USA > Maine > Sagadahoc County > Bath > History of Bath and environs, Sagadahoc County, Maine. 1607-1894 > Part 9
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The alarm of that day spread through the country and the state, whereupon Gov. Strong ordered out the militia by heavy drafts. The troops of Gen. King's and Gen. Sewall's divisions were ordered to Bath and Wiscasset, and were on duty fortifying Cox's Head and Edgecomb Point all that autumn. The events of that campaign are now matters of history."
By JOHN HAYDEN.
Our military force took a position on Davis wharf, now owned by Houghton Brothers, where they placed some old cannon, which they
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found lying on the wharf, on a pile of timber and calmly awaited the enemy. The supply of muskets proving short, the colonel called for volunteers to go and search for more, which was readily responded to and by "one in particular " who obtained an unen- viable notoriety by his part of the performance, but who shall be nameless as he has long since gone to rest. Peace to his ashes ! Being firmly convinced, no doubt, that the better part of valor was discretion, he placed himself in the attic of Robert Lemont's house, afterwards owned and occupied by John Smith, where he could descry the enemy on his emergence from Fiddlers Reach and be in a good position himself to notify his fellow citizens of that event, or to remove still further from danger. His whereabouts was made known, and a corporal's guard sent to arrest the deserter, which they accordingly did and brought him to head-quarters. Luckily for him the scare was over (it was late in the afternoon), and he was let off by standing treat all round, which he responded to by procuring a barrel of rum, soon making lively times among the brave defenders.
I well remember being at Miss Henrietta Holmes' school on the forenoon of that day, in the old conference rooms of the North church, which was in the second story of the house now occupied by Capt. Work, then owned and occupied by Deacon Nicholas L. Mitchell, when Thomas Marsh, son of Deacon Caleb Marsh, rushed in hastily, informed Miss Holmes that the enemy might be upon us at any moment, and advised the immediate dismissal of the school that the children might be under the care of their parents. Some of the six-year-olds made valorous remarks on that occasion, declar- ing they would shoot all the Britishers that came near them !
Many of the inhabitants left Bath at that time, taking their most valuable effects with them away from the sea-board, out of reach of the enemy. Some companies of militia were quartered here for a time, part occupying a long store-house which stood on King's wharf where the landing of Knox & Lincoln Railroad now is; another party being quartered in a house on Western Avenue which long retained the appellation of Barracks.
In that year the fort on Cocks Head was built -an earthwork ---
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the earth for which was carried up on hand-barrows. I well remem- ber the sad complaints of a neighbor's son, several years my senior, who was employed there, of the hardness of the task ascending that steep hill with a load of dirt. A large part of that earth has since been washed down the hill through neglect, it not having been deemed of sufficient importance; but as that hill dominates all around, and guns have a long range in these modern times, the possession of that hill may be of great importance at some future time.
During the war of 1812, the sufferings of the people in this vicinity were very severe. Not only was our foreign commerce annihilated, but our coastwise trade was almost completely sus- pended by the constant blockade kept up by English cruisers, which entailed great hardship on the inhabitants by cutting off their supplies, and also kept them in constant fear of a descent by the enemy on our coast and the plundering and burning of our towns.
When that cruel war was over and the news of peace arrived, the people were wild with joy. On the afternoon of that day, February 15, 1815, - a bright and beautiful, day but very cold, - the citizens marched through the principal streets with a white flag, on which the word " Peace " was displayed in large letters, while everything indicative of war was discarded. The bells on the old North and South rang out a merry peal. Everybody was elated; some of the boys who had been promised a new hat when peace came, so much so that they immediately tore their old hats to pieces and threw them away, going bare-headed the rest of the day notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather. In the entry of the North meeting- house (and the South may have been the same for aught I know) a table was placed near one end, a board resting on two barrels at the other, over which liquors were passed in a lively manner to thirsty souls. When I arrived there, sundry of those souls were in an oblivious state, lying rolled up against the partition dead drunk; the rest were fast coming to that state, but in the meantime constituted the most boisterous and noisy crowd I have ever been in the vicinity of, far exceeding that at Davis wharf on Alarm day. The noise in the entry of the North meeting-house was so tremendous that the
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bell could not be heard, notwithstanding one of the doors was constantly open; this circumstance gave rise to a question which was much debated by the boys the ensuing week. The question was, "Can the bell on a meeting-house ever be heard inside the building ?" Opinions were strong in the negative, and several of us made it a point the next Sunday to get inside before the ringing of the bell ceased; the result was most satisfactory and decisive.
On the day of the "great alarm" several cannon were in the town, but there were no carriages attached to them; consequently they were taken to Davis wharf and mounted on a pile of boards that happened to be on the wharf at the time, and pointed towards the entrance to Fiddlers Reach, all shotted to sink the English barges when they should emerge into Long Reach. After the war these cannon remained many years on Houghton wharf, which was formerly Davis wharf. After all alarm was over, a barrel of liquor was taken to the wharf and a grand good time was indulged in by the brave defenders."
Military on Duty. - The brigade was called out again Sept. 10, 1814, on account of the British war ship La Hogue anchoring . off Seguin. The full Bath regiment was stationed at Cocks Head, Col. Andrew Reed in command, from Sept. 1o to Oct. 1. It was the harvest season of the year, making it very inconvenient for farmers on military duty to be away from home. The officers of companies and the men became restive. The colonel in command was greatly annoyed by applications for furloughs, which he was unable to grant by orders from the general officers that only one- tenth of a company should be off on furlough at the same time. The companies were from Bath, Woolwich, Arrowsic, Georgetown, and Phipsburg. The selectmen of each town were required to supply commissaries for the men from their respective towns
Maj .- Gen. William King and Brig .- Gen. Denny McCobb, who had returned on furlough from the United States army, had their head-quarters at Bath, and only occasionally visited this regiment, as other regiments were out on duty at Bath and at eastern towns, thus imposing greater responsibilities upon the colonel in command
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at the mouth of the river. In the fort at Hunniwells Point, Capt. Wilson was in command of a company of United States troops. Capt. Wilson was very unpopular with the militia.
The Fort. - It was built of brick, on a solid ledge, on the extreme of Hunniwells Point, exactly the site of the present fort. It was mounted with a few cannon of no great consequence, Pond Island being barely within range of the cannon that were mounted at its port-holes. Four cannon were taken from this fort and mounted on Cocks Head when a fortification was built there in 1814.
The highest field officers of a regiment were a " lieutenant-colonel commanding " with two majors. The only major on duty was William Burke of Bath, and while on parade his horse reared and plunged, throwing him to the ground, when he was so badly injured that he was afterwards unable to be on duty, thus leaving the colonel increased field duties. It was no small matter for an officer having the entire responsibility of the situation, in face of an enemy that might attempt a landing at any time, to conform to all of the strict rules of war with which he could not be expected to be familiar, and an investigation held after the close of the war into the military management of the Cocks Head campaign unanimously sanctioned everything done by the colonel in command, and his course was fully approved by the governor of Massachusetts, under whose orders the militia was called out, and that officer was subse- quently promoted to a higher grade. Maj .- Gen. King and Brig .- Gen. McCobb united in testimony approving the manner in which the colonel commanding had acquitted himself in performance of the duties that devolved upon him.
Some fifty years later Congress conferred pensions on the surviv- ing officers and soldiers, or their widows, of the war of 1812, which proved a boon to many worthy people.
"Andrew Reed was promoted to full colonel by commission of Governor Strong of Massachusetts in 1816."
One Sunday while at Cocks Head, no vessel of the enemy being in sight, the colonel, leaving a rear guard, marched the regiment to
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the Center to attend church, the distance being about three miles. It gave a change for the men whose life in camp had become irksome.
Battle with the Barges. - One clear day, about eight o'clock in the morning, some large barges put out from the La Hogue loaded with armed men and rowed directly for Sheepscot River. They made a landing on Sprout's Point, where our people had four guns, which the enemy seized and spiked. It is said they took some sheep. This point is on the inside of Bartols Island. Col. Andrew Reed, in command at Cocks Head, detailed one Phipsburg company and the Parkers Island company, the latter under com- mand of Capt. Richard Hagan, the former under Capt. Ellis Percy, to cross the river to the island. The troops crossed in gondolas. The two companies landed at Rogers Point; the tide was down and the men waded across the flats to Parkers Island, across which they immediately proceeded. When the military force reached the east shore of Parkers Island, the barges had commenced their return voyage as far as Sand Beach Cove, a strong south-east wind driving them near the shore. An advance of twenty men reached the cove to reconnoiter. Finding the barges, they immediately commenced firing, while the main body of troops was stationed farther south. The barges were within 200 or 300 yards of the shore where the main body had concealed themselves behind what is termed "high rock." As soon as they were abreast this point, the men arose and gave them a sharp volley. This caused the barges to shove off, the rowers pulling to their utmost, while the men on shore loaded and fired as fast as possible. The barges replied with small arms, the balls whizzing over the heads of our men. One barge had a swivel cannon on board, which was put in action as soon as practicable, but the shots did no damage, going over the heads of our men, being aimed too high. A musket ball struck the barrel of a musket held by John Hunt, shattered it, and glancing upwards went through his hat. No man on shore was injured. During the contest the colonel finding one detachment missing, and having no aid, went himself and quickly brought them under fire while the enemy was within range.
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Cannon balls that had been fired from the barges were afterwards picked up, and one of them was kept a long time in the dwelling- house of Capt. Geo. F. Manson at Bath. His early days were passed near where the battle took place. It is a tradition that when the barges were aiming for the Sheepscot River they were kept close in shore, and a voice could be heard on shore giving direc- tions for steering, which led those hearing it to say, "Tories on board." It is also said that the British ships in the offing were supplied with mutton and provisions from Wiscasset, where there was at the time a lively demand for sheep.
As Gen. King was not that day with the regiment, the colonel took the responsibility of detailing these companies for the service without orders, and his action was afterwards approved by the major-general.
More Barges. - A detachment of militia of Georgetown was stationed near Riggsville while the old La Hogue lay off Seguin and was sending barges to the Sheepscot for supplies. At one time a barge landed at a cove near Fire Islands, and while there and the men on shore depredating, the tide ran out and left the barge aground. The detachment became aware of the enemy's presence and made a movement to capture them, but before they reached the vicinity of the barge the tide had risen and floated her off, when with her crew aboard she was headed for the ship. The militia, however, got near enough to give her one full volley, and before the muskets could be reloaded the barge had been rowed beyond range. They were certain that a number of the English were killed, and drums and fifes on board the barge struck up apparently to drown the cries of the wounded. Cannon shot were fired from the barge, one of which was picked up on the land and was kept for years in the house of a Mr. Mckinney. At one subsequent time, when a barge had been up and was returning from the Little Sheepscot, Mr. Mckinney being alone and in ambush had three well-aimed shots at the barge, picking out a lieutenant who was walking back and forth on the barge, and as he suddenly disappeared there was reason to infer he had been struck by one of these shots.
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There were several alarms. One was occasioned at Bath by the coming up ship, Mount Hope, belonging to Hill & McCobb, which had been lying at their wharf in Phipsburg, but which they sent up the river for safety, the appearance of which alarmed the Bath people.
Major Harward was a private in a cavalry company, afterwards promoted to major. He says: "When the English men of war were stationed off the mouth of the river, the Bowdoinham com- panies were ordered to Bath, and his company detached to reconnoitre at Hunniwells Point. They approached the fort by the way of the beach. Their plumes were seen before the horses came in sight, and a cannon was pointed towards them, shotted, and match ready to fire, fearing they were from the war ship, but the sight of the horses soon dispelled that idea. Returning to Bath, the cavalry detachment were ordered to keep their horses ready to mount at a moment's notice, though it seemed ridiculous to suppose that the enemy would face so large an opposing force."
The colonel commanding at Cocks Head had his headquarters at the large, two-story, square house of Capt. Ellis Percy. His orderly was his second son, Samuel Denny Reed, who at one time was acting adjutant. The companies were encamped apart for want of a convenient place to camp as a regiment. In building the fortifica- tions on Cocks Head, a large portion of the sods were brought in gondolas from the foot of Reed's Neck, taken from the property owned by the colonel, for which he never received pay. The troops disliked their labor, especially carrying the sods on hand-barrows to the top of the Head, which is very steep on the river side. It was impossible for their officers to keep them under discipline, as they insisted that they were called out to handle muskets, and not to do such work. Desertions were frequent, and subordinate officers were continually detailed to bring them back. The rules of war made desertion punishable with death, but these delinquents were only kept in a dark room for a time. Capt. Patrick Drummond, living near the Center Village, had several sons in the ranks. Finding them one day all at home, he asked if they had leave of absence;
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when they said they had not, he exclaimed, " Run back, boys, run for your lives," and they ran.
The stationing of this regiment at the entrance to the river saved Bath from pillage and the destruction of the large amount of ship- ping then lying at this port. The British war vessels that at times anchored off Seguin, threatening Bath, were provided with large barges for sending into rivers on this coast, each capable of carrying a company of armed men and a swivel cannon, to go where war ships could not enter. These barges had done great damage in rivers east of the Kennebec. With a regiment occupying so advan- tageous a position as was that of Cocks Head, commanding as it does the entrance of the river, a narrow passage of it at the Head and an extended stretch of the river on the north, no flotilla of barges could have passed or re-passed that strategetical point without entire destruction of the men on board of them. This
condition of the situation the commanders of the English war ships well knew. Besides, the improvised fort that was constructed on the summit of Cocks Head, and on which cannon were mounted, gave them full range of the mouth of the river and a long reach above. At the same time the natural elevation of the Head itself was a natural fortress, so elevated that shots from an approaching foe discharged from the water would either be embedded in the earth of its sides or go far over the heads of the artillery men stationed on its top. Thus it was that the service these soldiers rendered was not in repelling invasion of hostile forces by actual conflict, but their presence in front of the enemy prevented the possible shedding of blood, the sacking of a town, and the burning of its valuable shipping.
The men who composed the rank and file of this regiment may have been, and afterwards were, jeered at as mere "soldiering " down there. They were mostly farmers, who had to leave their unprotected families, their flocks and their herds, and their fields, at the harvest season of the year, and that on the small pay of eight dollars a month receivable in the distant future. Instead of making a series of holidays of their encampment, they seriously grumbled at the personal sacrifices they were compelled to make, and largely
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rebelled at their enforced retention for duty when no fighting was to be done, but no end of the drudgery of carrying sods up a long ascent in the heat of dog days, when they had supposed to have been called out to handle muskets and not sods. Consequently, strict military discipline was impossible to be enforced with men who had been all their lives accustomed to the largest individual liberty of action, and were the neighbors and friends of the officers, and many of whom believed themselves their equals in social life. The officers and soldiers were simply citizens, unused to military discipline in actual service, yet there were, even at such a time as this, lookers-ou, chiefly young men disappointed in their ambitious aspirations, who became self-appointed critics of this hastily gath- ered little army on the Kennebec. They were not there !
Major Zina Hyde's Record of War Times. - Perhaps the readiest means of relating the part that Bath took in this contest with Great Britain is to insert extracts from a diary kept by Major Zina Hyde, relating the events in which he had a very active and prominent part, at first as adjutant of the Bath regiment, and later as brigade-major, to which office he was appointed Sept. 9, 1814, by Brig .- Gen. Denny McCobb.
"Aug. 28, 1811. Was called on by Maj. Andrew Reed to know if I will accept the appointment of adjutant of the ist Reg., Ist Brig., uth Div. At first my feelings very strongly opposed the idea of leaving the Bath Light Infantry, which impowers me almost to make a positive refusal, and in the afternoon of the same day Maj. Clap called and proposed the same subject, at which I agreed to take it into consideration. ( He was sergeant in the light infantry.) In a few days Col. Denny McCobb proposed the subject to me, when I agreed to take upon me the adjutancy as above.
Sept. 13. Maj. Jos. F. Wingate newly appointed aid-de-camp to Gen. King. His uniform and equipments are truly elegant. :
Oct. 28. Zina Hyde became adjutant of ist Reg., Ist Brig., 11th Div., and on duty on that day of muster for first time. The regi- ment is reviewed by Maj .- Gen. King, Col. MeCobb acting as briga-
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dier-general, and Maj. Nath'l Coffin as inspector. ( Maj. Reed in command of the regiment.) The day being uncommonly fine, we got through and dismissed in good season, after which the officers were all invited to partake of a generous entertainment at Gen. King's, where about forty of us met and spent a part of the evening very pleasantly.
Oct. 29. Very pleasant. Accompanied Gen. King, Col. McCobb, and about fourteen other officers to Brunswick, where we attended the reviewing of one regiment of infantry, one battalion of cavalry, and one battalion of artillery, after which forty officers partook, at Washington Hall, of a sumptuous entertainment provided by Gen. King, and returned to Bath between 8 and 9 o'clock.
Dec. 25. During the past year had my military situation changed from that of sergeant in light infantry to the adjutancy of the regi- ment, a berth which was unsought by me, but urged upon me by the field officers of the regiment.
July 4, 1812. Capt. Clap elected major.
July 25, H. G. Allen elected captain of Bath Light Infantry in room of Capt. Clap, promoted to major; Wm. Stevens, ist lieu- tenant, and Wm. Torrey, ensign.
Sept. 3. Major Andrew Reed promoted to the command of the first regiment of the first brigade and eleventh division, and Capt. William Bouck and Capt. Joseph Trott elected majors.
Oct. 5. Regimental muster was at Arrowsic, opposite Phipsburg C'enter.
Thursday, Sept. 16, 1813. Collected the companies of the regiment with artillery and band at the South meeting-house and marched them out to the common, where paraded and formed the regiment after going through the inspection (Col. A. Reed com- manding); great improvement having been made in the equipment. of the regiment since the last year. Gen. Dearborn appeared on the parade on foot. The regiment marched down town, where they were dismissed; after which accompanied the field officers to Gen.
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King's, where we partook of an excellent dinner with the general officers, Gen. Dearborn, Mr. Jenks, and a number of other officers and private gentlemen.
Jan. 19, 1814. Dined at Maj. Joseph F. Wingate's with Brig .- Gen. Denny McCobb, lately returned from the Northern army. Maj. Clap and Capt. Wm. Torry consulted on the subject of uniting the two militia companies in this town for the purpose of preserving the independent companies.
Thursday. Conversed with Capt. Low on the subject of uniting his company with Capt. Davenport's company, with regard to which he appeared very accommodating and expressed a willingness to take a lieutenant's commission under Capt. Davenport should the thing be effected and he be chosen.
Sept. 9, 1814. Inspecting troops. P.M. called on Maj. Clap, who proposed the subject of my being appointed brigade-major and inspector, to which proposition, after some hesitation, I consented. Evening. Employed in packing a part of our goods to send them to the back part of the town out of the way of the British should they land. ( Major Hyde kept a store.)
Sept. 10. Received an order from Gen. McCobb, at 10 o'clock, to be distributed to the several colonels of his brigade, containing my appointment as acting brigade-major, which duty I continued to perform with increased interest; Capt. Nathan Ames also appointed aid to Gen. McCobb. At I o'clock Gen. King returned from the east with intelligence that the British had left Castine with seven ships and were proceeding westward. Continued packing and send- ing off goods. Gen. Denny McCobb, who had been in the regular army under Gen. Hampton, was determined to have the troops, about 1500, under complete duty and order, and had now brought it about; and the notions of our duty being once settled and under- stood became pleasant, though laborious for some officers.
19th. Maj. Clap returned partly to his duty; informed of some dissatisfaction expressed by Col. Thomas Merrill and Maj. Esta- brook on account of it.
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Saturday, Sept. 11, 1814. On the return of Gen. King (from Wiscasset), he ordered out the entire brigade, which being now arriving I was occupied the whole day most actively in viewing, inspecting, and ordering to their quarters the different corps of militia as they arrived.
KILLING OF LIEUT. BAKER.
Monday. Completed the inspection of Col. Thomas' regiment and attended to other military duty. P.M. An alarm having re- quired the cavalry to be ordered to the mouth of the Kennebec before being inspected and they having returned, ordered to proceed in the inspection of this corps under command of Maj. Benj. Ames; and Aid-de-camp N. Ames ordered to assist me for dispatch, he having once commanded a company of cavalry. The battalion was accordingly paraded near the South meeting-house, and with the rolls of the two respective companies in my hand, I took a stand with Mr. Ames in front of the line and a little to the left of the commanding officers, lieutenants, &c. On calling the individual troopers, they advanced to us for inspection, when I thought the pistols were charged, but on my objecting to inspect them in that condition was informed that, having returned with them so, they had orders not to discharge them, and that the captains had just inspected them in that condition; concluded to proceed. In exam- ining the pistols I turned the muzzle to the ground, but Capt. Ames turned those he took in hand up. In this way we had nearly com- pleted the inspection when one of the pistols in Capt. Ames' hands went off and the ball passed through the head of Lieut. Baker, who was seated on his horse behind Capt. Ames. This was an awful moment. On turning I saw one of our finest officers and a highly valued citizen fall upon the ground with no sign of life but a slight muscular quivering. I was hardly more than conscious of the report when all was over, and nothing to be done but to remove the body lifeless from the parade, which was done by the other officers, N. Ames accompanying them in deep distress to the house of C. A. Green, brother-in-law of Lieut. Baker. My duty requiring me not to leave my post until the completion of the inspection, which done
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