USA > Maine > A brief history of Maine > Part 17
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On the afternoon of the same day, having landed the larger portion of the troops, General Gosselin with two vessels and six hundred inen crossed the bay and took possession of Belfast; while Captain Robert Barrie in the Dragon accompanied by the Sylph and Peruvian, with a small schooner as tender, and having on board about seven hundred troops, ascended the river to Marsh Bay, where they remained at anchor during the night. In the morning five or six hundred troops were landed to take possession of Frankfort, whence they were to complete the journey on foot on account of unfavorable winds. The Dragon remained that night at her anchorage, but the smaller vessels proceeded on their way.
3. Up the river, at Hampden, lay the United States corvette John Adams, commanded by Captain Charles Morris. The Adams had within three months cap- tured of the enemy a ship, two brigs and a schooner, and was now undergoing repairs ; and of course the British were very desirous of destroying such a troub- lesome foe. News of the enemy'sarrival flew speedily up the river ; and on the afternoon of the 1st, General Blake of Brewer, commander of the militia, had order- ed out his division, and at night was in Hampden to make preparations of defense. During the next day about five hundred militia had collected, who were soon joined by Lieutenant Lewis and his garrison from Cas- tine. General Blake with his officers, Captain Morris. and the leading citizens of Hampden held a council of war; but there were such differences of opinion that no plan of defense was adopted. Meantime the enemy
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had continued on his course, and on the evening of the 2d came to anchor at Bald Hill Cove, nearly two miles below Hampden, where a junction was formed with the force which had marched up the river.
4. The militia continued under arms all night ; but it was nearly eight o'clock the next morning before the British came in view. General Blake had arranged his little army with the right wing near the meeting house, the line stretching off toward the hill near the river. An 18 pound carronade had been brought from the Adams, and with two field pieces, placed in the highway near the meeting house-a position com- manding the approach from the south. Yet, owing to a diversity of counsel, no breastworks or other defense had been erected. The disabled Adams lay at Crosby's wharf at the mouth of Soadabscook Creek. Captain Morris had hoisted the cannon from her, and formed a battery of fourteen guns upon the wharf, and another of nine 18 pounders upon a hill fifty rods below, whence they would rake effectually any craft which might approach.
5. The morning was very misty, but between seven and eight o'clock the skirmishers sent out by General Blake to watch and harass the enemy, reported him as crossing the stream that divides Hampden corners from Hampden. The main body was preceded by a com- pany of sharpshooters, while on the flanks were de- tachments of marines and sailors with a six-pound cannon, a 6 1-2 inch howitzer and a rocket apparatus. In front of the line of militia the fog was still so thick that the enemy could not be seen, but the field pieces blazed away with good effect ; and the enemy suddenly began to advance at "double-quick," firing volleys in rapid succession. The militia discharged a few rounds in return; but, several having fallen near the center, a panic siezed them, and they broke and fled in every direction, leaving the mortified officers alone on the field.
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6. Meantime the enemy's vessels, preceded by barges full of soldiers moved up the stream to support the troops, until they were checked by the fire from Mor- rises batteries. The retreat of the militia left this position unsupported; and capture could now be avoid- ed only by immediate retreat. Therefore, spiking his guns and setting his vessel on fire, Captain Morris and his men forded the stream, and took the road to Ban- gor ; from thence, a few hours later, he departed through the wilderness to the Kennebec.
Within an hour after the attack the town was in the hands of the enemy, and the soldiers engaged in pillage. A large number of the citizens were placed in close confinement, and a bond with the penal sum of twelve thousand dollars was exacted from the town for the delivery of certain unfinished vessels at Castine the next month. When the citizens remonstrated with Captain Barrie, the commander of the expedition, he answered them, "My business is to sink, burn and destroy. Your town is taken by storm, and by the rules of war we ought both to lay your village in ashes and put its inhabitants to the sword. But I will spare your lives, though I mean to burn your houses." Prob- ably he would have burned them the next day, had not a messenger, who had been sent to General Sher- brook at Castine, returned with the order to spare if possible.
7. After a brief delay the vessels and troops set out for Bangor. It was about noon when the vessels came to anchor at the mouth of the Kenduskeag, throw- ing a few rockets over the town as a signal to the troops. which had marched up the shore. Flags of truce were sent to meet the enemy, requesting the security to lite and property which is customary when no resistance is made. This they agreed to give on condition of quar- ters and provision for the forces. Therefore the court- house, two school-houses, several dwellings and other buildings were placed at their disposal; cattle were but-
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chered for them, pork and vegetables provided, bread was supplied from the bakery, and plenty of liquor furnished. A quantity of merchandise in the custom house, the money in the post office, and all the arms and ammunition they could find, were seized; while nearly all the citizens capable of bearing arms were forced to sign themselves prisoners of war. But these were released on parole, with the stipulation that they should not do military service against his Britannic Majesty until the war was over, unless exchanged.
8. Yet in violation both of the rules of war and their own agreement, the soldiers and marines were permitted to pillage unrebuked. Twelve stores were emptied of most of their contents, and offices and dwell- ings forsaken by their owners were searched for valua- bles. Towards night the enemy threatened to burn several vessels which were on the stocks, and the op- pressed inhabitants were quite in despair ; for, as the wind then was, the flames would have swept the village. Therefore, to save their homes, the selectmen were forced to give a bond for thirty thousand dollars, or the delivery of the unfinished vessels at Castine by the end of October. That night was to the inhabitants a period of fearful suspense ; for they knew not what cruelty might next be attempted. However, the British with- drew on the following day without any worse acts than supplying themselves with horses, and taking off ves- sels and goods to the value of about twenty-three tlou- sand dollars. Some of the vessels ran aground in going down the river, and were at night abandoned and set on fire-their flames lighting up the shores for several miles.
9. In passing Hampden the enemy again engaged in pillage; but the imprisoned citizens were mostly set at liberty. Captain Morrises guns were thrown into the river, and the enemy departed; having secured two merchant vessels with valuable cargoes and other property to the amount of forty-four thousand dollars.
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The people on the Kennebec were greatly alarmed by the ravages on the neighboring river, and prepared to give the British a warm reception, should their towns receive a visit. Major General King ordered out this- militia ; and Wiscasset, which was appointed as the rendezvous, was soon full of soldiers. One zealou- detachment even marched over to the Penobscot to harass the enemy's vessels as they returned. But the British discovered them, and bound at prominent point- on the decks several citizens from the towns above, 80 that none dared fire for fear of wounding their coun- trymen ; and the ships passed by unharmed, while the militia-men marched angrily back to camp.
10. Proclamations were now issued by the enemy proclaiming the country between Penobscot River and Passamaquoddy Bay to be a province of Great Britain, and promising protection to the citizens if they would take the oath of allegiance and be faithful sub- jects of the king. I am happy to know that very few of the inhabitants would make any such agreement. General Gosselin was instituted governor of the new province ; and the larger portion of the enemy's force now set out on other enterprises.
The first destination of the squadron proved to be Machias. There was here a fort mounting ten 24 pounders, and garrisoned at this time by about one hundred men, including several of the militia, and the garrison which had a short time before escaped from Robbinston. After landing the troops at Bucks' Har- bor, the vessels ascended the river and opened a heavy fire on the fort, covering the advance of the land force. which was to make an attack in the rear. Finding they were likely to be surrounded, the garrison des- troyed the guns, set the barracks on fire, and evacuated the fort.
11. A few days later a party of the enemy were sent to Frankfort to secure whatever arms and mer chandise they could find. Before they got away, the
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garrison from Machias reached the place and captured the whole of them.
There ensued a great deal of smuggling between the American and British lines, which were divided by the Penobscot, now under control of the enemy. The British wanted cattle and provision of all kinds for the troops, and our oak, pine and lumber to build vessels on the Bay of Fundy, or to transport across the sea ; while our people needed the clothing, sugar, molasses and utensils which merchantmen brought into Castine. Our custom-house officers watched the river as well as they could, yet great quantities of goods were brought across, particularly in the winter when the river was frozen; and many found their way even as far as Massachusetts. The British did not care how much the American government lost on imports ; so they took a five per cent toll on the goods, and let smuggling go on. Neutral vessels were constantly in the river, particularly the Swedish ; but these honora- bly paid their dues at the custom-house. Such was the extent of trade on the river at this time that one hundred and fifty thousand dollars were said to have been secured at Hampden for duties in five weeks.
12. On December 24th, 1814, a treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States was signed at Ghent; but before the news had reached this country General Jackson had won his famous vic- tory at New Orleans. " After this there were no further depredations in Maine, and most of the point's they had held were soon deserted by the enemy-Castine being retained till the last.
During its occupation by the British, Castine was the center of considerable business ; of which, how- ever, the larger part fell into British or Tory hands. It was also a place of much gayety and amusement; for, beside the balls, a theatre was maintained through the winter by the officers-many of whom were men of culture and courtesy. The British evacuated the
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city in April, having held possession for eight months -during which time the inhabitants had suffered much inconvenience and oppression; and the restoration of their liberty and property was celebrated with thanks- giving and festivity.
How many nations have held possession of Castine ? By whom was it captured in 1814? What successful war vessel lay at Hamp- den ? About how many troops were in the engagement at this place ? What amount of spoil did the British obtain ? What was done at Bangor ? What was done on the Kennebec ? What terri- tory did the British claim ? What happened at-Machias ? What can you state of commerce on the Penobscot at this period ? What treaty was signed just before Jackson's victory at New Orleans ?
CHAPTER XXX.
1. When the war was over there was soon found to be a great increase of profanity, Sabbath-breaking, and intemperance. Thoughtful people were shocked at its extent, and the safety and comfort of the com- munity were seriously diminished. It was chiefly the dismissal of the militia from active service in the Dis- trict, and the return of the soldiers from the national army, which had produced this dangerous and disa- grecable condition of morals; for men are often made dissolute by the idle life of camps, especially when discipline is loose and intoxicating liquors freely di -- pensed.
This state of society stimulated the religious associa- tions to more carnest effort for the good of souls;
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societies were formed to distribute the Holy Serip- tures, and Sunday Schools were established for in- structing the children of ignorant, careless, or vicious parents, in the important truths of the Bible. On the part of the government, the General Court made a new law against the profanation of the Sabbath, and appointed a great number of tythingmen to enforce the law and secure a decent behaviour on that sacred day.
2. Other misfortunes came with the close of the war. Manufacturing being at that time done much cheaper in England than America, our stores soon became stocked with British goods; and many of our factories, being unable to sell their products, were obliged to stop-by which many people were throwu out of employment and much capital lost. People became restless, and many thought any other business or any other State was better than their own.
Some of our citizens had already invested money in lands in Ohio, and liked there so well that they wished their friends to join them. The winter of 1816-17 was unusually cold, the spring was backward-and the season was so unproductive that this year was long after familiarly known as "eighteen hundred and starve to death". All classes, particularly farmers and me- chanics, beeame much discouraged. Then the friends of the Ohio people who had lands to sell told attrac- tive stories of the mild climate and rich soils of Ohio and Kentucky; and the "Ohio fever" set in with vio- lence. It is believed that from ten to fifteen thousand people emigrated from Maine to those States-many selling their property at a great loss. But the very next year some of the emigrants returned with the other side of the story; and it is reckoned that after this the number that emigrated scarcely equalled those who returned. The tide of business, also, had turned; and in a few years the State again became prosperous.
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1819
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HISTORY OF MAINE.
3. Maine possessed many attractions in its soil, mill sites, forests and fisheries; accordingly we find that in 1820, the year of the separation, it had nine counties, and two hundred and thirty-six towns; while its population was 298,335-an increase of nearly 70,000 within the last ten years. Business was flour- ishing; and with such a population and so many towns and counties, it is not strange that the District aspired to become a State. This measure had been agitated as early as 1785; and several conventions had been held in its interest-one at Brunswick in 1816 fell but little short of accomplishing its object. In 1819, instead of one newspaper, as at the first at- tempt, there were six, three of which favored separa- tion from Massachusetts, while the other three opposed. At last seventy towns joined in a petition to the Gen- eral Court; and, this time, a bill favoring the measure was passed by a handsome majority. Its conditions were that all the public lands and buildings in Maine, except such as were the property of the United States, should be equally divided between the proposed State and Massachusetts. Maine was also to have her pro- portion of the military stock, and one-third of all moneys which might be reimbursed by the general gov- ernment for war expenses.
4. On the fourth Monday in July, 1819, the citi- zens of the District of Maine voted on this question :-- "Is it expedient that the District shall become a sepa- rate and independent State, upon the terms and con- ditions provided in an act relating to the separation of the District of Maine from Massachusetts proper, and forming the same into a separate and independent State ?" On counting the votes, above two-thirds were found to be in favor of separation; therefore delegates from the towns met at the court-house in Portland, and adopted a constitution ; appointing the first Monday in December as the day for the towns to vote for or against the constitution. On the first
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Wednesday of January, 1820, the delegates again met; and, finding the constitution to have been adopt- od, made application to Congress for admission into the Union.
5. But now an unexpected obstacle came in the way of our independence. This obstacle was slavery -but not slavery in Maine. The territory of Mis- souri had applied for admittance at the same time; and, having many slaves, she wished to get in without any conditions against slavery. So the supporters of that institution, with characteristic craftiness, coupled the Territory and the District, and brought them be- fore Congress in the same bill, that each might share the other's fate. Many weeks passed, but still this clog upon Maine held her back, so that she could not take her place in the sisterhood of States. The act severing the connection of the District from Massa- chusetts was to go into effect on the fifteenth of March; after which time, unless admitted previously, Maine would be simply a territory. The first of March had come, and still the slave power clung to her in close embrace. At length the friends of the District succeeded in divorcing the two applicants; and on the third of March the District became the twenty-second State of the Union.
6. The election for State officers was held for the first time on the first Monday of April, 1820; and on the last Wednesday of May the new senators and rep- resentatives met at Portland. On counting the votes for governor it was found that General William King of Bath was elected without opposition.
Mr. King was born in Scarborough in 1768. Not hav ing been favored with a liberal education, on reaching the years of manhood he engaged in a saw mill in Tops- ham. Being prosperous he was able a few years later in connection with his brother-in-law to open a store in the came town. He afterward removed to Bath, where he resided until his death. He was the most prominent
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GOVERNOR WILLIAM KING.
of our citizens in bringing about the separation of the District from Massachusetts; and, as we have already seen, was thought altogether the most suitable person for governor. Indeed, he has since often been spoken of as "the first and best of our governors." In 1821, before the close of his first term, he resigned the office; having been appointed one of the commissioners of the general government on the Spanish claims; and the president of the Senate, William D. Williamson, afterward the author of a valuable history of the State, became acting governor for the remainder of the term.
7. Among the first acts of the first session of the Legislature, was the adoption of a State seal. The moose and the mast pine, those princes of the forest. were chosen for the central figures of the design. At one side was an anchor, on the other a seythe, emble- matic of the occupations of our people; while above was the North Star, signifying the place of Maine in the constellation of States. These, with the motto,
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Dirigo (I lead), and two figures representing a farmer and a sailor, form the seal now in use by our State government. There was also an act for the improve- ment of public schools, another for the incorporation of religions societies, and one for the regulation of lotteries; for the latter had already been found to work much harm. A charter was also granted for a second college in Maine, to be called Waterville Col- lege-now changed to Colby University. It had first been started in 1813, under the name of "Maine
Literary and Theological School".
The General
Court of Massachusetts quite unwillingly gave it a township (now the towns of Alton and Argyle) on the west side of the Penobscot River, fifteen miles above Bangor; enacting that the institution should be located within the township. This seemed very unfair; for it was even beyond the limits of the common school- where bears and wolves were much plentier than boys and girls. It was a Baptist institution; and one of its presidents has well compared it, during that strug- gling period, to "the voice of one crying in the wil- derness."
8. The Congregationalists and Baptists now had each a literary institution and theological school; and in the year 1825 the Methodists established at Read- field a classical and theological school, under the name of "Maine Wesleyan Seminary". A theological semi- nary of the Congregationalists had been established in Bangor in 1814, under the name of "Maine Charity School"; and this is still the only exclusively theo- logical school in the State.
At the time of the separation there were already nine religious denominations in Maine-the Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congrega- tionalists, Baptists, Methodists, Friends, Universalist-, and Shakers. The sound of the church bell was as yet heard in but two or three towns; while organs in religious worship, and pianos at home had not ceased
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to be wonders in the largest cities of the land. Yet we had at this time within our own borders, twelve missionary and education societies, nine Bible socie- ties, nine charitable societies, a Grand Chapter of Ma- sons, four Arch Chapters and thirty-three Lodges. The first Masonic Lodge in Maine was instituted in Portland in the year 1769; and the Grand Lodge of Maine was established at the same place during the first session of our State Legislature.
9. There were also in the State at this time 1,768 mechanical workshops, a great number of shipyards, 248 tanneries, 85 potash works, 524 gristmills, 746 sawmills, 210 carding machines, 149 fulling mills, and 17 spinning machines. Passing from the trades to cattle, we find that Maine had 17,849 horses, 48,224 horned cattle, and 66,639 swine.
When one has a horse now-a-days he has usually a carriage of two or four wheels, either open or covered, for pleasure riding; but some may be surprised to learn that before the Revolution there was not a four- wheeled passenger carriage in Maine. Two-wheeled chaises came into use in Portland in 1760, but they were kept by their owners like the Sunday dress, to be displayed only on gala-days. The first four-wheeled carriage ever seen in Augusta was built about the year 1800; while in 1798 two two-wheeled chaises were the first and only pleasure vehicles in that town.
10. Men and women made their journeys on horse- back; and pillions for ladies' seats, and horse-blocks to aid them in mounting, were very common objects. On a Sunday morning the road to church must have presented a lively scene, with the groups and scattered files of foot people among the prancing steeds, bestrode by husband, father or brother, while about his waist twined the arm of fair maiden or stately dame, who sat on the pillion behind him. The people of that day minded little the few miles between them and the meeting or the market; and there are ladies still living
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SEPARATION AND ATTENDANT EVENTS. 245
who could tell wonder-waking stories of their ex- ploits of travel. It was thought a great enterprise when, in 1787, a coach was put upon the line between Portland and Portsmouth, for conveying the mails and for the accommodation of travelers. In 1806 the line was extended to Augusta, and in 1810 to Farm- ington. The western stage in the latter year started from Augusta early enough in the morning for the passengers to breakfast at Brunswick, dine at Free- port, and lodge at Portland. The next day their breakfast was taken at Kennebunk, dinner at Ports- mouth, and their lodging at Newburyport. At two o'clock in the morning they started again; reaching Salem at daylight, and getting into Boston before noon. Mail routes and stages were from this time rapidly extended over the State; and with them coun- try taverns multiplied and flourished exceedingly.
11. In July, 1823, a great event happened at Port- land; nothing less than the arrival in the harbor of the first steamboat ever brought to Maine. This was the Patent, a vessel of about one hundred tons bur- then, owned by Captain Seward Porter, of Portland, who had bought her in New York to run as a passen- ger boat between Portland and Boston. Captain Porter had in 1822 placed an old engine in a flat bottom boat, which he ran to North Yarmouth and the islands of Casco Bay. This he named "Kenne- bec," but the people called it the "Horned Hog." In August, 1823, the "Kennebec Steam Navigation Com- pany" was formed. This company bought the Patent, and also built at Bath a little vessel called the Water- ville, which commenced running on the river in April, 1824. The next year the Maine, of about one hundred and five tons, was fitted out at Bath by the same com- pany. It ran between Bath and Eastport, calling at Belfast and Castine. The steamer Eagle, a British boat, was running between Eastport and St. John; thus completing a coast line of steamers from the Bay
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