USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Exeter > Exeter in 1776. Sketches of an old New Hampshire town as it was a hundred years ago > Part 2
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Peter Gilman's career extended back to an early period in the history of Exeter, he having been born in 1703, and as he lived to the good old age of eighty-five, he witnessed many changes, and in the end very great improvements, in his native town. He was for a long period a leading citizen. He had the command of a regiment in the French war and served with much credit, receiving subsequently the honor of a Brigadier General's commission. For twelve successive years he was Speaker of the Assembly of the province, and in 1772 and 1773 he was a member of the Governor's Coun- cil. He was undoubtedly inclined to question the expedi- ency of resisting the royal authority, and in 1775 was re- quired by the Provincial Congress to confine himself to the town of Exeter, and not depart thence without the consent
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of the proper authorities. But he was evidently not looked upon as a dangerous foe to liberty, and his scruples appear to have been respected by those who took the opposite side. His fellow citizens chose him moderator in 1775, which could hardly have been done, if he had been a tory in the worst sense of the term.
Brigadier Gilman was a great admirer of Whitefield, and an amusing story is told of the power of the great preacher's eloquence upon him and others, causing them to roll upon the floor in an agony of penitence. Another tradition repre- sents him as sending off a press gang,-which had come from Portsmouth to Exeter to seize men for the king's service,- by admonishing them that every individual they took would be rescued from their hands before they reached Stratham. The Brigadier appears to have stood up manfully for his townsmen, and hence they naturally stood by him.
He was about the only Exeter man of note, whose fideli- ty to the American cause came early under suspicion. At a later period, however, another person who had previously held himself out as a zealous whig, was found guilty of the black- est defection. This was Robert Luist Fowle, the printer, whose office in 1776, as he advertised, was " on the grand country road, near the State House,"-probably on Water street not far from the present Court square. Fowle had been employed to print the paper money of New Hampshire, and was afterwards suspected, on very good grounds, of using his press for issuing counterfeits of the same, to be put in circulation by disaffected persons ; it being considered a legit- imate way of opposing the popular government to discredit its circulating medium. Fowle was arrested and held in dur- ance for a time, and apparently undertook to secure his own safety by betraying his accomplices. Perhaps he was thought to be playing false in this; for we are informed that he owed his escape at last to the unfaithfulness of his jailor, whose carriage was believed one stormy night to have conveyed
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him away; and he sought refuge within the British lines.
As has already been stated, the inhabitants of Exeter were, almost to a man, in favor of resistance to the oppressive measures of the British parliament. Conspicuous among the · patriots was Col. Nicholas Gilman, the father of Gov. Gilman. At the commencement of the Revolution he was forty-four years of age, in the very prime of his powers, a man of reso- lution, firmness and sound judgment. He was largely en- gaged in business, and was commanding officer of a regiment of militia. He was a great favorite with Gov. Wentworth, who undoubtedly used all his influence to keep him on the side of his royal master, and it is said never ceased to retain his attachment for him. But Col. Gilman occupied no doubt- ful ground. Early declaring himself on the side of his count- ry, his counsel and services were eagerly sought for in her be- half, and cheerfully rendered. Money, the sinews of war, was the thing most needful ; and he was placed at the head of the fiscal department of the state, where he accomplished almost as much for New Hampshire as Robert Morris did for the country. But his efforts were not limited to any narrow sphere. No plan for the public security or advantage was adopted until it received the sanction of his approval. President Weare held the chief executive office, and Nicholas Gilman was his premier.
The two sons of Col. Gilman who were old enough for the military service, took up arms at the beginning of the Rev- olutionary struggle. John Taylor, the elder, served in the com- pany of volunteers who marched to Cambridge on the morning after the first effusion of blood at Lexington and Concord. Afterwards he became an assistant to his father at home, and rendered invaluable aid to the patriot cause throughout the war, in various capacities. The second son, Nicholas, enter- ed the army early and served in it six years and three months. He was Assistant Adjutant General during the later part of his service, and as such returned an account of 3
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the prisoners captured on the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town. Nathaniel, the third son of Col. Nicholas Gilman, was but sixteen when the war began, and did not take part in the fighting, though very desirous to do so. But he was useful to his father in his manifold employments, and succeed- ed him at an early age in his official positions.
Detachments from Col. Gilman's regiment were from time to time called into the field for active duty, and there is no doubt that they received his supervision there. But it is not known that he served in person, during any campaign, though it is likely that he was from time to time at the front. It is related that he visited Gates' headquarters in 1777 for the purpose of doing his devoir in aiding to arrest the invad- ing march of Burgoyne ; but that the decisive battle had been fought before his arrival. He probably enjoyed there the opportunity of witnessing the surrender of an entire British army to the power of united America, which must have yield- ed him heartfelt satisfaction. Col. Gilman resided in 1776 in the house afterwards long occupied by Col. Peter Chad- wick, and now by his son and daughter.
Gen. Nathaniel Folsom acted an important part in the Revolutionary drama. A native of Exeter, and descended from one of its most ancient families, he had been a soldier long before that time. In 1755, at the age of nineteen, he was entrusted with the command of a company in a New Hampshire regiment raised to serve under Sir William John- son, against Crown Point, and distinguished himself greatly by his gallantry and good conduct. He afterwards received promotion in the militia, and in 1774 was in the commission of the peace, which was then no small honor. He had also been for several years a member of the Assembly of the prov- ince, and was regarded as one of the leaders of the popular cause. In 1774 he was chosen one of the members to repro- sent New Hampshire in the general congress at Philadel- phia. Apparently Gov. Wentworth hoped to the last that
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Folsom might be brought to repent and renew his fealty to the king, for it was not till the twenty-second of February, 1775, (one hundred and one years ago THIS DAY,) that he cast him off. On that day Folsom had the honor of receiving a letter of the following tenor :
SIR :
I am commanded by his Excellency to acquaint you that he has, with advice of his Majesty's Council, ordered your name to be erased from the commission of the peace for the County of Rockingham,-that it is done accordingly, and that you act no more as a justice of the peace for said coun- ty.
By his Excellency's command, Is. RINDGE,
Clerk of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace for the County of Rockingham.
The ex-Justice did not make himself unhappy over the loss of his commission, but was undoubtedly glad to be freed from the very semblance of holding office under the king, or rather, as the phrase then was, under the king's ministers ; for the Americans commonly believed that his gracious maj- esty was at heart very friendly to them, and that his advis- ers were solely responsible for every tyrannical act visited upon the colonies. At a later period the publication of the letters of George III. to Lord North showed that this idea was totally erroneous, and that the American Revolution was due to the obstinacy, folly and despotic notions of the king himself.
Col. Folsom, (for that was his title in the beginning of 1775,) was evidently held in the highest estimation as a mili- tary commander, for on the twenty-fourth day of May in that year, a month after Lexington, and a month before Bunker Hill, he received the appointment of Major General of " all the forces raised (by New Hampshire) for this and the other American colonies." This province had then three regiments in the field,-Stark's, Poor's, and Reed's. Gen. Folsom at once repaired to Cambridge to take the command of the brig- ade. Stark complained (without reason) at Folsom being put
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over him, and was inclined to despise the authority of this colony, till his native good sense taught him to act more wisely. The misunderstanding and rivalry between Fol- som and Stark, however, prevented the nomination of either as a general officer on the Continental establishment, and Sullivan was selected as Brigadier from New Hampshire. Gen. Folsom remained in command of the New Hampshire troops at Cambridge until the adoption of the army, and the appointment of its commanders, by Congress. He then re- turned home, but though not again called actively to the field, he was allowed no respite from military or civil employ- ment. He was retained in command of the militia, who were continually kept in readiness for active service in emerg- encies, and frequently called forth. In the course of the war he was four years a member of the Committee of Safety ; was repeatedly chosen to the Legislature, and in 1777 and again in 1779 elected a delegate to the Continental Congress ; and in addition to all the rest was made a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
There was evidently an incompatibility, or at least an im- propriety, in a single person exercising such diverse functions at the same time, and some exception was taken to it in the Leg- islature ; but a majority were of the opinion that the occasion justified a departure from ordinary rules, and the perfect con- fidence reposed in Gen. Folsom's honesty and patriotism silenced all criticism. Gen. Folsom lived in a house which formerly stood where Mr. George Sullivan's residence, (now the Squamscot House,) was afterwards built. The Folsom house was removed farther up Front street, and placed on the lot next westerly of the residence of Mr. Luke Julian, where it still remains.
Enoch Poor was one of the most active business men of Exeter, when the war began. He had come here some ten years before, from Andover, Massachusetts, his native town, and had engaged in trade and shipbuilding. He showed
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himself to be decided, bold and fitted for command, and as he was an ardent friend of liberty, he was regarded at an early period as a leader in organizing resistance to the British au- thority. He was absent from home when the first shot was fired at Lexington, but in a very short time was found at Cambridge marshalling the sons of New Hampshire who at the first note of alarm had quitted the plough to take up arms in behalf of their imperilled brethren of Massachusetts Bay. He was at once made Colonel of the second regiment of New Hampshire troops, and thenceforward until his death shared the fortunes of the American army. He was in command of his regiment on the Canada expedition ; and was appointed a Brigadier General in 1777, in which capacity he did excel- lent service in Gates' army in the battles which resulted in the capture of Burgoyne. In Valley Forge he bore his part in the privations and sufferings of the troops, and at Mon- mouth he won distinction by his efforts in retrieving the for- tunes of the day, at first imperilled by Lee's " ill timed re- treat." He accompanied Sullivan in 1779 in his expedition against the Indians; and in 1780 was put in command of a brigade of light infantry, under the orders of Lafayette, who had a high opinion of him. He died at Paramus, New Jersey, on the eighth of September, in that year, of fever, after a short illness. It has been believed by some persons that he was killed in a duel with a French officer, and that the manner of his death was kept a secret, lest it might excite ill feeling between our own countrymen and the French who were then our useful allies. But it is now the opinion of those who have the best means of knowledge, that the story of the duel was unfounded.
Gen Poor was much esteemed by his brother officers. Washington wrote of him in terms of high commendation ; and when Lafayette visited this country, half a century ago, he paid a graceful tribute to his merit, as well as to that of another distinguished New Hampshire officer, by giving as a
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sentiment, on a public occasion,-" The memory of Light in- fantry Poor, and Yorktown Scammell."
The residence of Gen. Poor was in the house now at the easterly corner of Center and Water steets, where his widow continued to live during the fifty years that she survived him. We have, unfortunately, no portraits of many of the principal citizens of Exeter one hundred years ago. But a likeness of Gen. Poor is still extant. The tradition is that it was drawn by the accomplished Polish engineer in the Ameri- can service, Thaddeus Kosciuszko, upon the fly leaf of a hymn book, in church. It represents the General in the Continen- tal uniform, with a cocked hat and epaulets. The features are bold and prominent, and we can easily believe that the original must have been a man of mark.
Another of the foremost men of that time was Col. John Phillips, the location of whose dwelling has already been de- scribed. Though he wore a military title, he was noted not so much for his warlike as for his civic achievements. He was, however, the commanding officer of the Exeter Cadets, and a very well drilled and disciplined corps it was said to be. He was also a decided friend of his country, it is understood, notwithstanding he took no active parc in public affairs in the Revolution. He was bred to the ministry, though he was engaged in business as a merchant for the greater part of his working life. He employed his large accumulations wisely and generously in promoting the cause of education in this and other states.
In the house now occupied by Mr. John W. Getchell lived Col. James Hackett in 1776. He had been for some time engaged in ship building here, and was a man of enter- prise and determination. He was no laggard in evincing his willingness to enlist in his country's cause, for he was one of the first to march to the scene of hostilities on the morning after the Concord fight. The unanimous voice of his fellow vol- unteers made him the commander of the extemporized com-
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pany, and he acquitted himself well of the trust. Repeated- ly, afterwards, during the war, he was chosen to important military commands, but his contriving head and skillful hands were so constantly needed in constructing ships of war and flotilla for offensive and defensive purposes on our coast. that he is not known to have served as a soldier in any cam- paign, except in Rhode Island, under Gen. Sullivan, in 1778, where he held the post of lieutenant of a company of light horse, of which no less a person than John Langdon was cap- tain.
Col. Hackett appears to have passed much of his time, at a later period, in Portsmouth, where he pursued the busi- ness of shipbuilding ; and on the occasion of Washington's visit to New Hampshire in 1789, commanded a battalion of artillery, which received his Excellency on his arrival in Portsmouth, with a grand salute.
The same house was, years afterwards, tenanted by an- other person who filled during the Revolution a still more con- spicuous public position. This was Gen. Nathaniel Peabody, who was in 1774 a physician in Plaistow, practising his pro- fession with great success. He was popular, and aspiring. He denounced the usurpations of Britain, at the outset, and is said to have been the first man in the province to resign the king's commission, from political motives. He was repeated- ly chosen to the Legislature, and upon the Committee of Safe- ty, and was in 1779 and 1780 a delegate to Congress. Be- side these, he held numerous other offices, civil and military, of dignity and importance. As adjutant general of the State his only active service, by a singular coincidence, was in the same Rhode Island campaign, in which his predecessor in the habitation, Col. Hackett, first heard the sounds of actual con- flict. After the war, Gen. Peabody's popularity was undimin- ished, and he received frequent testimony of the confidence of his fellow citizens, in the shape of elections to office. He af- terwards removed his residence to Exeter, where he passed
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the remainder of his life. Toward the close of his career he was annoyed by pecuniary troubles, and is said to have become petulant and rough in his manners. Many stories are yet current, of his sharp speeches and harsh conduct. They fur- nish another exemplification of the truth of the oft quoted words of Shakespeare,
The evil that men do, lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones.
Gen. Peabody was undoubtedly possessed of abilities far above the average, and rendered valuable service as a legis- lator to his state and country, and in his professional capacity . to the sick and suffering. We can make allowance for faults of temper, and even for more serious defects, in one who so stanchly defended the rights of his country in the hour of her sorest trial, and bore so important a part in laying the foun- dations of the nation's prosperity and greatness.
Where the Town house now is, Joseph Gilman lived in 1776, in the gambrel-roofed house which, having been reduced one story in height, now occupies a place on the north side of Franklin street. Mr. Gilman was bred to mercantile pur- suits, and for several years before the Revolution was a mem- ber of the firm of Folsom, Gilman and Gilman, which did a large business in Exeter, in trade, in ship building and in ventures at sea. A printed shop-bill of the concern has been preserved, which shows that almost as great a variety of mer- chandize found a sale among the good people of the place three or four generations ago, as now.
"Crimson, scarlet and various other color'd Broad Cloths; scarlet.and green Ratteens ; scarlet, blue and green Plushes ; crimson, cloth color'd and black figur'd cotton waistcoat Shapes ; Velvet of most colors for capes; crimson, scarlet, black, blue, green and cloth color'd Shaloons," are all articles which indicate the prevailing taste of that day for bright colored clothing; a taste which must have rendered an assem-
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blage of ladies and gentlemen, a spectacle much more impos- ing and pleasing to the eye than a company attired in the sombre hues, or the white and black, which are prescribed by more recent fashions.
Folsom, Gilman and Gilman dealt in hardware also, and in their enumeration of merchandize of this description, we find almost indentically the tools and iron utensils which are advertised by their successors in the same line of business in 1876. Of course there are more or less Yankee inventions of modern date, however, which have superseded the older con- trivances. The almost universal use of cooking-stoves, for ex- ample, has rendered much of the apparatus of the old fash- ioned fire places obsolete; gun flints are little in demand since percussion locks were invented ; hour-glasses are now mere matters of curiosity, and "H and HL hinges," thumb latches, warming pans and shoe and knee buckles are cer- tainly no longer articles of common use. Some of the goods are described by names that sound strangely to our modern ears. Tammys and Durants ; Dungereens ; Tandems ; Romalls; and Snail Trimmings, would be inquired for in vain, we fear, at our dry goods stores; and it is doubtful whether Firmers, Jobents, Splenter Locks or Cuttoes would be recognized under those designations among our dealers in iron-mongery.
In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that another printed Exeter shop-bill of the ante-Revolutionary period is still extant. It contains a brief list of the articles to be sold by William Elliot, " at his shop formerly occupied by Mr. Peter Coffin, and opposite Peter Gilman, Esq'rs." It indicates that Mr. Elliot's stock in trade was also quite miscellaneous, comprising dry goods, hardware and groceries.
Indeed there was one article under the last head, that was then kept by every trader; spirituous liquor. Its uso was all but universal. We have already related an incident to show that good men, engaged in a religious duty, some- 4
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times partook of the enticing cup with freedom. In fact, there was no occasion of unusual interest, from a christening to a funeral, but must be observed by a plentiful oblation. The selectmen when they met to transact the town business, repaired to a tavern, where it was convenient to obtain the means to moisten their clay; and the landlord duly scored the mugs and bowls of fragrant beverages which they con- sumed, to the account of the town, and his bill was promptly met at the close of the year. The Judges, on their circuit, were unable to hold the courts without spirituous refresh- ment. We have seen a bill of the "Courts' Expences," of somewhat earlier date 'than the era we have been referring to, in which the dinners each day were supplemented by a liberal number of " Bottels of wine " and "Boules of punch."
Mr. William Elliot left his business, when the country called for armed defenders, and joined the army. He was adjutant in the regiment of Col. Nathan Hale in 1777, and at the disastrous fight at Hubbardton was taken prisoner. Ho was probably exchanged, subsequently.
But we have wandered from the subject, on which we commenced. The house of Mr. Joseph Gilman was the place where most of the meetings of the Committee of Safety were held during the war. The Legislature was in session more than one-third part of the year 1776, and the Committee, nearly the entire residue of the year. It would seem to be a haz- ardous thing, to delegate to a dozen men the power to arrest, imprison, and release, at their pleasure, any of their fellow citizens of the province. If they had been vindictive, here was ample opportunity to wreak their vengeance; if they had been rapacious, here were plenty of chances to fill their pockets. Many, who were apprehended by their authority, made bitter complaints, of course; but the action of the Com- mittee of Safety is believed, on the whole, to have been characterized by much prudence and moderation.
They had a great variety of characters to deal with.
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Not a few of the men of wealth and position were opposed to resistance to the British authority. They feared the result of an organized insurrection against the power and warlike resources of England, and they preferred to submit to what they considered the small evil of taxation without representation, rather than to incur the hazards of rapine and confiscation, which might come in the train of a rebellion suppressed by force of arms. These timid souls were treated tenderly, and after a taste of jail-life allowed to go at large upon giving security for their good behavior. It may have been one of these who wrote to the Committee the following letter :
Prison in Exeter, 24th Apl. 1776.
may it Please your Honors,
Gratitude being a Duty Incumbent on those who have Receiv'd Favors, begg Leave to Return your Honors most sincere thanks for the Very Great Favor you have Done me in admitting me to Bail for the Liberty of this house and the Yard thereto adjoyning, & am with the utmost Respect, Sincerity & Esteem
yr Honors most obedient Servant, JOHN PATTEN.
The Honorable Committee of Safety.
As the " liberty of the yard" is alluded to in this letter, a word on the subject of that ancient legal fiction, as it may be termed, will perhaps not be void of interest to the people of this age, to whom imprisonment for debt is happily un- known. In former times, when a man who could not pay what he owed, was liable to compensate for his inability by the loss of his personal liberty, debtors in many cases could enjoy the privilege of living outside the jail walls, provided they did not exceed certain limits, which were fixed at a con- venient distance,-for a long time two hundred rods,-from the building, in every direction. In order to secure this ad- vantage, which was obviously a great relief from actual in- carceration, the debtor was obliged to give a bond, with good sureties, that he would keep within the prison " yard," as the limits were called. And if he overstepped the line, even for a single inch, his bond was forfeited, and his sureties were liable to pay the debt.
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Apropos of this, a story is told of a debtor in Exeter. in the olden time, who being under bond to confine himself to the jail yard, saw a child, who had fallen into the river, strug- ling for its life, at a point just beyond the line which he was bound not to transcend. His humanity outweighed all other considerations, and he broke bounds without hesitation, and saved the child. It is pleasant to record that though the creditor might have extorted his debt from the bondsmen. for this act of mercy on the part of their principal, he never made the atttempt. If he had forgiven his debtor in full, it would have been better still.
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