give liberty and oportunity unto, & to repair
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the batteries there, or any of them, & to maintaine the same, & to keepe such garrison there, as the necessary defence of the place shall require; and that they shall have liberty to take back unto the said iland such ordi- nance & amunition as was lately fetched from thence, or so much thereof as they shall make use of, any former order to the contrary notwithstanding." At the same time the Court promised, that when the towns should have repaired the batteries and mounted the ordnance, and also erected a fortification of stone, timber, and earth, fifty feet square within the walls, which were to be ten feet thick and of proportionable height, one hun- dred pounds per annum should be allowed for the main- tenance thereof. The Court also allowed another one hundred pounds for securing the Bird Island Passage, to be paid when both of the works should be completed. Yet the worthy magistrates and deputies (or, as they would probably be called now, senators and representa- tives) further took order, "that notwithstanding the charge to bee defrayed by the townes in the Bay, yet the said fortifications to bee still accounted to belong to the country, & this Cort, or the councell of warr, from time to time to have the command & disposal thereof, as occasion shall require;" and it was ordered that five barrels of powder, and a proper proportion of shot, should be allowed for the present to the Castle, to be spent for the defence of the place and the ordinary sal- utation of ships. The Court, however, condescended to allow the towns to appoint a commander for the time being, who was to observe the instructions which should be given him with his commission. This document, which is given in full in the old records, is a rare bit of composition, and gives a good idea of the old times.
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
From what appears in the colonial records, the Court undoubtedly signified to the towns a desire that Mr. Thomas Coytmore, of Charlestown, should be appointed the commander, as an order was passed on the twen- tieth of May, 1644, there being as yet no person ap- pointed for that place, that if the towns agreed to appoint him, he should be accepted. But it does not appear that he was appointed, as the position was offered to Lieutenant Richard Davenport on the thir- teenth of the following November, who accepted it sub- sequently, and who was commissioned in July, 1645. At the time of the appointment of Lieutenant Daven- port, fifty pounds were appropriated for his house, and subsequently one hundred for the fort, and twenty for a boat, and the five towns (omitting Watertown from the six which undertook the repairing the fort) were to support him. Before accepting the great responsibility, Lieutenant Davenport proposed seventeen questions to the Court, which were duly answered. He was told that his garrison should consist of twenty men for eight months in the summer season, and ten men for the win- ter, commencing on the first of November; that, as no constant minister is to be expected, and the Lord hav- ing furnished him with able gifts, he is to take care of the garrison as his own family, only that one-half in turns can come up to town on the Lord's day, and he himself every other Sunday; that he should have one- third of the island for his own use, one-tenth for his gunner, and the remainder for the garrison; that he should send a boat to, and examine, every ship that ap- proached the town; that he could cut wood from any of the islands not disposed of; and that all trading vessels should have leave to come and depart unmolested.
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The repairing of the Castle seems to have been at- tended with great difficulty. The towns neighboring to Boston, notwithstanding their great desire that the for- tifications should be rebuilt, were very remiss in furnish- ing their part of the labor and supplies, and were fre- quently compelled to do their duty by the constables on orders of the General Court. Boston was not quite so remiss as the other towns, as on the tenth of January, 1643-4, it agreed to provide all the timber and lay it in its form for the work on the top of the hill, in case the other towns would go on with their shares of the work; and at the same time it offered inducements for ten fam- ilies to reside upon Castle Island. But notwithstanding all this, Boston was almost as negligent in its duties towards the Castle as were the other towns, and fines were exacted and impressments continually made for the furtherance of the work. On the twenty-seventh of October, 1648, Lovell's Island was granted in perpetuity to the town of Charlestown, reserving a privilege for the garrison of the Castle to cut off one-half of the wood as should be needed for fuel and other economical purposes upon the Island.
Things seem, after this, to have gone on at the Cas- tle after a fashion, for the General Court passed the following order on the seventh of May, 1651: "For- asmuch as this Courte conceives the old English colours now vsed by the Parliament of England to be a neces- sary badge of distinction betwext the English & other nations in all places of the world, till the State of Eng- land shall alter the same, which we much desire, we being of the same nation, hath therefore ordered, that the Capt. of the Castle shall psently advance the af- foresaid colours of England vppon the Castle vppon all
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
necessary occasions." Even in this order the old enmity to the red cross shows itself, and a wish is ex- pressed that the symbol may be changed; and probably it was hoped that the new state of things, which had arisen on the murder of King Charles, would bring it about. Undoubtedly Captain Davenport had great re- luctance in seeing the cross in the old standard waving over his fort; for he, it will be remembered, was Endi- cott's tool in cutting the cross out of the colors, while he was an ensign at Salem, in 1634. Davenport perpet- uated the remembrance of this affair in his family, by naming a daughter, born shortly after, Truecross Da- venport. About this time the armament and military property of the fort consisted of six murtherers, two boats and a drum, and two muskets and a suitable num- ber of pikes for each soldier. Occasionally committees were appointed to visit the Castle and make repairs; and on the thirtieth of August, 1653, the General Court, thinking it necessary that something must be done towards repairing the fortifications, passed an order that a small fort should be erected there, at a cost not
exceeding three hundred pounds. In October, 1654, a committee reported that one of the boats had been lost and the drum spoiled, but not owing to the neglect of the captain. On the twenty-eighth of January, 1655-6, the town of Boston lent the captain of the Castle a great bell, probably the mate to the one lent to the un- dertakers of the conduit in Union street, the same hav- ing been given to the town by Captain Crumwell. This looks a little as though things were improving at the Castle; and the idea is confirmed by the record that another attempt to finish and equip the Castle was made the next May.
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In November, 1659, an order was passed by the General Court to pay Captain Davenport £40 8s. 8d., a bill of charge for repairing the new Castle. This may have had reference to the small fort erected under the order passed in August, 1653. Things went along at the Castle pretty much in this manner until the fifteenth of July, 1665, when Captain Davenport was killed by lightning, he at the time lying upon his bed in a room next to that which contained the powder. It appears he had become fatigued with labor, and had lain down to rest. Three or more people were injured at the time. The command of the Castle was given by the General Court to Captain Roger Clap on the tenth of August, 1665, who felt a great interest in it, and who strove by every effort in his power to have it put in good order. The Court provided for a constant garrison, which con- sisted of a captain, lieutenant, and other officers, with sixty-four able men completely armed, of which Boston was to furnish thirty, Charlestown twelve, Dorchester twelve, and Roxbury ten.
On the twenty-first of March, 1672-3, the Castle, being built chiefly of timber, took fire and was burnt; the powder, and a portion of the officers' and soldiers' property, alone were saved. The next day the magis- trates of Boston and the neighboring towns issued orders for a contribution of fifteen hundred pounds to repair it as speedily as possible; and, on the seventh of May following, the General Court "hauing considered the awful hand of God in the destruction of the Castle by fjer, doe order and appoint, 1st. That there be a small regular peece erected where the old Castle stood (not exceeding sixty ffoote square within, or proportion- able), for the defence of the battery & entertainment of
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
such garrison as may be meet. 2ly. 'That the charge hereof be defrayed by the late subscriptions & contribu- tions to that end, & what shalbe wanting to their works be levyed by a publicke rate, wherein those who haue already contributed shall be considered according to what is already declared. And for the management of this affajre, and to conclude the matter & forme of the sajd Castle, and bring the same to a compleat end as speedily as may be, the honoured Governor John Leue- ret, Esq., Captain W" Dauis, Capt Roger Clap, Capt Thomas Savage, & M" John Richards are ap- pointed & impowred as a committee; and what shallbe concluded, from tjme to tjme, by any three of this com- mittee the honoured Goûnor being one, it shallbe ac- counted a valid act to the ends aforesaid." So attentive were the committee, and so active and energetic were the workmen, that on the seventh of October, 1674, an opportunity occurred for the passage of the following order by the General Court: "Itt is ordered, that the whole Court on the morrow morning goe to the Castle to vejw it, as it is now finisht, & see how the countrys money is layd out therevpon, & that on the countrys charge: which was donn." Here we begin to notice an unmistakable approach to the modern way of doing things. In May, 1678, an appropriation of £200 was made towards repairs to the Castle. In May, 1679, an inquiry having been made, it was reported that there were twenty-three mounted guns above on the Castle and seven below in the battery, and that there were want- ing five small guns to cleare the curtains above. At that time the whole garrison consisted of the captain and gunner and four men, which, it would seem, was rather a scanty number to manage the guns.
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In this condition the Castle remained until Captain Clap gave up the charge of it, in 1686, being unwilling to hold command under the usurper, Andros; and he was succeeded by Captain John Pipon, who in his turn was succeeded by Captain John Fairweather, on the nineteenth of April, 1689. After the second charter, known as the Province Charter, passed the seals in 1691, the Lieutenant-Governor (or Deputy-Governor, as he was sometimes called) had the command of the Castle. During Lieutenant-Governor Dummer's time of service he claimed three servants, which during most of the time he employed upon his farm at Newbury, and claimed pay for them as soldiers, and required also pay for their subsistence. This caused many disputes with the colonial legislature, in which he got the worst, as they were very sure to disallow all such charges made by him. Once a year the Court usually passed an appropriation for the pay of the Lieutenant-Governor, " in consideration of his readiness at all times to serve the Province." Probably the fortifications on Castle Island remained without much of any change until the year 1701, when the old works were demolished, and new ones erected in their place.
The new fort, constructed chiefly of brick, was built in a very substantial manner by Colonel William Wolf- gang Romer, an engineer of much ability. He placed over its entrance a white slab twenty-five inches square, which bore the following inscription: -
ANNO DECIMO TERTIO REGNI WILHELMI TERTII MAG : BRIT : FR : & HIB : REGIS INVICTISSIMI HOC MUNIMENTUM (:EX EJUS NOMINE WILHELMI CASTELLUM NUNCUPATUM :) FUIT INCEPTUM.
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DESCRIPTION OF BOSTON.
ANNO SECUNDO
REGNI ANN Æ
MAG : BRIT : FR : & HIB : REGINÆ
SERENISSIMA PERFECTUM
ANNOQ;
DOMINI M DCC III.
a Tribuno Wolfgango Wilhelmo
Romero Regiarum Majestatum
in Septentrionali America Architec- to Militari primario constructum.
This may be translated thus: "In the thirteenth year of the reign of William the Third, most invincible King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, this fortification (called Castle William, from his name) was under- taken; and was finished in the second year of the reign of the most serene Anne, Queen of Great Britain, France and Ireland, and in the year of our Lord 1703.
" Built by Colonel William Wolfgang Romer, chief military engineer to their royal majesties in North America."
A portion of this instructive stone is now in a good state of preservation (the right hand portion having many years ago disappeared). The words Invictis- simi, Wilhelmi Castellum, Serenissima, MDCCIII, were gilded, and the others were painted white. As the thirteenth year of King William III. occupied a large portion of the year 1701, the rebuilding of the Castle must have been commenced during that year. It was constructed chiefly of bricks, cemented together with mortar made with lime obtained from burnt oyster shells. A small part of the old wall has been retained in constructing the rear portion of the present fortifica- tion, Fort Independence; but as it has been covered with large granite ashlars, the ancient relic is entirely hidden from sight.
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The old Castle of 1701 was very much injured by the British troops, at the time they evacuated Boston, on the seventeenth of March, 1776. A very good drawing of it was made in 1757, by Governor Thomas Pownal; and it is quite probable that, during the sev- enty-five years of its standing under the British flag, it experienced no material change. During its provincial days, its history was merely a matter of detail, commit- tees of the General Court being occasionally appointed to visit it, and to make repairs. On one occasion (in 1720) it was found necessary to do something for the security of the east and west heads of the island, and therefore a committee was appointed to visit the place, and they reported on the fifteenth of November of that year as follows: "We have reviewed the works and find them well finished, and find it absolutely necessary that the east and west heads be well secured by good sub- stantial wharffs, and that there be new coverings for the guns at the lower battery to be ready for service." The report was accepted, and provision made to secure the heads in the best and most effective manner, either by wharves, or by driving in of piles, to be filled up with stones or otherwise, and strong white oak carriages were ordered to be made for the guns. Early in the year 1735 there was a proposition to build a new battery at Castle William; and a committee appointed to visit the island reported on the thirtieth of June, 1736, that they found the works, as platforms, carriages, copings, and all the wood-work, well done, but the brick-work was not in good condition, as the mortar was soft, and, not sticking to the brick or stone, much of it came out. The new battery, then building, was one hundred and fifty feet distant from the old work, at the end of the
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