USA > Maine > A brief history of Maine > Part 15
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205
1780
EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION.
The Continental army had drawn so many men from Maine that two or three companies at Machias, a vol- unteer company in Lincoln, and another in York, were all that remained in service. These were quite insuffi- cient for the defence of any point, and served only to keep the tories in awe.
The next year Maine's quota for the national army was remitted, and six hundred men were taken from the militia for eight months' service at home in the pay of the general government. Three hundred of these were stationed at Falmouth, two hundred at Camden, and one hundred at Machias; while Fal- mouth also received, in addition to those she had before, two cannon carrying an eighteen pound ball, and five carrying one of four pounds. Though these provisions were insufficient, yet with them the military authorities succeeded in holding the enemy in check, so that the British gained no further advantage in Maine.
11. General Wadsworth, a prudent and able man, had been placed in command of the district of Maine, and made his head quarters at Thomaston. When their eight months of service were out, the six hundred men who had been detached from the militia, retired from active military duty. This left the general with a very small force; but he continued to reside at Thomaston with his family, guarded by only six sol- diers. In the middle of a cold February night ho was awakened from his sleep by the loud and rapid reports of guns and the crashing of glass in the win- dows of his room. The British commander at Castine had learned of his undefended situation, and sent a lientenant with twenty-five soldiers to take him.
On their approach the sentry hailed, "Who's there ?" and retreated into the house. Instantly a volley was poured after him, while others fired into the windows. They quickly had possession of the house, excepting one room, which was occupied by the general alone.
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HISTORY OF MAINE.
1751
Here, with a brace of pistols, fusee and blunderbuss, he contended, single handed, against his besiegers, driving thein away from the windows and door. Then an attack was made at another door, which they broke in. This time his blunderbuss missed fire; yet with a bayonet he still kept them back. All this time he was in his night clothes; which, as soon as the door was opened, rendered him a distinct mark for a shot,- and a bullet soon pierced his arm. Longer resistance was useless; and he surrendered himself a prisoner. Presently the lieutenant entered with a candle; and looking at General Wadsworth, said: "Sir, you have defended yourself bravely -donc too much for one man. But we must be in haste. We will help you on with your clothes." In a few minutes he was on the march with the company toward Castine; and his family was left without further harm.
12. In April, Major Burton, one of his officers, was captured and confined with him; and they decided to make an attempt to escape. With a gimlet obtained of their barber, they bored holes in the pine ceiling of' their room, filling the holes with paste made of bread. In three weeks one of the boards was severed, and ready to be taken out. At length there came a night favorable to the attempt, when the rain and frequent lond thunder drowned all minor sounds. The board was removed, and Major Burton went out first, while the general, whose arm was still somewhat lame, found much difficulty in lifting himself through the hole. He finally succeeded, got into the entry, and passed out of the door,-then felt his way along the outside of the building directly under the falling water from the caves. He reached the embankment and climbed the pickets just in time to escape the guard. Then by means of blankets he let himself down into the ditch, from whence he crept softly out, and found himself in the open field, wet to the skin, but undiscovered and free.
1781
207
EVENTS OF THE REVOLUTION.
13. Still he had not found the major, whom he supposed was ahead of him; and he made his way northward to a road which had been cut by his direc- tion during the siege of this place two years before. At sunrise he was seven or eight miles from the fort, on the eastern side of the Penobscot; and here he had the pleasure of meeting with Major Burton again, who had all the time been in the rear. They found a boat, and crossed over to the western bank of the river, barely escaping discovery by a barge which came out in pursuit. Three days after they reached the settle- ments on St. George's River, and were safe.
Since the British had gained a stronghold in Maine the tories of the western counties and even from Mas- sachusetts flocked to their vicinity; and the outrages committed by them upon the patriots of that region were scarcely less atrocious than those of the Indians formerly. Yet Maine, overrun and afflicted as she was, had again to furnish recruits for the national army,-this time five hundred men. Lincoln county, also, raised one hundred and sixty men, and York county one hundred and twenty for their own defence; while the general government, finding it absolutely necessary, offered bounties to privateers, and sent four small vessels and a flotilla of whale boats to cruise along the coast.
14. In theautumn the light dawned of a brighter day. This was the surrender of the army under Lord Corn- wallis at Yorktown, -- which happened the last of October, 1781. Congress went in solemn procession to church, and returned thanks to Almighty God for crowning our arms with success ; and a day was soon after appointed for the thanksgiving of the nation.
The British had so far succeeded in rousing the Canada Indians that in 1781 a party of them killed two men in the town of Gilead; and in 1782 a larger. band, roaming through the region, fell upon the infant settlement in Newry, set the buildings on fire, and
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208
HISTORY OF MAINE.
1783
destroyed all property which they could not carry off. The men of this settlement had gone for a short time to Sudbury-Canada, (now Bethel) where they were followed by the savages, and several of them killed, and others carried away. Among the Indians who had been induced to join the British were two sons of Netallie, a chief who dwelt on an island in Lake Umbagog. Their father was so incensed by their treachery that he drove them from him, and disin- herited them forever.
15. At last, on the third day of September, 1783, the treaty of peace was signed at Paris between the agents of the American and British governments. By this act the boundary between Maine and the British Possessions was fixed; being "formed by a line drawn due north from the source of the St. Croix River to the highlands, along said highlands, which divide those waters which empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence, from those that fall into the Atlan- tic ocean, to the north-eastern-most head of the Con- necticut river,"-and "cast by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy to its source,"-and "all the islands within twenty leagues of the shore, and the right unmolested to fish on the Grand Banks, and on all other banks of Newfoundland, and generally in every place where the inhabitants of both countries have heretofore used to fish." I have recorded these boundaries and rights literally, because many years later they were partly the occasion of another war.
16. Then the British forces were withdrawn from our borders, the noble armies of the Revolution were disbanded, and we were acknowledged by the govern- ments of Europe to be an independent country, and were thus admitted into the fraternity of nations. In this war Maine had lost a thousand men; and the pro- portion of the public debt which fell upon our seanty
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1790
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
209
settlements was larger in proportion to population and property than the debt from the slaveholder's rebellion.
Now once more our people were left free to pursue the noble avocations of peace, and the District of Maine rapidly increased in wealth, population and power.
What was the relative value of government bills and specie in 1778 ? What citizen of Maine conveyed the American minister to France ? At what date was Maine made a district under the gen- eral government ? Of what place in Maine did the British take possession in 1779? Give an account of the siege of this place by the Americans. What distressing prohibition did Congress make in 1770? Why was the quota of Maine to the national army re- mitted in 1780? Give an account of what happened to Gen. Wadsworth. What joyous event occurred in 1781 ? What was done by the Canada Indians in 1781-82? Give the boundaries of Maine as settled by the treaty of Independence.
CHAPTER XXVI.
1. We have now come down to the close of the Revolution-a period when our great grandfathers and great grandmothers were the chief personages upon the stage of action; and as they are so nearly related to us I suppose you would like to know how they looked and what their customs were. You have already learned of their struggles for life and liberty; and I think you will agree with me that they never could have gone through with it all so successfully had they not, like their own fathers and mothers, been possessed of great strength, both of body and mind.
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HISTORY OF MAINE.
1700
Yet among the wealthier people the period immedi. ately before and after the war was one of "grand" manners and showy dress.
2. Their dwellings were large, but not so elegant and convenient as ours; while carriages for riding were scarcely known in Maine before 1790; but pev- ple made up for these deficiencies by personal apparel. The belles had their silks, their laces, their fine linen, high-heeled shoes, hooped petticoats, and long waists. They powdered their hair-which was usually dressed high on the head, and fastened and ornamented with great combs of gold, silver and shell, with the frequent addition of gold and silver skewers and bands. Some- times they appeared in public in gowns of fancy wool cloth, but often in silks and satins. Calico was little used, not being rich enough for society, and too costly for common wear-at six shillings a yard.
The gentlemen of fashion in the early part of the century generally wore great wigs,-some bushy, others flowing in long curls to the shoulders. After- ward the hair was gathered in a cue or club at the back of the neck, and tied with a ribbon; but about the time of the Revolution monstrous head dresses were discarded by both ladies and gentlemen, and more modest fashions prevailed.
3. The fashionable outside garment was for a long time a scarlet cloak, or one lined with scarlet; but this color went out of style. I suspect that the red coats of the British soldiers made it unpopular. The coats were cut straight in front, having a stiff, upright collar; which, with the pockets and sleeves, were trimmed with gold or silver lace. The shirt had ruffles at the bosom and wrists, and the wristbands extended beyond the coat sleeves, so as to show the ornamental buttons which fastened them. The waist- coat was without a collar, but descended over the hips, and had rounded corners in front. They were often made of silk, had great pocket flaps, and much em-
211
1790
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
broidery. Breeches fitting quite tight reached down to the kuce, where they met the stockings and fastened with a buckle. The shoes also were fastened with buckles. In 1790 trowsers descending to the ankle began to be worn, the fashion having been brought in by the French. In the street the head was covered with a napless beaver hat, with a brim generally about twofeet in diameter, which was drawn up on three sides so as to form three angles, and was worn with a point over each shoulder,-while the other, coming in front, served for a handle to take it off by when making a bow.
4. But those worthy and respectable men who did the work necessary to the sustenance and comfort of life-earning their bread by the sweat of their brows --- found themselves most comfortable in their customary loose trowsers of tow cloth in the summer, and woolen cloth, deer or moosehide in the colder weather. Their coats were of similar material; while for shirts, linen was the staple article. Wool was rare for a long time, because the bears and wolves killed the sheep; but the flax plant grew freely, so that linen was plentiful. At the time of the Revolution the country women generally had learned to weave on the great hand looms; so they wove up the coarse tow and the finer flax into thick cloths for the wear of men and boys, and into sheets and towels for family use, while they produced a finer cloth woven in colored checks for their own and their daughter's wear on Sundays and social occasions. In some parts of the country, "spin- ning bees" and "wool breakings" were held for spinning and carding. When the work was done the men, both young and old, came in; and the affair usually closed with simple dances and merry plays.
5. Merrymakings were more numerous than for- merly, for settlements increased, and there was no lurking foe to be feared. From a few handfuls of adventurous colonists we had become a numerous and
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212
HISTORY OF MAINE.
1790
independent people, able to cope successfully with the nations of Europe. Every Indian tribe was destroye .. or driven off, except the friendly Tarratines. These were secured by government in possession of several large islands in the Penobscot above Bangor, with the right of hunting on all the tributaries of the river above this point. Being now permanently at peace they cultivated the ground more than formerly; and the furs from their winter hunting brought them many of the comforts of civilization. Their manners were still much the same as ever; but their hunting and household implements were such as the white people used, while their dress had undergone a thorough change.
6. They usually wore a woolen cap or bonnet of a conic form, which might be drawn down to cover the ears and the back of the neck. For coats they had a sort of sack or blouse almost as formless as a meal bag, without buttons, being fastened at the waist by a belt. The women wore short sacks, meeting the skirt at the waist, and pinned together in front. Their long stockings of blue woolen overlaid the drawers and covered the knee. Though a supply of shoes was kept at the trading houses, they mostly wore moccasins -- doubtless because they were both easier and cheaper. Add to these, bright scarfs, rib - bons and plumes, and metallic ornaments of all sorts, and you have a true picture of the Penobscot In- dians as they appeared at the beginning of the present century. To-day they have discarded this dress, also; and for the most part appear in the garb of their white neighbors.
7. As soon as peace was concluded with Great Britain, the eyes of many thousands were turned upon Maine; and presently many thousand feet were march- ing toward her forests, with their property following in ox cart or boat, or, perhaps, carried on their backs. Many were soldiers of the Revolution, fresh from the
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213
1790
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
disbanded armies; and often their only wealth was a soldier's note or a few worn and nearly worthless bills,-the balance of their pay for long and arduous service in their country's cause. But they were rich in patriotism and courage, while their industrious habit was shown by the speedy clearing of farms and the rearing of many a comfortable home. It soon began to be seen how small was the reward these noble men had received in comparison with their ser- vices; and the General Court, a few years after the close of the war, offered as a gratuity to every one who had served three years, his choice between twenty dollars in money, and two hundred acres of land on our eastern frontier.
8. The government still owned nearly two-thirds of the territory, and a great number of towns were laid out, and many grants made to deserving indivi- duals; while land was sold to soldiers for one dollar an acre. Yet there were many trespassers, who both occupied land they had not bought, and cut down trees not their own; and government was forced to appoint a committee to protect the public property. The white pine was the favorite spoil of the lawless humbermen; and the fine for cutting one of them on government land was one hundred dollars. Perhaps you think this a heavy penalty for a single tree; but it is much less than some of them would be worth for lumber to-day. Sometimes these pines were of such size that when cut down a yoke of full grown oxen could be turned about on the stump. They were often found measuring four feet in diameter, and have been known to reach six feet at the butt, and two hundred and forty feet in height. Their green tops, towering, like lofty sentinels, far above the surround- ing forest, raised in the mind of the beholder a feeling of grandeur-that was greatly increased when he stood beside the mighty trunk and, gazing upward, saw its long line shoot above the shadows of the great woods
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214
HISTORY OF MAINE.
1:00
into the unbroken light of heaven. On the opening of the war for independence one of the first fias, designed for our national standard bore the figure . f a pine. Afterward, its neighbors of the night -- the bright, twinkling stars-took its place; but it has it: rightful position on our State seal, and we find a noble significance in our popular name of "Pine-tree State."
The District of Maine grew so rapidly in population and wealth that its separation from Massachusetts and crection into an independent State began to be agi- tated. The first newspaper published in the District was started for the purpose of advocating this project. It was printed in Falmouth, and was called "The Falmouth Gazette." The first number was issued on New Year's day, 1785. The next year Casco Neck was set off from Falmouth and incorporated under the name of "Portland."
9. So far only twelve towns had been laid out cast of the Penobscot; and to promote other settlements in this fine region, and to raise money for her treasury, Massachusetts, in 1786, contrived a land lottery. This scheme included fifty townships, each six miles square, Jving between the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers. Against these, 2,720 tickets were issued at sixty pounds each; and every ticket entitled the holder to a prize-the lowest being a tract of land half a mile square. In payment for these tickets government received the notes with which the soldiers had been paid, and all other public securities; and the lottery townships, with those who settled on them, were exempted from taxation for fifteen years. At the time of the drawing, a large part of the tickets remained unsold, and these were bought by William Bingham of Philadelphia. Afterward he also purchased most of the prize lots from those who had drawn them; so the scheme did not promote settlements so rapidly as had been expected. Not long before, Mr. Bingham had purchased about one million acres in the counties
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1790
215
AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
of Oxford and Somerset, so that he had now become the owner of above two million acres in Maine,-equal to nearly one hundred townships of six miles square, at a cost to him of twelve and one-half cents per acre. Mr. Bingham afterward removed to England, where he died; but his heirs, up to a late period, owned large tracts in eastern Maine.
In 1790 a census of the inhabitants of Maine was taken by Federal authority, and, to the surprise of everybody, the population was found to reach the number of 96,540. The lottery townships, too, had gained so many inhabitants that they were this year separated from Lincoln county and erected into the two counties of Hancock and Washington.
10. Among the pioneers of Lincoln county none were worthier than the German colonists of Broad Bay; and their virtuous example has never ceased to be a source of strength to our good State. The Scotch and Scotch-Irish, also, had settled at several points -some on the Kennebec at Bath, others in Kennebec county on the east of the river, and others still in Old York. No doubt many of my readers know of localities which bear to this day the name of "Scotland," "Ireland," "Scotland Parish"; thus tell- ing the nationality of their original settlers. In these the names peculiar to those people are still found nu- merous; and, nearly always, they mark a moral, indus- trious and thrifty community.
11. In 1790 the general government divided Maine into nine commercial districts, and appointed a collector and other custom-house officers for each. At the adoption of the Federal constitution, Maine, as a part of Massachusetts, became entitled to one repre- sentative in Congress; but in 1794 a new apportion- ment gave her three.
In 1793 Governor John Hancock died. He was president of the convention which framed the Declara- tion of Independence; and my young friends will
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1790
216
HISTORY OF MAINE.
recollect his name in clear, bold hand as the first signature to that noble instrument. He was the first governor of the old commonwealth-including the Dis- trict of Maine-after we became a nation, and was elected to that office twelve successive years, with the exception of two years only, when Governor James Bowdoin filled the chair.
It was from the latter gentleman that Bowdoin College received its name. This college was chartered in 1794, but its first class was not entered until 1802. James Bowdoin, son of the governor, was its great benefactor, presenting it with both money and land, and also with books, paintings and minerals, gathered during his residence and travels in Europe.
What were some of the fashions in dress at the Revolutionary period ? What had become of the Indians ? What can you say of the soldiers who at this time settled in Maine? What won- derful natural product was found in Maine? When and for what purpose was the first newspaper issued in Maine ? What was done in regard to lands between the Penobscot and St. Croix? What people besides the English settled in Maine ?
CHAPTER XXVII.
1. The Muscongus Patent had fallen so much into the possession of the Waldo family that it had now for a long time been known as the "Waldo Patent"; finally Henry Knox, who married a granddaughter of Gen- eral Waldo, by inheritance and purchase obtained from it a large estate. General Knox had been the chief of artillery in the Continental army, and was the intimate
217
THE MALTA WAR.
180G
friend of General Washington. When the battle of Lexington took place Henry Knox was a bookseller in Boston. He wasalready known to the British authori- ties as an active rebel, and it became dangerous for him to remain longer in the city; therefore he and his accomplished young wife fled together, with his sword hidden in her petticoat. Mrs. Knox was the daughter of the secretary of the Commonwealth; and when she married this "bookseller" her friends thought her social prospects were ruined. They made a great mistake ; all through the first presidency she wasin the first rank of social position, and many of her old acquaintances felt it an honor to enjoy the friendship of Lucy Knox.
GENERAL HENRY KNOX.
2. Young Knox was present as a volunteer at the battle of Bunker Hill, and fought so gallantly that he was soon after made a lieutenant colonel of engineers. In the autumn he raised an artillery company ; and when, in November, 1775, the patriots besieged the British army in Boston, he brought mortars, howitzers,
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218
HISTORY OF MAINE.
1808
cannon and ammunition all the way from Ticonderoga and Crown Point on ox-sleds. He was next made Brigadier General of artillery, and held that position until the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown ; when, for meritorious service, he was made a Major General; and when the British marched out of New York it was he who took possession. General Knox was twice appointed Secretary of War ; but in 1794 he resigned that office and took up his residence in Thomaston on the ancestral estate of his wife. He built a fine house in a commanding position near the banks of St. George's River, where he maintained the hospitality suitable to his rank and wealth until his death in 1806.
3. The Pemaquid Patent had been divided into the Drowne, Browne and Tappan rights; the Plymouth, or Kennebec Patent, had been sold to the "Fifty As- sociates," for whom Dr. Sylvester Gardiner was chief manager ; the Pejepscot Purchase had passed into the hands of Richard Wharton, and thence become distri- buted to many persons. On all of these were settlers who had cleared land and built houses, without either purchase or license. They were called squatters; and the proprietors of the lands were determined to drive them off, unless they would pay a suitable price for their enclosures. There were many also whose farms had been bought and paid for by their fathers, or grandfathers ; and these, too, by the decision of the courts, had no rights in the land upon which they had been born. Some proprietors had sold land outside of their tracts, while settlers who had purchased of real proprietors, not knowing the exact boundaries, had located where they had not bought ; and the courts of Kennebec and Penobscot echoed for years with the names of these old grants and rival claimants. There- fore in 1808 a law was made called the "Betterment Act," for the relief of these persons. It provided for an appraisal of the land as it was in a state of nature, and also of its improvement by cultivation, with the
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