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 44
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* Ante, A. D. 1766-7.
t Hon. S. Jones' MS. Let.
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CHAP. XVI.]
wounded. But the British schooner received a deadly fire in re- A. D. 1775. turn ; and Moor, who made a brave defence, presently fell of a mortal wound. At the same time, one Avery, master of a Connecti- cut coaster, then in the harbor, happening to be on board, was killed ; and several of Moor's men also were either slain or received fatal wounds. The bloody skirmish so terrified the second officer in Capture of her, and death of her command- command, a young midshipman, that he fled panic-struck to the cabin. She was then boarded, and soon brought up to the foot er. of the West Falls in triumph. Moor, who was kindly carried ashore, died the next day.
Hostilities having been thus commenced, Jones' sloop, sur- O'Brien and named the " Liberty," was fitted up with bulwarks, and armed take the Dil- Foster also with swivels and cannon, taken on board from the prize and tender. igent and a mounted ; and being prepared for a cruise, the plantation Com- mittee of Safety appointed O'Brien to take the command of her. He proceeded into the Bay of Fundy, in search of the Diligent, a British schooner of 70 or 80 tons, under Capt. Knight, who had been sent out to survey the coast. Returning without suc- cess, after a cruise of three weeks, Capt. O'Brien, a few days subsequently, was informed, that Capt. Knight, and Hutchins, the commander of a tender, had anchored in Buck's harbor ; and had been ashore among the few families settled there, making enquiries about the capture of the Margranetto. Capt. Stephen Smith and a guard stationed there, being out in a spy-boat, and discovering Knight, secreted themselves till a favorable opportu- nity offered, and then made him a prisoner. The next day, O'Brien in the Liberty, and Foster in the coaster, proceeded down the rivers, and finding Spry, the Lieutenant, wholly unpre- pared for a contest, took the schooner and tender without loss, and moored them near the other prize. Both crews were imme- diately transported in small vessels to Falmouth, attended by O'Brien and Foster, who proceeded with the news to head- quarters at Cambridge, where they received many plaudits ; and Vote of pub- on the 26th of June, the Provincial Congress presented them them. lic thanks to with the tribute of public thanks, " for their courage and good conduct."*
The Liberty, Capt. O'Brien, and the Diligent, Capt. John O'Brien and
Long put
Long, were put in commission by the government of the Prov- in commis-
sion.
* Records of 3d Prov. Con. p. 146.
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A. D. 1775. ince, and both cruised in the Bay of Fundy, without any other success however, than the capture of a brig by O'Brien, which was laden with provisions .*
July 19. Province charter re- sumed.
A meeting of the Gen- eral Court.
Councillors for Maine and Saga- dahock.
Agreeably to the recommendations of the Continental Con- gress, the Provincial charter was resumed ; and 208 representa- tives, duly elected by towns, convened at Watertown, July 19, and put an end to the third and last Provincial Congress ;t-nearly all of its members being returned to the House. Becoming or- ganized, by the choice of a Speaker and Clerk, they proceeded to elect 28 Councillors ;- those for Maine were BENJAMIN CHADBOURN of Berwick ; ENOCH FREEMAN of Falmouth ; and CHARLES CHAUNCEY of Kittery ; and for Sagadahock, John Tay- lor, a non-resident.
Acts of the General Court.
Among the first Legislative measures of the General Court, was a resolution that the Council be considered and recognized as the Supreme Executive of the Province, according to the
* MS. Narrative of Hon. Stephen Jones of Machias.
t The period of these three Provincial Congresses was, from Oct. 7, 1774, to July 19, 1775-9 months and 13 days; and the members in them from Maine, were the following :-
YORK COUNTY.
York, Daniel Bragdon.
Gorham, Bryant Morton. Solomon Lombard.
Kittery, Edward Cutts.
North-Yarmouth, John Lewis.
Charles Chauncey.
David Mitchell.
Berwick, Ichabod Goodwin. William Gerrish.
LINCOLN COUNTY.
Georgetown, Samuel McCobb.
Wells, Ebenezer Sayer.
Arundel, John Hovey. Biddeford, James Sullivan. CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
Topsham, John Merrill. Samuel Fulton. Bowdoinham, Samuel Harnden. Gardinerstown, Joseph North.
Falmouth and ¿ Enoch Freeman, Cape-Elizabeth, S Samuel Freeman. Scarborough, Samuel Marsh.
Vassalborough, Remington Hobby. Winthrop, Ichabod Howe.
Brunswick and
Harpswell, Sam'l Thompson.
Pownalborough, Timothy Langdon. Edgecomb, Moses Davis.
The Provincial Congresses received petitions, passed resolves, desig- nated Committees, and managed the political affairs of the Province ; but made no laws .- Their Presidents were John Hancock, Joseph Warren, and James Warren :- Their secretaries, Benjamin Lincoln, and Samuel Freeman.
Note .- Their transactions are recorded in three manuscript books quarto, unbound-in all 576 pages .- Secretary's office, Boston.
N. B .- In August, the troops, assembled at Cambridge, "were organized "into a continental army, and received into the pay of the whole United " Colonies."-2 Bradford's Mass. p. 44.
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CHAP. XVI.]
provisions of the charter ; the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, A. D. 1775. having vacated the chair by absenting themselves from the trust, and disregarding their duties and the sacred obligations of their official oaths. Another enactment made all the transactions of the several Provincial Congresses, valid and binding to every in- tent and purpose, as if they were the Legislative acts of the General Court. A third declared every corporate 'District,' a town, and enlarged the immunity of representation ; authorizing every town, in which there were by the charter 30 qualified Represen- voters, to return a Representative to the General Court; and the tatives. next year, every town however small, was allowed to send one ; and if it contained 220 voters, three ;- or 320, four ; 100 voters being the mean ratio, for every additional Representative .*
Upon the subject of office-holders, the General Court pre- All civil mised, that there were numbers of them, civil and military, offices va- who were unfriendly to the rights and liberties of the American tember 19. cated, Sep- Colonies, and must be removed ; and that appointments ought to be made of those, and those only, who were devoted to the free- dom and interests of their country. But still the Legislature thought it inconsistent with sound policy, and by no means free of difficulties, " to deprive all such unfit persons of their offices singly and by name," and therefore enacted, that all executive appointments and commissions, made prior to the present session of the General Court, should be void and of no effect, from and after the 19th of the ensuing September. Several military and Some new county appointments were soon made ; though a new organiza- ments. appoint- tion of the Judiciary was not undertaken till November. Tyng, Sheriff of Cumberland, early hastened his own removal, both by his obnoxious politics, and his improper conduct in office. For having a warrant against Noyes, collector of Falmouth, he pursued him with threats, till he extorted from him a deed of his real estate ;- a conveyance, however, which was afterwards set aside by the Legislature.+
To meet the numerous pecuniary calls and applications, the A Provin- General Court was under the necessity of resorting again to
cial issue of
* Prov. Laws, p. 695, 798.
t Tyng was appointed Sheriff of Cumberland in 1767. He also received a Colonel's commission from Governor Gage. His private character was humane and good.
VOL. II. 55
and military
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A. D). 1775. " paper money."-Therefore, they now ordered an emission of paper money. £100,000; and appropriated one half of it to build or buy ten vessels, and the residue, to increase the army, pay and supply the soldiery, and provide for the common defence. " We have taken " arms," said they "in defence of that freedom, which is our " birthright ;- for the protection of our property, acquired solely " by the honest industry of our forefathers and ourselves,-and " against the violence actually offered us :- We shall lay them " down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, " and all danger of their being renewed, shall be removed,-and " not before."
Defence of the eastern towns.
In answer to the memorials of the inhabitants, in Bristol, Pow- nalborough, Camden and other towns, stating their fears of being plundered and distressed by the enemy, and praying for relief and protection ; the General Court ordered Capt. James Curtis' company, and two others, into the County of Lincoln ; afterwards stationed another of 50 men at Machias ; and in the course of a month appropriated £1,300, for the support and safety of the eastern towns. There were good grounds, for these fearful ap- prehensions of the people ; though it were a maxim of the Brit- ish officers, that private property and unoffending subjects were not to be injured .*
The burn- ing of Fal- mouth.
The burning of ill-fated Falmouth, the pride of Maine, was a fatal event-deserving particular notice. 'The central part was the ancient Casco, now Portland, called the Neck;' which had been permanently settled more than one hundred and forty-five years. There were upon the peninsula, at the present time, about 250 dwellinghouses; as many shops and stores, besides other buildings ; and, inclusive of the environs, not much short of 2,000+ inhabitants. The village itself was commercial, fair and flourishing.
Captain Mowett.
Such was Falmouth when first visited by the detested and cow- ardly Mowett. His arrest, confinement and discharge had been attended with circumstances, which vitally and incurably wound- ed his pride. Though he affected to be affronted at the treat- ment which Coulson, Wiswell, Tyng, the officers of the revenue, and other friends to the crown, had received from the inhabitants ;
* Rec. Gen. Court, A. D. 1775, p. 64-5, 100-1. 2 Bradford's Mass. p. 43. t In 1790, the population of Portland was only 2,240; though there were in all Falmouth, in 1764, 3,884 inhabitants.
435
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CHAP. XVI.]
he only waited a plausible pretext to gratify the malevolence of A. D. 1775. his heart. For had it been susceptible of any moral sense, or even the least generous sensibility, the inward struggle would have been successful in favor of men, who, not being the authors of his chagrin and disgrace, were yet his deliverers and hostages. But without doubt the tories, who were often more malignant than the British themselves, had endeavored to inflame his re- sentments ; while the haughty spirit of Admiral Graves and of the naval officers, was provoked by the people's conduct towards Coulson and Duddington ; by the affair at Machias ; and by the spirit, the union, and the whig principles of the eastern Provin- cials, especially those of Falmouth ; and hence Mowett was de- signated to lay the town in ruins.
On Monday, Oct. 16, he arrived in the harbor, with a squad- October 16. ron of four armed vessels, the Canseau in which he himself was ; ron of 4 ves- His squad- the Cat, a ship of war ; a large cutter-schooner, and a small at Fal- sels arrives mouth. bomb-sloop ; and dropped their anchors a league from the town. The alarms, which their appearance excited among the people, were in some degree abated, so soon as it was ascertained that Mowett commanded. For they had reason to believe, that his grateful sensations, if real, which had been so lately felt and ex- pressed for favors and deliverance, could not yet be stifled or ex- tinguished ; and that they ought not to apprehend any great evil at his hands. They supposed the object of his errand, was to take from the Islands a supply of cattle, sheep and hay ; and therefore the most of Capt. Noyes' company and a part of Capt. Knight's, were despatched thither, to prevent if possible the plun- der. By consequence, the town was left without any adequate means of defence.
The next day, the vessels were towed up towards the wharves, the winds not favoring them ; and about four in the afternoon, they moored in a line near the compact part of the town. Im- mediately, Mowett sent ashore a flag by a messenger, who de- livered the following letter :-
" Canseau, Falmouth, Oct. 16, 1775.
" After so many premeditated attacks on the legal prerogative Mowett's " of the best of sovereigns, after the repeated instances you have letter. " experienced in Britain's long forbearance of the rod of correc- " tion, and the manifest and paternal extension of her hands to " embrace, again and again have been regarded as vain and nuga-
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A. D. 1775. " tory-and in place of a dutiful and grateful return to your king " and parent state, you have been guilty of the most unpardona- " ble rebellion, supported by the ambition of a set of designing " men, whose insidious views have cruelly imposed on the cre- " dulity of their fellow creatures; and at last have brought the " whole into the same dilemma-which leads me to feel not a " little the woes of the innocent, of them in particular, from " my having it in orders to execute a just punishment on the "town of Falmouth, in the name of which authority, I previ- " ously warn you to remove without delay, the human specie out " of the said town, for which purpose, I give you the time of two " hours, at the period of which a red pendant will be hoisted at " the main top gallant mast head with a gun. I do also observe, " that all those who did on a former occasion, fly to the king's " ship under my command for protection, that the same door is " now open to receive them.
" The officer who will deliver this letter, I expect to return " immediately unmolested.
"I am, &c. H. MOWETT."
Mecting of the town. A Commit- Jate with him and have his terms. Greatly surprized, the town forthwith convened and appointed Gen. Preble, Doct. Coffin and John Pagan, a Committee, to learn tee expostu- of Mowett the cause of this extraordinary letter, and of the threats it contained .- To the enquiry-' My orders,' said he, 'I ' have received from Admiral Graves, and they direct me to re- ' pair to this place with all possible expedition, take my position ' near the town, and burn, sink and destroy ;- and this without ' giving the people warning ! The note you have received is of ' special grace, at the risque of my commission.' They then ex- postulated with him not to execute such cruel orders, till time was allowed to consult the Admiral. He told them, his orders related to every seaport upon the continent ; and the best terms, added he, I shall give you are these-deliver me four pieces of cannon, your small arms and your ammunition, by eight to-mor- row morning, and you are safe till I hear farther from the Admi- ral, who may be induced to save your town :- or, deliver me eight stands of small arms immediately, and you will not be mo- lested till that hour.
The town refuses to comply.
The terms were humiliating, ; yet to gain time, the town sent him the eight stands. Few were inclined to do more,-and to the inhabitants the night was sleepless and distressing. Many left
437
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CHAP. XVI.]
the town, and all made the best preparation in their power, to A. D. 1775. meet or avoid their hard destiny. Another town-meeting was holden about daylight in the morning, when it was voted not to comply with Mowett's terms. Bravely to suffer death in a good cause is martyrdom-tamely to obey the assassin's dictates by a surrender of rights, or of defensive armor, is crime of which few could be willingly guilty. The Committee, in their last interview with Mowett, urged upon his consideration every argument, not forgetting the favors he had received from the town, to delay the work of destruction, at least for a short period. I will give you, said the tyrant, thirty minutes and no more.
About nine, the same morning, the firing was opened from Wednes - all the vessels, and being urged with great briskness, a horrible Falmouth shower of cannon balls from three to nine pounds' weight, car- cases, bombs, live shells, grape-shot, and even bullets from small arms, were thrown upon the compact part of the town,-which was much more exposed and injured, by reason of its inclined situation towards the harbor. Armed parties, under cover of the guns, set fire to the buildings ; and, though some of them were saved by the watchfulness and courage of the inhabitants, others were shortly blazing in several parts of the village. The can- nonading was continued between eight and nine hours ; and the conflagration was general. St. Paul's church, the new court- house, the town-house, the public library, the fire-engine, about 130 dwellinghouses, and 230 stores and warehouses, and a great number of stables and outhouses, were all, in a short time, reduced to ashes. Two vessels only escaped the flames to be carried away by the enemy. To save the houses of the tories, there were endeavors made, which were in a few instances not without success. Mowett, when he had accomplished this dia- bolical work, departed. Yet his name lives to be execrated, and his dark deeds are portrayed to teach base men, what indelible infamy shall cleave to their memories, long after their relics have mouldered to their original element .*
The Congregational meeting-house of Rev. Mr. Smith, about A part es- 100 of the poorer dwellinghouses in the outer skirts of tlie pen- fire. capes the
* " Mowett wantonly, without the hope of gain, cruelly and without pro- " vocation, destroyed the subsistence, and blasted the hopes of a whole " community."-Sullivan, p. 208.
day,Oct. 18,
reduced to ashes.
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A. D. 1775. insula, and one or two wharves escaped the flames, though sev- eral of the buildings remaining were injured by bombs and can- non shot; and not half the merchandize, furniture and goods were removed from such as were burned. The village was a melancholy heap of ruins ;- 160 families, who the day before, were in comfortable circumstances, were reduced to want, and turned upon the world, without shelter from the autumnal storms, or the approaching winter.
Selectmen's circular.
The selectmen of the town say in their statement,-' our hearts ache for the misery in which the greater part of our people are involved. We were greatly impoverished before the final catastrophe, by the decay of navigation and trade, which were our sole means of support. So many have now lost a part or the whole of their subtance, that we conjecture, not less than 100 families must suffer for the necessaries of life, unless relieved by the bounties of charity. The settlements back of us are new, the lands are only in part cultivated, and most of the in- habitants are poor,-having never yet been able to raise their own bread, so that much alms cannot be expected from them .- Since the town of Falmouth was destroyed, evidently for no other reason than its obedience to the Continental and Provincial Congresses, and the attachment of its inhabitants to the cause of liberty in America ; they who live remote from us, would do well to administer something of their abundance for the relief of our suffering poor, till they can find some way to support themselves.'*
Remarks upon the loss of the town.
It was believed, when Mowett's errand was known, that meas- ures of defence would be vain. The people were in great agi- tation and distress-all anxious to save their lives and something of their property. Two companies sent to the Islands could not be recalled. There were at command only two six-pounders, and these were wholly unsupplied with cartridges. The shot of small arms could not reach the enemy with effect. The inter- val allowed by Mowett for the consideration of the town was short ; and indeed the place was wholly taken by surprize.
False re- port of at- A rumor immediately spread along the whole eastern coast, tacks by the that the British troops were landing in different places, killing the British. people and burning their habitations. To this, the inhabitants
* Freeman's App. to Smith's Jour. p. 50-54 .- Remembrancer for 1775 .- E. Argus extra, Nov. 1820 .- 2 Bradford's Mass. p. 63.
CHAP. XVI.]
OF MAINE.
439
gave more credence, because of what Mowett had said of the A. D. 1775. general orders given him. Slight fortifications were thrown up about the eastern harbors ; but before those at Falmouth* were A ship of the enemy visits rendered defensible, Capt. Symonds appeared in a war ship of the harbor greater force, than all those united, which had destroyed the town. of Falmouth. He found, also, that the inhabitants and volunteers from the neigh- boring towns were sedulously engaged in laying the foundations and walls of a battery, and preparing to mount two six-pounders, and make defence. Symonds in a menacing manner forbade the work ; but finding his threats disregarded, and his ship exposed to an attack, from a people rendered desperate by suffering ; he hoisted sail and made a precipitate retreat ;- and this was the last visit Falmouth had from the enemy during the war. How- Defence of ever, upon representations of those outrageous measures and vio- towns. the eastern lent threats and orders of the enemy yet to be executed, the General Court appointed a suitable force to be stationed at Fal- mouth through the winter, ordered 400 men to be raised for the defence of the eastern coast, and directed a call upon all the militia of the three eastern counties, if necessary, to resist the attacks or prevent the inroads of the enemy. In December, Gen. Frye. Brigadier-General Joseph Fryet visited Falmouth, and the suc- ceeding spring, General Washington sent him thither to take the command.
But the great objects of American enterprize were somewhat divided. After Ticonderoga and Crown-point had been surpriz- gomery captures ed and taken by Colonels Ethan Allen and Seth Warner, Gen- Montreal, eral Washington, July 3, assumed the command of the continental es to Que- army, and ordered General Montgomery to proceed against bec. Montreal. It was an important movement for him,-the place and eleven sail of vessels surrendering to him, Nov. 12, when he and his troops taking up their march expeditiously, soon arrived before Quebec.
Gen. Mont-
and march-
Foreseeing, that probably the force of Canada would be con- Arnold's ex- centrated about Montreal, General Washington projected likewise pedition through an expedition against Quebec in a different direction. He pro-
* Remains of these forts were seen more than 20 years afterwards .- Sullivan, p. 208.
t In May, 1775, Mr. Frye was Colonel ; J. Bricket, Lieutenant-Colonel; Thomas Poor, Major. General Frye died at Fryeburgh.
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A. D. 1775. posed to send a detachment from his encampment at Cambridge Kennebeck through the Kennebeck, the wilderness between the upper settle- river to Quebec, ments on that river and those on the Chaudiere, to the St. Law- rence ; who were to co-operate with the troops under the com- mand of Montgomery in the attack meditated.
The force detached and collected, chiefly consisted of infantry from Massachusetts and Maine, joined by a few from New- Hampshire and Connecticut, by three companies of Riflemen, one of Artillery under Capt. Lamb, and by a considerable number of volunteers-in all, about 1,100 men, including officers .* The command of this arduous expedition was given to Benedict Ar- nold of Connecticut, lately commissioned a Colonel; who, when joined with Colonel Allen in the late capture of Ticonderoga, had shown himself a gallant officer. Among his associate offi- cers, were Col. Christopher Green of Rhode Island, Majors Return J. Meigs and Timothy Bigelow; also Col. Roger Enos, who commanded the rear division. Some of his Captains
were Henry Dearborn, Samuel Mc Cobb, and Daniel Morgan.t Sept. 16. Embark at Newbury- port. The forces having collected at Newburyport, embarked Sept. 16, with provisions, arms, ammunition and baggage, and proceed- ed in ten transports to Fort Western, the head of tide-waters on the Kennebeck. From this place, Arnold despatched up river an exploring party of 8 or 10 men, John Getchell of Vassal- borough being one of their guides. On the 25th-6-7-8th, Capt. Morgan, Col. Greene, Major Meigs and Col. Enos, suc- cessively followed in batteaux with 45 days' provision. But as they advanced they found shoals, ripples and falls, to impede their progress by water; and on the land, thickets, cliffs and gullies, covered with decaying trees fallen in all directions, which rendered travelling exceedingly slow and fatiguing ; they being obliged to bear their provisions and baggage by falls and rips on Oct. 10-12. their shoulders. They arrived, however, Oct. 10, 11, 12, with- out much difficulty, at the Great carrying-place, across from
* There were 10 New-England companies of musqueteers, and 3 com- panies of riflemen from Virginia and Pennsylvania.
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