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 64
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Next to the spirit of party, was the passion for banks ;- twenty Six new of them receiving charters, June 23; six of which were estab- Banks in Maine. lished in Maine,* whose charters were all limited in duration to Oct. 1, 1831. Observing this uncommon solicitude to make large banking investments, the country members of the General Court, supposed the stock must be highly productive ; and there- fore, the same day, the General Court laid a tax of one per cent. upon the capital stock of every bank, to be paid half-yearly First bank into the treasury of the State.t tax.
* These were the Bath-Cumberland-Hallowell and Augusta-Wiscas- set-Kennebeck-and Saco Banks-making ten in the District of Maine. [See ante A. D. 1802-3-4.] Maine and Penobscot Banks having failed, or stopped payment.
t When these Banks commenced business, the banking capital in Maine was $1,620,000, and consequently paid into the State Treasury annually, $16,200 tax.
VOL. II. 79
626
THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
A. D. 1812.
The number of towns established in 1812, were seven, which Seven towns were all incorporated the same month, namely, BINGHAM,* the incorporat-
ed. 6th ; TROY, t [Kingville,] BREWER, and DEARBORN,§ the 22d ; PHILLIPS,|| the 25th; SEBEC, T the 28th ; and Fox-
* Bingham, (189th town,) was first settled about the year 1784. Its plant- ation name was Carratunk, from its contiguity to a waterfall of the same name, just below, in the Kennebeck river. It was incorporated by its present name, out of respect to the great land-holder in Maine, William Bingham. Its contents were 23,040 acres. The first settlers were quiet- ed by the General Court, and the residue of the township sold by the State to Mr. Bingham. It was surveyed in 1801, by Philip Bullen .- MS. Let. of Obed Wilson, Esq. 1819.
t Troy, (190th town,) was incorporated Kingville, in honor of the first Governor of Maine ; changed in 1814, to Joy-because much of the town was owned by Benjamin Joy, Esq. Its third name is Troy. When a plant- ation, it was called Bridgestown ; General Bridge of Chelmsford, (Mass.) having a principal agency in the first settlement. On the west, it adjoins 25 mile pond, and contains 20,052 acres. It was surveyed by Ballard in 1797. A Post-office was established in this town in 1817 .- MS. Letter of James Parker, Esq.
# Brewer, (191st town,) was taken from the northerly part of Orrington. -[See this town, March 21, 1788.]-The name was in compliment to John Brewer, Esq. one of the first settlers, from Worcester; and hence, it was first called New-Worcester. He began to build his mill at the mouth of the Segeunkedunk, in 1770, and made the first improvements attempted in town. The occupation of 'Biguyduce in 1779, by the British, checked the settlement till peace. In 1784, the township was surveyed by Barnabas Dodge ; and the next year the State granted to Brewer and Fowler the front or water lots, lying on the Penobscot, and to Knapp and associates the residue of Brewer and Orrington. Rev. Seth Noble was installed pastor of Bangor and Brewer. A Post-Office was established in 1800 ; and Colonel Brewer was the first Post-master. In 1813, a new Post-office was established in Orrington. The same year, in January, Rev. Thomas Williams was settled in Brewer. The town contains 23,582 acres, and in 1816, there were in it, 86 dwellinghouses. The first Representative to the General Court, was O. Leonard, Esq.,-who lived in this part of the old town .- MS. Let. of Hon. D. Perham.
§ Dearborn, (192d town,) was so called in compliment to General Henry Dearborn. It is separated from Rome by " Great Pond." In 1820, the town contained 80 taxable polls, and 38 dwellinghouses. This township is a part of the Plymouth patent.
|| Phillips, (193d town,) was granted by the State, Feb. 15, 1794, to Jacob Abbot. It embraces 22,490 acres. It lies southerly of Mount Abraham. In 1820, the town contained 103 rateable polls.
T Sebec, (194th town,) is an Indian name from a beautiful stream that passes through the town .- In Feb. 1796, four townships of land, six miles square, Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7, in the 7th range, incorporated, Sebec, Foxcroft,
627
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XXIV.]
CROFT,* the 29th of February ; making 154 municipal towns A. D. 1812. incorporated since the close of the Revolutionary war,-a period short of thirty years.
Guilford and Abbot, equal to 92,160 acres, were given by the State to Bow- doin College. Sebec was settled about 1804-5 .- [See article Bowdoin Col- lege, ante, 1794.]
* Foxcroft, (195th town,) was granted to Bowdoin College,-[See Sebec,] -and first settled in the year 1805; Nathaniel and Samuel Chamberlain being among the first settlers. Its corporate name was chosen in com- pliment to Joseph E. Foxcroft, Esq., a Senator and Sheriff of Cumberland County, and proprietor. Here is a bridge across the Piscatequis,-" one arch over the main channel being 120 feet." There is in town a small social library ;- also an Academy, incorporated in Feb. 1823, and endowed with half a township of land, called ' Foxcroft Academy ;'-a flourishing institution.
628
THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
CHAPTER XXV.
British aggressions-Embargo and war-Defensive measures-The Federalists oppose the war-General Hull's surrender-Seamen's war-Naval actions-Senators to General Court, and Represent- atives to Congress-Electors-Laws repealed-Six new Banks -Corporal punishment abolished-Peace Societies -- Sweden, Freedom, Levant and St. Albans incorporated-Direct tax-De- fence-Boxer taken by the Enterprize-Perry's victory-Gun- boats-Battles-British manifesto-Mediation of Russia-Pri- vatecring, shipping and speculation-Restrictive system aban- doned-A general Blockade-Call for the militia by the Presi- dent disobeyed-Brilliant successes of the American arms-Manu- factures-Valuation-Eight towns incorporated-Maine Theo- logical Seminary and Hancock Free School established.
A WAR with Great Britain appeared, in the opening year, of A. D. 1812. 1812, to be inevitable. Our merchants' vessels had far too long submitted to search and detention ; our flag had been repeatedly insulted ; 6,252 of our seamen had been impressed into the war- ships of the British, and were reported to be still detained in their service ; our efforts to maintain a strict and impartial neu- trality had been ill-treated and abused ; and every measure taken by our National Government towards the belligerents, was viewed with jealousy and dislike by the British cabinets, unless in some way particularly favorable or partial to that nation. In fact, so obstinately determined was England to persist, in the practice of search and impressment, that she refused to relax ; though she knew that our government, after Buonaparte had receded from his pedatory system, must either take arms against her, or vio- late not only every principle of honor, but also an express en- gagement. Such was the unhappy alternative, to which the su- perior art and foresight of Buonaparte, the usurping ruler of na- tions ; and the superior pride of England, the assumed mistress of the ocean, had now brought the American government. It was utterly vain to expostulate longer against injuries, or to talk of maintaining neutral ground ; our forbearance was viewed by
British ag- gressions.
CHAP. XXV.]
OF MAINE.
629
the British as pusillanimity, and our little navy treated with con- A. D. 1812. tempt.
In this political emergency, Congress, April 4, laid a general April 4. embargo, for ninety days, on all vessels within the harbors of the United States ;- a measure which gave a greater shock to the American community, because it was generally believed to be a precursor of war. Nor were the public apprehensions mistaken ; for Congress, the same session, June 18, ' declared war to exist June 18. " between Great Britain and the United States.'
Embargo.
War declar- ed.
Immediately, the government called upon the States, for a de- Defensive tachment of 100,000 militiamen, of whom the quota for Maine, measures. was 2,500 ; and also made provision for raising an army and en- larging the navy. The summer was principally consumed in making preparations for the conflict. But England being one of the allied nations of Europe, then engaged in a bloody war at home, was illy prepared for hostilities in this hemisphere ; and during a year or more, the people of Maine were only sufferers in common with others, situated on navigable waters, and deeply engaged, as they had been, in commerce, coasting and the fish- eries.
Never before, as on this occasion, had the Federalists suffered Violence of themselves to be wrought up to equal party heat and violence. ists. They now gave reins to invective and reprehension. To men- tion a thousandth part of the objections raised by them against this 'iniquitous war,' as they called it, would, without affording pleasure or profit, far transcend my limits. Suffice it to say, that the character of their opposition to the policy and measures of government, exhibited marks of peculiar obstinacy and insub- ordination. They said the country was plunged into a vortex of ruin :- But as the laws of duty require of us hope, and even faith in their sincerity and patriotism, it is my design to refrain from strictures upon the impropriety of their course :- Likewise, con- cerning the war itself, my purpose is to relate no more of its events and incidents, than what has a connexion with the History of this State.
The first considerable event of the war was disastrous :- it August 16. was the surrender of Gen. Hull's army, August 16, with the fort of General Surrender at Detroit, into the hands of the enemy-the news of which Hull. many of the Federalists were ingenuous enough to declare, gave them no pain to hear. They, as a party, had professed to be
the Federal-
630
THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
Seamen's, or Sailors' war.
Naval ac- tious.
A. D. 1812. uniform advocates for the support of a respectable naval arma- ment ; and they insisted if the present was, according to the Democratic doctrine, "the SEAMEN'S WAR,-undertaken for "free trade and Sailors' rights," and not for conquest, it ought to be confined to the element where the wrongs were committed. They thought no other course could be consistent ; and, in fact, our successes by sea were repeated and brilliant. For within one year, the Guerriere and the Java were captured by the Con- stitution ;* the Frolic by the Wasp ;t the Macedonian by the United States ; Į and the Peacock by the Hornet.§ Subsequent- ly, it is true, we lost the Chesapeake, and the Argus ; || but they were victories which the Shannon and the Pelican won at a costly sacrifice of blood.
Seven Elec- tors chosen.
Determined to throw the whole weight of the Commonwealth into the Federal scale, at the approaching Presidential election, the General Court formed the State into six districts ; of which York, Cumberland and Oxford constituted one, and chose three electors ;- Lincoln, Kennebeck and Somerset, one, and chose the same number ;- and Hancock and Washington a third and chose one,-all of whom were found by the returns to be, as was ex- pected, of Federal politics. TT
.al.
A. D: 1813. In 1813-14-15, Gov. Strong was re-elected by handsome The State administra- majorities ; and the political character of the Legislature continu- tion, Feder- ed unchanged. His competitors for the Governor's chair, were first, Gen. Joseph B. Varnum ; and afterwards, Samuel Dexter. Yet, if the votes given for Governor be a criterion, ** the people
* These actions were Aug. 19, and Dec. 29, (1812). t Oct. 18, (1812.
# Oct. 25, (1812.) į Feb. 24, (1813.) || June 1, and Aug. 14, (1813.)
T These were, Nathaniel Goodwin, Samuel Parris, Lathrop Lewis, Abiel Wood, Lemuel Paine, James McLellan, and William Crosby.
** The votes for Governor stood thus :
Strong. Varnum.
Strong. Dexter.
In 1813-York County,
2,463
2,810 In 1814-2,357
3,204
Cumberland,
3,041
2,440
3,193
2,732
Lincoln,
2,720
2,618
2,730
2,873
Hancock,
1,443
1,643
1,515
2,136
Kennebeck,
2,005
2,700
1,845
2,612
Oxford,
,902
1,491
,953
1,767
Somerset,
,786
,764
,712
,769
Washington,
,875
,339
,421
,291
13,735
14,805
13,726
16,381
631
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XXV.]
of Maine were by a decided majority the supporters of the Gen- A. D. 1813. eral Government and its measures ; possessing fewer predilections for the English, or perhaps more for France, than those of Mas- sachusetts. To what, but a spirit of patriotism shall we trace the cause ?- If her exposure, losses, and privations were great ; were not ours greater in proportion to our navigation and wealth ?- hav- ing an extensive seacoast, limited by a Province of the enemy, open and undefended in hundreds of places?
At the June session, the General Court repealed three acts of Several the preceding Democratic administration ; namely, those requir- former ad- ing the Representatives to be paid out of the public treasury ;- tion, re- ministra- limiting the term of the Sheriffs' appointment to the period of bealed. five years ;- and forming the State into senatorial districts. An- other districting took place, on the 24th of the ensuing February, when nine senators, instead of ten, was the number assigned to Maine; and on the 20th of the same month, the law authorizing the Supreme Executive to appoint the Clerks of the Judicial Courts was also repealed, and the appointing power revested in the Judges of the several Courts. The rage for banking seem- Six new ed not to have abated ; for in the present and succeeding year, banks in- six new Banks were established in Maine, each with a capital of or their corporated, charters re-
100,000 dollars .* There was one legislative act passed, this vived. year, which does great honor to our statute-book. This was the total abolishment of corporeal punishment ; though it had, by non- usage, since the adoption of the State constitution, become essen- punish- tially obsolete. Public sentiment upon the manner of treating ished. criminals, had undergone a gradual and happy improvement. In- stead of whipping, cropping, branding, standing in the pillory, and sitting upon the gallows, it was believed that confinement to hard labor and a period of prison discipline, would have a better effect towards correcting the habits and amending the dispositions of the heart, than the infliction of bodily suffering or mental pain. Certainly it was more agreeable to the dictates of religion, and the principles of a humane government, to effect, if possible, the moral cure of an offender, than to drive him with marks of in- famy to despair.
Acts of the:
Corporeal ment abob
* These were Lincoln, Kennebunk, Bangor, Augusta, Gardiner and Waterville banks. The latter four were incorporated in January and February, 1814; but all were to expire Oct. 1, 1331.
632
THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
A. D. 1813.
Washing- ton benevo- lent socie- ties formed.
The voice of peace, ever a most exhilarating sound, was at this period heard through the land ; not, however, from the pow- ers in arms, but from the opposers of the war, the self-denominat- ed ' sons of peace.' War, according to their doctrine, was a most deadly evil, both in principle and effect, and peace the great- est good ; and in a radical sense, it must be acknowledged, there was pure reason and correctness in their position. To promote, there- fore, their benign and benevolent purpose, associations were form- ed in many places, which they called " The Washington Benevo- lent Societies ;" and had they originated at any other period, and been unmixed with party-politics, they must have received the approbation of all good men.
Four towns incorporat- ed.
The towns incorporated in 1813, were four, viz. SWEDEN,* Feb. 26 ; FREEDOM, t the 11th ; LEVANT,f and ST. ALBANS, § the 14th of June.
Direct tax.
Additional taxes, as well as privations, are necessarily among the incidents of war ; and of the $3,000,000 directly levied by Congress on the lands of the United States, to be collected after the ensuing January, $74,220 were apportioned to the District of Maine ; a tax which the majority of the people met and paid Enlistments. with patriotic spirit. Enlistments also were animated; and it is believed, a greater number of soldiers was recruited for the army, in this District, according to its population, than in any Companies one of the States. Companies of regular troops were establish- stationed. ed at Portland, Kennebunk, Phipsburg, Castine and Eastport ;
* Sweden, (the 196th town,) was taken from the southerly part of Lovell. [See Lovell, ante, 1800.] It lies eastward of Fryeburgh.
t Freedom, (197th town,) was a name chosen by the inhabitants. The first settlement was begun by the Messrs. Smiths in 1794, and hence called Smithtown; then Beaver-hill plantation. The town contains about 14,000 acres. It lies south of Unity and is a part of the Plymouth Patent. It was surveyed in 1813. A Post-Office was established here in 1817; and the town was represented in the General Court, in 1818, by Matthew Randall, Esq.
# Levant, (198th town,) called Kenduskeag plantation, was sold by the State to William Wetmore, in 1792. The first settler was Joseph Clark, one of the refugees with Col. Eddy, from Nova Scotia. Clark began to cut trees in 1789. In 1801, Moses Hodsdon's was the 12th bouse built in town; and he was the first Post-Master. The first bridge over the Ken- duskeag, at the village, was built in 1802.
§ St. Albans, (199th town,) was sold by the State, in June, 1799, to John Warren. In 1820, there were in this town only 18 dwellinghouses.
633
OF MAINE.
CHAP. XXV.]
though the principal reliance for defence, in case of an attack, A. D. 1813. was upon the militia,-the number at this time in the District, Militia in including cavalry and artillery, being 21,121 men. Maine.
captured by prize.
The Boxer, a British brig of 18 guns, carrying 104 men, The Boxer and commanded by Capt. Blythe, had been ordered to cruise off the Enter- Portland, for the purpose of bringing the American brig Enterprize of 16 guns and 102 men, Capt. Burrows, to an engagement. They discovered each other on the morning of Sept. 5th ; and at a quarter past 3 in the afternoon, the action commenced with- in half-pistol shot. For thirty-five minutes the firing was ani- mated and incessant, when the Boxer struck her colours, hav- ing lost 46 men in killed and wounded. Only two of our men were slain, though twelve others received severe, if not mortal wounds ;- also both commanders fell early in the action. The Enterprize, arriving at Portland the next day with her prize, was greeted with great and heart-felt exultation,-damped only by the death of the intrepid Burrows and his brave companions. He was interred with every demonstration of attachment, re- spect, and grief ; and a fort, afterwards erected for the defence of the harbor, was called by his name. The capture of the Boxer, was an event which excited more universal joy among the inhabitants upon the eastern coast, because of the great an- noyance she had been to our coasting. She had also been a troublesome visitant at several of the Islands.
But the event which rendered this season peculiarly memora- Perry's vic- ble, was the brilliant victory of Commodore Perry, Sept. 10, tory. on lake Erie. This excited a general burst of rejoicing and ap- plause ;- as the Federalists and Democrats were happily joint partakers, in the joy and triumph occasioned by these naval vic- tories. Nay, the former, with sentiments of exultation, often con- trasted the navy, which they said they had always espoused, and which had already won to the nation so much glory,-with the ' contemptible' Gunboats, as they called them, of Mr. Jefferson's upon Gun- A remark administration,-a futile system of experiments, totally unable, boats. either to protect our seaports, or our commerce,-or to educe for the country a spark of honor.
In this eventful year, we have, fortunately, more than a triple Battles of offset for the capture of General Winchester's army, at the the Ameri- cans and river Raisin, and the defeat of Major Beaseley, at the river English. VOL. II. 80
634
THE HISTORY
[VOL. II.
A. D. 1813. Tenshaw, by the British :- in the success of our arms at York, -the signal victory of General Harrison, Oct. 1, over General Proctor, near ' Old Moravian town ;'-and the well fought battle at Williamsburgh-all in Upper Canada ;- to which, add three victories over the Creek Nations at the southward.
British man- ifesto.
The Prince Regent of Great Britain, in a Cabinet Manifesto of January 8, (1813,) reviewed the unprecedented course of pol- icy pursued by the ruler of France, charged the American gov- ernment with entire subserviency to his measures, and affected to be surprised, that the " exercise of the undoubted and hitherto " undisputed right of searching neutral merchant vessels in time " of war, and the impressment of British seamen when found "therein, could be deemed any violation of a neutral flag ;- or " to take such seamen from on board of such vessels, could be " considered by any neutral state, as a hostile measure, or a jus- " tifiable cause of war." But it seems he was now evidently de- termined to prosecute with more vigor, the war waged against him by the United States, as he was prepared and enabled to do, in consequence of the daily reverses of Buonaparte's fortune and Mediation of success against the allies. In the mean time, the Emperor of Russia proposed to mediate a reconciliation between the Brit- ish and Americans-an office of friendship which met with ac- ceptance ; and our embassy sailed in May, and met the British envoys at Ghent, on the 8th of August.
Russia.
Privateer- ing.
By both nations, privateering had been authorized, and its baleful effects were fully experienced by us, along our eastern coasts and among the Islands. The adventure of foreign voy- ages was too hazardous to be so much as mentioned ; for even the enterprizes of fishermen and coasters were checked and de- stroyed ; several sloops and schooners being plundered, taken or Shipping of burnt. Men finding no employ for their vessels, drew them up small value. and dismantled them ; and shipping sunk in fact, to be worth not Provisions scarce and dear. half its former value. Articles of importation, not even except- ing flour and breadstuffs, in this eastern country commanded ex- travagant prices ; living was expensive, and sometimes, among the poor, quite difficult. Speculation seemed to float without control ; and the unaccountable fluctuation in the prices of for- eign articles imported, was such as to beggar all the sagacity and experience of the most shrewd and calculating merchants and
CHAP. XXV.]
OF MAINE.
635
men .* Fortunes were made and lost in a day ; and nothing but A. D. 1813. some gleams of peace, seemed to check this maddening spirit Specula- of risque and theoretic adventure. tion.
On the recommendation of the President, March 30, 1814, A. D. 1814. Congress at length repealed all the restrictive laws which had March 30. been passed. But it had no essential effect upon our commerce laws all re- Restrictive or navigation. Our seaboard was infested with British cruis- pealed. ers ; and on the 25th of April, the whole of our Atlantic coast The whole April 25. from Eastport to Mississippi, was declared by Admiral Coch- coast block- American rane, to be in a state of blockade. For the purposes of defence, aded. the President next made a requisition upon the States, for pro- visional detachments of the militia, proposing to command them in the field by one of his officers. Gov. Strong disregarded the Governor call, alleging, that if they were commanded by any other than fuses to obey Strong re- himself, as Captain-General, or his subordinates, they might, in dent's call the Presi- violation of the State Constitution, be marched beyond the limits Militia. for the of the Commonwealth, and its own citizens left undefended ; he and his political supporters insisting, that the administration, which had plunged the nation into war and exacted allegiance, ought to provide and guaranty protection. As a party, they ap- peared disposed to leave no expedient unessayed to thwart the policy of the general government, so far as conquest was the ob- ject. For instance, General Provost, Governor of Lower Can- ada, had, in October last, ordered 45 of our officers and sol- diers into close confinement ; and, therefore, to retaliate the wrong, Retaliation the President sent eleven officers to the county goal in Worces- upon the British. ter. But the General Court refused to allow the United States the use of the county prisons for such a purpose ;- a refusal, however, which good sense, ingenuousness and justice, could hardly approve.
The events and battles between the 20th of March and the 5th of October, 1814, were more important and memorable than all The battles, the rest during the war. Though the Essex, commanded by Capt. American events and Porter, was captured at Valparaiso, March 28 ; she cost a British this year. successes,
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