USA > Maine > The history of the state of Maine; from its first discovery, A. D. 1602, to the separation, A. D. 1820, inclusive, Vol. II > Part 33
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Indians at George- town.
At the head of Arrowsick Island [in Georgetown,] a party of Indians killed Mr. Preble and his wife, as they were planting their corn, and carried their three young children into Canada. After the reduction of Quebec, Captain Harnden of Woolwich, their mother's father, went to Canada and brought them home. By their account, the Indians treated them with great kindness on their journey through the woods ; carrying them on their backs when they could not walk, and giving them a share in whatever of subsistence they could procure. So strongly attached were they to their Indian parents, that they never had, they said, during their absence, felt half so much anguish, as at the time of parting
* MS. Let. of John Waterman, Esq.
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with them. There was a fort on the lower end of the Island, A .D. 1756. and though a strong party of the Indians assailing it the same year were unable to take it, the people within were insufficient to drive them off ;- therefore they had an opportunity to kill the cattle on the Island, and to enjoy the spoil at pleasure .*
Fort Halifax was viewed by the enemy, as an object of great At Fort affront and hatred. As two of the garrison were catching fish at the falls, four Indians fired and wounded them mortally. One, however, returned the fire, and the arrival of men from the fort, was quick enough to prevent their being scalped.
Halifax.
Finding that the scouting parties, established throughout the Androscog- eastern country, did not prevent attacks and rapine, the govern- ed. gin explor- ment sent a small force in whale-boats up the river Androscoggin, to alarm the enemy and prevent his incursions into the eastern towns. But the party meeting with no Indians, carefully took the courses of the river, noted distances to the extent of about 85 miles, and made observations upon the nature, appearance and state of the country.t
Before the summer closed, our country was deeply shrouded Gloom of in gloom. The barbarians were let loose from the wilderness the times. upon our frontiers ; a great number of farms were abandoned or laid waste ; hundreds had lost their lives, their families or their property ; some places were visited with severe sickness ; and whole fields of corn and grain were ruined by devouring worms. Trade had greatly declined. Pressed with a load of debt and other burdens, the General Court had petitioned the king to garri- forts. Eastern son the forts within the Province, at the national expense. But Mr. Bollan, its agent in London, wisely raised these queries in check of the proposition ;- viz. would not the surrender arm the prerogative with claims against charter rights? or will the Crown man and support garrisons at the public expense, and not claim jurisdiction of the country so protected ?- In a word, can it be good policy to fill our forts with foreigners ?- or to set any price upon rights or privileges ?
The current events extensively increased the discouragements. Coasters Some of our coasting vessels, and even fishing craft, were plun- and men dered while at anchor, and several of their crews killed by the killed.
* Sullivan, p. 176-7. t 1 Minot, p. 300-1 .- Mass. Records.
plund'ered,
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[VOL. II.
'The great expeditions unsuccess- ful.
A. D. 1756. savages .* There was in fact no occurrence, which had the ef- fect to raise the drooping spirits of the people, or the military reputation of the country. The northern campaigns were ter- minating, without memorable successes or exploits. The forts at Otsego, and the regiments of Shirley and Pepperell had surren- dered, August 10, to the French General, Montcalm ; and the proposed expedition up the Kennebeck and upon the river Chaudiere, resulted in the mere ramble of a scouting party, that did nothing more than to explore the country. A succession of such reverses led the community to call in question the wisdom of the plans and measures pursued ; and excited a spirit of mu- tual recrimination among all ranks of official trust, " from the prime minister to the lowest commander."'
A spirit of recrimina- tion pre- vails.
The Tarra- tines wish for peace.
A. D. 1757.
The Indians also were evidently in a state of despondency. The French neglected them, and they were wasted by the war, and more by the smallpox, which was destructive among them, as it was in the American camp ; having, through the autumn and winter, greatly checked their depredations. The Tarratine chiefs stated to the government, through Capt. Bradbury at St. Georges, that their numbers were much lessened by that pestilence, and that the tribe wished to feed again, upon the fruits of mutual peace and friendship.f No other eastern tribe had treated the English with so much forbearance and honor; and the good man's heart must be touched with sympathy for their melancholy condition, when he reflects, that in the present war upon them, our own people were the first and principal aggressors.
'The capture of Louis- bourg plan- ned, - postponed.
The course of measures for the ensuing year, (1757,) was concerted in January, at Boston, by Lord Loudoun and the Gov- ernors of the New-England Provinces and Nova Scotia. Leav- ing the posts on the lakes strongly garrisoned, and expecting 6,000 Provincial troops equal to the number of regulars then in America, his Lordship limited his plan to a single object-the re- duction of Louisbourg ; and in July, he met Admiral Holbourn at Halifax, who had arrived there, with a powerful squadron and a re-enforcement of 5,000 British troops, under Lord Howe. But being informed, that Louisbourg, was defended by 6,000
* Smith's Jour. p. 66-7 .- Sept. 26, at St. Georges, " one of our schoon- "ers was burnt, two taken, 3 men killed, and 3 missing .- Oct. 14, Capt. " Rouse put in here, [at Portland,] having lost his lieutenant and 9 men, " with his pinnace, by Indians." t Lieut. Gov. Speech, March, 1757.
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regulars, and " a line of 17 battle ships moored in the harbor," A. D. 1757. and that a French fleet had lately sailed from Brest,* the Ad- miral and General concluded to defer the enterprize to the next year, and sailed on the last of August, for New-York ; when the Provincials were dismissed. Meanwhile, Montcalm, with an army of 9,000, took Fort William Henry, and made Col. Mon- roe and 3,000 men prisoners.
The military force assigned for the protection of Maine the April 7, ensuing year, besides the soldiery in the garrisons, consisted of of Maine. 260 men, divided into five ranging parties, who were directed to scout from post to post along the frontiers, between Salmon Falls and St. Georges. Two vessels were also employed to coast upon the eastern seaboard, for the purpose of protecting and re- lieving the people.
The Anasagunticooks, who originally inhabited the banks of May 18. the Androscoggin, still viewed the country as their own, and often at Topsham. A skirmish visited it. Waylaying Capt. Lithgow, and a party of eight men, they fired on them, May 18, near the fort in Topsham, and wounded two at the first onset. A severe skirmish ensued, in which the Indians, on seeing two of their number fall dead by their side, seized their bodies, and fled. Two Englishmen were killed further up the river.
The Tarratines at Penobscot, communicated with the garrison A Tarratine at St. Georges by flags of truce, so frequently, as to excite some the fort at St. party visit apprehensions. In this manner an Indian party visiting the fort, and have a Georges, on an evening, had some traffic there. When they left, the skirmish. commander assured them, they had nothing to fear from his men ; but told them, they must beware of the sharp shooters at the block-house, farther up the river, under Capt. Kellock, for whose conduct, he felt no responsibility. The Indians turned and went as far as the "Gig," [in Thomaston,] and encamped ; leaving one pack in the path to attract the attention, and check the progress of suspected pursuers, till the Indian watchman might have time to fire an alarm gun, and the whole escape. In the night, when the patrol from the block-house, travelling in close single file, came across the pack, the leader griped the next man in his rear,-the passport ran through the whole file, and
* Namely, " 17 ships of the line, 15 other men of war, and 64 transports" -said to have arrived in July .- Smith's Jour. p. 68.
Protection
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A. D. 1757. they came to a dead halt. The Indian sentinel, having in all probability, partaken too freely of the " occapee," [ardent spirits] was heard to snore in a deep sleep. One aimed a musket at the place, and pierced a bullet through his head. He gave a prodigious leap into the air, and falling, moved no more. The report aroused his companions, and the parties for a short time fought desperately ; levelling at the flashes of each other's guns. Such expert marksmen were the Indians, that one of them, for instance, aimed at the flash of Kellock's musket, so precisely and quickly as to shoot off the gun-lock without injuring him. This sharp contest in the dark, however, ended without harm to either of the English. The Indians retreated, leaving traces of blood in their tracks; also several muskets, a quantity of beaver and other articles,-so much in amount as to divide the value of $15 to a man. At another time, when it was supposed that the In- dians, who had attacked the block-house below at Pleasant-point, had all withdrawn ; one Coltson, a soldier, in looking over the platform, was instantly shot through the head, by an Indian con- cealed under it, who bounded off and was soon out of sight .* Capt. Cox, cruising off the eastern coast this season, in one of the armed sloops, visited Penobscot, killed two Indians, and took their scalps ; also two canoes, a quantity of oil, fish, and sea- fowl feathers.t
Cox visits Penobscot.
The fate of Ebenezer Hall and family. June 10.
On the first of June, a party of Indians beset the dwelling- house of Ebenezer Hall, on the Island Matinicus, containing his wife and a young family of two sons, three daughters, and a son- in-law. He was a man of courage, and some distinction, having been a Lieutenant at the reduction of Cape Breton. The at- tacks were renewed several days, and the house resolutely de- fended by him and his wife, at the imminent hazard of their lives, until the 10th ; when he was killed, his house broken up, rifled of its contents, and reduced to ashes. The brave Hall was then scalped, and his wife and children carried into captivity. At some place up the river Penobscot, she underwent the painful trial of being separated from them ;- thence compelled to take up a tedious journey to Quebec. The fair captive was a woman of
* Eaton's Nar. p. 13-14 .- This is the skirmish, probably, which is men- tioned in Minot, 2d vol. p. 34 .- He says, 20 men were sent in the night time, and took a scalp. t Smith's Jour. p. 67-8.
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piety and charms, which attracted every eye. Captivated by A. D. 1757. her uncommon abilities and beauty, Capt. Andrew Watkins, in a spirit of honor and generosity, paid her ransom, amounting to 215 livres, and finding a vessel bound to England, procured a passage for her thither. From that country she re-crossed the Atlantic, returning by the way of New-York to Falmouthi, after an absence of 13 months. But notwithstanding her inquiries were pursued for her captive children, through a long life, with the energetic perseverance which marked her character, she never could gain the least knowledge of either. A son of 12 years old, by a former husband, Mr. Greene, who was in the house when it was assailed, escaped and hid himself, till the sava- ges were gone; and after three days, he ventured with an old canoe into the bay, where he was taken on board of a vessel. Subsequent to the war, his mother and he returned to the Island, and dwelt there till her death .*
On the 4th of April, six months after Governor Shirley's de- Governor parture, Lieutenant-Governor Phips was taken from the executive rives, the trust by death ; and the duties of the chair devolved upon the Shirley. Council, till the arrival of his Excellency THOMAS POWNAL, early in August .- He was an Englishman by birth, possessing hand- some talents, and making " great pretensions to learning." But his manners were too light and debonair, to suit the grave and sober habits of New-England.t His commission was obtained through the influence of his brother, Jolin Pownal, who was Secretary to the Board of Trade and Plantations,-a man thoroughly versed in all colonial affairs. The Governor's whig politics were an antepast of popular esteem ; and his measures were accommodated with happy address, to the sentiments of the people. He met the Legislature, on the 16th, and in his first speech, he says, ' the times in which I meet you are critical and His first ' perilous .- The war is no longer about a boundary, whether the speech. ' French usurpations shall extend to this or that mountain, this or ' that river; but whether that people shall wrest from British ' hands the rights and power of trade, and drive us from the con- ' tinent. If our colonies and our trade are ruined, where is our
Pownal ar-
successor of
August 16 ..
* He was living, A. D. 1825, aged 80, on one of the Fox Islands. His mother, Mary Hall, also lived to a great age .- MS. Letter .- 11 Jour. House of Rep. p. 236.
t Dr. Allen's Biog. p. 483 .- 2 Minot, p. 18, 19.
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A. D. 1757. ' naval superiority ?- if second to another, where is our dominion ? ' Nay, if our naval glory is tarnished and lost, Great Britain can ' no longer maintain a free government,-the British Colonies are ' no more a flourishing and happy people. They, from the be- ' ginning, have been a country of soldiers, unused to draw the ' sword in vain,-distinguished for their spirited support of arma- ' ments by sea and land in defence of the British American do- " minions.'-The House replied, 'that they hoped his adminis- ' tration, at this most important juncture, would meet with such suc- ' cess, as to free the people from the impending dangers and calam- ' ities, and render us once more a safe and prosperous Plantation.' Castle com- manded by Pepperell. In a few days he performed the ceremony of taking posses- Sir William sion of the Castle. The garrison was then commanded by Sir William Pepperell, who presented the fortress to the Governor, as the key of the Province. 'Yes,' he replied, ' and therefore I ' shall always be pleased to see the keys of it in your hands.'
John North captain of the fort at St. Georges,
About this time, Capt. Bradbury and Lieutenant Fletcher re- signed the command of the fort at St. Georges' river; and were in place of J. succeeded by John North, a surveyor of lands, a magistrate and Bradbury. one of the first Irish settlers upon the river. One Mr. Chapeny was Lieutenant, and Joshua Treat, armorer .* It seems, however, that Bradbury and Fletcher had probably been liberal in their censures of James Cargill's bloody affair with the Indians ; for after his discharge and receipt of £600, as a premium for his exploit, he charged them with treasonable practices,-in trading with the Indians clandestinely in time of war, and giving them intelligence inconsistent with the duty of officers. In the tedious Histrial and investigation of the charges before the two Houses of the Legis- lature, there were at least twenty witnesses examined ; among whom were Capt. Lithgow of Fort Halifax, Capt. Howard of the store-house at Cushnoc, and others from Pemaquid, Bruns- wick, York, Newcastle and St. Georges. But though the disquisition was protracted, the decision exculpated the respond- ents ; and hence, the public confidence in the management of the eastern garrisons, was both confirmed and enhanced.+
acquittal.
* Eaton's MS. Nar. p. 14-15 .- It is said, Justice North never tried a cause, making it a point to laugh or scold the parties to a settlement. When the law-suitors-" entered but his door,
" Balk'd was the cause, and contest was no more."
+ 10 Jour. H. of Rep. p. 209-217-246 .- Coun. Rec. p. 181 .- See ante, 1755.
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CHAP. XII.] OF MAINE.
In Maine the people's blessings were greater and their suffer- A. D. 1757. ings and losses less this summer, than in either of the two former Prospects of years. The drought of spring, which occasioned a day of fast- Maine. ing and prayer and considerable anxiety, was succeeded by a profusion of Divine favor. The products of the field were plentiful, and the fruits were never more abundant. The health of the inhabitants was great and general, if we except one ca- lamity, the smallpox ; and this seemed to be at once a safeguard Smallpox as well as a destroyer. For the Indians, through fear of taking the contagion, no less than in consequence of other discourage- ments, abandoned the frontiers early in the season, thus affording the husbandmen ample opportunity to gather and secure all the productions of their farms.
On the 25th of January, 1758, HARPSWELL was incorporated A. D. 1758. and vested with all the powers and privileges of a town, except incorporate Harpswell that of sending a representative to the General Court. It em- ed. braces the Merryconeag peninsula, Sebascodegan, and as many as twenty other Islands ;* being bounded "easterly on Phipsburg ; ' northerly and westerly on Brunswick and Freeport; and south- ' erly upon the ocean.' It was first settled permanently about the year 1720.+
* See ante, vol. I p. 40.
i Harpswell is the 13th incorporated town in the State. The name was given at the pleasure of the Legislature. It was set off from North-Yar- mouth and made a precinct in 1750. The air of this place is so salubrious, that "many valetudinarians, who have visited it, have quite recovered their health." The soil is good ; either gravel, clay, or dark mould. The settlers had their titles to land principally from proprietors in Boston, who' purchased of the Plymouth Company. In 1821, there were in Harpswell 6 stores ; 3 grist mills ; 920 tons of shipping ; one bridge 300 feet in length, from Sebascodegan to Brunswick ; The soil grows wheat and corn .- There are two meeting-houses, one in the westerly part of the town on the penin- sula, and the other on Sebascodegan. The first settled minister was Rev. Elisha Eaton, ordained 1750, who died, April, 1764. He was succeeded by his son, Rev. Samuel Eaton, Oct. 24th of the same year, a graduate of Harvard în 1763. His settlement was £120; and his salary £66 13s. 4d. In 1766-7, there was a remarkable reformation ; in which between 60 and 70 members were added to the church. Now the members of the congre- gational church are few ; there are some Baptists and Methodists. The inhabitants are farmers, mariners and fishermen, their "habits virtuous and hospitable." The number of inhabitants in 1790, 1,071. The town
VOL. II. 43
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A lottery.
A. D. 1758. Other places and objects in Maine likewise received legislative attention. A lottery was granted to raise £1,200 for the purpose of building bridges over the rivers Saco and Presumpscot. It was also proposed to the Legislature by the Plymouth Company, that they would settle 50 families in each of the two townships in the vicinity of Fort Halifax, provided 50 of the men could be employed and paid for garrison duty ;- a project, which the Governor and others favored.
The war.
The war on our part had, hitherto, been quite unsuccessful. The great expenses, the frequent disappointments, the losses of men, and the capture of forts and of stores, were extremely dis- couraging. The enemy's country was filled with prisoners and scalps ; with private plunder ; and no less with public stores and provisions, borne thither-by our people as beasts of burden, through the fatal reverses of the war. Hence, whatever could be contrasted with such a calamitous state of affairs, was inor- dinately appreciated. So that a law, enacted for rendering the militia a more efficient defence, and measures, devised to regu- late trade and business upon the strictest principles of industry and economy, were highly applauded .- As to offensive measures, on our part, observed the Governor, they will, at present,-be useless. 'Let us' said he to the General Court, 'save the " strength, collect the force, and treasure up the funds and means, ' of the Province, until God shall call them out, one and all, to ' wreak his vengeance upon the savage violators of amity and ' peace, and the perfidious French of Canada.'
William Pitt placed at the head of the min. istry.
As soon, however, as the closing winter called for renewed en- terprizes, it was happy for this country, that in a change of the British ministry, the direction of the war had, according to the united wishes of the people in England and America, been put into the hands of that distinguished and decisive statesman, WILLIAM PITT. His wisdom immediately devised great and judicious plans ; and his active spirit was able to infuse new life into all those, whose province it was to execute them. In a circular letter to the colonial Governors, he assured them of the settled determination to send hither a large force, to operate by sea and
His plans.
was first represented in the General Court, A. D. 1777, by Isaac Snow. -MS. Letter of Rev .. Samuel Eaton, A, D. 1821 .- 10 Jour. House of Rep. p. 308.
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land against the French ; and called on them to raise as many A. D. 1758. men as the number of inhabitants would allow ; leaving them to form the regiments and to appoint officers at their discretion. He told them, that provisions, arms, ammunition, tents, and boats, would be furnished by the Crown ; and that the colonies must levy, clothe, and pay their men,-for which they might expect a reasonable remuneration, through the wise and liberal policy of Parliament. Yielding now no more to despondency amidst their adversities, they resumed fresh courage, and readily made the preparation required.
Three expeditions were proposed for this year, the first was
Three ex- against Louisbourg ; the second, against Ticonderoga and Crown peditions Point ; and the third, against Fort du Quesne. proposed.
In the Governor's address to the General Court, March 2d, March 22. he says,-' The enemy, in consequence of our unfortunate situa- Governor's 'tion, is about the heads of all our waters, ready to come down address. ' upon us even at our very doors. It is, therefore absolutely ne- ' cessary to keep up a constant and vigilant defence upon our ' frontiers. When I met the Earl of Loudoun at Hartford, Feb. ' 24, he expressed his intention of employing the aid of our sol- ' diers in a contemplated service at the eastward; and I hope ' you will make provision for suitable forces to co-operate with ' his Majesty's regular troops, on the eastern expedition, and for ' fitting out the provincial ship of war, King George, to cruise for ' the protection of the trade and fishery of the Province.'-These suggestions drew an expression from the House, that many men House. in the Province, especially in its eastern parts, were well acquaint- ed with Louisbourg, having served in the expedition that effected its reduction ; and it might have a good tendency to promote his Majesty's interest, if some of the regiments from this Province should be employed the present year, in that part of the service.
So spirited and united were the people, and so popular the expedition against Louisbourg, that there was no difficulty in ob- ed. taining a vote in the Legislature to raise 7,000 men in the Prov- ince ; of whom, 6,925 were actually enlisted before the close of May. About 600 were recruited in Maine ;- besides 300 raised to do garrison duty and range from place to place. The latter were thus stationed ;- at Fort Halifax, 50; at Cushnoc, 16 ; at Saco truck house, 12; at Fort Frederick, 15; at St. Georges Fort, 35 ; at Burton's garrison, near the mouth of St.
Reply of the
Troops rais-
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A. D. 1758. Georges' river, 6; at Handerson's garrison-house, on the other The eastern side of the river, 6; at Meduncook, 10; at Broad-bay, 17; forts defend- ed.
at Fort George in Brunswick, 5; at Lebanon, 11; at Phillips- town, 18; at Narraganset No. 1, 14; at Standish, 15; and 63 were assigned to New-Marblehead, New-Gloucester, Frankfort and Presumpscot Falls .*
Ist and 2d expeditieu.
The expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, con- ducted by General Abercrombie, was unsuccessful. General Forbes commanded the one against Fort du Quesne, which he captured and called Pittsburg,
3d expedi- tion cap- tures Louis- bourg.
July 26. It capit- ulates:
In the siege of Louisbourg, Major-General Amherst, command- er of the regular and Provincial land forces, and Admiral Bos, cawen with a fleet of 57 sail, mostly from England, forming a junction, proceeded eastward, and anchored, June 2, in the bay, opposite the city. The French garrison in that place consisted of 2,500 regular troops, 300 militia and 60 or 70 Indian war- riors. The harbor was secured by six ships of the line, and five frigates. When the landing was effected, and the artillery and stores were brought on shore, General JAMES WOLFE was de- tached with 2,000 men, to seize a post occupied by the enemy at the light-house point ; from which the ships in the harbor and the fortifications in the town, might be greatly annoyed. On his approach, the post was abandoned, and strong batteries were im- mediately erected there by the English. In the heavy cannon- ade perseveringly urged,-a bomb set one of the enemy's great ships on fire in the harbor, and blew her up; whence the flames were communicated to others, which shared the same fate. Six hundred men were next sent in boats to make an attempt upon the two ships of the line in the basin ; one being aground, was destroyed, and the other they towed off in triumph, The Eng- lish being now in complete possession of the harbor, and several large breaches being actually made in the works, the place was deemed no longer defensible ;- therefore, July 26, the French commander capitulated .; The inhabitants of Cape Breton were sent to France ; and the garrison, sea-officers, sailors and mar- iners, in all 5,637, were carried prisoners to England. The conquerors lost 400 men, killed and wounded ; and found in the fort 21 pieces of cannon, 18 mortars, and an immense quantity
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