USA > Maine > Cumberland County > History of Cumberland Co., Maine > Part 36
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CHAPTER XX V.
EARLY MILITARY HISTORY.
Fort Loyal-Colonial Militia-War of 1812-11-Later Militia Organ- izativos-State Militia to the War of the Rebellion.
FORT LOYAL was erected at Falmouth, on the point at the foot of King Street, in 1679. Upon the resettlement of the place after the first Indian war, it became an object of deep interest with the inhabitants, in which the govern- ment strongly sympathized, to provide for the future safety of the settlement. It was in some degree a frontier post, and the safety of all the plantations in the province de- pended upon its preservation. Therefore the General Assembly in 1681 made application to the General Court of Massachusetts to make further provision for its security. In answer to this petition the court granted that, in case of a defensive war, the whole revenue accruing to the chief proprietor should be appropriated for the safety of the in- habitants, and that the annual revenue arising from trade with the Indians should be applied to the maintenance of Fort Loyal; the appointment of the captain, as well as the
Resigned Match ". Isti, to accept a place on the beach of the Supreme Judicial Court of the State.
other militia, being still reserved, as the charter appoints, in the power of the chief proprietor. It was further ordered that the arrearages of the captain and garrison at Fort Loyal be forthwith passed by the President to the treasurer for payment. This order was laid before the council of the province, who authorized the treasurer, Captain Hooke, of Saco, to pay Capt. Tyng his salary as commander of Fort Loyal, at the rate of sixty pounds per annum for himself and servant, till May following, and to furnish necessary supplies for the garrison. They also ordered six meu to be raised for the present supply of the garrison,-two from Kittery, one from each of the towns of York, Wells, and Falmonth, and one from Saeo, Scarborough, and Cape Por- poise. In pursuance of the grant of revenue arising from the Indian trade, Walter Gendall, the Indian agent, was called upon to pay to the treasurer " twenty pounds, or as much as he has."
The whole garrison in 1681 consisted of thirteen men, part of whom were supported by Massachusetts. The General Court this year appointed a committee, consisting of Maj. Pinchon, Maj. Savage, and Mr. Newell, together with " some of the brethren of the department," to inquire concerning the present condition of the province of Maine and the settlement of Fort Loyal, and to consider what was further necessary to be done for the maintenance thercof, and report the same to the court in the afternoon.+
In 1682, for the further support of Fort Loyal, a tax was levied upon all the saw-mills of the province, aud an agree- ment was made with Lieut. Brackett to keep the fort for one year ensuing from the 24th of May, 1682, for oue hundred and sixty pounds. An inventory of the saw-mills of Maine at that time, with the tax levied upon them, showed the following :
MILLS AT KITTERY.
WELLS MIJ.J.S.
Mr. Hutchinson .. £10
Salmon Falls Mills. .....
10
Humphrey Chadbourne's 1
Major Shapleigh's .. ... 1 108.
Mousam Milt 6 Kennebunk Mill 4
£17
YORK MIL.I.S.
CAPE PORPOISE.
Phaoen Ilull's. £2
l'ape Nuttaeke ...
Gilbert Endieott's 1
£6 108.
£3
SACO MIJ.I.S.
CASO MU.L.S.
Mr. Blackman's ...
Samuel Webber's .. £2 10%.
Thomas Doughty's
Walter Gendall's. 6
ES 10%.
BLACK POINT.
Mr. Blackman's Mill
"A new addition of some other saw-mills to pay those rents; as follows :
C'aseo Mills, Capt, Silvanus Davis, mill-rent
('upe Porpoise Mill, John Barrett's, 10x. ; John Baston's, 30x. 3 108. Wells. Jonathan Hammond's and William Frost's Mills. 4
York. John Sayward's Mill, 20x ... I
Kittery Spruce Mill, John Shapleigh's.
Quamphegan Mill, in Thomas Holmes' hands.
6
£22 108.
Total.
£93
+ General Court files, May 31, 1681.
+ 'The basis adopte ! for t'es tax was the price of boards at 30%. per 1000 lect.
Lieut. Littlefield's.
Joseph Littlefield's 2
William Frost's 1
£25 108.
Mary Sayward's .. £5 1 10A.
137
EARLY MILITARY HISTORY.
In 1684 the General Assembly appointed Capt. Joshua Scottow (of Black Point ), Capt. Edward Tyng, Mr. Nathan- iel Fryer, Capt. Silvanus Davis, and Mr. Walter Gendall, " to take care of the repairing and well-ordering of Fort Loyal in Falmouth, and settle a chief officer there." The next year they ordered that the fort be appointed a prison or jail to the four associate towns,"-meaning Saco, Scar- borough, Falmouth, and North Yarmouth,-instructing the justices in the several towns to " direct their mitti- musses to the keeper of his majesty's jail at Fort Loyal," and also ordering a committee to appoint a keeper, and providing for the payment of charges out of the common treasury.
In 1722, thirty men were stationed at Falmouth and twenty at North Yarmouth. A committee of the llouse this year reported that there was great laxity in the dis- cipline of the troops, that they were addicted to intemper- ance, and that the officers were remiss in their duty. They say, " We walked through the town of Falmouth twice in one night without being hailed, though there were several military companies in the place."
Major Moody, who commanded at Falmouth, petitioned for liberty to answer before the General Court in December, 1722, certain complaints made against him, and warrants were issued to summon witnesses " touching the manage- ment of Major Moody and his company."
In the Council the following questions were put to the members, and the subjoined answers given : " Whether the complaint against Major Moody for indulging his soldiers in excessive drinking be proved ? Answer : No. Whether he denied assistance to the inhabitants unreasonably when demanded ? No. Whether it was proved that the watch was not duly kept at the garrison in the night season, and at some seasons when he was home? Yes. Whether Major Moody be to blame for the watch not being kept when he was at home ? Yes. Whether it was proved that Major Moody unreasonably drew off his men from Top- sham ? No."
The Council voted that the Governor reprimand him about the watch, and request him to be more careful. lu the House all the above questions were answered in the affirmative, except the last; and the following additional one also received an affirmative reply : " Whether he unrea- sonably denied Lieut. Hilton the whale-boat, to go in quest of the Indians ?"
In April, 1742, in anticipation of the war which soon broke out, the government repaired and enlarged Fort Loyal, adding a breastwork and platform of ten twelve- pounders, for the defense of the harbor of Falmouth, and appropriating four hundred pounds to pay expense, the labor and stores being furnished by the town. The breast- work was constructed under the direction of Enoch Free- man, who, in 1744, received a commission from Governor Shirley, and had command of the post.
Fort Loyal was for some time neglected and dismantled, but during the French war, in 1735, it was placed in a con- dition for defeuse.
COLONIAL MILITIA.
It appears from an estimate presented to the committee of the colonies in England, in 1675, that the militia in 18
Maine, including Sagadahoe, amounted to seven hundred. of whom eighty were in Casco Bay, eighty in Sagadahoc. one hundred at Black Point, one hundred at Saco and Winter Harbor, eighty at Wells and Cape Porpoise, eighty in York, and one hundred and eighty in Kittery. The Indians never had so large a number of fighting men, and yet they entirely destroyed most, and for three years har- assed the remainder, of the settlements in the province.
We find no record of the first militia organization which served in the Indian war of 1675, but we find the daily pay of the militia as follows: general, 6s. ; captain, 5s .; commissary-general, 4s. ; surgeon-general, 4s. ; lieutenant, 4s. ; ensign, 4s. ; sergeant, 2s. Gd .; corporal, 28. ; private, 1s. 6d. Indian corn was from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a bushel, and a cow worth 458. Provision for raising and paying troops was made in some instances by the proprietors of towns, with the approval and sanction of the Governor.
A " foot company" existed in Falmouth at this time, the organization of which we are unable to give, but we find this minute : " 1683, the General Assembly of the province, on the petition of Henry Harwood, discharged him from the foot company in Falmouth, and empowered Capt. Au- thony Brackett to take charge of it."
During the Revolution, and while the notes of preparation for it were yet sounding, troops began to be mustered in this quarter. In October, 1774, Jedediah Preble, of Fal- mouth, Artemas Ward, and Col. Pomeroy were appointed general officers of the provincial forces, the chief command of which was offered to Gen. Preble, who declined it on account of his health and advancing age, and it was bestowed upon Gen. Ward. On the arrival of the news of the battle of Lexington a company of soldiers was sent from Falmouth to the assistance of the people of Boston ; Minute-men were organized and daily drilled upon the Neck ; powder and munitions of war were purchased by vote of the town. Col. Thompson, of Brunswick, and Col. Phinney, of Gor- ham, were ou the march with their respective forces, and Falmouth was the scene of wild confusion over the release of Mowatt, whom the military were anxious to retain and punish. Militia from Gorham, Scarborough, Cape Eliza- beth, and Stroudwater poured into the town to the number of six hundred. The town was placed under military gov- ernment and the officers resolved themselves into a board of war. They proceeded to call before them persons sus- pected of Tory sentiments, and to exact of them conformity to the popular will. The only shot which appears to have been fired by this military array was that of a double-loaded musket at the side of the " Canceau," as she lay in the harbor, designed to menace the Tories, Mowatt and Wis- wall, who had there taken refuge.
About this time Col. Phinney organized a regiment in Falmouth, commissions having been granted by the Provin- cial Congress in April, 1775, and confirmed by the Conti- nental Congress on the 1st of July. Two companies, com- manded by Capts. Bradish and Brackett, were raised on the Neek, and joined the regiment. We cannot give the muster- roll of Capt. Brackett's company, but that of Capt. Bradish is as follows :
Enlisted April 24, 1774.
David Bradish, Falmouth, Capt.
Paul Ellis, 2d Lieut. Bartholomew York, Ist Lient.
138
HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.
Enlisted May 12, 1771.
William Farrington, 1st Sergt.
Thomas Paine, private.
('aleh Carter, 2d Sergt.
Ebenezer Newman, 16
Levi Merrill, 3d Sergt.
Daniel Green,
Abner Dow, 4th Sergt.
Joshna Robinson,
Henry Sewall, Ist Corp.
Joseph Barbour,
Isaac Chikt, 2d Corp.
Josiah Shaw,
Daniel Mussey, 3d Corp.
Joshua Berry,
Richard Gooding, 4th Corp.
Samnel Dow,
Benjamin Tukey, private.
Tobias Pillsbury,
Thomas Cavanah, =
Daniel Gookin,
Loring Cushing,
Cornelius Bramhall,
6.
Zachariah Baker,
Daniel Marston, =
Abijah Pool,
Henry Flood,
Zachariah Nowell,
46
James Flood,
46
Win. Hutchinson,
Joseph Thomes,
Jacob Amey.
Samuel Cales, =
Moses Grant,
John M'Intosh,
Charles Knight,
John Bailey,
Matthias Haynes,
¥
Philip Fowler,
Enoch Moody,
Joseph C'ox,
66
Win. Moody,
=
George Bell,
Lemuel Gooding,
John Penniman,
66
Moses Burdick,
=
John Scott,
Ebenezer ('longh,
=
Benjamin Randel,
John Pettingill,
Richard C'onden,
James MeManners.
Jona. Rand, Drum-Major.
Jona. Gardner,
Joseph Hearsay, Drum Fifer.
John Clough,
This company and that of Capt. Brackett joined the Continental army at Cambridge about the middle of July. Bradish was a most excellent officer, and served till the close of the war. He was commissioned major in Col. Timothy Bigelow's regiment, Jan. 1, 1777 ; died in 1818. Three companies were raised in Falmouth, Scarborough, and Cape Elizabeth.
An expedition preceding that of Arnold, by way of the Kennebec River to Quebec, was undertaken in May, 1775, by order of the selection of Falmouth, who sent Jabez Mathews and David Dinsmore, of New Gloucester, to as- certain if there were any hostile movements from that city upon the back settlements of the province. Mr. Mathews returned in June, and made his report to the Provincial Congress that there were no movements in that direction. These men were, no doubt, the pioneers of the route taken by the famous expedition of Benedict Arnold, in September following. It will be recollected that this officer, then a colonel in the service of the American colonies, was desig- nated by Washington to the command of a select corps de- tached from the army at Cambridge, which, by penetrating the wilds of the Kennebec, was destined to co-operate with other forces, ordered to enter Upper Canada by the lakes, and by the capture of Quebec to finish the campaign.
From Brunswick, the following were in Capt. James ('urtis' company, chiefly three months' men, culisted from June 1 to July 25, 1775 : James Curtis, captain ; William Stanwood, John Hunt, Nathan Coombs, corporals; Benoni Austin, Daniel Brown, Benjamin Coombs, Fields Coombs, Hezekiah Coombs, John Duncan, James Dunning, John Dunning, Tobias Ham, Isaac Hinkley, John Jones, Benja- min Rideout, Samuel Ripley, William Spear, Richard Thompson, John Walker (drummer), Ebenezer Woodward, Samuel Woodward, Jonathan Young.
In Capt. Nathaniel Larrabee's company, for six and
seven months, mustered July 11th and 19th : George Fields Coombs, Benjamin Rideout, privates.
In Capt. William Lithgow's company, enlisted March 13 to Feb. 19, 1776: William Stanwood, sergeant ; Hugh Malloy, corporal, promoted to sergeant ; Benoni Austin, Fields Coombs, James and John Dunning, John Given, Ephraim Graffam, John Hunt, John Jones, Benjamin Rideout, William Spear, Ebenezer Woodward, privates.
In Capt. George White's company, 1777 : William Stan- wood, first lieutenant ; Benoni Austin, John Cornish, John Given, John Grows, John Hunt, Joseph Lawrence, Wil- liam McGill, Hugh Malloy, Joseph Melcher, Jonathan Osburn, Francis Ryan, Samuel Starbird, privates.
In Capt. Coombs' company, Col. Mitchell's regiment, for nine months, from the time of their arrival at Fishkill, on the Hudson, 1778: Benjamin Getchell, Abraham Ride- out .* Stephen Rideout, Joseph Woodward.
In unknown companies : Hugh Dulap, Robert Dunning, Ephraim Hunt, - Hinkley, Benjamin Larrabee, cap- tains ; Samuel Thompson, captain ; promoted to colonel ; promoted to brigadier-general ; - Rowe, major; Thomas Thompson, ensign ; William Alexander, Jere. Alden, Oliver Bisbee ; Robert Given, lieutenant, 7th Massachusetts ; Michael Grouse, Jeremiah Moulton, William Skofield, William Storer.
The " Portland Federal Volunteers" were organized Sept. 10, 1798, in view of the trouble anticipated with England, which ripened into the war of 1812. The company con- sisted of " one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, two ser- geants, four corporals, two musicians, and sixty privates, whose object shall be to defend the just cause of their country, whenever called upon by the President of the United States, agreeably to the 3d and 4th sections of the act of Congress passed the 20th day of May, 1798."+ Joseph Coffin Boyd was chosen captain ; Ezekiel Day, lieutenant ; Richard Wiggins, ensign. A beautiful stand- ard, wreathed with flowers, and bearing the motto, " Defend the Laws," was presented to the company by the ladies of Portland, July 4, 1799. The company was commis- sioned by President Adams, Oet. 19, 1798, and accepted for two years. Desiring to continue a military organization, the members of the company met on the 1Sth of September, 1800, and formed themselves into the Portland Infantry, with Joseph Coffin Boyd, captain ; Ezekiel Day, first lieutenant ; and William Hudson, second lieutenant.
This organization was changed into the " Portland Light Infantry," Nov. 4, 1802, an organization which, through all the changes, has continued to exist to the present time. The company was offered to " His Excellency, Caleb Strong, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," in a letter dated Portland, Nov. 5, 1802, signed by Charles Fox, William Jenks, Jr., John Coe, Edward Capen, and John Woodman, committee. Accompanying which was a commendatory certificate signed by the selectmen of Port-
" Also served four years and three months. Enlisted from Bruns- wiek in Capt. Daniel Merrill's company, Col. Brewer's regiment, at White Plains, N. Y. Served also in Capt. Bullock's Company, under Greene, and was discharged at West Point in 1782. After the war be removed to Kennebunkport, where he was living in 1837. + Records of the company.
46
Benjamin Scollay,
Abijah Parker,
.6
139
EARLY MILITARY HISTORY.
land, by Hon. Poleg Wadsworth, then member of Congress, Lemuel Weeks, major of artillery, Hugh MeLellan, major of First Cumberland Regiment, Thatcher Goddard, and Woodbury Storer, who say that " the said company have supported and deserved a good character, and that their knowledge in military discipline and military ardor refleet honor on themselves and their country."
In 1788 the First Regiment of the First Brigade and Fourth Division of the Massachusetts Militia mustered for the first time where the Bath Hotel, in Bath, now stands. John Lemont, of Bath, was colonel, and John Reed, of Topsham, lieutenant-colonel of this regiment.
On the 29th of July, 1794, the town of Brunswick voted to give each man that should entist and equip him- self as instructed by the commander-in-chief " so much as will make up, with what the United States give, ten dollars per month from the time he marches till he shall be discharged." It was also voted to pay each man that passed muster four dollars as a bounty. This call for troops was occasioned by Indian hostilities in the West.
The " Brunswick Light Infantry" was organized in May, 1804. Its officers were Thomas S. Estabrook, captain ; Caleb Cushing, first lieutenant ; and Robert D. Dunning, second lieutenant. The records of the company have not been found, and consequently but little is known of their doings. In 1825, Saturday, June 25, La Fayette made his visit to Portland, and this company, under the command of Capt. John A. Dunning, attended to assist in escort duty, and were received by the Portland Rifle Company. They celebrated their thirty-eighth anniversary on the 17th of June, 1842. Shortly after this time this company became disorganized, but on July 21, 1854, it was reorganized un- der the title of " D Company Light Infantry," and the following officers were chosen at that time: John A. Cleaveland, captain ; Andrew T. Campbell, first lieutenant ; Charles Pettingill, second lieutenant ; John H. Humphreys, third lientenant ; and John P. Owen, fourth lieutenant. This company turned out June 27, 1855, for target prac- tice, and William R. Field, Jr., got the prize for being the best marksman. The prize was a silver cup. The com- pany had its first annual parade and inspection on the 30th of May preceding. In September of the next year, 1856, the company attended muster in Bath, and about Aug. 7, 1857, it disbanded.
The Brunswick and Topsham Rifle Company was or- ganized in 1821. No records have been preserved of this company, and nothing is known of its doings. A. B. Thompson was the first captain.
In 1806-7 three other infantry companies and an ar- tillery company were formed. One of these infantry com- panies was commanded by Capt. Joseph Dusten, and had its headquarters at Maquoit. The village company was under command of Capt. Richard T. Dunlap. The New Meadows company was commanded by Capt. Peter Jordan, who died in May, 1876, the last surviving member of the company. Early in 1807, Samuel Page and others peti- tioned the proper authorities for the organization of an ar- tillery company. In compliance with the wish expressed in this petition, a brigade order was issued, directing the proper steps to be taken l'or the accomplishment of this ob-
-
ject, and Mr. Lemuel Swift was directed " to raise a com- pany of artillery out of the foot companies of the town of Brunswick, by voluntary enlistment." The company was at once organized, and Peter O. Alden was chosen as its first captain. He is said to have procured the first bass- drum ever brought to town. This company had two six- pounder brass guns in its gun-house on Centre Street.
In addition to the above companies there was a cavalry company. of which a few members belonged in Brunswick and Topsham, and others in Lisbon and Durham. Capt. Jack, of Litchfield, was the eorumanding officer, and a Mr. Baker, of Topsham, was the lieutenant.
There were, about 1812, two infantry companies in Harpswell, which were organized about 1776. The Harps- well Neck company was commanded, in 1812, by Capt. David Johnson, and Peleg Curtis was the lieutenant. The Harpswell Island company was commanded by Capt. Stephen Snow, and Paul Snow was the lientenant. In 1832, Isaiah S. Trufant was chosen captain of the islaud company, in place of John M. Purinton, and Humphrey Snow ensign, in place of Eli Hodgdon.
In 1835 the selectmen defined the limits of the com- panies of militia as follows: the limits of Capt. Hudson Merryman's company were all that part of Great Island northwest of a line drawn from Long Reach to Strawberry Creek, together with Orr's, Bailey's, Haskell's, Flag, Whale- boat, and Birch Islands, and the Neck. The limits of Capt. John M. Purinton's company were all that part of Great Island southeast of a line drawn from Long Reach to Strawberry Creek.
In 1836, Simeon Stover (2d) commanded the first- mentioned, and Isaiah Trufaut the last-named company.
The Portland Rifle Company was organized on the 16th of April, 1810. A. W. Atherton was elected captain, Henry Smith lieutenant, and John Watson ensign. The original roll of the company, with additional names up to 1814, is in the possession of Capt. Frederic Forsyth, who was captain of the company in 1860, previous to the late war. This company in its day was considered one of the finest military organizations in New England. In 1836-38, John D. Kinsman was captain ; in 1840, Lincoln Radford ; in 1854, Josiah Pierce, Jr. ; later, L. De M. Swett, E. M. Patten, and Frederie Forsyth. In 1825 the company acted with the Brunswick Infantry as the escort to La Fayette during his visit to Portland. It was also the body-guard and escort of the Prince of Wales while in Portland in 1860. It was disbanded in 1860, and its records have been taken to California.
The Mechanic Volunteers of Brunswick was organized in 1836. Who the first officers were is unknown. In 1813, John A. Cleaveland was elected captain, George S. Elliot lieutenant, and William K. Melcher ensign.
During the war of 1812 three hundred and twenty men from Brunswick served for a short period at Bath. There were one or two British vessels there, and soldiers from them used to land and commit depredations until Gen. King called out the militia. A fort was built in Harpswell, at this time, commanding the entrance to New Meadows River. Capt. Johnson had a company in Harpswell, who guarded Bailey's Island and prevented the British from
140
IHISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, MAINE.
taking away a coasting-sloop. During the latter part of the war the alarm was spread, on a Sunday morning in Port- laml, that the British cruisers were approaching the harbor, and great excitement prevailed. Church-going was sus- pended for the day. The male population turned out en masse, and threw up a fortification on the hill at Manjoy's Point, as it was called, which faced the ship-channel lead- ing into the harbor. The old carthwork remained till it was destroyed by the excavations for the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad. At this time the militia were called in from the adjacent country, and the town presented a very warlike aspect. But the British did not appear, and the aların proved to be a false rumor.
In 1840 the enrolled militia in the State was forty-six thousand three hundred and eighty-eight. In March, 1840, a new and very elaborate act for the enrollment and discipline of the militia was passed by the Legislature, pro- viding for volunteer companies. Each commissioned officer was entitled to hold his commission seven years. Under this act a considerable impulse was given to military affairs. The number of companies returned was five hundred and seventy, and the money expended by the State two hundred and sixty-five thousand four hundred and eighty-five dollars and seventy -six cents.
The government of the United States called for one regiment from the State to serve in the Mexican war. One company for the regiment was raised in Portland,- Company G. It was organized on the 28th of November, 1846. Wendel P. Smith, Captain ; Nathan Barker, First Lieutenant ; Charles F. Little, Second Lieutenant. Capt. Green Waldron was ordered, with the revenue-cutter " Morris," then at Portland, to Vera Cruz.
An " Act to Organize and Discipline the Milicia" was passed by the Legislature Feb. 29, 1856. The State was formed into divisions, whereof the 5th embraced this county, with headquarters at Portland. Major-General, Wendell P. Smith ; Aide-de-Camp, Joshua S. Palmer; Division Advocate, Lewis Pierce ; Division Quartermaster, Charles HI. Haskell,-all of Portland.
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