History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 16

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730

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Governor Shirley, in preparing for the expedition, se- lected his chief commanding officers from Maine. Captain Edward Tyng, of Falmouth, was made commodore of the fleet. He was a brave and skillful seaman. During the preceding summer, while cruising in the eastern waters, he had captured a French privateer and taken his prize, to- gether with the officers and crew, to Boston, a feat which gained him great applause, and made him the recipient of a silver cup, presented by the merchants of Boston, in token of their appreciation of his meritorious conduct. The se- lection of a chief commander was a matter of great moment. It was necessary to choose one whose character and abilities would insure popular confidence of success, and the choice fell on William Pepperell, Esq., of Kittery, then colonel of the western regiment of the York County militia. His new commission gave him the rank of lieutenant-general. He was a merchant of unblemished reputation and engaging manners, extensively known and highly popular throughout

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. The second in command was Samuel Waldo, Esq., who was commis- sioned with the rank of brigadier-general. He was a native of Boston, son of Jonathan Waldo, a rich merchant of that city, and extensively interested in the Muscongus patent. At that time Mr. Waldo was colonel-commandant of the eastern regiment of York County, and the representative of Falmouth in the General Court. He was in the prime of life, a man of excellent understanding and great activity. The colonels in the Maine and Massachusetts troops were Moulton, Hale, Willard, Richmond, Gorham, and Dwight. Jeremiah Moulton, the third in command, was a native in- habitant of York, at that time a member of the Provincial Council, a judge of the Common Pleas, and county treas- urer of York County. Ile had been in the public service, was acquainted with Indian warfare, and had acquired much credit in taking Norridgewock during the last war. Gorham had charge of the whale-boats, and Gridley com- manded the train of artillery. Mr. Vaughan was given a lieutenant's commission, without any particular command, he preferring the trust of such special duties as the com- mander-in-chief might consider his adventurous genius best suited to perform.

In less than two months from the day the General Court resolved to undertake the expedition, an army of four thou- sand men was prepared to embark, and a naval squadron, consisting of thirteen vessels, besides transports and store- ships, carrying about two hundred guns, was ready to sail. Pepperell received his instructions from Shirley, March 19th, and on the 24th, at the head of his armament, put to sea at Nantasket. He was directed to proceed to Canseau, there build a battery and block-house, deposit his stores, and leave two companies to guard them. Thence they were to operate against Louisbourg, take the place by sur- prise, if practicable ; otherwise reduce it by siege. Every- thing was propitious ; the weather fair and beautiful; and all circumstances seeming to concur to crown the efforts of the adventurers with success.

We have not space to enter into the details of the siege. Suffice it to say, it was pushed with all energy and per- sistence, and on the 15th of June the French surrendered. In the capitulation sixty-five veteran troops, thirteen hun- dred and ten militia, the crew of the " Vigilant," and two thousand of the inhabitants (there being four thousand one hundred and thirty in all) engaged not to bear arms against Great Britain or her allies for twelve months, and, embarking on board of fourteen cartel ships, were trans- ported to Rochfort, in France. The loss of the provincials was one hundred and thirty men ; that of the French, three hundred killed within the walls. The " Prince of Orange," one of the English vessels, was sunk in a storm, and her crew drowned. The weather, which during the last forty days of the siege had been remarkably fine, now changed, and an incessant rain of ten days succeeded. Had this happened before the surrender, hundreds then sick of the dysentery must have fallen victims to the disease.

The news of this splendid victory filled America with joy and Europe with astonishment. It was celebrated in the New England towns by the ringing of bells, bonfires, and festivities, and July 13th by a public thanksgiving.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

Gen. Pepperell, for this splendid achievement, was made a baronet by the crown, and was ever afterwards known as Sir William Pepperell. Com. Warren, who joined the ex- pedition from the West Indies, was made admiral. The expense of the expedition was paid by Parliament about four years later, and two hundred thousand pounds sterling was shipped to New England for that purpose .*

The following letter, written by Sir William Pepperell to Judge Hill, of Berwick, on the eve of the expedition, will be read with interest. It is copied from the original, now in a good state of preservation, in possession of N. J. Her- rick, Esq., of Alfred. The letter, as will be seen, was written one hundred and thirty-six years ago, just previous to his departure on the famous Louisbourg expedition, in which he achieved the highest distinction as a military com- mander :

" KITTERY, February 21st, 1744.

" DEAR SR, --- The day Last past I heard that Capt. Butler had En- listed in Berwick his fifty brave Sold'rs; this news was Like a Cordial to me to heare that Berwick, Brother to Kittery, my own native Town, had such a brave English Spirit. I received Last night a Letter from Yr Honorable Committee of Warr who write that they tho.t there was upon our making up five or six companys of our brave County of York men Ye full number that was propo'd are Enlis'd & more so that there will be a number Clear'd off, hut you may assure Your Selfe that our brave County of York men Shall not be Clear'd ' off without they desire it.

"Speake to Capt. Butler to hasten down here, for I have some En- listing money sent me for him. I am sorry that some of your Com- mission officers in Your Town Seem to be uneasy hecause they had not had Ye offer of a Commission in this Expedition ; I understod you Spoke to them ; did they Expect that at this time I should have wait'd on them, I think if they had Ye Least inclination to have gone I think it was there Duty they owed to God their King & Country to come & offer their Selves.

" My Love to Yr Lady & all inquiring Friends.

" I am your Affectionate

" Friend & Serv't, " W.M. PEPPERELL.

" I don't doubt in Ye Least but the Commission Officers in Berwick are Brave, good men as any in this Province, and would willingly Venture their Lives with their Collo, and I helieve that nothing would now hinder them but their business in going on Ye intend'd Expedi- tion, therefore I excuse them willingly ; please to tell them all I Sin- cerely Value and Love them, & that if there should he occation for forces to be Sent after us I don't doubt in Ye Least but they will be reddy to com when their business is over. I begg all their prayers. " Dear Brother I wish you well. "W. P.

"On His Majs'tys Service

" To the Honorable John Hill, Esqr Att Berwick."

The Penobscot Indians having failed to comply with the requisition made upon them for their quota of fighting men, war was declared against them in August, 1745, and a high premium offered for scalps. The subtle and vindic- tive enemy, being now let loose from all restraint, started up from their swamps and morasses, harassing the whole line of settlements, and committing depredations upon the undefended plantations. Two companies were employed as scouts between Saco and Brunswick, who were unable to find the Indians collected in any force; but individuals and small parties would make sudden ousets for reprisal or revenge, and as suddenly disappear. In August a party was discovered in Gorham, which was then a frontier post, containing only a few settlers, and in September some

scattered Indians were traced in the neighborhood of Fal- mouth ; one was fired upon at Long Creek, and a few days after a son of Col. Cushing, of Purpooduck, was killed by them. Four companies were raised in Fahnouth and the neighboring towns, in September, to go in quest of them. They were all, however, unsuccessful, for scarcely had the presence of an enemy created an alarm upon the whole frontier than they suddenly retired far beyond the reach of observation. They were seen no more in that direction during the year, but in the spring of 1746 they came in stronger force, and hung around the vicinity the whole season. On the 19th of April ten of them appeared at Gorham, where they killed Mr. Bryant and his four chil- dren, and killed or carried away his wife and several other persons. In June they attacked the family of Wescott, on Long Creek, killed and scalped two men, and took their clothes and guns. This was done by seven Indians, when there were twenty-five soldiers almost within gunshot of the place. A day or two later an Indian was fired upon from Mr. Frost's garrison at Stroudwater, and five days after another was scen lurking not far from that place. They hovered around the towns all summer, secking an opportunity to plunder or destroy life. In August one of Mr. Proctor's family and two others were killed at Falmouth, where about thirty Indians were discovered. Philip Greeley and others were killed at North Yarmouth. In Scarborough, Mr. Hunnewell, while mowing in his field, had his gun stolen at the other end of the swath by a lurking Indian. He mowed his return-swath without appearing to notice the movement of the savage, and as he came to the bank behind which the Indian was concealed, leaped over with an astounding yell, and, as the savage rose from his hiding-place, cleft his body in two with the scythe. Other comrades were seen not far off, whose movements indicated that they were about to join in the fight, wheu Hunnewell brandished his weapon at them in such a defiant manner that they fled, not daring to ap- proach him.

In the summer of 1746 additional men were distributed among the garrisons at Saco, Brunswick, and St. George's. The attacks of the Indians were chiefly upon the eastern settlements,-Georgetown, Broad Bay Plantation, Pema- quid, Sheepscot, and Wiscasset,-all of which suffered more or less in the loss of lives, property, and prisoners.

In September the whole country was thrown into the utmost consternation by the arrival of a large fleet and army at Nova Scotia, from France, under the command of the Duke D'Anville, a French nobleman of great experience and ability. The fleet was the most powerful ever sent to North America. A force of seventeen hundred men from Canada, consisting of regular troops, militia, volunteers, and savages, was in readiness to join the fleet, but on ac- count of its delay they had started on their homeward march, and a messenger reached them in time to secure the return of only four hundred. This force was designed for the destruction of the chief settlements in New England. But on their way, and after their arrival in Nova Scotia, they met with great misfortunes. The duke died on the fourth day after their arrival; the vice-admiral, in a delir- ium of fever, fell upon his own sword; an epidemic fever

* 2 Williamson, p. 233.

CONQUEST OF NEW FRANCE.

of a very fatal type broke out among the men, so that eleven hundred and thirty of the troops died after encamp- ment ; and the Indians, flocking thither in great numbers for arms, ammunition, and clothing, took the fatal disease, which preyed upon them till it carried off more than a third of the whole Mickmack race, and extended to the tribe on the river St. John. On the 13th of October part of the fleet, consisting of forty sail, left Chebneto for Annapolis, but being overtaken in a violent storm off Cape Sable they were so shattered that they returned singly to France.

This was regarded by the people of New England as a most signal providential deliveranee. "Never," says an able and pious writer, " was the hand of Divine Providenee more visible than on this oeeasion."

In the spring of 1747 a premium of two hundred and fifty pounds was offered for every Indian's sealp taken west of Passamaquoddy, and one hundred pounds for every one taken elsewhere .* The first appearance of the Indians this spring was at Scarborough, where they killed young Dresser, April 13th. The next day, at Saecarappa, they took Wm. Knight and his two sons prisoners. Within a week Mr. Elliot and his son were slain, and Mr. Marsh earried into eaptivity. A body of fifty Indians entered Falmouth on the 2Ist, and, after slaughtering several cattle, fell upon the family of Mr. Frost, whom they dispatched while defending his family with great bravery, and carried eaptive his wife and six children. By the 1st of May the whole frontier, from Wells to Topsham, appeared to be infested by swarms of savages. Aware, probably, that there were no soldiers in this section, except Capt. Jordan's company at Topsham, the eastern portion being better defended, they chose this ground for their ravages and reprisals. Near Falmouth they killed two women ; at New Meadows, Mr. Hinkley ; at Searborough they fired upon an inhabitant ; and at Wells they chased a man into the heart of the town. A party of some thirty entered Windham, probably with the intent to take eaptive every one of the settlers. By making an at- taek upon Bolton and young Mayberry, they probably thwarted their plan, for the report of the guns gave the people sufficient notice to seeure themselves in the garrison.

These were the last depredations committed in this por- tion of Maine prior to the peace of Aix-la-chapelle, con- cluded Oct. 7, 1748. In June following the sagamores visited Boston to make terms of peace with the colonists. The time of the treaty was set for the last days in Septem- ber, and was appointed to be held at Falmonth. Aeeord- ingly, Sir William Pepperell, Thomas Hutchinson, John Choate, Israel Williams, and James Otis, commissioners, aecompanied by a guard of fifty York County militia, re- paired to Falmouth, September 28th, where they waited till October 14th before a single Indian appeared, the French having been instrumental in keeping them back from the treaty. However, a considerable number arrived on that day, and the council was opened in the meeting- house of the First Parish. Ou the 16th the parties eon- eluded and signed the treaty. They agreed to discontinue all hostilities, deliver up the captives without ransom, and never again molest the English settlements.

By the treaty of Aix-la-chapelle, each crown surrendered to the other all territorial conquests, and therefore the Island of Cape Breton again passed into the possession of the Freneh.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CONQUEST OF NEW FRANCE.

Extent of the French Claims-Their Principal Fortifications-Differ- ence between the French and English Colonists-Forts and Block- Houses in Maine-Conquest of Nova Scotia-Removal of the Aca- dians-Recapture of Louisbourg-Reduction of Niagara-Ticon- deroga-Crown Point-Fall of Quebec-Destruction of St. François -Peace of the Colonies.

ALTHOUGH there had been five consecutive Indian wars within a period of eighty years, which had greatly reduced the strength of the savages throughout most of New Eng- land, there were still several powerful tribes in the eastern part of Maine, in Canada, and Nova Scotia, which eon- tinued troublesome so long as the French had any posses- sions on this side of the Atlantic. Happily for the peace and rest of the eolonies, the time for the overthrow of their power was now rapidly approaching. The French had been very aggressive within the last few years; they not only claimed Canada, Nova Scotia, and the part of Maine east- ward of the Penobseot, but the whole valley of the Missis- sippi, Ohio, and Michigan, and a large portion of Northern and Western New York. At the outbreak of the war in 1754 they had taken military possession of a large part of this territory, and had the alliance of all the Indian tribes within its borders, except those conquered and under treaty with Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, and the Six Nations of New York, whose powerful aid was given to the English in the war.

The French had forts at this time at Louisbourg, in Cape Breton ; at Beau Séjour and Cape Verte, in Nova Scotia ; two on the river St. John, built three years since ; a strong fortress at Ticonderoga, on the isthmus between Lake George and Lake Champlain ; Fort Frederie, at Crown Point, on the western side of the last-mentioned lake; Fort Frontenac, north of the outlet of Lake Ontario; Fort Ontario, at Oswego River, on the southwest margin of the same lake; Fort Niagara, just below Niagara Falls, on the southwest side; Fort Pontchartrain, at Detroit ; Fort Du Quesne, at the head of the Ohio River, now Pittsburgh ; Fort St. Vincent, at Vincennes, Ind. ; Fort Gratiot, at the foot of Lake Huron, in Michigan ; a strong fort at Macki- naw; besides fortifieations at Green Bay, Portage, and Prairie du Chien, Wis., and others at various points along the Mississippi and on Mobile Bay. Thus they had spread themselves by the interior watercourses across the entire eontinent, following the St. Lawrence to the great lakes of the Northwest, and thenee to the Mississippi, and down that river to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico. New Franee had thus the dimensions of a vast colonial empire, five thousand miles in length, extending from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the tropics, embracing the largest rivers and lakes on the continent, and the richest lands of the Western Hemisphere. It was too large for the best re-

# 16 Mass. C. Rec., p. 312.

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, MAINE.

sources of France herself to defend against a hardy and energetic race of Anglo-Saxons, who, although they moved more slowly, built more securely the foundations of per- manent and enduring society. The English colonists sub- dued the forests. made homes for themselves and their children, developed the resources of the soil, encouraged commerce and manufactures, built school-houses and churches, and laid the foundation of civil and religions in- stitutions, for the conservation of liberty, justice, and social and moral order among the people. This Anglo-Saxon energy and genius for the organization of stable institu- tions, which has made the descendants of the colonists the masters of North America, was more than a match for the French even in its cradle, and after a brief struggle the power and pretensions of the latter crumbled before it, and sank into utter decay and insignificance.

The part taken in this struggle by the people of Maine, and particularly those of York County, makes it imperative that we should attempt at least an outline sketch of the war.

In 1754, when the war commenced, there was a line of forts and block-houses in Maine extending along the fron- tier from Salmon Falls to St. George's River. At Ber- wick, within two or three miles above Quampeagan landing, were several strongly fortified houses, known as Gerrish's, Key's, Wentworth's, and Goodwin's garrisons. There was also a picketed fort on the height of land at Pine Hill, formed of logs set in the ground, about twenty feet in height, and sharpened at the upper ends. Similar fortifi- cations and block-houses constructed of hewn timber, in- closed by palisades or other works of defense, were estab- lished in every frontier township or plantation in Maine and Sagadahock. The soldiers who kept these garrisons and the settlers who resorted to them in every emergency or alarm were at all times armed, whether they went to public worship, to labor, or on business. The moment a lurking savage was discovered, means were used to commu- nicate notice to the nearest block-house or garrison, when an alarm-gun was fired, and all the scattered people fled within the gates. If there were no large guns or swivels, three muskets were fired in succession at short intervals. Trained dogs were also used to scent ont the footsteps of the Inrking foe, detect skulking parties en route, or frns- trate ambuscades. The habits of the Indians were pretty well understood by the settler, though such was often their devilish ingenuity that they would decoy the most wary into ambuscades and traps. For example, they would sometimes detach the bell from the cow or the ox, and by making with it its usnal sonnd, as if the animal were feed- ing or browsing, direct the steps of the hunter after his herd to the spot, and shoot him as he approached, uncon- scious of the lurking foe. In such a state thousands of people lived during the war, being actually afraid to milk their cows in yards near the garrisons for fear of being shot by the Indians.

The war was carried on by the united forces of the Eng- lish and the colonists. Early in 1755 four expeditions were undertaken against the French forts. Braddock was sent against Du Quesne, and was defeated in July. Sir William Johnson marched against Crown Point with six

hundred provincials, and won a brilliant victory in the vicinity of that fort. Governor Shirley and Sir William Pepperell proceeded against Niagara and Fort Frontenac without success. In the midst of these expeditions two large French ships, belonging to a fleet which had just arrived from the harbor of Brest, were taken by the Eng- lish, the balance of the fleet escaping and making its way up the St. Lawrence.

A force was raised at this time for the conquest of Nova Scotia. It consisted chiefly of two thousand men, raised in Massachusetts and Maine. They had like pay and treat- ment in every respect as the regular soldiers. Governor Shirley had chief command, with the rank of colonel, and John Winslow was lieutenant-colonel, upon whom the im- mediate command of the whole force devolved. They, with two hundred and seventy regulars, and a fleet of forty-one vessels, under command of Col. Monkton, reduced Nova Scotia, and early in 1755 effected the removal of the Aca- dians or French neutrals, whose melancholy fate is well known to the reader of history, and forms one of the saddest chapters in the events of those times.

During this year the Indians were exceedingly trouble- some, plundering and killing in small parties, in the most defenseless settlements. They committed depredations and murders in Gray, Dresden, Newcastle, North Yarmouth, and New Gloucester. June 10th additional supplies were sent to the eastern garrisons. On the 11th, war was de- clared against the eastern tribes,-all except the Penobscots. Companies of volunteers consisting of not less than thirty men were entitled to receive two hundred pounds for every Indian's scalp, and two hundred and fifty pounds for each captive. Individuals performing the same service were en- titled to one hundred pounds per scalp, and one hundred and ten pounds per captive. But this species of warfare, although in self-defense, was not desirable by the eastern people. They preferred a place in Col. Pepperell's regi- ment, where glory as well as wages presented motives to military ambition. Since the capture of Louisbourg in the last war, there was manifested among the young soldiery of Maine a glow of military ardor.

In the distribution of the forces for the protection of the frontiers, fifty were placed on scout from Lebanon to Saco River; sixty from Saco to Gray, by the way of Sebago Pond and New Gloucester; ninety from Gray to Fort Shirley, at Frankfort; and one hundred from thence to St. George's River. These arrangements and the snccesses in Nova Scotia overawed the Indians for a short time, till Capt. James Cargill, in July, falling in with a hunting-party of Penobscot Indians, shot down twelve of them, and so en- raged the whole tribe that conciliation was impossible, and war was declared against them on the 5th of November.

The campaign for the year 1756 was settled in January, in New York, by a council of the colonial governors, Shir- ley being at that time commander-in-chief of the American troops. It was agreed that ten thousand men proceed against Crown Point; six thousand against Niagara ; three thousand against Fort Du Quesne ; and two thousand up the Kennebec River, to destroy the settlements on the Chaudière, and by ranging to the mouth of that river, keep all the neighboring parts of Canada in alarm. In the win-

CONQUEST OF NEW FRANCE.

ter and spring a force of two thousand six hundred men was raised in Massachusetts and Maine, and put under command of Maj .- Gen. Winslow, recalled from Nova Scotia to take charge of them.

In June the king of Great Britain formally declared war against France, and in the same month Gen. Abercrombie, arriving with his army, took the chief command from Gov- ernor Shirley, who retired, and was subsequently Governor of the Bahamas. He had been Governor of Massachusetts since 1740.

In March three hundred recruits were divided into scout- ing-parties for the continued defense of the settlements in Maine, according to the plan and order of the preceding year. John Wheelwright, of Wells, was commissary-gen- eral and superintendent of Indian trade, and was instructed to take care of the munitions, to see that the forts and gar- risons were in a defensible condition, and to procure all extra supplies necessary for the Kennebec expedition.

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History of York County, Maine, with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 16

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 730

Author: Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 730