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 29
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In this expedition, Governor Wentworth entered with his usual alacrity. The Legislature was convened, and the Gov- ernor appealed to their pride, patriotism and interest ; and as a result they voted to raise a thousand men for the expedition. This was in June, and by the beginning of July, eight hundred men were enlisted and ready for embarkation, under Col. The- odore Atkinson, who had been appointed to the command. Meantime news of the arrival of a powerful French fleet and army upon the eastern coast, to retake Louisburg and break up the settlements upon the eastern coast of New England, spread consternation among our people, and completely diverted the attention of the Royal Governors for a time, from the contem- plated conquest of Canada, as they had enough to do to pre- pare our defences at home against attack. But the French fleet was dispersed by a storm near Cape Sable, many vessels went to the bottom, and the others returned singly to France, thus happily relieving the New England colonies from their fears. It was too late too proceed upon the intended expedi- tion, and the New Hampshire regiment went into Winter quar- ters upon the shore of Lake Winnepesaukee, where they spent their time fishing, hunting and scouting.
While these troops were being raised, and extensive prepar- tions were being made, the Indians were nothing daunted. On the contrary, on the 27th of June, and while these troops were being marshaled at Portsmouth, they made a successful attack upon a party at Rochester, consisting of five men at work in a field. These men discharged their guns at one Indian who had fired upon them by concert with his comrades, to draw their fire, and then were forced by overpowering numbers to take refuge in a deserted house. Here they succeeded in keeping their assailants in check for awhile, but the Indians took off the roof of the building and killed Joseph Hurd, Jo- seph Richards, John Wentworth and Gersham Downs. The fifth, John Richards, they succeeded in making prisoner. The same day they attacked another party at work in a field at no great distance, which succeeded in escaping, except a boy, Jonathan Door, whom they captured. These attacks made within twenty miles of Portsmouth produced the greatest consternation, and several scouts were forthwith sent to protect the frontiers. Capt. Nathaniel Drake of Hampton was ordered
*See Belknap pages 281, 282.
225
INDIAN MASSACRE AT PENNACOOK.
out with "fifteen of his troopers to scout at and about Not- tingham fitted with their horses" for fourteen days. Capt. Andrew Todd of Londonderry was ordered out at the head of a scout on the 14th of July for the assistance of the garrison at Canterbury consisting of twenty-three men, as follows,
Andrew Todd, William Holmes, James Wilson, William Brownlee, Thomas Hogg, Jno. Miller, Joseph Ears, Alexander Galt, John Grimes, James Boys, William McMaster, James Lig- et, Samuel Morison, John Reside, Hugh Thompson, William Caldwell, Adam Wilson, Archibald Miller, David Alexander, Joseph Hamble, Samuel Martyn, Hugh Boyd, Joseph Stuart, Arthur Boyd.
The same day Capt. Daniel Ladd, of Exeter, was also dis- patched with a company of foot to protect the frontiers at Pen- nacook and Canterbury. He marched with about thirty men on the 14th of July. He ranged the woods by way of Mas- sabesic to Pennacook and back by way of Suncook and Not- tingham. But neither of the detachments met with the enemy at this time, although they were doubtless in the neighborhood in considerable numbers. Well acquainted with the swamps and lurking places they kept out of sight. Capt. Ladd's com- pany was ordered out for three months and having arrived at Nottingham on the 30th of July, the next day he marched to Exeter and dismissed his men until the 5th of August. Mean- time Captain Drake and Todd's scouts had returned, their time having expired. The Indians taking advantage of the absence of troops, made preparation for an attack upon Pennacook. Their intention was to have attacked the people while in the church on the Sabbath, the 10th of August. Meantime the most of Capt. Ladd's company came into the town on Friday. a portion of them passing on to Canterbury, while others went into the Garrison. The others with Capt. Ladd, having dis- covered traces of a scout of Indians in the neighborhood of the Massabesic, went in pursuit of them, as well as to inform the people of Exeter and Kingston of the presence of the In- dians in the neighborhood. On Sunday the 10th of August the Indians lay in the swamp near the meeting house in Penna- cook, waiting to attack the people in the church. But at this time Capt. Ladd very opportunely marched into town with the balance of his company. The arrival of these troops and the fact that the men came to church well armed, disheartened the Indians, and they retired without making their contemplated attack. But the next day, Monday the 11th of August, they were more successful. Probably anticipating that some of
226
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
Ladd's company were to pass to a fort in the west part of the the township near Hopkinton, they laid in ambush near the path, for any such as might pass that way. On that morning Lieut. Jonathan Bradley, of Capt. Ladd's company and seven others, started for the purpose of going to Eastman's Fort in the West part of Pennacook. They had proceeded about a mile and a half from the meeting house in Pennacook, when they were fired upon by the Indians. One Daniel Gilman had gone forward to fire at a hawk seen on a dry stub by the path some distance ahead, and the rest of the party were leisurely walking along, and awaiting the falling of the bird. Obadiah Peters was somewhat in advance of the most of the party and had set aside his gun awaiting the approach of his friends. The Indians supposing they were discovered, arose from am- bush, and fired upon Peters and the others near him. What followed we will give in the words of Abner Clough, of Not- tingham, Clerk of Capt. Ladd's company, who kept a journal of this scout.
"And when they [had] gone about a mile and a half, they were shot upon by 30 or 40, Indians, if not more, as it was supposed, and killed down dead Lieut. Jonathan Bradley, and Samuel Bradley, John Lufkin, and John Bean, [and] this Obe- diah Peters. These five men were killed down dead on the spot, and the most of the men were stripped ; Two were strip- ped stark naked and were very much cut, and stabbed and dis- figured; and Sergeant Alexander Robberts and William Stick- ney were taken captive, and never been heard of since. It was supposed there was an Indiam killed, where they had the fight; for this Daniel Gilman, who made his escape, saith, that he was about 60 rods before these men, when they were shot upon, and he says, the Indians shot three guns first. He says, that he thought our men shot at a deer. He says, that he run back about 40 rods upon a hill so that he could see over upon the other hill, where the Indians lie and shot upon the men ; And he says, as ever he came upon the hill so as to see over upon the other hill, he heard Lieut. Jonathan Bradley speak and say' "Lord have mercy on me, fight." In a moment his gun went off and three more guns of our men's were shot, and then the Indians rose up and shot a volley and run out in the path, and making all sort of howling and yelling ; And he did not stay long to see it, he saith. It was supposed that John Lufkin and Peters, were the first shot, as they were in the path, about 12 or 14 rods apart ; and they shot Samuel Bradley, as he was about 12 feet before where this Obediah Peters lay, and
227
STARK'S FORT.
wounded [him] so, that the blood started every step he took. He went about 5 rods right in the path and then they shot him right through his povder-horn, as it hung by his side, and so through his body ; and there lay these three men lying in the path ; and Lieut. Bradley run out of the path, about two rods, right in amongst the Indians. He was shot through his wrist ; It was supposed that he killed the Indian ; It was sup- posed that he fought, (as he stood there in the spot where he was killed,) till the Indians cut his head almost all to pieces. And John Bean run about 6 rods out of the path on the other side of the way, and then was shot right through his body ; so that, there was none of these men, that went one or two steps after they were shot, excepting this Samuel Bradley, that was shot as above said. And there seemed to be as much blood where the Indian was shot, as there was where any one of our men were killed. It was supposed the men lie there about two hours after they were killed before anybody came there. We did not go, till there came a post down from the Fort, about three quarters of a mile beyond where the men lie and were killed."
This attack produced consternation throughout the province. The garrisons were strengthened and additional troops were raised. Capt. Goffe's house at Amoskeag had been already formed into a garrison for the convenience and safety of his family and his neighbors at the mouth of the Cohas Brook, and two soldiers, John Sargent and Henry Flood had been posted there as early as the 9th of July of the present year, and they continued there through October .* But this could accommo- date but a small portion of the inhabitants, besides being at a distance from the greatest part of them. A large and substan- tial Fort was therefore built for their accommodation and pro- tection in case of attack. It was located near the outlet of Fort or Swager's Pond, on the bank, just south of the brook. It was some one hundred and twenty-five or fifty feet square, built of logs and was well located for the access of the people of the town, being about the same distance from the Falls, Cohas Brook and McMurphy's Mills, the three outposts, as it were of the settlement. It was also well located in case of attack or siege from the Indians, the pond being upon the east to pro- tect it from attack in that direction, and a brook on the north, under cover of the Fort, that afforded fresh water and plenty of fish at all seasons of the year. A well was dug and stoned just under the bank and betwixt the Fort and Pond that re-
*See Roll in Secretary's office at Concord.
228
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
mains in good preservation to the present day. This was called Stark's Fort, and undoubtedly contributed much to pre- vent an attack in this neighborhood by the Indians.
Capt. Ladd's company kept on duty on the frontier in this region of the Province until the middle of October. After the massacre at Pennacook, some of the best Indian fighters in this neighborhood joined Capt. Ladd's company, for the rest of its term of service. Among them John Nutt, James Moore, and the afterwards celebrated Robert Rogers. As before sug- gested, the fear of an attack from the French fleet under the Duke D'Anville, diverted tbe attention of the Provincial Gov- ernors from their intended invasion of the French territory. They forthwith commenced preparations for defence. Gov- ernor Wentworth ordered Col. Atkinson's regiment to New Castle to hold and put in a state of proper defence Fort Wil- liam and Mary, at the southern extremity of that Island, and commanding the entrance of the Piscataqua. A new battery of seventeen guns was added to that Fort, and another battery of nine large guns was built on Jerry's Point commanding the entrance to Little Harbor, on the west side of New Castle. But on the 25th of October, news came of "the distress and confusion on board the French fleet," and the people of the Province were relieved of their fears in that quarter. The season was too far advanced, to operate to advantage in the pro- posed campaign against Canada, and Col. Atkinson's regiment was ordered into winter quarters on the Winnepesaukee, to cov- er the frontiers from attacks from the Indians. The regiment was posted at the head of Little Bay, in the present town of Sanbornton, west of Union Bridge, where they built a fort, near the water, which remaining until within a years, has been erroneously supposed the remains of an Indian Fort. The stone of which it was built has been removed to build a dam across the Winnepesaukee, close at hand, and tradition and one or two old people in the neighborhood, alone point out the po- sition of Fort Atkinson. These troops remained at this fort, with little of discipline and spending their time in idleness, re- lieved only by an occasional scouting, fishing or hunting expe- dition, until the fall of 1747. In October of that year, the fa- mous "Canada Expedition" was abandoned by the government at home, and the regiment being paid off by order of the Duke of New Castle, was disbanded. There were many soldiers at- tached to this regiment, from this immediate neighborhood, Capt. John Goffe from Amoskeag having a command in it, and many are the traditional stories and anecdotes connected with the ex-
229
INDIAN ATTACK AT SUNCOOK.
pedition. The expedition, apparently so fruitless, had its imme- diate advantages, for aside from the protection afforded by it, the various scouts and fishing expeditions, explored minutely the entire basin of the Winnepesaukee, and turned the atten- tion of emigrants and speculators to the fine lands and valuable forests in that section of the Province. And as soon as the French and Indians wars were at an end in 1760, the Winne- pesaukee basin was at once granted and settled.
But if the presence of these troops upon the frontier, pre- vented inroads from the Indians through the winter of 1746-7 they afforded little protection in the spring and summer of 1747. For aside from their repeated and successful attacks in the val- leys of the Connecticut and Piscataqua in the spring and sum- mer of that year, they made several attacks in the valley of the Merrimack within a score of miles of Fort Atkinson, and to make which they must have passed down the Merrimack, within a very few miles of that Fort.
Their first attack in this neighborhood, was in the adjoining town of Suncook. The following petition from the people of that place, gives the particulars .*
"To his Excelence Benning Wentworth, Esq., Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majestys Province of New Hampshire and to the Hon'bl His Majesty's Council and House of Representatives of said Province in General Court assembled.
The humble Petition of the inhabitants of Suncook in said Province most humbly sheweth,
That on Monday the twentieh of this instant May, about two hours after soon raise, the Indians set on two men in ye lower part of this town, and killed one of them, and the other narowly escaped, and they fired at a house but was repulsed, and toward the evening tho same day, the soon about two hours high, they robbed two three houses and fired on four men go- ing to the pasture for their cows, within about half a mile from the meeting house, a considerable number of the enemy, we believe they intended to destroy ye place, and ever since we have been penned close in our garrisons and can do no work abroad, so that without speedy help we must all move off.
May it therefore please your Excelency and honors, in your great wisdom to send us such speedy help and protection as in your great wisdom you shall think fitt, and your Petitioners, as in duty bound shall ever pray.
Dated at Suncook this 26 of May, 1747.
*Sec files in Secretary's office, Concord.
230
THE HISTORY OF
MANCHESTER.
Moses Foster,
John McNeil,
William Knox,
Benjamin Holt,
John Knox,
John Coffrin,
Elias Whitemore,
Samuel Gault,
Thos. Russ,
Richard Eastman,
Patrick Gault,
Samuel Smith,
Caleb Lovejoy,
Andrew Gault,
William Knox,
Moses Tyler,
Andrew Ocherson,
David Lovejoy,
Joseph Baker,
James Ocherson,
James Moor,
David Abbott,
Joseph Brown,
Thomas Cuningham,
John Noys,
Francis Doyen, John Man,
Robert White,
William Moor,
James Rogers,
John Fife,
James Man,
James White."
Scouts were immediately ordered out and the garrisons in- creased at Suncook, but notwithstanding, the Indians eluded pursuit and sometime in June made their appearance at Penna- cook, where they were attacked and put to flight, with the loss of their booty, blankets and other things. Capt. Ebenezer Eastman was ordered out by the Governor in July with a com- pany of thirty-four men. This scout kept out for a month, but did not meet with the enemy. While Capt. Eastman's scout was out, the enemy appeared "on or about the twenty- first day of August," at Epsom, and made an attack upon the house of Mr. Charles McCoy as appears by the following peti- tion.
Province of New Hampshire.
To his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq. Captain Gen- eral Governor and Commander in Chief in and over his Majes- ties Province of New Hampshire. To the Honorable his Maj- esties Council for said province and the House of Representa- tives in General Assembly convened.
The Memorial and Petition of Charles McCoy of Epsom, in sd Province, most humbly shews, that on or about the twen- ty-first day of August last, his wife was taken by the Indian enemy and either killed or carried away captive, and his house burnt. That there is no garrison nor soldiers there, that your petitioner begs he may have some guard to go with him and take care of his cattle and fields there as your Excellency and Honor shall judge necessary.
mark his Charles [X] McCoy.
Sept. 3d, 1747.
In compliance with his petition a company of twenty-seven men were sent by the Governor to Epsom, under the command of Capt. Joseph Thomas, to "take care of the cattle and fields" of the petitioner. McCoy went with the scout. After secur-
231
MRS. MCCOY'S CAPTIVITY.
ing his property, they continued for a fortnight scouting from Epsom through Nottingham, to Durham. But they did not meet with the enemy. The Indians who made this attack were Sabatis, Plausawa and Christi.
As Christi and McCoy were both from this neighborhood, the former having lived at Amoskeag Falls * the latter at Lon- donderry, we give a more particular account of Mrs. McCoy's captivity in this place. McCoy had moved from Londonderry to Epsom, some years previous to his wife's captivity, but probably was well known to Christi.
"Reports were spread of the depredations of the Indians in various places; and McCoy had heard that they had been seen lurking about the woods at Penacook, now Concord. He went as far as Pembroke ; ascertained that they were in the vicinity, was somewhere discovered by them, and followed home. They told his wife, whom they afterwards made prisoner, that they looked through the cracks around the house, and saw what they had for supper. The next day, Mrs. McCoy, attended by their two dogs, went down to see if any of the other families had returned from the garrison. She found no one. On her return, as she was passing the block-house, which stood near the present site of the meeting house, the dogs which had pass- ed around it, came running back growling and very much ex- cited. Their appearance induced her to make the best of her way home. The Indians afterwards told her that they then lay concealed there, and saw the dogs, when they came running round.
McCoy, being now strongly suspicious that the Indians were actually in the town, determined to set off the next day with his family for the garrison at Nottingham. His family now consisted of himself, his wife, and son John. They accord- ingly secured their house as well as they could, and all set off next morning. McCoy and his son with their guns, though without ammunition, having fired away what they brought with them in hunting.
As they were travelling a little distance east of the place where the meeting house now stands, Mrs. McCoy fell a little in the rear of the others. This circumstance gave the Indi- ans a favorable opportunity, for separating her from her hus- band and son. The Indians, three men and a boy, lay in am- bush near the foot of Marden's hill not far from the junction of the mountain road with the main road. Here they suffered McCoy and his son to pass , but, as his wife was passing them
* See ante, pages 98, 99, and 100.
232
THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
they reached from the bushes, and took hold of her, charging her to make no noise, and covering her mouth with their hands as she cried to her husband for assistance. Her husband hear- ing her cries, turned, and was about coming to her relief. But he no sooner began to'advance, than the Indians, expecting prob- ably that he would fire upon them, began to raise their pieces, which she pushed one side, and motioned her friends to make their escape, knowing that their guns were not loaded, and that they would doubtless be killed, if they approached. They accordingly ran into the woods and made their escape to the garrison. This took place August 21, 1747.
The Indians then collected together what booty they could obtain, which consisted of an iron trammel, from Mr. George Wallace's ; the apples of the only tree which bore in town, which was in the orchard now owned by Mr. David Griffin, and some other trifling articles, and prepared to set off with their prisoner to Canada.
Before they took theiy departure, they conveyed Mrs. Mc- Coy to a place near the little Suncook river, where they left her in the care of the young Indian, while the three men, whose names were afterwards ascertained to be Plausawa, Saba- tis and Christi, went away, and were some time absent. Dur- ing their absence, Mrs. McCoy thought of attempting to make her escape. She saw opportunities, when she thought she might dispatch the young Indian with the trammel, which with other things, was left with them, and thus perhaps avoid some strange and barbarous death, or a long and distressing captivity. But, on the other hand, she knew not at what dis- tance the others were. If she attempted to kill her young keeper, she might fail. If she effected her purpose in this, she might be pursued and overtaken by a cruel and revengeful foe, and then some dreadful death would be her certain portion. On the whole, she thought best to endeavor to prepare her mind to bear what might be no more, than a savage captivi- ty. Soon, however, the Indians returned, and put an end for the present to all thoughts of escape. From the direction, in which they went and returned, and their smutty appearance, she suspected what their business had been. She told them, 'she guessed they had been burning her house.' Plausawa, who could speak some broken English, informed her they had.
They now commenced their long and tedious journey to Canada, in which the poor captive wight well expect that great and complicated sufferings would be her lot. She did
233
INDIAN ATTACKS.
indeed find the journey fatiguing, and her fare scanty and pre- carious. But, in her treatment from the Indians, she experi- enced a very agreeable disappointment. The kindness she re- ceived from them was far greater than she had expected from those, who were so often distinguished for their cruelties. The apples they had gathered they saved for her, giving her one a day. In this way, they lasted her as far as Lake Cham- plain. They gave her the last as they were crossing the lake in their canoes. This circumstance gave to the tree, on which the apples grew, the name of "Isabel's tree," her name being Isabella.
In many ways did they appear desirous of mitigating the distresses of their prisoner while on their tedious journey. When night came on, and they halted to repose themselves in the dark wilderness, Plausawa, the head man, would make a little couch in the leaves a little way from theirs, cover her up with his own blanket ; and there she was suffered to sleep un- disturbed till morning. When they came to a river, which must be forded, one of them would carry her over on his back. Nothing like insult or indecency did they ever offer her dur- ing the whole time she was with them. They carried her to Canada, and sold her as a servant to a French family, whence, at the close of the war, she returned home. But so comfort- able was her condition there, and her husband being a man of rather a rough and violent temper, she declared she never should have thought of attempting the journey home, were it not for the sake of her children."*
This was the last attack of the Indians during the war, in the Merrimack valley. They however continued their attacks in other sections of the Province and late in the fall of 1747, made one upon Bridgman's fort in Hinsdale and killed several and took others prisoners. In the following winter they also took several prisoners from Number Four. The preparations for defence however, were not relaxed in the Merrimack valley. Scouts were sent out and the garrisons provided with suffi- cient soldiers by the government, through 1748, up to the time of peace.
Garrisons were established at Dunstable, now Nashua, Mon- son, now Milford, Souhegan, now Bedford, in this township then unincorporated, Suncook, now Pembroke, Pennacook, now Concord, Contoocook, now Boscawen, and at Canterbury. The garrisons at Monson, Souhegan and Stark's fort in this town-
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