USA > Maine > Oxford County > Norway > A history of Norway, Maine : from the earliest settlement to the close of the year 1922 > Part 30
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After completing the necessary preparations for action, the regi- ment formed and marched about 1 o'clock. When it reached Charles- town Neck, we found two regiments halted, in consequence of a heavy enfilading fire thrown across it, of round, bar, and chain shot, from the frigate Lively, and floating batteries anchored in Charles river, and a floating battery lying in the river Mystic. Maj. McClary went forward, and observed to the commanders, if they did not intend to move on, he wished them to open and let our regiment pass, which was immediately done. My company being in front, I marched by the side of Col. Stark, who moving with a very deliberate pace, I suggested the propriety of quickening the march of the regiment that it might sooner be relieved from the galling cross fire of the enemy. With a look peculiar to himself, he fixed his eyes upon me, and observed with great composure, "Dearborn, one fresh man in action is worth ten fatigued ones," and continued to advance in the same cool and collected manner. When we had reached the top of Bunker's Hill where Gen. Putnam had taken his station, the regiment halted for a few minutes for the rear to come up. Soon after, the enemy were discovered to have landed on the shore of Morton's Point, in front of Breed's Hill, under cover of a tremendous fire of shot and shells from a battery on Copp's Hill, in Boston, which had opened on the redoubt at daybreak.
Major Gen'l Howe and Brig. Gen'l Pigot were the commanders of the British forces which first landed, consisting of four battalions of infantry, ten companies of grenadiers, and ten of light infantry, with a train of light artillery. They formed as they disembarked,
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but remained in that position, until they were re-enforced by another detachment.
At this moment the veteran and gallant Stark harangued his regiment in a short but animated address; then directed them to give three cheers and made a rapid movement to the rail fence which ran from the left, and about 40 yards in the rear of the redoubt towards Mystic river. Part of the grass having been recently cut, lay in wind- rows and cocks on the field. Another fence was taken up-the rails run through the one in front, and the hay mown in the vicinity, sus- pended upon them, from the bottom to the top, which had the appear- ance of a breastwork, but was in fact, no real cover to the men; it however served as a deception to the enemy.
At this moment our regiment was formed in the rear of the rail- fence, with one other small regiment from New Hampshire, under the command of Col. Reed; the fire commenced between the left wing of the British army, commanded by Gen. Howe, and the troops in the redoubt under Col. Prescott, while a column of the enemy was ad- vancing on our left, on the shore of Mystic river, with an evident in- tention of turning our left wing, and that veteran and most excellent regiment of Welsh fusileers, so distinguished for its gallant conduct in the battle of Minden, advanced in column on the rail-fence, when within 80 or 100 yards, deployed into line, with the precision and firmness of troops on parade, and opened a brisk but regular fire by platoons, which was returned by a well directed, rapid, and fatal dis- charge from our whole line. The action soon beceame general, and very heavy from right to left. In the course of ten or fiften minutes, the enemy gave way at all points, and retreated in great disorder, leaving a large number of dead and wounded on the field. The firing ceased for a short time, until the enemy again formed, advanced and recommenced a spirited fire from his whole line. Several attempts were again made to turn our left, but the troops having thrown up a slight stone wall on the bank of the river and lying down behind it, gave such a deadly fire as to cut down almost every man of the force opposed to them; while the fire from the redoubt and the rail-fence was so well directed and so fatal, especially to the British officers, that the whole army was compelled a second time to retreat with precipitation and great confusion. At this time the ground occupied by the enemy was covered with his dead and wounded. Only a few small detached parties again advanced, which kept up a distant, in- effectual, scattering fire, until a strong reinforcement arrived from Boston which advanced directly upon the redoubt without firing a gun. By this time our ammunition was exhausted-a few men only had a charge left. The advancing column made an attempt to carry the redoubt by assault, but at the first onset every man that mounted the parapet was cut down, by the troops within, who had formed on the opposite side, not being prepared with bayonets to meet a charge.
The column wavered for a moment, but soon formed again; when a forward movement was made with such spirit and intrepidity as to render the feeble efforts of a handful of men, without the means of defence unavailing, and they fled through an open space in the rear of the redoubt, which had been left for a gate-way. At this moment
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the rear of the British column advanced around the angle of the redoubt, and threw in a galling flank fire upon our troops, as they rushed from it, which killed and wounded a greater number than had fallen before during the action. The whole of our line immediately gave way and retreated with rapidity and in disorder towards Bun- ker's Hill; carrying off as many of the wounded as possible, so that only thirty-six or seven fell into the hands of the enemy, among whom were Lt. Col. Parker, and two or three other officers who fell in or near the redoubt.
When the troops arrived at the summit of Bunker's Hill, we found Gen. Putnam with nearly as many men as had been engaged in the battle; notwithstanding which no measure had been taken for rein- forcing us, nor was there a shot fired to cover our retreat, or any movement made to check the advance of the enemy to this height, but on the contrary, Gen. Putnam rode off, with a number of spades and pick-axes in his hands, and the troops that had remained with him inactive during the whole of the action, although within a few hundred yards of the battle ground and no obstacle to impede their movement but musket balls.
The whole of our troops now descended the north-western declivity of Bunker's Hill and recrossed the Neck. Those of the N. H. line retired towards Winter Hill, and the others on to Prospect Hill. Some slight works were thrown up in the course of the evening-strong advance pickets were posted on the roads leading to Charlestown, and the troops anticipating an attack, rested on their arms. It is a most extraordinary fact that the British did not make a single charge dur- ing the battle, which, if attempted, would have been decisive and fatal to the Americans, as they did not carry into the field fifty bayonets. In my company there was but one.
*
My position in the battle, more the result of accident, than any regularity of formation, was on the right of the line at the rail-fence which afforded me a fair view of the whole scene of action. Our men were intent on cutting down every officer they could distinguish, in the British line. When any of them discovered one he would exclaim: "There, see that officer," "Let us have a shot at him," when two or three would fire at the same moment; and as our soldiers were excellent marksmen and rested their muskets over the fence, they were sure of their object.
An officer was discovered to mount near Gen. Howe, on the left of the British line, and ride towards our left; which a column was endeavoring to turn. This was the only officer on horseback during the day, and as he approached the rail fence, I heard a number of men observe; "There," "There, see that officer on horseback:" "Let us fire;" "No, not yet," "Wait till he gets to that little knoll, now:" -- when they fired, and he instantly fell dead from his horse. It proved to be Maj. Pitcairn, a distinguished officer. The fire of the enemy was so badly directed, I should presume that 49 balls out of 50 passed from one to six feet over our heads, for I noticed an apple tree, some paces in the rear, which had scarcely a ball in it, from the ground as
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high as a man's head, while the trunk and branches above were literally cut to pieces.
I commanded a full company in action, and had only one man killed and five wounded, which was a full average of the loss we sustained, excepting those who fell while sallying from the redoubt, when it was stormed by the British column. Our total loss was 88, killed, and as well as I can recollect upwards of 200 wounded. Our platoon officers carried fusees. In the course of the action, after firing away what ammunition I had, I walked to the higher ground to the right, in the rear of the redoubt, with an expectation of pro- curing, of the dead or wounded men who lay there, a supply. While in that situation, I saw at some distance, a dead man lying near a small locust tree. As he appeared to be much better dressed than our men generally were, I asked a man who was passing me, if he knew who he was. He replied: "It is Doctor Warren." I did not personally know Dr. Warren, but was acquainted with his public character. He had recently been appointed a General in our service, but had not taken command. He was President of the Provincial Congress then sitting at Watertown, and having heard that there would probably be an action, had come to share in whatever might happen, in the character of a volunteer, and was unfortunately killed early in the action. Posterity will appreciate his worth, and do honor to his memory. He is immortalized as a patriot, who glo- riously fell in defense of freedom.
The number of our troops in action as near as I was able to ascertain did not exceed 1500. The force of the British, at the commencement of the action, was estimated at about the same number, but they were frequently reinforced. Had our ammunition held out, or had we been supplied with only 15 or 20 rounds, I have no doubt that we should have killed and wounded the greatest part of their army, and compelled the remainder to have lain down their arms; for it was with the greatest difficulty that they were brought up the last time. Our fire was so deadly, particularly to the officers, that it would have been impossible to have resisted it but for a short time longer. I did not see a man quit his post during the action, and I do not believe a single soldier, who was brought into the field, fled, until the whole army was obliged to retreat, for want of powder and ball. The total loss of the British was about 1200; upwards of 500 killed and between six and seven hundred wounded. The Welsh fusileers suffered most severely; they came into action 500 strong, and all were killed or wounded but 83.
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Reflections on the Campaigns of Sir William Howe, on his resigning the command of the British Armies in America, with an incidental account of the battle of Bunker's Hill, extracted from Major General Henry Lee's "Memoirs of the War in the Southern De- partment of the United States," Pub- lished 1812.
It is impossible to pass over this period of the American war without giving vent to some of those reflections which it necessarily excites. Sir William Howe was considered one of the best soldiers in England, when charged with the important trust of subduing the re- volted colonies. Never did a British General, in any period of that nation, command an army better fitted to insure success than the one submitted to his direction, whether we regard its comparative strength with that opposed to it, the skill of the officers, the discipline and courage of the soldiers, the adequacy of all the implements and muni- tions of war, and the abundance of the best supplies of every sort. In addition, his brother Lord Howe commanded a powerful fleet on our coast, for the purpose of subserving the views, and supporting the measures of the commander in chief. Passing over the criminal supineness which marked his conduct after the battle of Long Island, and the fatal mistake of the plan of the campaign 1777 (the first and leading feature of which ought to have been a junction with Burgoyne and the undisturbed possession of the North river), we must be per- mitted to look at him with scrutinous though impartial eyes, when pursuing his own object, and directed by his own judgment, after his disembarkation at the head of the Chesapeake.
We find him continuing to omit pressing the various advantages he dearly gained, from time to time. He was ever ready to appeal to the sword, and but once retired from his enemy. But he does not seem to have known, that to win a victory was but the first step in the actions of a great captain. To improve it, is as essential; and unless the first is followed by the second, the conqueror ill requites those brave companions of his toils and perils, to whose disregard of difficulties and contempt of death, he is so much indebted for the laurel which entwines his brow; and basely neglects his duty to his country, whose confidence in his zeal for her good, had induced her to commit to his keeping, her fame and interest.
After his victory at Brandywine, he was, by his own official state- ment, less injured than his adversary; yet with many of his corps, entire and fresh, we find him wasting three precious days, with the sole ostensible object of sending his wounded to Wilmington. Surely the detachment, charged with this service, was adequate to their pro- tection on the field of battle, as afterwards on the march; and cer- tainly it required no great exertion of mind to have made this arrangement in the course of one hour, and to have pursued the beaten foe, after the refreshments and repose enjoyed in one night. This was omitted. He adhered to the same course of conduct after the battle of Germantown, when the ill-boding tidings, from the north-
-
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ern warfare, emphatically called upon him to press his victory, in order to compensate for the heavy loss likely to be sustained by the captivity of Burgoyne and his army. But what is most surprising, after the Delaware was restored to his use, and the communication with the fleet completely enjoyed, that he should have relinquished his resolution of fighting Washington at White Marsh, having ascer- tained by his personal observation, that no material difficulty pre- sented itself on the old York road, by which route he could, with facility, have turned Washington's left, and have compelled him to a change of position with battle, or to a perilous retreat. And last, though not least in magnitude, knowing as Sir William ought to have known, the sufferings and wants of every kind to which Washington was exposed at Valley Forge, as well as that his army was under inoculation for the small pox, while he himself was so abundantly supplied with every article requisite to give warmth and comfort to his troops, it is wonderful how he could omit venturing a winter campaign, to him promising every advantage, and to his antagonist, menacing every ill-this too, when the fate of Burgoyne was no longer doubtful, and its adverse influence on foreign powers unquestionable, unless balanced by some grand and daring stroke on his part. The only plan practicable was that above suggested; an experiment urged by all the considerations which ever can command high spirited en- terprise.
These are undeniable truths; and they involve an inquisitive mind in a perplexity not easy to be untangled. It would be absurd to im- pute this conduct to a want of courage in Sir William Howe; for all acknowledge that he eminently possessed that quality. Nor can it be justly ascribed to either indolence of disposition or a habit of sacrificing his duties to self care; for he possessed a robust body, with an active mind, and although a man of pleasure, subdued, when necessary, its captivating allurements with facility. To explain it, as some have done, by supposing him friendly to the revolution, and therefore to connive at its success, would be equally stupid and un- just, for no part of Sir William's life is stained with a single de- parture from the line of honor. Moreover, traitors are not to be found among British Generals, whose fidelity is secured by education, by their grade and importance in society, and by the magnificent re- wards of government sure to follow distinguished efforts. The severe admonition which Sir William had received from the disastrous battle of Bunker's, or rather Breed's Hill, furnishes the most probable ex- planation of this mysterious inertness. On that occasion, he commanded a body of chosen troops, inured to discipline, and nearly double in number to his foe; possessed of artillery in abundance, pre- pared in the best manner; with an army at hand ready to reinforce him, and led by officers, many of whom had seen service, all of whom had been bred to arms. His enemy was a corps of countrymen, who, for the first time, were unsheathing their swords; without artillery; defectively armed with fowling pieces, and muskets without bayo- nets; destitute of that cheering comfort, with which experience animates the soldier; with no other works than a slight redoubt, and a slighter trench, terminating in a yet slighter breastwork.
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Sir William found this feeble enemy posted on the margin, and along the acclivity of the hill, commanded by Col. Prescott, then un- known to fame; yet Sir William beheld these brave yeomen-while the conflagration of a town was blazing in their faces, while their flanks were exposed to maritime annoyance, and their front was assailed by regulars in proud array under the protection of cannon in full discharge-receive the terrible shock with firmness, coolly await his near approach, and then resolutely pour in a charge, which disciplined courage could not sustain. He saw his gallant troops fly -- afterwards brought to rally with their colors, and indignant at the repulse, return with redoubled fury. Sir William again saw these daring countrymen, unappalled in heart, unbroken in line, true to their generous leader, and inbred valor, calmly reserving themselves for the fatal moment, when his close advance presented an opportunity of winging every ball with death. Again the British soldiers, with the pupil of the immortal Wolfe at their head, sought safety in flight. Restoring his troops to order, Sir William Howe advanced the third time, supported by naval co-operation, which had now nearly demol- ished our slender defences. Notwithstanding this tremendous com- bination, Sir William saw his gallant enemy maintain their ground, without prospect of succor, until their ammunition was nearly ex- pended: then, abandoning their works as the British entered them, they took the only route open to their escape with decision and celerity.
The sad and impressive experience of this murderous day sunk deep into the mind of Sir William Howe; and it seems to have had its influence on all his subsequent operations, with decisive control. In one instance only did he ever depart from the most pointed cir- cumspection; and that was, in the assault on Red Bank, from his solicitude to restore the navigation of the Delaware deemed essential to the safety of his army. The doleful issue of this single departure renewed the solemn advice inculcated at Breed's Hill, and extin- guished his spirit of enterprise. This is the only way, the mysterious inertness, which marked the conduct of this British General, so fatal in its effect, to the cause of Great Britain, can be intelligibly solved. The military annals of the world rarely furnish an achievement, which equals the firmness and courage displayed on that proud day by that gallant band of Americans, under Col. Prescott and his com- panions in arms-and it certainly stands first in the brilliant events of that war.
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CAPTURED BY INDIANS DESCENDANTS OF SOME OF THESE PARTIES AFTERWARDS LIVED IN NORWAY
The Indian trail from the English settlements in southwestern Maine to Canada, during the 18th century, till the fall of Quebec put an end to French domination on the St. Lawrence, and rendered it no longer serviceable, passed through the valley of the Little Andros- coggin to the greater river of that name, and following the general course of that stream, to its source and the height of land, then passed down the St. Francis river, to the villages of the savages on its banks.
It was a route of blood, barbarity and death. Over its course many a settler has breathed his last with the name of wife and chil- dren upon his lips, as the merciless tomahawk passed through his skull, or the leaden messenger of death struck a vital spot in his body. And not a few settlers' wives have gone to their long rest along the way, while a prayer for mercy and the safety of their offspring was being uttered. And the tears of scores of innocent children, torn away from parents and home to a captivity among savages, have watered the earth from one end of this long forest trail to the other.
Today over a part of this route, may be seen, neatly painted farm houses, and fruitful fields. The merry shouts of children at play are mingled with the songs of birds. All is peace and joy and happiness.
There was destined to be a great thoroughfare from this part of Maine to Canada and the West-a route of trade and travel-for freight and passengers. Let the interested reader contrast the pres- ent, with its luxuriously equipped coaches, drawn by locomotives over the Grand Trunk railway-with the time when this Indian trail was in use. Now, thousands pass over the road weekly, with pleasure and comfort. Then not one white person went from Maine to Canada but had to tramp many weary days in misery and suffering, and in fear of his life.
Not all those taken captives, however, went to Canada, or lost their lives on the way. Some escaped and others were recaptured.
It is a satisfaction to know that many of the wild beasts in human form, who caused this suffering, and who made no distinction between right and wrong, innocence and guilt, met at last with a just retribution.
In one of the settlements, in the region about Sebago Lake, there lived in the spring of 1754 Thomas Allen and his family consisting of wife, two daughters and one son. It was a very worthy and God fearing family. The father was a brave, intelligent and industrious man. His wife, Mary, was in every way his equal, and well fitted
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for her duties as a helpmeet in a life on the frontier. They both came of good stock and were rich in character and moral worth, though poor in this world's possessions. They had gone into the wilderness where land was cheap, that they might by industry and prudence acquire a home and competence for themselves in their old age and assist their children in securing a good start in life. They were both well informed, the wife being rather better educated than her husband. The girls were lovely children. Rebecca, the eldest, was of medium height and pretty in form and feature. She had expressive brown eyes and a sweet musical voice. The other daughter, Susan, was fourteen years of age, and two years younger than her sister. She had dark eyes, a Grecian cast of features, and a well rounded form. Susan was taller than her sister, and less demonstrative. The boy, John, was but ten years old, handsome, strong and healthy, and of manly bearing for one so young. He was the pet of the family. In these times such a child, in a family of no other boys, would be likely to be spoiled. Not so in those days. The parents ruled the child-not-the child the parents. Of necessity the education of these children devolved principally upon the mother. The books at hand were very few indeed, but among those possessed was the family Bible, which answered the purpose of reader, spelling-book and ancient history. Mrs. Allen taught her children to write, which was a great accomplishment for those reared on the frontier.
All of the children learned the use of firearms, for this was one of the necessities in a new country surrounded by wild beasts and sav- ages. This settlement contained but few white inhabitants and they were considerably scattered.
One day the Allen children had gone to visit at a neighbor's about a mile distant, when not returning at the time expected their mother began to get anxious. About sundown she was so worried that she went to the field, a short distance away, where her husband was at work, and informed him of her anxiety. Mr. Allen told her that he didn't think there was any cause for alarm as no Indians had been seen lurking around the settlement and there were no streams of water in the vicinity large enough for the children to get into, and be drowned. His wife said so much, however, that he quit work and went to ascertain the cause of the children staying so late.
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