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 34
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* 10 Jour. House of Rep. p. 432 .- The whole number was 294, besides officers.
t See ante, June 17, 1745.
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of stores and ammunition. The conquest filled England as well 4. D. 1758. as this country, with extravagant demonstrations of joy .*
The depredations committed in Maine by the Indians, this The In- dians. year, were few ; three years of warfare being usually sufficient to satisfy them. In May, however, a man by the name of Pome- roy was killed at Kennebeck, and a youngster taken captive ; and in June, an inhabitant of Arrowsick Island and his wife were slain, and their six children and a young woman were carried into captivity.
A communication was received at Boston, in August, from An attack Brigadier General Monkton, stationed in Nova Scotia, which fort at St. upon the stated, that a body of Frenchmen, in conjunction with the Indians river and Georges' on the rivers St. John, Penobscot, and probably Passamaquoddy, repulse. were meditating an attempt upon the fort at St. Georges, and the destruction of all the settlements in that vicinity. Immediately, Governor Pownal collected such a military force, as was at com- mand, and embarked with them on board the King George, and the sloop Massachusetts. Arriving, he threw these auxiliaries with some additional warlike stores into the fort at a most for- tunate juncture ; for within 36 hours after his departure, the fort was actually assailed by a body of 400 French and Indians. But so well prepared was the garrison to receive them, that they were unable to make the least impression. Nor did any repre- sentations of their numbers, nor any threats, communicated to the fort by a captive woman, whom they purposely permitted to escape thither, occasion the least alarm. Hence, the besiegers gave vent to their resentments and rage, by killing the neighbor- ing cattle, about 60 of which, they shot or butchered.
This active and conspicuous service of the Governor, was not Service of only applauded by the General Court in terms of high considera- the Gover- tion ; but Mr. Pitt also assured him, it had received the particular approved. nor highly approbation of the king himself. The enemy afterwards made an attempt upon the fort at Meduncook [Friendship] without of the east- Last efforts being able to carry it; though they killed or took captive eight this war. men.j-These, so far as our knowledge extends, closed the scenes of massacre, plunder and outrage by the Indians, during the present war and forever.
* 9 Smollett, p, 283-6 .- The people in Falmouth spent the afternoon and most of the night rejoicing .- Smith.
ern Indians,
+ 2 Minot, p. 41.
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rations, this year.
A. D. 1759. The plan of operations, for the memorable year 1759, was Plan of ope- nothing less than an universal attack upon the French, in every direction ;- by so connecting all the parts, as to transfuse the effect of victory or success in one quarter, throughout the whole system ;- with a determination to bring the contest to a final and speedy decision. For these purposes it was agreed and deter- mined, that three powerful armies should enter the territories of the French by different routes, and make a simultaneous attack upon all their strong holds of security or defiance. The capture of Quebec was assigned to an army of 9,000 men, under General Wolfe, and a fleet under Admiral Saunders :- The reduction of Niagara, one of the most important posts in all North America, was to be undertaken by General Prideaux, with a powerful body of Provincials and friendly Indians :- And the main army, under General Abercrombie the Commander-in-Chief, was to invest Ti- conderoga and Crown Point, and then form a junction, if possi- ble, with General Wolfe.
Against Quebec
Niagara.
'l'icondero- ga and Crown Point.
Province.
Troops rais- ed in the Province. The subject was laid before the General Court, when the House voted, March 10, to raise 5,000 men; believing the Province in its present exhausted state could do no more. Yet, in consequence of an urgent letter from General Amherst, then in Nova Scotia, the House added to the levy 1,500 more ; sub- State of the joining a true though melancholy representation,-how 'surpriz- 'ingly the burdens, the sufferings, and exigencies, occasioned by ' four years of warfare succeeding other long and bloody wars, ' had prostrated public credit, and filled the Province with dis- 'tress. The ranks of our bravest inhabitants, said the House, ' have been thinning from year to year ; untold numbers having ' fallen in battle, died of their wounds or of sickness, or been carried ' into an appalling captivity ; while not a few, fired with patriotism, ' have actually left all, for the service of their king and country. 'The charge of our own regiments was £120,000, the last year ; ' the amount paid in fines and contributions was at least £60,000, "and it cost the Province £30,000, to defend its frontiers and ' seacoasts, and to defray the ordinary expenses of government ;- ' which sums being all computed in money sterling. In the ' defence of the eastern country only, we are obliged to keep ' about 600 men in constant pay. We have lately promised a " bounty of $6 to a man, being double what we have at any time
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' before given, to produce a voluntary enlistment of 1,500 men, A. . D 1759. 'the additional levy .* But still we shall never be found back-
' ward, to discharge all our duty, with the fortitude, emulation ' and alacrity, which have ever characterized the people of this ' Province.'
There was another subject of great importance to the people A proposi- of this eastern country, which the Governor called up and sub- possession of tion to take mitted to the consideration of the Legislature. This was a river. Penobscot proposition to establish a fort at some place upon the banks of the Penobscot waters, and to take formal possession of the contiguous territories. He stated, that the undertaking had been postponed from time to time, on account of the present war, and the conse- quent burdens, with which the people were struggling ; that since the British forces had seized upon the river St. John, and forti- fied there, the enemy had no other outlet to the sea, than through the Penobscot river-the avenues being shut upon him in every other part; that both the country and the Islands ought to be in our actual possession, since as long as an Indian has any claims to these lands, the French will espouse his title and give us trouble ; and that General Amherst, having been consulted, has declared the subject to be a matter of weight and necessity, de- serving immediate attention ; and should the enterprize succeed, he has actually promised to furnish guns, ordnance, stores and other necessaries, suitable for such a fortification, and free of all charge to the Province. He has also stated, that the expense of building it will be reimbursed by the crown. Not only will this expedition, added the Governor, assure you the honor of hav- ing completed his Majesty's entire dominion on the Atlantic ; but the title to those lands will be forever secured to the subjects of this Province.t-The proposition was the more acceptable to the House, because it seemed to come from the ministry ; satisfied as the Legislature had long been, that such an establishment would afford facilities and means, either to subdue entirely the Etechemin natives, or bring them to terms of perpetual peace.
The General Court therefore resolved, March 23, that 400 Provisiort men, taken from the last levy of 1,500, be employed under the building a' made for fort there. Governor's direction, to take possession of the Penobscot coun- try, erect a fortification there, and cover the workmen in the en-
* 2 Minot, p. 47, 52.
t See Governor's Speech, Feb. 1, 1759.
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A. D. 1759. terprize ; that they be immediately enlisted, put under pay, and furnished with provisions, blankets and camp utensils,-every soldier being offered six dollars by the month, if he supplied himself with firearms ; and that the fort, when finished, be gar- risoned by 100 men, from the forts at Pemaquid and St. Georges, which were to be dismantled. About the same provision was also made for the general defence of the eastern frontiers, as The force at was assigned to that service the preceding year. Next, every fax discon- argument and method were used to persuade the troops stationed Fort Hali- tented. at Fort Halifax and Fort Western, to continue in the service,- troops whose complaints were raised to notes of high resentment. The government in its emergency, it is true, had done little better than to break faith with them. For they had been enlisted or impressed into that service for only a twelve month ; whereas the present was the third year of their detention, and still they could not obtain their discharge. Perceiving, however, that the fort must be dismantled, if they left it, the brave men sacrificed private considerations to the public safety, and still continued in the service.
The Penob- scot expedi- tion.
The enlistments for the ' Penobscot expedition,' were complet- ed without trouble or delay. The men being arranged into four companies, each of 100 men, were put under the command of a Colonel ; and the whole embarked at Boston on board the ship King George, the Massachusetts sloop and a few transports ; all touching at Falmouth, May 4, as they proceeded to the place of destination. In ascending the Penobscot Bay, at this pleas- ant season of the year, the Islands and shores exhibited a drap- ery of nature, which could not fail to make a deep impres- sion upon the beholder. Farther into land, the banks indented with coves, and the acclivities clothed with mast-pines, rock- maples, and balsam-firs, in thick forest, had power to excite the admiration of no one more than the Governor himself. It was to him, a reflection fraught with deep regret, that this fine coun- try had been so long left to the savage hunter, the French ren- egado, and the wild beast.
Site, dimen- sions and fort.
Having examined sundry places, and taken formal possession form of the of the country, the Governor selected a crescent crowning eleva- tion on the western side of the Penobscot, [in Prospect,] 25 rods from the waters' edge, and about a league below the foot of
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CHAP. XII.] OF MAINE.
Orphan Island, as a site for the fortification .* It was laid out A. D. 1759. square, with the points of compass, the east side facing the wa- ter, and at each corner were flankers. The dimensions of the fort, were 360 feet, or 90 feet on each inner side of the breast- work, which was ten feet in height. This was circumvallated by a moat or ditch 15 feet in width at top, 5 at bottom, and 8 deep. Each exterior side of the ditch, or the glacis, was 240 feet. In the centre of the ditch were palisadoes quite around the fort, ex- cept at the portcullis, or entrance, at the east side, where a draw- bridge crossed the excavation or ditch. There was also a piquet in the ditch at the foot of the wall. The houses of the commander and others, were situated between the fort and the river. Within the breastwork or walls, was a square block-house, 44 feet on a side, with flankers at each corner, of diamond form, 33 feet on a side. The whole was constructed of square timber dovetail'd at the corners, and trenailed. The height of the block-house, in two stories, was about twenty-two feet, the roof was square or hipped, and had a sentry box upon the top. There were several cohorns on the roof ; and three or four cannon were mounted in the area between the breastwork and walls of the block-house, which was 20 feet in width. The upper story jut- ted over the lower about three feet-the space being covered with loose plank, easily removable. The lower story was used as barracks ; and in the upper one, where 10 or 12 small can- non were mounted, garrison exercise was performed in stormy weather. There were two chimnies, one in the north-west and the other in the south-east corner of the block-house.t
* A little above Fort-point is a bar; between which and Sandy-point, 2 ths of a league farther north, is Fort-point harbor. The shore from Fort- point runs S. W. 1} leagues to Cape Jellison-point ; west of which is Brig- adier's Island of 5000 acres ;- and between them is Cape Jellison harbor.
{ After the war, there was a large trade carried on many years, between the garrison and the Indians. An aged gentleman says, " I have seen one " of the flanker-rooms as full as it could be well stowed, with the first qual- "ity of furs, beaver, otter, sable, &c." Soon after Majorbiguyduce was occupied by the British, A. D. 1779, Col. Cargill came from Newcastle, and burnt the block-house and curtilage; and subsequently by order of government, he again appeared at the head of a party, and labored inde- fatigably till almost exhausted with toil and hunger, in filling the ditches and levelling the breastwork. Yet some of the cavities are now to be seen .- MS. Letter of Jos. P. Martin, Esq. of Prospect, with an ingenious plan of the fort.
VOL. II. 43
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Governor and General
a guard, ascend tlie river.
A message sent to the ludians.
A. D. 1759. As soon as the laborers had commenced work, the Governor, attended by General Samuel Waldo, with a guard of 136 men, Waldo, with ascended the river, near the head of the tide-waters, below the bend ; and May 23, went ashore on the westerly side of the river. From this place he sent a message to the Tarratine tribe, giving them notice of the enterprize undertaken at Fort-point, and assuring them, if they should fall upon the English and kill any of them, the whole tribe should be hunted and driven from the country. But, added he, though we neither fear your resent- ment nor seek your favor, we pity your distresses ; and if you will become the subjects of his Majesty and live near the fort, you shall have our protection, and enjoy your planting grounds, and your hunting berths, without molestation.
Death of General Waldo.
General Waldo took great interest in this expedition, expect- ing that the Muscongus [or Waldo] Patent extended to some place near the spot then visited by them; and that he and his co-proprietors would derive essential advantage from the project- ed fortification. Withdrawing a few paces he looked round and exclaimed, " here is my bound"-and instantly fell dead, of an apoplexy. He was 63 years of age .* To commemorate the spot, the Governor buried a leaden plate, bearing an inscription of the melancholy event. General Waldo was a gentleman of great enterprize, and worth ; and the conspicuous part he acted in the first capture of Louisbourg, will be long recollected with intermingled pleasure and praise. His sons, Samuel and Fran- cis, and the husbands of his two daughters, Isaac Winslow and Thomas Fluker, were the testamentary executors of his large estate, much of which was in the last mentioned patent.
Fort Pow- nal complet- ed.
On the 28th of July, the fortification which cost about £5,000,t was completed, and called FORT POWNAL. It was afterwards garrisoned by 100 men, under the command of Brigadier-Gen-
* Council Rec. 1756 to 1767 .- Governor Pownal says, 'we went up to " the first Falls, four miles and an half from the first ledge, found cleared ' lands on the western side of the river, where General Waldo dropt down, ' May 23, just above the falls, of an apoplexy, and expired in a few mo- ' ments."-The exact place is not known-supposed to be not far from Fort-hill in Bangor .- Some say, it was on the eastern side.
t Exact amount, £4,969, 17s. 2d .; besides the temporary use of some of the government's property. The troops consumed 250 bbls. of pork, 390 bushels of peas; and 1,759 gallons of molasses.
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eral Jedediah Preble. It was the most regular and defensible A. D. 1759. fort in the Province; and the expenses, of building it were re- imbursed by Parliament.
In a subsequent address to the General Court, the Governor To the ac- stated, that he had taken possession of a large and fine country, the Prov- ceptance of belonging to the Province, within the dominions of the British ince. crown-long a den for savages, and a lurking place for renega- do Frenchmen ; and had established that possession by the erec- tion of a fort, which would command the river Penobscot, and the outlet at Edgemaroggan Reach, the rendezvous of the east- ern Indians, in their excursions against our frontiers. He said, the erection of it incurred a less charge to the Province by £1,003, than if the same troops had joined the army. Highly gratified with the enterprize and its speedy accomplishment, the General Court voted him their thanks, and granted him £200, in addition to his usual salary of £1,300, lawful money .*
In each of the three northern campaigns, the British and Niagara, Provincial arms met with entire success. Niagara surrender- Ticondero- ga and Crown Point taken ed, July 25, to Sir William Johnston, chief commander- General Prideaux being killed. The second day afterwards, Ticonderoga and Crown Point were reduced by General Am- herst. Before that time, General Wolfe had commenced the Quebec be- far-famed siege of Quebec. The city, then containing 10,000 sieged. souls, was built on elevated ground near the northerly bank of the St. Lawrence, t and just above the mouth of the St. Charles ; -a place more stongly fortified and better garrisoned, than any other in America. The plains of Abraham, above the city, adjoined the bank of the river, where the heights and rugged steepness were supposed to be a safeguard, entirely sufficient, without the least works of art.
Yet the intrepid Wolfe, in the course of one night, Sept. 12-13, Sept. 15. conducted his army from the shipping, in single file, up this appalling precipice, and commenced the attack. The battle, bloody and desperate, became general about 9 in the morning ; and before noon the victory of the English was decisive. Wolfe and Montcalm, the two opposing generals, were both slain, and
Capitula- tion of Que- bec,
* By advice of the Council, the General put the forces under Law Mar- tial, during the erection of the fort .- 3 Coun, Rec. p. 77.
t The river opposite is a mile in width,
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A. D. 1759. with them fell 1,600 men ; the loss of the French being about twofold that of the English. On the fifth day, Quebec, the capi- tal of New-France, capitulated, and being thus reduced to the dominion of Great Britain, was garrisoned by about 5,000 men .* The eastern people partook largely in the great and general joy, which this event diffused over the whole country ;- in a well founded hope, that savage warfare and scenes of blood, would Great exult- shortly come to a close, throughout the land, Besides firing ation. cannon and illuminating ships and houses ;- an assemblage, for instance, celebrated the occasion of their mirth and exultation in a festal barbecue, served up in due style on one of the Islands in the harbor of Falmouth, f There was praise offered at every altar ; and a day of solemn thanksgiving was appointed by royal proclamation, through all the dominions of Great Britain.
The In- dians.
Every great reverse of fortune experienced by the French, had a baleful effect upon the interests and affairs of the northern and eastern Indian tribes, Beaten in Nova Scotia, and met at every avenue in their late hostile attempts upon the well guarded frontiers of Maine, they had entered the camp of the French, to help them fight out their battles. They had thus changed the mode of warfare through necessity, Their bloody cruelties and devastations in the outer towns and plantations of New-England, were yet by no means effaced from recollection ; and a day of retribution had at length arrived,
Sept. 13. Major Rog- ers marche 200 men Francois.
General Amherst, having reduced Ticonderoga, despatched thence, Sept. 13, Major Robert Rogers, with about 200 rangers against St. to destroy the Indian villages at St, Francois and Becancourt, After a fatiguing march of twenty-one days, he came within sight of the places, which he discovered from the top of a tree, Halt- ing his men, at the distance of three miles, he rested till twilight. In the evening he entered the former village in disguise with two of his officers. The Indians being, unfortunately for them, en- gaged in a great dance, he passed through them undiscovered. October 4. Destroys it. Having formed his men into parties and posted them to advantage, he made a general assault, Oct. 4, just before day, while the In-
* 3 Smollett, p. 475-493 .- In England " all was triumph and exultation, " mingled with the praise of the all accomplished Wolfe, which was ex- " alted even to a ridiculous degree of hyperbole."
¿ Since called, " Hog Island."
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dians, fatigued by exercise, were in a sound sleep. So com- A. D. 1759, pletely were they surprized, that little resistance could be made. Some were killed in their cottages, and others, attempting to flee, were shot or thrust through by those placed at the avenues. Several of them actually fell upon the spot, about twenty were taken prisoners, and five English captives rescued from suffering, Daylight disclosed to the assailants a horrid spectacle. It was the sight of several hundred scalps torn from the heads of their countrymen, elevated on poles and waving in the air.
St Francois was a village which had, through a period of many St. Francois years, been enriched with the plunder of the English frontiers, described. and the sale of captives. The church was adorned with plate, and the houses were decently furnished, The apprehension of alarm and of pursuit did not allow much time for pillage. The rangers only took such things as they could most conveniently bring away ; among which were 200 guineas in money, a silver image weighing ten pounds, a large quantity of wampum, and some articles of clothing. Having set fire to the village, Rogers made his retreat up the river St. Francois ; intending that his men should meet in rendezvous at the upper Coos on Connecti- cut river, Rogers, having one man killed and six or seven Return of wounded, was under the necessity of dismissing his prisoners on his men. Rogers and their parole ; and after this, he was pursued and lost seven of his company, The whole party kept in a body about ten days, and then scattered, Some died in the woods, and all the rest suffered the extremes of hunger and fatigue, before they arrived at any habitations of the settlers .*
But amidst the exultation awakened by these repeated and Death of Sir triumphant successes, a cloud of melancholy was thrown over Pepperell. William the eastern country, by the death of Sir William Pepperell. He had been a distinguished man among the most eminent of the age. Few others have been favored through life with such uninter- rupted success in their enterprizes, both public and private, as it was his good fortune to enjoy. He acquired a large property, leaving no less than 5.500 acres of valuable land in Saco. Cir- cumstances always seemed wonderfully to combine in further- ance of his wishes ; nay, there is a homely tradition, which had much of truth in it, that 'whatever he willed came to pass.'
* 2 Belk. N. H. p, 234-5,
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A. D. 1759. Even the reduction of Louisbourg, the pillar of his fame, has been ascribed to a series of lucky incidents, or to special Divine in- terposition, rather than to any remarkable military skill of the General. His usual dress afterwards, according to the expen- sive style and costume of those days, was scarlet cloth, trim- med with gold lace. But amidst all his wealth and honors, his affability of manners never forsook him. He had a very deep sense of Divine Providence, which made him modest and hum- ble, and appeared to influence every action of his life. He died at his seat in Kittery, July 6, 1759, aged 63,-exhibiting the christian believer and hero, as well in his dying moments as in his living years. He devised a large estate to William P. Spar- hawk, son of Nathaniel Sparhawk, Esq. whose wife was the only surviving child of the Baronet .*
Defence during the winter.
To protect our frontiers, during the winter, there were em- ployed 160 men, who were thus distributed ;- namely, at Fort Pownal, 84 men ; at Fort Halifax, 41 ; at Cushnoc, 13; at St. Georges, 13; and at Saco, 9. Fort Frederick, at Pemaquid, which had so long been the principal eastern fortification, had been dismantled the preceding year ; and the fears of a further attack from the Indians were, since the late events, more than half diminished. The ship King George was likewise cruising off our coast through the winter, partly as a convoy of our trade with Louisbourg, and partly as a protector to our fishery against privateers, who had seized several of our vessels.
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