USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine v.I, 1770-1875 > Part 16
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And I have sent one hundred and on Quarter of rice, and you may let the rest of your Children have sum of it, 6 pounds powder for you and Tolford, 1 ax, 1 pound of powder, 5 [illegible] two almanacks, four paprs needles, 10 ros of [pins ?]
mis Patterson have three ros and devide [illegible] between you and Tolford, and there is but little to be got nowadays by hard work, and I have a mind to try my luck at Privateering one short Crusc, and I hope to git home in four months, and I wold have you try if you Can git John Barnet to help you to make up the fences in the
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Among those from Belfast who entered the Revolutionary service at this period was Samuel Houston, Jr., son of Samuel Houston, one of the proprietors. In June, 1775, being then twenty-two years old, he left here for Londonderry, and was at Newburyport when the news of the battle of Bunker Hill was received. He immediately enlisted, and marched to Cambridge, where he joined the company of Captain George Reid, of London- derry. This company contained many of his old neighbors and schoolmates, and was stationed on Winter Hill until the evacua- tion of Boston, in March, 1776. Orders being soon after given for the designation from each New England regiment of four men of steady habits and of uniform height to form a guard for General Washington, Honston was among those selected. In this corps,1 which was attached to the person of the commander-in-chief, but never spared in battle, he continued several years, and participated in the principal campaigns. After peace, he returned to Belfast, and held several military and civil offices. Major Houston died Jan. 9, 1835, aged eighty-one. His remains rest in the east grave- yard.
Early in 1776, the militia was reorganized ; and Charles Cush- ing, of Pownalboro', was appointed to command the eastern regiment. All able-bodied males between sixteen and sixty years were enrolled. Any one drafted or detailed who refused to enter the service was liable to fine and imprisonment. The Declara- tion of Independence, which passed on the 4th of July, was printed and sent to all the ministers in the State, to be publicly read by them on the first Sabbath after its reception, and to be recorded by the town clerks in their respective town books.3
spring, and pay him in grain, and sow as much spring grain as posable. I intend to send fifteen dolers down to you and fifteen I intend to leave with hemphill to buy Corn if it gros Chaper. it is in me to write much more, but I leave yon to God and your own prudence to Cary on the spring work as well as you can, and I trust in God I sball git home in a few months. I wold not have Joseph to be discouraged, for if he Cary's on well and I get home well, I will reward him well. So I ad no more, but remain your Dutiful son, JOHN DURHAM. NEWBURY PORT, february 24th, 1778. Addressed, - To Mr John Durham, At Belfast.
1 The Commander-in-Chief's Guard, commonly called The Life Guard, was a distinct body of superior men, selected with special reference to their physical, moral, and intellectual character. To belong to it was considered a mark of peculiar distinc- tion. Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution, I. 688.
8 Williamson, Hist. Maine, I. 445.
2 Davidson's Narrative.
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BELFAST DURING THE REVOLUTION.
No record was made here, but the instrument met with the hearty approval of the inhabitants. For the defence of the Penobscot, the. General Court stationed a party of thirty men, ten of whom were Indians, at Fort Pownall, under the command of Andrew Gilman. To supply immediate necessities, they loaned £1,200 to the towns between Camden and Machias, taking notes of their committees as security. A resolve passed this year is as follows : -
" Whereas, it appears that the inhabitants of Camden, Major Baggaduce, Fox Islands, and Belfast have not received their share of ammunition, and stand in need of a quantity for their defences : Resolved, that so much powder, balls, and flints, as will amount to one half £193 6s. 4d., at the rate following, viz., powder at 5s. per lb., balls at 6d., and flints at 5s. per 100, be dis- tributed by James Minot to said towns." 1
During the interval between the legal authority of the royal . government, and the resumption of that of the Province in its own name, some authority had to be substituted ; and committees of safety and correspondence were continued in the various towns. " Without much regard to the habeas corpus and other personal rights and immunities, such committees undertook to inquire into the doings and designs of people in general, and to inspect, regulate, and in a measure control, all matters and transactions as the public good in their judgment might require."2 The committee for these purposes in Belfast, for 1776, was John Tuft, John Brown, Solon Stephenson, James Patterson, and Samuel Houston.
At a town meeting held on the fifteenth of July, 1777, for the purpose of choosing " a Person to lay before the Court a list of all that are Inimicably disposed against the United States that appear in this Town, agreeably to an act of the Great & Generall Court," Solon Stephenson was selected a censor "for to Lay Before the Court the misconduct of any Person Either by word or action against the United States."8 It is not known that his services were put in requisition. During this summer, in conse- quence of an attack by the British upon Machias, several com- panies of militia were ordered there for protection against future aggressions. In the "muster-roll of the detachment of Colonel Brewer's regiment, under the command of Captain Gilman, from
1 Records Mass. Gen. Court.
2 Eaton's Hist. Thomaston, I. 112.
8 Town records.
.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
Aug. 18 to Sept. 17," appear the names of Tolford Durham, lieutenant, whose pay as allowed was £8 28., and John Durham, David Gilmore, and James Miller, privates, £2 cach, for one month's pay.1 This was the full quota of Belfast.
In 1778, the inhabitants voted unanimously to approve and adopt the Constitution which the Massachusetts colony had pre- pared for acceptance. But the measure was rejected throughout the Province, and no organized government existed until two years later.
Although during the war, as has been before remarked, the Penobscot tribe had generally adhered to our cause, yet great apprehensions existed among the scattered and defenceless settlers. "In September, 1778," says Davidson, " a report was brought by two friendly Indians to our field-officers that Indians and Tories, commanded by the British, were coming down three rivers, viz., St. John, Penobscot, and Kennebec, in such numbers as to drive all before them who refused to take the oath of allegiance to King George, and would be among us the next spring, by the time the leaves on the trees were as large as a man's thumb-nail.2 If there was any ground for this report, the inhabitants of Belfast conjectured that there would be a fleet to meet them at the mouths of the rivers named, to co-operate with them, and to afford such supplies as they might need. The next spring (1779), a number of English vessels came into the harbor, and we became alarmed lest the Indians and Tories would be upon us. We were too weak to resist, and had no place to flee to. Under these cir- cumstances, as the best we could do, four families of us got on board a small two-masted boat, thinking to go to Long Island, rather than to stay on the main-land to be massacred by the In- dians and Tories. But the wind drove us back, and we went to Mr. Nichols's to garrison ; for his house was made of larger trees, and would be a better, defence against musket-balls. But we did not stay there many days, until we were informed that some nien of Belfast had been with a flag of truce on board the fleet to inquire what they wished for ; who received for answer that they wished to have what we could spare of provisions, for which they would pay the money, and further that we would be neutral, and not fight for or against them. This story pleased us so well, that
1 Muster roll in Secretary's office, Boston.
2 This report was sent from Canada, and is given in almost the same language as that used by Davidson, in Kidder's Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia, p. 204.
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BELFAST DURING THE REVOLUTION.
we returned to our homes, and collected our household articles from their places of concealment. And we began to think that all the news we had heard about Indians was tory news, and so we resumed our work in good spirits." 1
1 Davidson's Narrative. At the annual meeting this spring, it was voted to sell the town's powder at fifteen shillings per pound, and buy new.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
CHAPTER XII.
BELFAST DURING THE REVOLUTION: CONTINUED.
British Forces occupy Bagaduce (Castine). - Object of the Investment. - Description of Bagaduce. - Troops landed. - Fort George commenced. - Proclamation of the British General. - Oath of Allegiance a Condition of Protection. - Form of Oath. - People of Belfast consult together. - No Plan determined. - Davidson and Ste- phenson leave. - Oath taken by Majority of Inhabitants. - Their Subsequent Ac- knowledgment and Excuse. - Mr. White's Account Incorrect. - Massachusetts prepares to dislodge the Invaders. - The Penobscot Expedition. - Formidable Fleet and Army fitted ont. - Commanders. - Our Ships enter the Bay. - Attack the Enemy. - Brisk Cannonade on Both Sides. - Naval Engagement witnessed froin Belfast. - Counter-Proclamation issued by General Lovell. - Durham and Others join the Americans. - Imperfection of the British Works. - Battery cap- tured. - Ohstinacy of Saltonstall. - Our Troops effect a Landing. - Severe Losses. - Enemy driven within their Fort. - Sir John Moore. - Trask's Rock. - Captain Hinckley. - Siege commenced. - Council of War. - Proposal for Storming re- jected. - British ready to surrender. - Redoubt taken. - Fruitless Discussions. -- Reinforcements sent for. - Our Men disheartened. - Saltonstall finally agrees to force the Harbor. - Determination reached too late. - Sir George Collier and a Superior British Force arrive. - Retreat ordered. - Our Fleet captured and destroyed. - Ships burned off Turtle Head. - Utter Rout of the Americans. -Immense Loss to the State. - Conrt of Inquiry. - Lovell and Wadsworth acquitted. - Saltonstall cashiered. - British hold Bagaduce until 1784. - Rocham- beau offers to retake it. - Its Importance as a Military Station. - Selected as Capi- tal of Proposed Province of New Ireland.
T HE fleet which so alarmed the people of Belfast was the British force which invested Bagaduce, and caused the famous military operation against that place, known as the "Pen- obscot Expedition."
During the carly part of the Revolution, and before Congress had taken any definite action towards maintaining a regular naval force, armed cruisers, emerging from the numerous harbors that indent the coast of Maine, became very formidable to the enemy. Not only was English commerce injured, but transports laden with supplies for the troops were frequently intercepted and cap- tured. To check such annoyances, the British ministry deter- mined to establish a military post in this quarter, which would command the eastern district of Massachusetts, prevent antici-
1
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BELFAST DURING THE REVOLUTION.
pated incursions into the neighboring Provinces, and furnish a secure refuge for the loyal inhabitants. An insufficient force for the protection of Nova Scotia prevented the execution of this plan until 1779. In June of that year, three sloops of war, com- manded by Captain Henry Mowatt, the notorious destroyer of Fal- mouth, accompanied by several transports, containing seven hundred rank and file, the latter under charge of General Francis McLean, sailed from Halifax, with instructions, if joined by an expected squadron from New York, to occupy Casco Bay; otherwise, to take possession of Penobscot. After waiting several days off Fox Islands for the anticipated reinforcement, the fleet proceeded up the bay, and on the fourth anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill came to anchor in the harbor of Maja-Bagaduce, opposite the site of the beautiful village of Castine, then a plantation of some twenty houses. Mowatt was well acquainted with the spot. Twenty years before, he had witnessed its formal occupation, in the name of the king, by Governor Pownall; and in 1775 he again visited the vicinity, and dismantled the fort at the mouth of Penobscot River.
The few inhabitants of Bagaduce were generally on the side of Independence. While Boston was besieged, they had incurred the displeasure of General Gage, by capturing five sloops which he had sent for wood, and by conveying their crews as prisoners of war to the American head-quarters at Cambridge. To punish them may have been one reason for investing their settlement.
With martial music, their arms and uniforms glittering in the rays of the summer sun, the troops made an imposing display as they landed at what is now the foot of Main Street. An eye- witness relates that they seemed frightened; hesitating, and look- ing from right and left, as if expecting to be fired upon from behind the trees.1 No opposition, however, was offered ; and they were soon encamped on the heights. At a short distance below, an opening in the sheet of forest marked the spot where, almost contemporary with their settlement at Plymouth, the Pilgrim Fathers had erected a trading-house. There, too, formerly stood the castle of D'Aulnay, whose career forms one of the most ro- mantic episodes in our colonial history ; and, on the margin of a neighboring brook, were still to be seen the ruins of Saint-Castin's fortress, and of the humble chapel of "Our Lady of Holy Hope,"
1 Narrative of William Hutchings.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
of which the corner-stone had been consecrated in 1648 by the pious Father Leo, of Paris, in the mission of Capuchins.
The peninsula of Bagaduce, or Castine, is situated about twenty miles from the ontermost islands, on the east side of Penohscot Bay, and six miles from the mouth of Penobscot River. Unob- structed by any higher land, its bold outlines are prominent at a great distance, from all directions. On the south-easterly side, the river, or, more properly, the estuary, called Bagaduce, forms a con- fluence with the bay. Without great violence to its outlines, the shape of the peninsula may be represented by an isos- celes triangle, the north-east point constituting its apex. The north-west side is connected with the main .by a marsh about eighty rods in width, which is overflowed at high tide. The base, at the south-west, is formed by Penobscot Bay. Proceeding south-westwardly from the apex, as the land expands in width, it also increases in height, until it rises about two hundred feet above the level of the shore. The base, therefore, on the bay, is rugged and broken, presenting to the eye of an approaching spec- tator a bluff, precipitous appearance. The height of this triangle is about one mile and three-quarters, measuring the perpendicular from apex to hase ; and the base itself is about one mile in length. A ridge extends along the central line of the peninsula, having a gentle declivity towards the river and harbor. On the highest part of this ridge was the spot selected by the British for their fort.1
General McLean immediately commenced fortifying the penin- sula in the most impregnable manner. At the shore, he erected magazines for provisions and military stores, also two batteries, covered by his ships. On the heights were drawn the outlines of a regular fortress, called Fort George. Its area within the ram- parts was to be rectangular, the length of each side being about two hundred and fifty feet, with bastions at each angle, intended for bomb-proof apartments. The plan contemplated walls of earth and stone, twenty feet high, exclusive of a deep ditch which en- vironed them. A heavy growth of trees, principally spruce, cov- ered the spot. This was removed by the neighboring inhabitants, many of whom, in response to a proclamation for that purpose from the British commander, thus obtained indemnity for past disloyalty, and protection in their future promised allegiance.
1 MS. account of Castine, by Dr. William Ballard, U. S. N., who was stationed there after the War of 1812.
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BELFAST DURING THE REVOLUTION.
One of the first acts of the British general was to issue a proc- lamation requiring all the males resident in the vicinity to go on board the ships, and to take the oath of allegiance, or abide the consequences. The following is a copy of the oath : -
Oath imposed by General McLean on the Inhabitants of the Eastern Parts of Penobscot Bay.
Calling the most great and sacred God to the truth of my inten- tions, I do most solemnly promise and swear that I will bear true allegiance and be a dutiful subject of his most sacred Majesty King George 3d, King of Great Britain, France, Ireland, and of the Colonies of North America now falsely calling themselves the United States of America ; that, as a good and faithful sub- ject, I will at all times demean myself to the best of my knowl- edge; that, as such, I will not give any countenance or assistance, either by intelligence, provisions, or arms, or in any way whatever either by word or deed, to the rebellion now carrying on in his Majesty's colonies ; that I will give the most early intelligence in my power to the King's officers of any movement which a good and faithful subject ought not to conceal ; that I will never consent to the acknowledgment of the present illegal authority set up by persons styling themselves the Congress of the United States of North America, or of any other authority which may be set up, or may be attempted to be set up, other than that of his most sacred Majesty, King George the Third aforesaid.
All this I SWEAR in the presence of Almighty God, from whose justice the perjurer must expect the most severe vengeance, and from whom I expect to find help and strength only as I keep this oath.1
This proclamation reached Belfast late one afternoon. " What the consequences of a refusal to take the oath would be," says Davidson, "I knew not. I felt resolved that every man in town should see the paper or hear it read before I slept. I started, and to every one I saw I made known the contents of the Proclama- tion, until I reached the Parsonage, about two miles from home. There I met two men from different sections, and after consulta- tion we agreed to notify that night all the people of Belfast to meet at the Parsonage as soon as possible after breakfast the next morning, to conclude what was best to be done. We met at the
1 General Lovell's dispatch to General Powell, President of the Board of War, Aug. 1, 1779, contained in volume entitled "Penobscot Expedition," No. 63, in Secretary's office, Boston.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
time and place appointed to a man; but what to do we knew not. There was no road to travel on for thirty or forty miles, and we had some large families of women and children, and no means of carrying provisions. Nor could we get provisions on the way, for there were no inhabitants. And, besides, we had no money to purchase with. We continued there till about noon, and nothing was done or likely to be.
" Before we separated, I said, ' I have a log canoe, and before I will take the oath of allegiance I will take my wife and three lit- tle children, and try to reach my friends in the west.' Captain Solon Stephenson said, ' If you go in that way, I will accompany you ;' and after a consultation we agreed to start Saturday, at night, and to get David Miller to assist Captain Stephenson's son Caleb to drive our horned cattle." They started at the time agreed upon, and by hard rowing reached Ducktrap the follow- ing morning, the cattle arriving at about the same time. They next proceeded to Camden ; and thence, with their baggage and children carried on an ox-sled, at the rate of three miles a day, they came to Thomaston, whence a coasting vessel conveyed them, after many privations, to Newburyport. Mr. Davidson reached his father's house in Windham on the 9th of July.1
Mr. White states that "the inhabitants were then offered the privilege of British protection, if they would merit it by an oath of allegiance and fidelity to the British King. The proposition filled them with disgust. The spirit of freedom which had for so many generations warmed the blood of their ancestors was theirs by inheritance ; and the proffer was rejected, and such intrepidity left them no choice. To the last man, they abandoned their homes, leaving their flocks in the pastures and the corn in the fields ready for harvest. Not one remained to tell a passing stranger the cause of the entire desolation that ensued." 2
This statement, excepting that the inhabitants subsequently abandoned their homes, cannot be received as truth. In a memo- rial to the General Court of Massachusetts, made by " the dis- persed people of Belfast," after peace was declared, which is given in another chapter, Davidson, John Tuft, William McLaughlin, Benjamin Nesmith, Alexander Clark, William Patterson, John Mitchell, John Cochran, Nathaniel Patterson, Robert Patterson, and William Patterson, 2d, comprising ten out of the eighteen
I' Davidson's Narrative.
2 White's History, 42.
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BELFAST DURING THE REVOLUTION.
heads of families then here, and all the town officers, except Samuel Houston, clerk, and John Brown and Solon Stephenson, of the committee of safety, acknowledged under their own signa- tures that they were among the foremost "whom the Comman- ders of that force compelled to submit to an oath of allegiance to their Master." An excuse for this course, so utterly at variance with the uncompromising patriotism which has been attributed to them, will be found in the memorial.
Intelligence of the invasion soon reached Boston, where it created deep excitement and indignation. Massachusetts, like ancient Sparta, who boasted that she had never seen the smoke of an enemy's camp, made it her boast that the enemy had never yet been able to maintain a foothold on her territory, and the united sentiment of government and people was to avenge, at any sacrifice, the violated sanctity of her soil. On their own responsi- bility, the General Court at once undertook an expedition to expel the intruders. Such was the general enthusiasm and con- fidence of success, that the authorities neither consulted any military experts nor requested the aid of any Continental troops in this important enterprise. Even the advice of Washington was not asked.
Directions were forthwith given to the Board of War to pre- pare for sea in six days all the public armed vessels; to charter or impress as many others of private property as were judged necessary, and to insure .their owners against loss ; to lay an ent- bargo on all the ports; to allow seamen who enlisted the pay of men in the Governmental employ ; and to take by force all needed outfits and munitions of war, wherever found, unless the same could be purchased at a fair appraisal. With a laudable spirit of patriotism, four large vessels were tendered by the merchants of Newburyport, and thirty shipmasters from that town offered their services. It was expected that a force of sixteen hundred men, supported by an adequate number of vessels of war, would be sufficient for the undertaking. As an inducement to engage in the service, all prizes were to enure to the captors, and not to the State. As the co-operation of the eastern militia was deemed ad- visable, Generals Thompson and Cushing, Brigadiers of Cumber- land and Lincoln Counties, were ordered to detach six hundred men from their respective commands, for a campaign of two months. Every person on the line of the coast was imbued with the spirit of the occasion, and animated by encouraging prospects
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HISTORY OF BELFAST.
of success. Volunteers, exceeding the number required, poured in from all quarters.
Great difficulty existed in the selection of competent leaders. The choice finally fell. upon Dudley Saltonstall, of Connecticut, to command the fleet, and upon Solomon Lovell, of Weymouth, as general of the troops. The former was a man of good capacity and of some naval experience, but obstinate, and, as events subse- quently proved, unequal to so important a position. Lovell had been a militia officer of high repute. " He was courageons and of the proper spirit," remarks one writer, " a true old Roman charac- ter, that would never flinch from danger; but he had not been accustomed to the command of an expedition in actual service." General Peleg Wadsworth, the grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was the second in command. He had been actively employed during the war, and at the time was Adjutant-General of Massachusetts. To Colonel Paul Revere, the active and influ- ential Boston patriot, was assigned the command of the artillery. A detachment of one hundred men from his battalion accompanied him. John Murray, of Boothbay, a distinguished clergyman, joined one of the regiments as chaplain.
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