USA > Maine > Washington County > Machias > Memorial of the centennial anniversary of the settlement of Machias > Part 8
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in the funeral services. Morning and evening prayers were offered up to God in his family, which no doubt proved a blessing to " his household."
He loved the Sanctury. It was his constant practice on the Sabbath to meet with the people assembled for worship, and if no minister was present, he officiated in the devo- tional parts of the service. The meetings were held alter- nately at the East and West villages in the Town. On Sab- bath morning the Deacon might be seen crossing the river in his little boat, and wending his way to the house of God, and by so doing he obeyed the injunction, "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is," an example worthy of imitation by all classes of the com- inunity.
This good man "being dead yet speaketh," by his exam- ple and influence which he has left for the living to imitate.
" Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace."
The President :- "The man to whom his fellow citizens readily accorded the post of leadership, who came to this place on its first settlement with reputation as a soldier gained in the old French wars, and who was concerned in a prominent position with each of our Revolutionary battles,- . the Pioneer Settler, the Military Captain, the Christian Citizen,
COL. BENJAMIN FOSTER.
His great-grandson, Mr. John C. Talbot, will, I think, give a response."
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SPEECH OF JOHN C. TALBOT, ESQ.
MR. PRESIDENT :- Among the names of those worthy men whose memories it is well to cherish, and whose characters and virtues the present occasion is a most fitting time for us to call to mind, the name just announced, Col. Benjamin Foster stands pre-eminent.
Col. Foster was born in New Hampshire in the year 1726, and when yet a child, went with his father to Scarboro in this State. There, when but eleven years old, he was left alone by his father to take care of a large stock of cattle during the winter, till the arrival of his father with the rest of his family in the spring. He afterwards joined the Pro- vincial army in the first French and Indian war under Sir William Pepperell, and was in the battle at the taking of Louisburg, which was fought on his nineteenth birth day. He was also in the second French and Indian war with Gen. Abercrombie in the unsuccessful attack upon Fort Ticonder- ago, the failure of which expedition he always attributed to lack of bravery and address in the English commander. In such scenes of trial and danger he acquired a character for courage and fortitude well suited to the stern times in which he lived. * No danger could daunt, no obstacles discourage him, and as he himself often said, "he never knew what fear was." He was one of the first settlers of East Machias, to which place he came in 1765, having then married to his second wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Scott, of a worthy family of two brothers and three sisters, who also were among the first settlers. Being a man of the charac- ter already spoken of, and also of strict integrity and piety, and deacon of the church, he was naturally a leading man, and was justly regarded as a Father of the town.
At the commencement of the Revolutionary war, and after Boston had been taken by the British forces, the lumber
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trade (which was the only means of support for the little Colony) was cut off, and the early settlers suffered for the necessaries of life. Whole families subsisted for weeks on nothing but clams, and those most scantily dealt out. Day after day, for several weeks, Foster travelled a long dis- tance to dig from the flats the only food which could be procured to save his large family from immediate starvation. Such was their suffering that assistance and provisions were at length sent to them from the Provincial Government.
It is related of the Colonel that on the occasion of one of his visits to the clam flats, having filled his bucket with the savory bivalves, he became so exhausted that he sat down upon a rock and was revolving in his own mind the choice of sitting there to be drowned by the flowing tide, or taking up his bucket and trudging his weary way to his half fam- ished family, when he happened to raise his eyes, and dis- covered a long expected vessel laden with provisions for the starving pioneers. Immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength, and he hastened up to the town with the joyful news.
In the year 1775, soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, Capt. Ichabod Jones, a citizen of Boston, and a Tory in poli- tics, obtained permission of the British Admiral command- ing at Boston, to freight a small vessel with provisions to Machias where some of his connexions resided, on condi- tion that he should bring back a cargo of wood and lumber for the use of the king's troops.
In pursuance of this plan a well armed schooner, the " Margaretta," Capt. Moor, acted as convoy to Jones' vessel. The vessels arrived at Machias and the provisions were un- laden and the loading of the vessel with lumber commenc- ed. Foster as well as a majority of the inhabitants were zealously attached to the cause of liberty, and looked with suspicion upon the arrival of the British vessel, and though
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as a matter of necessity they had consented to receive the provisions, yet they were highly exasperated at the idea of becoming agents to further the designs of the enemy. On a pleasant Sunday morning the officers of the armed schoon- er came up to this village to attend religious services. But the intrepid Deacon and most of the leading men were not that day at their usual places for worship. At a spot in the woods, Westerly from this village, and near a brook, these daring heroes, isolated from all the rest of the world, were discussing the expediency of seizing and making prisoners of the British officers, and of taking the first naval prize ever taken from the mother country by her then grown-up and restless daughter. To cut short the discussion and insure celerity of execution, Colonel Foster jumped across the brook and invited every man who was in favor of the plan to follow him. Every man soon followed him across the brook-the first instance I presume of ever "polling the house" in Machias parliamentary proceedings.
The British officers for some cause became suspicious, and seeing the members of the Council of War approaching, immediately took to their boats, and escaped just in time to prevent their seizure. Colonel Foster immediately consult- ed with Captain O'Brien, and it was speedily determined to give chase and capture the enemy. O'Brien took command of Jones' vessel, while Col. Foster, with part of the company, took charge of another vessel, and with such weapons of de- fence and offence as they could hastily muster, these two vessels started in pursuit. I cannot learn that Foster's ves- sel had any part in the brave hand-to-hand contest which re- sulted in the capture of the "Margaretta," and the death of her brave commander, Capt. Moore. The most reliable informa- tion which I can obtain is, that Foster's vessel accidentally got aground. The British vessel and Jones' vessel were afterwards regularly adjudicated upon, and condemned as
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lawful prizes, and the prize money distributed among the captors.
About the same time an English tender arrived in the bay, and the Captain came on shore to inquire for the "Margar- etta ;" Capt. Stephen Smith, with a small party near Buck's Harbor, waylaid and took him prisoner, and O'Brien and Foster, with their two vessels, took both the tender and her crew. The crew were afterwards sent as prisoners to Falmouth.
The two brave commanders proceeded to the Headquar- ters of the American army, then at Cambridge, to carry in- telligence of the victory, and were there received with shouts of applause. Congress afterwards voted them public thanks for their bravery and good conduct.
In consideration of their gallant conduct, government pro- ceeded to take some measures for the defence of this place, then so remote and exposed to the assaults of the enemy on account of their daring exploits. A fort was built at the Rim near the "Avery House," and a garrison established under Col. Allan.
In 1777, Sir George Collier, with a fleet of four. vessels arrived in the bay for the purpose of avenging upon the people of Machias the capture of the " Margaretta." Leaving the fleet below, he came up the river to reconnoitre or attack the town, in boats. The inhabitants had prepared for de- fence. A breastwork had been thrown up at the Rim, just below the fort, an iron chain suspended by a log boom was stretched across the river, and fastened to a rock on each side. Col. Foster commanded at the breastwork on the Rim. After an engagement with the boats, with various accounts (some of them without doubt much exaggerated) of the loss of the British, but with none killed and but one wounded of Col. Foster's men, the boats retired. The next day the British advanced with an armed brig, and under a heavy fire
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of cannon landed a large body of men, who passed through the fort, broke the booms, and after burning and destroying two dwelling houses, and a building used as a guard house, re-embarked on board, apparently satisfied with the glory of their exploit. An exaggerated account of this expedition was afterwards published, stating that they had taken and destroyed two magazines full of leather, rice, and other stores, which in fact was a shoemaker's shop in which there might have been some hides. The brig sailed up the river under a continuous fire from each bank, Col. Allan with the Indian allies on the right bank above Col. Foster, and Capt. Smith on the left bank. The crew of the brig were unable to land. Once they attempted it in a long boat, but Neptune, a noble Indian under Col. Allan, after having repeatedly re- quested the privilege of firing at the boat's crew, and being denied until they should come nearer, at last, breaking over the authority of his Commander, with a hasty expression of Indian eloquence mingled with Yankee profanity, rushed in- to the river to his waist, and raising his long gun with dead- ly aim, fired; one officer fell in the boat, the boat returned to the brig, and the brig returned down the river. The yells of the Indians and the shouts of the people nearly drowned the sound of the musketry which followed their retreat with increased rapidity and effect.
On arriving near the fort the brig grounded on a point and swung off stem to the shore, when a deadly contest ensued with considerable loss to the enemy. One incident connected with this engagement is worth relating. When the enemy surprised and took the fort and the inmates were hurrying out, Benj. Gooch and Eleazar Hathaway, two of the noted inhabitants of our town, stopped long enough to take up a plank in the floor, and drop through the swivel which they had to defend the fort, and they had just time to escape. When the brig was aground she was in fine posi-
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tion to be operated upon from Col. Foster's entrenched po- sition at the Rim. Gooch and Hathaway revealed the hid- ing place of swivel; it was taken up, placed upon a rude stretcher, a blanket thrown over it, and while those on board the brig were saying "we have fixed one of them, they are bearing him off," the swivel was solemnly conveyed to the entrenched position, and there securely lashed to a pine stump, and its first discharge sent a messenger through a cabin window, which killed the steward and a dog on board the brig. The brig and fleet afterwards retired and the in- habitants were not again molested during the war. The loss on the part of the inhabitants was one killed and one wounded.
Such was the issue of the Revolutionary battles fought in our town, and while the spot where it happened is but a short distance from us, and the ruins of the fortifications may still be seen, yet few look upon them as the scene of as glorious a defence as the history of our country affords-and the man who conducted it is generally forgotten, and sleeps without any tombstone to mark the place of his last repose.
At the time of these stirring events, Col. Foster was more than fifty years of age and the father of a family of ten sons and two daughters most of whom survived him and were respected and honored citizens of the town.
Colonel Foster was a bold energetic man, of strong feel- ings and generous impulses, of strict integrity and piety-a benefactor to the town, and one whose character has left its impress upon his succeeding generations, and whose vir- tues, and suffering, and noble deeds of daring, should be kept in remembrance and fill a large space in the early his- tory of our native town.
He died on the fourth day of July, 1818, aged 92 years.
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The President :- " In the peril to which our infant town was exposed, the goverment embodied in the Continental Congress sent
COL. JOHN ALLAN
to our relief, whose military ability and influence over In- dians, contributed so much to our victory over our enemies. Will Mr. Vose of Dennysville, tell us something about the old hero."
:0 :-
SPEECH OF PETER E. VOSE, ESQ.
MR. PRESIDENT :- If Colonel Allan were present in the body at this Anniversary, and were permitted to listen to the eloquent addresses of the Reverend and Honorable gen- tlemen who have been chosen to set forth the claims, to the grateful remembrance of posterity, of those noble men, by whose 'side he stood, in the struggling infancy of this town's history, and with whom he earnestly and faithfully labored for his country's welfare, during the " times that tried men's souls," I think he would have just cause to enter his pro- test, against the action of the Committee of Arrangements, in their selection of myself, (who am not entitled to be call- ed, either Reverend, Honorable or learned,) to speak a word in his behalf. But I presume, as he was a man who usually placed large confidence in the honesty of men, they would be able to satisfy him, that they had no intention of doing him any wrong,-not even of going so far as to intimate, that he was, in any respect, inferior in those qualities of mind and heart, which became the honest man, and the true patriot, which were possessed by those of his compeers who have this day been more highly favored in the choice of their biographers. I am sorry that I shall be able to give so meagre an account of a man who, doubtless, was not by
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any means the least, among those whose names ought to be held in "lasting remembrance" for their sufferings and wor- thy deeds in behalf of the country they strove to make in- dependent and free.
Colonel John Allan was not a native of Machias, neither was it for many years his home, but because he was identi- fied with its history during the war of the Revolution, and had his headquarters here, as commander of troops station- ed at Machias for the protection of the country east of the Penobscot river, and as Superintendent of the Indian tribes in the vicinity, he is to be brought to our remembrance this day.
Colonel Allan was a Scotchman by birth, born in " Auld Reckie," in Edinboro' Castle, on the 14th day of January, 1746. His father, who was an educated man, removed from Scotland to Halifax in the year 1750, when John was about five years old. He had brothers and sisters, some of whom married into worthy families in Halifax. How he spent his boyhood and youth I cannot tell, but should judge from manuscripts which I have seen written by him, and further, from the fact that he held several important and responsible offices, that he had become well educated. On the 10th of October, 1767, he was married to Mary Patten, a native of Londonderry, Ireland, who survived him. Until the break- ing out of the Revolutionary war, he resided upon a large farm, which had probably belonged to his father. It is said to have been one of the best in the counties of Westmore- land and Cumberland. The farm was called "Invermay" and consisted of 348 acres of land including 128 acres of dyked marsh, and was situated about seven miles from Fort Cumberland on the road leading to Bay Verte. Upon it, besides his own dwelling, were six or seven "common coun- try houses" occupied by French Acadian families as tenants, two large barns and four smaller ones. Here were born
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five of his nine children. Two of the others, at least, I am told, were born in Machias, one of whom at this present time lies upon a sick bed in a neighboring town, at the age of 82 years, daily expecting the summons which shall bid her join all the generations of her ancestors. Besides her, only one of his children remain, his namesake John, of Whit- ing, still retaining his faculties in a pretty good degree, at the great age of more than 91 years.
Colonel Allan seems to have loved justice and freedom better than the comforts of his pleasant home, the sympa- thies of friendship and the emoluments of office. For the sake of laboring to secure the independence of the States, struggling to throw off the despotism of British rule, he risked home, friends, property,-prospects of preferment in the offices of the Provincial Government-all that he had- or expected to have. Not having learned from Talleyrand that "language was a faculty bestowed upon us, the better to hide our thoughts and sympathies, " he was soon warned by the "logic of events" that he was suspected of treasona- ble words, and acts, against the government of Great Britain, for which he was liable to "suffer the penalties of the law in such cases made and provided." He left Nova Scotia in 1776 and came within the limits of the United States.
Up to the time Mr. Allan left Nova Scotia, he had held the offices of Justice of the Peace, Clerk of the Sessions and inferior Court, Clerk of the Supreme Court, Commissioner and Clerk of Sewers, Representative in General Assembly, and other offices in the town and County of Cumberland .- He was a Representative at the time he was compelled to leave Nova Scotia. He was then 30 years of age. His family he left behind-his property he conveyed to a friend in order to secure it from confiscation which was then ex- pected. Shortly after his departure, Fort Cumberland was unsuccessfully attacked by a party of men under the com-
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mand of Capt. Jonathan Eddy, a native of Massachusetts .- Being repulsed they fled, and during the burnings and plun- derings which followed, his property was destroyed or car- ried away, consisting in part, of his house, about 1800 bushel of wheat, barley and oats, 8 cows, 8 oxen, 4 horses, sheep and swine, farming implements, furniture, clothes and books. It is said that a soldier seeing a large mirror in the house, smashed it with his gun, exclaiming, "that rebel shall never see his face again in that." Mrs. Allan and five small children fled to the woods for safety, (on the 28th day of November,) where they continued till the next day without covering or food, and the weather cold, windy, and rainy .- Returning from their hiding place in the woods, they came to the place where their dwelling had been burned the day previous, and satisfied their hunger with roasted potatoes which they dug out of the ruins. But friends afterward cared for them, and for awhile gave them such support as they required.
The next year, (1777) in December, an armed force took his wife from a sick bed and two of the children and putting them on board a vessel conveyed them to Halifax, where they remained as prisoners till June, 1778. I have been in- formed, that finding it difficult to obtain possession of his family, he wrote to the authorities at Halifax that he had Indians enough under his control to destroy the town in six hours, and he would do it if they were not forthcoming .- This threat produced the desired effect. A vessel was fit- ted out and the family restored to the anxious father.
A short time after he arrived in the United States he was appointed by Congress, "Superintendent of Indians in the Eastern Department, comprehending all Eastward and Northward of Connecticut river," and commander of troops stationed at Machias, &c., "under the General Court of Massachusetts," where he continued till near the close of
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the war. He was re-appointed Superintendent by Congress in June, 1783, but resigned the next year.
That portion of his public career which relates to his acts as Superintendent of the Indians, was perhaps the most valuable and important to the country. His forethought and sagacity led him, before his departure from Nova Scotia, to secure the interest of the Indians in that country, in be- half of the United States. So much did he realize the im- portance of such a step, and so earnest was he. that without authority from any government, so far as I know, he dis- patched couriers to the differt villages through the Mick- mack country, and met a large body of Indians, among whom were deputies from St. John and the parts adjacent. "Here a long and tedious conference took place, which resulted in a satisfactory explanation of the dispute between America and Great Britain. It was concluded by a lengthy speech from them, and a solemn declaration made, that if, from situ- ation and distance, they could not assist, they would not in- jure or molest the Americans. A chief from Mirimachi spoke for the whole-they were all one-no distinction being made between the different tribes." These proceedings on the part of Mr. Allan were approved by General Washington, who desired him to lay the matter immediately before Con- gress. He was soon appointed an Agent to secure and re- tain the friendship and co-operation of the eastern tribes of Indians. In May, 1777, he arrived on the River St. John, where he met a number of the Indians, communicated his business to them and was accepted as their agent. "A gene- ral meeting was soon held, composed of deputies from dif- ferent parts, including the whole tribes of St. John and Passamaquoddy, at which it was agreed and concluded that peace and friendship be now established permanent and lasting between the United States and the several tribes." I have no time to speak of the treaty in detail.
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Colonel Allan, in his intercourse with the Indians, seems to have gained their confidence ; and they regarded him as their friend, but it is not to be supposed that harmony al- ways existed between them. Instances of their attachment to him, and exposure to danger in his behalf are related by his descendants, and he pays them no mean compliment when he says of them, "their uniform conduct both in respect of humanity, as submitting with patience under every diffi- culty, was not inferior to the most disciplined troops, and even when imposed upon at a time of intoxication and fleec- ed of the little they had, they always sat down contented and resigned without the appearance of resentment or mal- ice." So much confidence had he in their sense of honor, that at one time in order to pacify them, when the govern- ment had failed to furnish promised supplies, and prove to them his friendship, he suffered his two eldest sons, then but lads, to remain with them as hostages, for about a year; but yet as a prudent man-guarding against probable or possible evil, and influenced, perhaps, by the present opin- ions respecting the Indian character, he says, "it is a maxim with me never to live near Indians, except in a state of de- fence, without a certainty of their friendship, either in peace or war."
So late as 1791 to 1793, we find the Indians repeatedly calling upon him, in order to confer with him as to how they shall obtain redress from the government they had served so well, but which had now turned the "cold shoulder" up- on them. In November, 1793, he was with them five days, holding several public and private conferences, but I do not find that he was able to obtain for them, from the govern- ment, all they and he desired.
Col. Allan received full compensation for his services as Superintendent, &c., but in the year 1800 he petitioned the Secretary of War to consider his claims upon the United
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States for his losses and sufferings. In this petition he es- timates the amount of his losses of property-mentions the loss of income derived from the offices he held in Nova Sco- tia, as well as the emoluments of still more important offices which he felt certain would have been conferred upon him had he continued loyal to the British Government-speaks of the sufferings of his wife and children, and of the fact that the children had been, in consequence of the position he had taken, deprived of the education and other privileges which their former position entitled them to enjoy.
His efforts in petitioning for compensation for his losses, resulted in his obtaining from the government a grant of a large tract of land in the State of Ohio, on part of which the city of Columbus stands, but he never received any benefit from it, as he died soon after, and his heirs for reasons with which I am unacquainted, have thus far failed to obtain pos- session of it, from those who made settlements upon it, or those to whom those settlers conveyed it.
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