USA > Maine > Cumberland County > Windham > Windham, Maine in the war of the revolution, 1775-1783 > Part 1
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Gc 973.34 M28g 1568158
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01192 2520
m
WINDHAM, MAINE,
IN THE
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION
1775 -- 1783
BY
NATHAN GOOLD.
H. W. BRYANT, BOOKSELLER AND PUBLISHER, PORTLAND, ME. 1900.
1568158
WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
Windham is one of those towns that has a history and the story of the stubborn resistance the early settlers made against their Indian enemies and against the encroachments of England on their rights and liberties will be of interest for all time to those who will succeed them in the town and to the descendants of the men and women who made the history.
When the Indian chief Polin was killed by Stephen Manchester, in 1756, the settlers had reason to believe that their troubles were at an end and that they might return to their lands and live unmolested. Then the people looked forward to pe- riod of prosperity and happi- ness, but it was not to be of long duration. Hardly ten years elapsed before came grumblings of discontent. The stamp act was passed and the in- dignation was felt in the most remote towns. The leader of the stamp riot of 1766, at Falmouth Neck, now Port- land, was said to have been a Wind- ham Mayberry.
The causes which led up to the Rev- olutionary war commenced with the stamp act in 1766. What actuated the Americans to engage in the war, is well told in a speech of Hon. Mellen Cham- berlain of Boston, made in 1891. He
said: "What actuated the men of the
Revolution in the course they took? Was it actual taxation? No. Not a penny was ever paid by them on an ounce of tea, not a penny was ever paid for a stamp under the stamp act. From Maine to Georgia, never was a cent taken out of the pockets of the
colonists by reason of the taxation of the British government. What was
it, then, against which they took up arms? It was against the principle of the right to tax as expressed in the stamp act and kindred measures. The marvel of all this matter is that 3,000,- 000 of people should take up arms. not in consequence of what they suffered!, but in consequence of what they appre- hended; not because it bore heavily upon them, but because of the right. There was a principle at stake which touched their patriotism, and a prin- ciple which touched their religion: and for that they went to war, for that they suffered hardships. Who were they? They were men of clear intelligence and right thinking, of determined per- severance. They had thought the thing out and they knew what their
rights were. Those were the men to whom we are so much indebted." The people of Windham, without hesita- tion, entered into the rebellion against the mother country, with a spirit that is to their honor, and they should never be forgotten as long as the town exists.
As early as February, 1773, the men of Windham held a town meeting to see about answering the letter they had received from the people of Boston in relation to the public affairs. Their answer was in no uncertain words. One of the resolutions was:
Resolved-That we look upon it our duty as well as interest, both for ourselves and posterity, to stand up in the defence of those privileges and liberties that our goudly fore-
4
WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
fathers purchased for us at so dear a rate as the expense of their own blood, and that we used formerly and still ought to enjoy.
The resolutions they recorded in the town books because, as they said, "that the rising generations may 324 what care their forefathers have
tåken to defend their liberties and privileges. that they may take the like care if they are called to it as we are." The next year. another letter. in "bold and energetic language," was sent to the Boston committee. What better record could patriots leave to their posterity?
Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Thomas Trott and Daniel Barker were chosen to represent Windham in the Cumber- land county convention of September. 1774, to consider "the present alarming situation of our public affairs," and the resolutions that were then passed have been said to be "probably the ablest exposition of public affairs, at that time, now extant." That year the town elected the following officers for the militia company and ordered them to instruct their men in the mili- tary art:
Richard Mayberry, Captain.
David Barker, Lieutenant.
Joseph Swett, Ensign.
Then hardly anyone lived in the eastern or northern part of the town. Windham Centre was in the outskirts. The town meetings were held in the old Block House, (which had always been their place of refuge) in the southern or lower part of the town. In this old fort they met. March 15. 1775, and to be prepared for the gathering cloud of war voted "27 pounds to pur- chase a town stock of ammunition, as soon as possible, and that the town will pay interest to any man who will let the town have the money to do it." Then Capt. Caleb Graffam. who had had experience in the French and In- dian war, was appointed to fix up the great gun and swivels, "as soon as pos- sible." These resolute men had made up their minds to resist the authority of Great Britain, and, if need be, they were to turn the guns of the old fort on British authority. There was 110 hesitancy and the decision seems to have been unanimous.
Ten days after the battle of Lexing- ton was fought, a town meeting was called and one of the articles of the warrant was "To see if the town will agree on any method to provide quantity of corn, or other bread kind,
in times of distress by an enemy which appears to be very soon." The record of that town meeting was never copied into the town book. although a space was reserved for it and it is still blank paper. Those were times when men's souls were tried.
Feb. S. 1775. the following officers were elected for the town company:
Richard Mayberry, Captain.
David Barker, Lieutenant.
Edward Anderson, Ensign.
When the attempt was to be made to capture the Vessels of Capt. Henry Mowat, in Portland harbor. in May. 1775. what has since been known as "Thompson's war." the Windham company was there. under Capt. May- berry, and from all we can learn now, were very active in sacking the Tory Coulson's house on King street. With the Gorham boys, they made clean work of it and drank up the New Eng- land rum which Coulson had put int"> his cellar for his own use. This shocked the Falmouth Neck Tories then, but it has never troubled their descendants at Windham.
Capt. Mayberry joined Capt. Samuel Knight's company in June and served as lieutenant through that year, as coast guard on Casco bay. Edward An- derson was the second lieutenant ani five other Windham men were in the company, as follows: Sergt. Moses How. Corp. Thomas Mayberry, Pri- vates John Anderson, Caleb Young and Josiah Chute. Then the following officers were appointed to command the town company:
William Knight, Captain.
David Barker, Lieutenant.
Richard Dole, Ensign.
The war was now on and this com- pany was ready for duty at little warning. They were minute men. A tradition has always been in our family that these men were raising the fram- of Jacob Eliott's house when Mowat's guns were heard, when he was burn- ing Falmouth. Oct. 18. 1775, and that they left their work and hurried to that town to aid the inhabitants in its defence. That house is now a part of the present one on the William Goold farm. near Windham Centre. It was originally of but one story and stood on the other side of the driveway where the large elm tree stands an! faced the west, with a door in the end towards the south, that opened into
the kitchen, which had a large fire- piano nearly the willth of the room. I
have been told that coming down the
5
WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
road that, when the door was open, it
looked as though you could drive straight into the fireplace. Around
the kitchen were unpainted wooden
dressers upon which stood the polished pewter dishes and the china used by the family. This was seven- ty-five years ago. Ebenezer Barton
the Revolutionary soldier, married Dorothy Eliott and they were buried on this farm, in the Goold family
yard. Our grandfather, Nathan Goold bought the farm of the Elliotts in 1802, and it is now owned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Abba G. Wool- son.
In proof of the above tradition, there is the original pay roll of Capt. Knight's company, in the State House at Boston, for service at Falmouth Neck, "as guards from ISth October, 1775, to the 23d of same." There were twenty-three men and three officers.
When the British ship Cerebus en- tered Portland harbor, on Nov. 1, 1775. and threatened to burn that part of the town that had escaped Mowat's destruction, but thirteen days before. this Windham company again hurried to assist in the defence of that town and another pay roll gives the men
credit for from two to
sixteen days'
service in building earthworks there. The ship did not carry out the threat, because of the spirit of the people, but sailed away.
In May, 1775, several men of the town enlisted in Col. Edmund Phin- ney's regiment and. in July, marched to Cambridge, Mass., where they served under Washington during that year in the siege of Boston. One of those men was Stephen Manchester. the slayer of the Indian chief, Polin, in 1756, who served in Capt. John Brack- ett's Co. from May 12, 1775. and per- haps he was the first man of Windham to enlist for service in the field. He had a long service in other regiments. In 1775, the town is said to have had:
7 men at Cambridge for 8 months,
4 men at Falmouth for 8 months,
6 men at Cambridge for 2 months.
The town elected, Jan. 12, 1776, the following as the Committee of Safety:
Zerubbabel Hunnerwell,
Thomas Trott, David Barker, Caleb Graffam,
Richard Mayberry.
That year the town company was the first in Col. Timothy Pike's 4th Cum- berland County Regt. of Militia.
Another Committee of Safety was
elected March 19, 1776, as follows: Zerubbabel Hunnerwell,
Caleb Graffam,
Richard Mayberry,
Thomas Trott,
Isaac Hardy.
The town sent no representative to the General Court during the Revolu- tionary war. no doubt.on account of
their poverty. The towns paid their representatives then for their attend- ance.
Their copy of the Declaration of In- dependence did not get into the hands of the town clerk for weeks after its declaration, but Richard Dole, then the clerk, wishing to shirk no responsibil- ity, transcribed it on the town book in a bold hand. The words "A Declara- tion" and "U. S. of America," he made every letter a capital to emphasize its importance. When he wrote the sig- nature, John Hancock, he outdid Han- cock himself, in its boldness. The penmanship is a credit to the writer because it was a piece of good work. This was the last entry in the hand- writing of Richard Dole during the war. for he then entered the army as a private in Col. Marshall's regiment and served three years and must have seen inuch hard service. He was a sterling patriot. Samuel T. Dole 's his grandson.
It is said that the town had the fol- lowing in the service in 1776:
13 men in the State's service at Peeks- kill for 3 months.
9 men in the State's service at Dor- chester for 4 months.
4 men in the State's service at Rhode Island for 4 months.
6 men in the State's service for 12 months.
The statement of thirteen men being at Peekskill, in 1776, we have not been able to verify. It is probable that those men were in the army at Cam- bridge until August and then marched to reinforce the army at Lake Cham- plain. The men went to Peekskill in 1778. There were more than six men in the one year regiments from Wind- ham in 1.76 and militia men were sent in a militia regiment, probably Col. Wigglesworth's, to the Northern army in the fall of that year.
The following is a list of the tax payers of Windham for the year 1779. as given for a county tax. Timothy Pike, David Barker and Ichabod Han- son were the assessors and Daniel Pet- tingall the collector.
Tax Payers of 1776.
6
WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
Anderson, Edward Allen, Peltiah
Bodge, John
Boulton, William
Barker, David
Brown. Ezra
Brown, Amos
Barton, Ebenezer
Chase, Eleazer
Chesley, Joseph
Crague, Hugh Crocket, George
Crocket, Daniel Cook. Daniel
Frost, Widow Joanna Graffam, Enoch Hutchinson, Richard Hutchinson, Stephen Hutchinson, Stephen Jr.
Hall, Daniel
Hall, Andrew
Hall, Hateevil
Hanson, Elijah
Hanson, Ichabod
Hanson, Samuel
Hanson, Jonathan Hardy, Isaac
Harris, Stephen Hawkes, Ebenezer
Hawkes, Amos Hawkes, James
Hawkes, Nathaniel
Hunnerwell, Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Elijah Hutchinson, Samuel
Jonson, James
Knight, William
Lovett, Jonathan
Legro, Joseph
Legro, Elias Little, Paul
Mabery, Margaret Mabery, Richard
Mabery, John Mabery, William
Mabery, William Jr. Mabery, Thomas Millins, Robert
Manchester, Stephen Jr.
Mathews, John Martin, Robert
McKeney, William Muckford, Robert Muckford, Nathaniel
Osgood, Abraham Pettingall, Daniel
Pike, Timothy Pray, James
Proctor, William Purinton, David
Rand, John Robinson. John
Roberts, Joseph Roberts, Jonathan
Rogers, Gershom Sweat, Joseph
Sweat, John
Smith, Widow Lucy
Stevens, Chase Stevens. Jonathan
Thurrell, James Trott, Thomas
Woodman, Stephen
Winship, Gershom
Webb, Eli Woodman, David
Waite, Benja. Waite, Enoch
Loring. John
The following were taxed for their ownership in mills in the town:
Margaret Mabery, Richard Mabery,
Samuel Eastys, Stephen Morril, Benja. Winslow, Jr., William Hall, Isaac Allen, Jr., Benja. Winslow.
The above tax list gives us the names of the citizens of Windham in that Interesting year of the war, 17;6. It is of considerable historical value. Those men serving in the army were probably exempted from taxation.
In 1777, the selectmen and committee fixed the prices of the necessities of life as follows:
Farming labor in summer season, found as usual,
3 shillings, 4 pence per day
Wheat, 4 shillings per bushel Rye, 5 shillings, 4 pence per bushel Indian Corn,
4 shillings, S pence per bushel
Toddy, 1 shilling per m'1g
N. E. Toddy,
91% pence per mug
Farming labor, in winter, 2 shillings, 8 pence per day Good yard wide cotton or linen cloth,
4 shillings, 8 pence per yard
Butter, 1015 pence per pound Keeping horse or yoke of oxen, "+ hours, 1 shilling, 6 pence Potatoes in the fall,
^ shil ings per bushel
Men's shoes of Neats'
leather,
8 shillings per pair
Women's shoes, 6 shillings per pair Turkeys, Fowl and Ducks,
5
pence per pound
Good hay,
60 shillings out of barn,
48 shillings in the field
314 pence per quart
Milk,
House carpenters and
joiners, 4 shillings per day
It will be noticed that toddy was thought to be a necessity of life then. The Committee of Safety and In- spection, in 1777, were: Zerubabbel Hunnerwell.
Abraham Osgood,
William Knight, Daniel Pettingall,
Caleb Graffam.
The town paid the selectmen, Sept. 24, 1777, for "mileage to Picks Kill, Fish Kill and Cambridge." 46 pounds, 2 shillings. They evidently visited those places to look out for Windham soldiers in the service there.
William Elder was the town treasur- er, 1777-1780, four years. The town in 1777, had three men in the state ser- vice at Rutland, Vt., besides those in the Massachusetts Line, which Were three years men and were the ones who saw the active service in the field. Windham had several soldiers who wintered at Valley Forge, where their sufferings were beyond descrip- tion.
In Col. Benjamin Tupper's 11th Mass. Regt. the following soldiers were returned as in camp: Capt. Richard Mayberry,
Josiah Chute, Ebenezer Barton,
William Mayberry, son of Capt. Rich- ard,
Robert Millions,
-
7
WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
Richard Mayberry, Jr.,
John Swett,
Nicholas Hughes, Eleazer Chase, Peter Smith,
Amos Brown. Stephen Tripp was reported as sick at Albany, N. Y., at that time.
The following were probably in camp there, also:
Job Hall of Col. Tupper's Regt.
Richard Dole of Col. Marshall's Regt.
Edward Webb of Col. Marshall's Regt.
Eli Herbert of Col. Brewer's Regt. Stephen Manchester of Col. Vose's Regt.
Enoch Graffam of Col. Vose's Regt. George Teshary of Col. Vose's Regt. Stephen Manchester, Jr., of Col. Vose's Regt., died at Reading, Penn .. Jan. 5, 1778, aged 26 years.
The destitution of these soldiers at
Valley Forge beggers any words of mine. It is said that, at one time, there were but two pairs of shoes in Capt. Mayberry's company and those belonged to Josiah Chute. It was with much satisfaction that, on a beautiful day in September, 1899, 1
viewed their campground at Valley
Forge. Now it is cultivated fields and one cannot realize now the true history of that land. The earthworks on the hill, overlooking the camp, are In a good state of preservation and that land has been purchased by the state of Pennsylvania for a reserva- tion. An effort is being made by the descendants of the Revolutionary sel- diers to secure the whole campground as a state park for public use as a memorial to the brave men who illus- trated that winter the fortitude of the American soldier. The people of Windham heard of their sons' suffering at Valley Forge. for April 14, 1775, $150.00 was voted "to defray the charge of providing shirts, stockings and shoes for the soldiers in the Continen- tal army," and 20 pounds was voted for the soldiers' families.
March 17, 1778, the town voted, "To allow James Hawkes for six dollars of counterfeit money that was returned from the Treasurer's office, and Daniel Pettingall was allowed four dollars. This was probably some of the British counterfeit money that they flooded the country with. In New York tney advertised that if anyone going into
the American lines would call at a certain place they could have all the Continental currency they wanted.
May 15, 1778, $600.00 was voted "for those three men that is drafted to Fish Kill," and "that amount be assessed immediately." Twelve days later. it was "voted 44 pounds for each of these three militia men that is drafted, to be given them as a bounty." They were
probably Thomas Chute, Benjamin Trott and Daniel P. Mayberry, nine months' men. The Committee of Safety and Inspection for 1778 were:
Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Paul Little,
David Noyes.
The winter of 1777-8 was a blue one in Windham. They knew too well the sufferings at Valley Forge and what then seemed the hopeless prospect for their independence. They heard of the discontent in the army and of the at- tempts to supersede Washington in command, with not one ray of hope for the success of the war. They were suffering poverty itself and the situa- tion seemed almost unbearable. At Valley Forge, Capt. Richard Mayberry signed the oath of allegiance and the Windham men took the oath, that the United States was then their only
country, every one; an example of
constancy to the people of the town for all time. Lossing says of Valley Forge: "If there is a spot on the face of this broad land whereon Patriotism should delight to pile its highest and most venerated monument,it should be in the bosom of that little vale on the bank of the Schuylkill." When spring came, the resources of means and men of the town seemed exhaust- ed, and, in June, the people met in solemn town meeting and voted to pe- tition the General Court to be excused from the draft and from any future
drafts. They felt as though they had gone as for as they could. If the pe- tition was ever presented it was not
granted. Most of the towns were in about the same condition and granting such requests would have been thesur- render of all the past efforts of the col- ony. They kept on.
At the request of the General Court of Massachusetts, Capt. Thomas Trott, of the town company, sent the following statement of the soldiers in the Continental army on Nov. 24, 1773. from Windham:
Col. Benjamin Tupper's 11th. Mass. Regiment.
Capt. Richard Mayberry's Co. Capt. Richard Mayberry, Josiah Chute, John Swett
William Mayberry, Robert Millions
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WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
Stephen Tripp Joseph Thompson
Ebenezer Barton James Rines
Eleazer Chase
All three years men.
David Mayberry Thomas Chute
Nine months' men.
Capt. Samuel Thomes' Co.
Lonon Rhode
(had died Dec. 9, 1777.)
Amos Brown (killed at Hubbardton.)
Col. Joseph Vose's 1st Mass. Regt. Capt. George Smith's Co.
Enoch Graffam, Stephen Manchester.
George Teshary.
Col. Edward Wigglesworth's 13th Mass. Regt.
Capt. Nicholas Blaisdell's Co.
Joseph Legrow, Elias Legrow.
Col. Samuel Brewer's 12th Mass. Regt. Capt. Silas Burbank's Co. Job Hall.
Col. Thomas Marshall's 10th Mass. Reg. Capt. Benjamin Walcott's Co.
Richard Dole, Edward Webb.
These all three years' men.
Total, 20 3 years' men.
2 9 months' men.
Capt. Thomas Trott was commis-
sioned in the Windham company in September, 1777, and it was still the First Company of the 4th Regt. of Cumberland County Militia. Timothy Pike, the colonel of this regiment, was a resident of Windham the first four years of the war. The major was Wil- liam Knight of Windham.
January 12, 1779, the people "voted 80 pounds for the support of the women whose husbands are in the army."
In March town meeting the following were elected for the Committee of Safety and Inspection for the year:
William Knight,
David Barker,
Daniel Pettingall.
The prices of labor on the roads were fixed at:
Men, 30 shillings, oxen the same and 18 shillings for a plow, all per day.
The year 1770 was a dismal one for the struggling colonists, currency de- moralized and prospects poor, but the town's people kept on with undaunted courage. May 24 the town "voted 300 pounds for the support of the women whose husbands are in the Continental service," and June 21, 13 shirts, 13 pairs shoes and 13 pairs of stockings for the army. Thirteen men were in the Continental army from Windham, at that time and probably more.
In June came the Bagaduce Expedi- tion and July 9, 16 men were drafted
for that expedition and 960 pounds
were voted for the same. The town records say, it was voted "to raise money enough to
make up every man's wages that is detached and goes to Penobscot, or sends a man in his stead, thirty pounds per month for two months or in proportion if dis- charged sooner," also "voted that the town raise money and give Lieut. Ed- ward Anderson the same sum that the town is to give one of the soldiers for to go in the expedition to Penobscot." This expedition to what is now Cas- tine, Me., was, as is well known, a dis- mal disaster and many soldiers per- ished from the effects of the exposure in the woods. Our histories generally give the impression that men tumbled over each other to enlist in that army, but there is little evidence of any such zeal.
After our forces were defeated at. Bagaduce, Falmouth Neck was threat- ened. Sept. 10 ten men were drafted to guard, what is now Portland, against any attack from the victorious British. The British never came and the town "voted to make up thirty pounds per month for ten that is to be stationed at Falmouth with what the state gives." Sept. 23, it was voted "to raise money enough to make each of those men that went on the expedition to Penobscot, one hundred dollars per month during the expedition with what the state is to give them." The reason such large sums were paid was be- cause, at that time, the currency was very badly depreciated and of little value.
In September, 1779, the town supplied clothing for the soldiers, through Tim- othy Pike, as follows: 5 shirts, 60 shillings, 15 pounds
13 pairs shoes, 60 shillings, 39 pounds 5 pairs stockings, 36 shillingg, 9 pounds
Total, 63 pounds
Col. Pike removed this year to Sac- carappa. He had been a most useful citizen and was a loss to the little town.
The Committee of Safety and In- spection, in 1780, were:
Caleb Graffam,
Paul Little,
Zerubbabel Hunnerwell.
The price per day for town work, for 1780, was, for a man or a yoke of oxen, $30.00. Daniel Brown was allowed 16 pounds for services attending the County Committee.
April 16, the town "voted $200.00 for
9
WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION.
each man that will go to the east-
ward." This was for the eleven men who went in Capt. Isaac Parsons' Co .. in Lieut. Col. Joseph Prime's Regt., that served on the Maine coast that year. They served from about May
4 until Deo. 6, and this company. probably, at Camden. These men from Windham were, Sergt. Benjamin Trott; drummer. Peter Smith; pri- vates, James Chute. Nathaniel Chase. Jacob Eliott, George Knight, Samuel Lord, Thomas Mayberry, John May- berry, Samuel Toben and John Win-
ship, besides Lieut. Ichabod Hanson. April 24, it was "voted Lieut. Hanson $200.00 per month during the time that he is in the service in the expedition to the eastward."
June 14, 1780, the town supplied sol- diers with clothing, through Caleb Graffam, a selectman, as by the follow- ing statement:
9 shirts, 10 sh., 10 d. 94 pounds, 10 sh.
14 pairs shoes. 144 sh. 100 pounds, 16 sh. 7 pair stockings, 80 sh. 28 pounds
Transportation, 75 pounds
Total, 298 pounds, 6 sh.
Sept. 25, 2760 pounds of beef was furnished for the army and Oct. 25. the town appropriated $13,050.00 to pur- chase beef for the army as per state
requisition. Dec. 4, 5011 pounds more of beef was furnished. Still the war went on. now over five years and a
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