USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Manchester > History of Manchester, formerly Derryfield, in New-Hampshire : including that of ancient Amoskeag, or the middle Merrimack Valley, together with the address, poem, and other proceedings of the centennial celebration of the incorporation of Derryfield at Manchester, October 22, 1851 > Part 21
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
glass, master. They were both laden with provisions, and were convoyed by the Dartmouth frigate, commanded by Cap- tain Leake. The enemy fired incessantly on the ships from the fort of Culmore, and from both sides of the river, as they sailed up, and returns were made with the greatest bravery and effect. They passed the fort without sustaining any material injury, and the expectation of the besieged rose into transports of joy, which were almost instantaneously succeeded by de- spair, when the Mountjoy, repelled by the boom, was run aground, and the enemy, who had crowded in multitudes to the water-side, raised a loud huzza, as they launched their boats to board her. The terror which prevailed in the city at this moment, is not to be described. The multitude on the wall stood petrified in the silent agony of grief too great for utter- ance ; a faint and shrill cry from a few women and children alone broke the silence, as it added to the horrors of the scene. The pallid indications of fear suddenly disappearing, were suc- ceeded by a darkness of color, like that which marks the coun- tenance seen by the light of sulphurous flames. All features gathered blackness, and the general despondency was at its greatest height, when the Mountjoy fired a broadside at the
2
C e
1
1
t
143
SIEGE OF DERRY.
enemy, rebounded from the shore, and the reaction of the ves- sel, aided by the sudden swell of the rising tide, floated her again into deep water in the channel. Captain Douglass, of the Phoenix, was at this time warmly engaged as he passed up on the breaking of the boom by the gallant Browning, who while his vessel lay aground, was killed by a musket ball from the enemy, which struck him upon the head, as he stood upon the deck with his sword drawn, encouraging his men to the con- test. King William afterwards settled a pension upon the wid- ow of this gallant man, and in the presence of the court, placed a gold chain about her neck. * Four of Browning's gal- lant crew shared his fate, just as the vessel got afloat ; and then the Dartmouth opened a heavy, well directed fire upon the en- emy's batteries, diverting them so from both vessels, that, amidst a desponding yell from the crowds on each side of the river, they sailed up slowly, indeed, by a reason of a failure in the wind after they had passed Culmore, but steadily and ma- jestically, to the utter confusion of their baffled enemies. It was ten o'clock in the night when they anchored in the ship- quay, upon which a general shout of acclamation was raised by the soldiers on the walls, and reiterated several times, while two guns were fired from the steeple, to give notice to the fleet of the safe arrival of the relief."*
This opportune relief was received with joy and transport by the distressed people of Londonderry. And well it might have been, for their provisions had become reduced to "nine lean horses, and a pint of meal to a man," and the garrison had become reduced to four thousand and three hundred, of whom, one fourth part were unfit for service. By sickness and fam- ine, the garrison had lost near three thousand men during the siege of one hundred and four days, or nearly thirty a day ! Yet from the time of the deposition of Lundy on the 18th of April, to the 28th of July, the word surrender had not been lisped within the walls of Londonderry ! On the night of the 28th of July, finding the city replenished with supplies, the royal army fled from the walls in disorder, having lost nine thousand men and one hundred officers since they invested the city. This successful defence of Londonderry disarranged the entire plan of King James, and may be considered the first link in the grand chain of successful events closing at " Boyne wa- ter" and Aghrim, that passed the throne of England from King James to King William.
*Siege of Derry, pages 217, 218, 219, 220.
144
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
Such were the men, and the fathers of the men, who set- tled Londonderry, Harrytown-Derryfield. They had been tried, most severely tried, yet never flinched in the path of du- ty. Such constancy has seldom been witnessed-more stead- fast and persevering, never. But their sufferings availed them but little. True, William and his Parliament, at the time, looked upon the defence as one of great importance, and besides specific grants made to them, every man who bore arms within the city during the siege was exempted from taxation throughout the British dominions. But their services were soon forgotten. As pertinently and beautifully says a writer, * "never were a people more unfortunate after all their efforts, than were these brave Presbyterians? They had held the troops of King James in check, while they defended successfully the last stronghold of King William in Ireland ; and until Clav- erhouse had been attacked and destroyed in Scotland. They had freely mingled their blood with the waters of the Boyne. They had consecrated the 'billowy Shannon,' that 'river of dark mementoes,' by the sacrifice upon its banks, of their dear- est friends, before the gates of Limerick and Aithlone. They had, in short, expelled James and his allies from the land, and were looking with great confidence for something like tolerance in religious belief and religious worship, from William of Nas- sau and his Protestant wife. But they were doomed to the sorest disappointment, and ultimately became so disgusted with the calculating and selfish policy of William, his unreasonable and unjust demands of rents and tythes, as well as with the exactions and persecutions of the Anglican church, which now came to be regarded by them, as little better than the Roman Catholic, that they determined, once and forever, to abandon their country, and seek refuge in the wilds of America."
* I. O. Barnes Esq's. Address. History of Bedford, 33 -- 4.
145
INDIAN WAR.
CHAPTER IX.
Alarm from Indian War .- " Lovewell's War."-Cause .- Encroachment of English settlers .- Indians excited .- French influence .-- Sebastian Ralle .- His sett'ement at Nanrantsouack .- Expedition under Westbrook to seize him .- Indians attack Merry Meeting Bay, Fort George and Brunswick .- Destruction of Nanrantsouack .- Death of Ralle .- Continued attacks upon the settlements in New Hampshire .- Attack at Dunstable .- Massacre of French and his party .- Capt. Lovewell .- His first expedition .- Intended against the Pequauquaukes .- Their location .- Paugus and Wahowah .- Lovewell attacks a party at East Pond. Destroys the entire party .- Second Expedition .-- Goes against Pequauquauke .- Arrives at Pequauquauke .-- Dis- covers an Indian .- Kills him and retires .- Our men ambushed-The fight .- Their fort deserted .-- Some of the men arrive at Dunstable .- Benjamin Has- sel .- Col. Tyng marches to Pequauquauke .-- Gov. Wentworth sends a company to Pequauquauke .- Col. Tyng finds the battle ground and buries the dead.
The little colony of Scotch Presbyterians hat. hardly got quieted in the possession of their lands at Londonderry, before the alarm of war broke upon their ears; a kind of war for which their sad experience in war had made no preparation, save in courage and energy. There were those among them, who had witnessed the fierce attacks of King James' army up- on the walls of Londonderry, who had assisted in repelling those assaults, while the booming cannon from the tower of its cathedral sent havoc among the troops of the besieging army- thus adding a terrific grandeur to the scene. Yet the war- whoop of the Indian reverberating through the dense, still for- ests of the Merrimack valley, struck terror into such hearts even.
The Indians had remained comparatively quiet for some years subsequent to the close of " Queen Anne's War," in 1713. But the gradual encroachment of the English settlers upon lands claimed by the Indians in the valleys of all the great New England rivers, became a source of continued and grow- ing irritation. This feeling on the part of the Indians was undoubtedly fomented by the French.
At length the Indians became so exasperated, that they broke over all bounds of restraint, and kept up a continual series of
146
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
annoyances against their English neighbors, "killing their cat- tle, burning their stacks of hay and robbing and insulting them." The English settlers attributed all these annoyances to French influence, and particularly to Sebastian Ralle, a French Jesuit, who resided among the Indians at Nanrantsouack or Norridgewog. This was an Indian village at the head of ca- noe navigation on the Kennebec, inhabited by people of the tribe, called by the French, Abnakis. Here Father Ralle, who had spent thirty years of his life as a missionary among the Indians of North America, had built a chapel, formed a church, and was the religious teacher of that portion of the tribe upon the Kennebec. The English settlers supposed that if Ralle were out of the way, the annoyances from the Indians would cease. They therefore determined to seize him. For this purpose an expedition was atted out under Col. Thomas Westbrook, which in the winter of 1722, proceeded to Nanrantsouack for that purpose. Ralle however fled from his home at the approach of the English troops and escaped. The expedition was fruit- less, except that in Ralle's "strong box" they found letters from the Governor of Canada, clearly proving that the missionary was really engaged in exciting the Indians against their Eng- lish neighbors.
The Indians could not excuse this attempt upon the person of their spiritual father and they determined upon revenge. Ac- cordingly, early in the succeeding Summer they made a success- ful attack upon a settlement at Merry Meeting Bay at the mouth of the Kennebec-and attempted to take the fort at St. George, but were repulsed. In July, they attacked and destroyed Brunswick, a town upon the Amariscoggin. The Indians having thus seriously commenced hostilities, war was declared against them and proclamation made to that effect at Ports- mouth and Boston. The Indians did not make their appear- ance in New Hampshire till the following year, when they made several serious and successful attacks in the valley of the Piscataqua. Upon this it was determined to destroy the vil- lage at Nanrantsouack, and thus get rid of the influence of Father Ralle. An expedition was forthwith planned, and in August 1624 two companies under Captains Moulton and Har- man received orders to march against the devoted town.
" The captains Moulton and Harman, both of York, each at the head of a company of one hundred men, executed their orders with great address. They completely invested and sur- prised that village; killed the obnoxious Jesuit with about eighty of his Indians ; recovered three captives ; destroyed the
t
147
INDIAN WAR,
chapel, and brought away the plate and furniture of the altar, and the devotional flag, as trophies of their victory. Ralle was then in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and had resided in his mission at Norridgewog twenty-six years ; having before spent six years in traveling among the Indian nations, in the interior parts of America."*
This successful expedition did not stop the hostilities of the Indians. On the contrary, the Fall of 1724 was marked by more than ordinary vigilance and boldness in their attacks upon the settlements in New Hampshire.
The greatest fear and excitement existed among the settlers along our whole frontier, and even in our most thickly populat- ed towns. In this state of excitement, a clamor was raised against the government for alleged inefficiency in meeting these inroads of the enemy-and it was thought, and without doubt truly, that a volunteer system of raising troops, leaving the soldiers at liberty to choose their own officers, would pro- duce a more effective corps of fighting men than the one adopt- ed by the government, that of forced enlistments under officers appointed by the Governor, and oftentimes under those men who possessed few other recommendations, than that they hap- pened to be in favor with the appointing power.
While this excitement ran the highest, an attack was made upon the town of Dunstable, in that part of "old Dunstable," now Nashua, and two men were taken captives and carried to Canada. These were Nathan Cross and Thomas Blanchard.4 These men it seems had been engaged in making turpentine on the north side of the Nashua river, and while at work, were seized by the Indians. After securing the prisoners, the In- dians stove their casks of turpentine and departed. Knowing that the men would be missed at night, and rightly conjectur- ing that they should be followed, with Indian cunning, they determined to wait in ambush for any party that might be sent in pursuit.
At night, Cross and Blanchard not arriving at their place of sleeping, which was a sawmill upon the Salmon Brook, in Nash- ua, it was at once supposed they had fallen into the hands of the enemy, and the alarm was given through the neighbor- hood.
" A party consisting of ten of the principal inhabitants of the place, besides their leader, started in pusuit of them, under the direction of Lieut. Ebenezer French. In this company was Josiah Farwell, who was next year Lieutenant at Pequau-
*Belknap, page 206.
148
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
kett under Lovewell. When this company arrived at the spot where these men had been laboring, they found the hoops of the barrels cut and the turpentine spread upon the ground. From certain marks made upon the trees with wax mixed with grease, they understood that the men were taken and car- ried off alive.
"In the course of the examination, Farwell perceived that the turpentine had not ceased spreading, and called the atten- tion of his comrades to this circumstance. They concluded that the Indians had been gone but a short time, and must be near, and decided on instant pursuit.
" Farwell advised them to take a circuitous route to avoid an ambush ; but unfortunately he and French a short time be- fore had a misunderstanding, and were then at variance. French imputed this advice to cowardice, and cried out, " I am going to take the direct path : if any of you are not afraid let him follow me." French led the way and the whole of the party followed, Farwell following in the rear.
" Their route was up the Merrimack, towards which they bent their course to look for their horses upon the intervals. At the brook near Lutwych's (now Thornton's ) Ferry they were way-laid. The Indians fired upon them and killed the larger part instantly. A few fled, but were overtaken and destroyed. French was killed about a mile from the place of action under an oak tree lately standing in the field belonging to Mr. John Lund, of Merrimack. Farwell in the rear seeing those before fall, sprung behind a tree, discharged his piece, and ran. Two Indians pursued him. The chase was vigorously maintained for sometime, without either gaining much advantage, till Farwell passing through a thicket, the Indians lost sight of him, and prob- ably fearing he might have loaded again, they desisted from farther pursuit. He was the only one of the company that es- caped.
" A company from the neighborhood immediately mustered, and proceeded to the fatal spot to find the bodies of their friends and townsmen. Eight of them were found and conveyed to the burying place. "Coffins were prepared for them, and they were decently interred in one capacious grave." The names of these persons given in the Boston News Letter, were Lieut. Ebenezer French, Thomas Lund, Oliver Farwell and Ebenezer Cummings, who belonged to Dunstable, and all of whom ex- cepting the last, left widows and children, Daniel Baldwin and John Burbank, of Woburn, and Mr. Johnson, Plainfield."*
*Col. Bancroft's narrative-N. H. His. Coll., Vol, I, page 109-Fox's His. of Dunstable"
149
LOVEWELL'S FIRST EXPEDITION.
This attack produced the greatest excitement, and a few of the bold spirits in the neighborhood determined to fight the In- dians on their own ground, and in their own way, if they could get proper encouragement from the government. Accordingly, John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell and Jonathan Robbins, three men of approved courage and skill in hunting and border fight- ing, were selected as leaders of the proposed expedition, and were requested to petition the government for encouragement in their undertaking. In pursuance of this plan, they sent to the General Assembly of Massachusetts, the following peti- tion, the original of which is now on file in the office of the Secretary of State of Massachusetts.
" The Humble memorial of John Lovewell, Josiah Farwell, Jonathan Robbins, all of Dunstable. sheweth :
" That your petitioners, with nearly forty or fifty others, are inclinable to range and to keep out in the woods for several months together, in order to kill and destroy their enemy In- dians, provided they can meet with Incouragement suitable. And your Petitioners are Imployed and desired by many oth- ers, Humbly to propose and submit to your Honors' considera- tion, that if such soldiers may be allowed five shillings per day in case they kill an enemy Indian and possess their scalp, they will Imploy themselves in Indian hunting one whole year ; and if within that time they do not kill any, they are content to be allowed nothing for their wages, time, and trouble.
JOHN LOVEWELL. JOSIAH FARWELL. JONATHAN ROBBINS.
Dunstable, Nov. 1624 .*
In answer to the petition of Lovewell, the Legislature gave permission to raise a company "to range, and to keep out in the woods in order to kill and destroy their enemy Indians," and voted to pay a bounty of £100 per scalp.
With such encouragement, Lovewell soon raised a company of which he was appointed Captain, Josiah Farwell, Lieutenant, and Jonathan Robbins, Ensign. Various expeditions had been set on foot before this, but with indifferent success ; some had been ambushed by the enemy, and others had returned with- out meeting the enemy, so that Lovewell could only raise thir- ty men of the "near forty or fifty others" he had spoken of in his petition. But with these, he boldy marched into the wilderness for the enemy's country, in the vicinity of the Win- nepesaukee. They met with no enemy till the 19th of De-
*See files Secretary's Office, Mass.
150
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
cember, when falling upon a track, they soon found a wigwam containing a man and a boy. The man was killed upon the approach of the party, and the boy was taken prisoner. For some reason the party were content with this small success, and returned forthwith to Dunstable. The boy, with the scalp, having been carried to Boston, the promised reward of £200 was paid, and a gratuity of two shillings and sixpence per day, was voted each man by the Legislature, by way of encourage- ment ! Such encouragement started up the hunters of the re- gion round about " old Dunstable," and when it was known that Lovewell intended to start again in quest of the "enemy Indians" at the earliest opportunity, there was no lack of re- cruits. Eighty-seven men mustered at Dunstable, on the 29th day of January, and under the command of the intrepid Love- well, crossed the Merrimack, and camped on the eastern bank of the same. Their destination was the Indian country, north and east of the Winnepesaukee, a section of country occupied by the Pequaquaukes, or as they were commonly called, the Pigwockets. These Indians, made up of the remnants of the various tribes or bands of the Pennacook confederacy, had lo- cated themselves upon the branches of the Saco, where was an abundance of fish and game ; and from the fact that their main village was upon the Saco, near where that river makes a noted bend or circuit of some thirty-six miles, principally in what is now known as Fryeburg, Me., returning within a mile or two of the Indian village, where it commenced its detour, were called Pequauquaukes, or Indians at the crooked place ; Pequauquauke, being derived from the adjective pequauquis, crooked, and auke, a place. This name, thus received, was applied to the Indians of all that region of country, and has ever since been applied to the region of country itself. The Pequauquaukes were under the control of two powerful Saga- mons, Paugus, (the oak ) and Wahowah, (the broad-shouldered) and from their numbers, as well as from their ready communi- cation with the French, by whom they were furnished with arms, had become quite formidable.
It was Lovewell's intention to penetrate the very heart of the Pequauquauke country, if he did not find the enemy soon- er, but chance threw him upon the trail of a party of Indians fresh upon the war path, that diverted him from his original in- tention.
On the 20th of February, the tracks becoming fresher, the scout marched with more wariness but five miles, and came upon a wigwam but lately deserted, and pursuing " two miles
151
LOVEWELL'S FIRST EXPEDITION.
further, discovered their smokes." This was near sunset, and the Indians were encamped for the night. Lovewell's party laid in " concealment till after midnight, when they advanced," as says Dr. Belknap, "and discovered ten Indians asleep round a large fire, by the side of a frozen pond."
" Lovewell now determined to make sure work ; and placing his men conveniently, ordered a part of them to fire, five at once, as quick after each other as possible, and another part to reserve their fire ; he gave the signal, by firing his own gun, which killed two of them ; the men firing according to order kill- ed five more on the spot ; the other three starting up from their sleep, two of them were immediately shot dead by the reserve. The other, though wounded, attempted to escape by crossing the pond, but was seized by a dog and held fast till they killed him. Thus in a few minutes the whole was destroyed, and some attempt against the frontiers of New Hampshire prevent- ed ; for these Indians were marching from Canada, well fur- nished with new guns, and plenty of ammunition ; they had al- so a number of spare blankets, mockaseens and snow-shoes for the accommodation of the prisoners whom they expected to take, and were within two day's march of the frontiers. The pond where this exploit was performed is at the head of a branch of Salmonfall river, in the township of Wakefield, and has ev- er since borne the name of Lovewell's pond. The action is spoken of by elderly people, at this distance of time, with an air of exultation ; and considering the extreme difficulty of finding and attacking Indians in the woods, and the judicious manner in which they were so completely surprised, it was a capital exploit.
'The brave company, with the ten scalps stretched on hoops, and elevated on poles, entered Dover in triumph, and proceeded thence to Boston, where they received the bounty of one hun- dred pounds for each, out of the public treasury .* "
Penhallow adds: "'Their arms were so new and good, that most of them were sold for seven pounds apiece, and each of them had two blankets, with a great many moccasons, which were supposed to be for the supply of captives that they ex- pected to have taken. The plunder was but a few skins; but during the march, our men were well entertained with moose, bear and deer, together with salmon trout, some of which were three feet long, and weighed twelve pounds apiece." +
*Belknap, pages 200, 209.
+N. H. His. Coll. Vol. I. page 113,
152
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
This success was hailed with joy and triumph throughout the Provinces. Other expeditions were set on foot, but with- out success, among them, Col. Tyng of Dunstable, headed one and marched into the country betwixt Pemegewasset and Win- nepesaukee, but after a month's absence, returned without taking a scalp.
The ill success of Tyng and others, only excited Lovewell to greater efforts, and he soon raised another company of men with the avowed object of penetrating the Pequauquauke coun- try, and attacking bold Paugus in his own home. Paugus had frequently been at Dunstable, and was personally known to most of the hunters of the valley of the Merrimack, as a bold and wily chieftain, at the head of a band of fierce warriors, who, instigated by the French, had taken part in many of the attacks upon the frontiers.
Lovewell's company consisted of forty-six men besides him- self, including a chaplain and surgeon. Upon the eve of march- ing, a friend and neighbor warned Lovewell to be upon his guard against the ambuscades of the Indians; but Lovewell, flushed with the excitement of the occasion, and confident of his own knowledge in Indian warfare, replied, " That he did not care for them," and bending down a small elm sapling, by which he was standing, continued, "that he could treat the Indi- ans in the same way."* The expedition started about the 16th of April, 1725, answering to 27th of April, new style. It is prob- able, but not certain, that they followed the route of the pre- ceding expedition. When out but a short time, Toby, a friend- ly Indian attached to the expedition, becoming lame was sent back with great reluctance on his part. At Contoocook, Wil- liam Cummings, of Dunstable, became so lame in consequence of a wound received from the enemy some time previous, that he was obliged to return home, a kinsman, possibly Josiah Cummings, returning with him to assist him on his way.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.