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 37
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The enemy during the this action practised several strata- gems to induce us to submit ; sometimes assuring us, that they had reinforcements at hand, wnich would cut us into pieces without mercy ; and that it was a pity so many brave men should be lost ; that in case of surrender, we should be treated with compassion ; calling me by name, they assured me of their friendship and esteem ; but the brave men who fought by my side, were neither to be dismayed by their threats nor flattered by they professions, and determined to conquor or die with arms in their hands.
After the action, we had a great number so severely wounded that they could not travel without assistance ; but as we were near to the French garrison, it was thought best to take ad- vantage of the night, and retreat, which we did, keeping up the spirits of the wounded as well as possible, and reached Lake George six miles south of the French advanced guard, next morning. Our wounded men were now exhausted and could march no farther. Lieut. Stark there voluntered with Thomas Burnside and another to proceed to Fort William Henry, and procure sleighs for the wounded. They reached the Fort that night, and the next morning the sleigh arrived though the dis- tance was nearly forty miles. Lieut. Buckly of Hobb's corps of Rangers, came out with fifteen men, and met us at the first narrows of Lake George. Our party which consisted of forty eight effective and six wounded men, arrived at William Henry with the prisoners the same evening, being the 23d of January, 1757.
man of Rumford, daughter of Ebenezer Eastman. She joined the shakers and Phillips wandered about from place to place. In his last days he was main- tained by the town of Concord.
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TAKING OF OSWEGO.
The number which attacked us amounted to 250 French and Indians. We afterwards had an account from the enemy that their loss of those killed on the spot, and who afterwards died of their wounds amounted to 116 men. The officers and soldiers who survived the first onset, behaved with the most undaunted bravery and vied with each other, which should excel in their respective stations."
But the French were more active than ever. The Field- Marshal, Marquis de Montcalm had arrived from France, and their military operations were carried on with skill and energy. Arriving at Quebec, Montcalm hardly stopped for rest, but im- mediately pushed on to examine the military posts of the in- terior. Having reached Ticonderoga by forced traveling, and completed its examination, he forthwith determined to send an expedition against Oswego. To plan, was to execute. He forthwith ordered three regiments from Quebec, and on the evening of the 5th of August, 1756, his expedition anchored in Sackets Harbor. On the 12th of the same month, at mid- night, he opened his trenches upon Fort Ontario, a fortress up- on the left bank of the Onondaga, built by Gen. Shirley, and which commanded Oswego, situated upon the opposite bank of the river. The fire was kept up with spirit on both sides dur- ing the following day, when the garrison spiked their cannon, and retired to Fort Oswego. Montcalm took possession of Ontario, and turned its guns on Oswego. On the 14th, he pre- pared to storm the Fort, but the garrison, composed of Shirley and Pepperell's regiments, of 16,00 men, their commander Col. Mercer having been slain, and a practicable breach having been made in the walls of the fort, offered to capitulate. Terms were agreed upon, the public property was to be surrendered and the garrison was to be protected from the savages. But the capitulation was broken in the most shameful manner. The Indians were permitted to plunder at will. Several of the men were killed upon the parade ; Lieut. de la Court, lying wound- ed in his tent, was also inhumanly murdered, and the sick in the hospital were permitted to be scalped! And as a fitting fi- nale to such barbarity, Montcalm delivered twenty of the gar- rison to the Indians, in lieu of twenty Indians who had been slain, and these were put to death with all the inhuman barbar- ities the savages know so well how to invent. The Forts were both demolished, and the French forces returned to Mon- treal. The dilatory Webb who was on his way to relieve Oswego with a force of 900 regulars, and 700 boatmen, met the news
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
of its disaster, and immediatety commenced a precipitate re- treat.
The Earl of Loudon superseded Shirley, as Commader-in- Chief, of the English forces. The most sanguine hopes were cherished for his success. Of the nobility, no British com- mander had come to the Colonies with so much of popularity, or reputation. Such a commander gave great eclat to the campaign, and the cabins of the borderers resounded with his praises. Recruits were readily enlisted among the Scotch Irish of this neighborhood, while the recruiting Sergeant, or some old crone employed for the occasion, sat by their hearth stones and appealed to their family and national pride in a song beginning with,-
"Recruit me none but the old clans,
"The Frazers, Mckenzies the Campbells and the Grants, "For they are men trained up to the sword,
"Such warlike men Lord Loudon wants."
But Loudon was by no means equal to his reputation, and his career in this country, may be placed down as a complete failure. He did not arrive at New York with his forces till the end of July, when it was too late to enter upon any new enter- prise, and he could do little else than strengthen the English fortifications, and prepare for the spring campaign. Thus the year 1756, brought little else than dishonor upon the British arms.
After the battle of "Lake George" won by Gen. Johnson, but fought by Gen. Lyman, on the 8th of September, 1755, our troops had proceeded to erect a fortress near the southern ex- tremity of Lake George. This was completed during the au- tumn, and was called Fort William Henry. It was a wooden fortress of no great pretensions, but in the hands of the Eng- lish, commanded Lake George, and with Fort Edward, was an effectual barrier against any offensive operations of the French in that quarter.
In consequence, the taking of Fort William Henry became an object of great importance with the French Commander-in- Chief, the Marquis de Montcalm. In the winter of 1757, he sent an expedition of fifteen hundred men to surprise it. Their troops marching upon snow shoes, and hauling their baggage upon sleighs were led by Rigaud de Vaudreuil and the Cheva- ner de Longueuil. Their orders were to surprise the Fort, but failing in that, they were to destroy the out buildings and
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ATTACT ON FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
store houses beyond the protection of the Fort, and the ship- ping and batteaux on the Lake.
Many of the troops under Major Eyers, who held the fort, were Irish, and the company of Rangers then in the fort, were many of them of Amoskeag, and of that class of men known as "Scotch Irish," who though of Ireland, were yet not Irish, nor particularly in love with Irish customs, but had no ob- jections to uniting in a celebration in honor of St. Patrick. This company was under the command of Capt. John Stark, of Amoskeag, a son of a Scotch Irishman. His knowledge of Irish customs, doubtless saved the fortress. The garrison had determined upon celebrating "St. Patrick's Day" which is the 17th of March. Stark upon the alert, determined that the Rangers at least should be sober, and commanded the sutler, Samuel Blodgett of Amoskeag, to deliver no rum to the Rangers without a written order from him; and he refused all solicitations for orders, under the pretence of a lame hand. Thus on the night of the 17th of March, the Rangers were ready for any emergency, while the rest of the garrison were in the greatest excitement from deep potations in honor of St. Patrick and his wife, Shelah !
The French leaders, aware of the character of the troops in the English fortress, had laid their plans to attack it upon St. Patrick's night, supposing that amid a bacchanalian carousal, it could readily be surprised. Accordingly on the night of the 17th of March, the French forces crossed the crackling ice of Lake George, with their scaling ladders, confident of easy suc- cess in escalading the fortress, from which sounds of deep debauch were wafted upon the air. They advanced near the fort in silence, preparing to adjust their ladders, when a flash struck their eyes, and the rattling of small arms and the boom- ing of cannon filled their astonished ears, while their ranks were thinned and broken by a shower of shot from well di- rected musketry and cannon from the walls of the fort. They retreated astonished, but not disheartened.
The foresight and prompt action of Stark saved the fortress. The crackling of the ice under the heavy tread of the French soldiery, fell upon the practiced ears of the Rangers and gave them timely notice of the approach of the foe. They seized their muskets and gave the alarm. The ramparts were filled with such of the garrison as were fit for service, the guns were manned, and in perfect silence, except the noise of the revellers, who were allowed or requested to continue their de- bauch, the better to deceive the enemy, their approach was
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
awaited. They were suffered to approach within half mus- ket shot, when the terrific fire was opened upon them.
The next day the enemy invested the place in form, and twice again attacked it, and were as often repulsed. At length after having attacked the fort for a fifth time and been repulsed, they retired, contenting themselves with destroying the huts of the rangers, and the store houses as well as the batteaux and sloops on the lake.
The spring of 1757 was spent by Loudon in preparing for an attack upon Louisburg, in conjunction with a powerful British fleet, and a large force of Infantry and Artillery, under Maj. Gen. Hopson.
Troops were called for from New Hampshire, and a regi- ment was raised and put under the command of Col. Meserve. Maj. John Goffe of Derryfield was commissioned as its Lieut. Colonel. A company was attached to this regiment from this nieghborhood, the roll of which was as follows ;
Richard Emary, Captain. ; Nathaniel Martain, 1st Lieut. ; Pallata. Russell, 2d Lieut. ; John Moore, Eusign .; Darby Kel- ley, Sergt. ; Joseph Pearsons, Sergt. ; Benj. Kidder, Sen. Sergt ; John Little, Sergt. ; Caleb Emary, Sen. Corp. ; Robert Mur- dock, Corp, ; Micajah Wynn, Corp. ; John Hutchenson, Corp. George Berry, Drummer. ; Josiah Bean, Jona. Prescutt, Benj. Roberts, John Moore, Joseph WhicherWeed, James Dunlap, Edward Bean, Wm. Batchelder, Edward Critchet, Joseph Hillayerd, Ebenezer Hutchenson, Samuel Hardie, Henry Hutch- enson, Jos. Ekerson, Jona. Melcher, Samuel Ring, Elijah Ring, Hezekiah Swaine, Wm. Towle, Joseph Webster, John Burnes, Jona. Corlis, Jun., Asa Corlis, James Clough, Caleb Daulton, Caleb Emary, Jun. Daniel Emerson, John Griffin, John Gor- den, Thomas George, Thomas Kennady, Robt. Kennady, Benj. Kidder, Jun. John Kidder, Wm. McDugall, for B. Linkfield, John Merrill, James Patterson, Benj. Pettingal, Ezekiel Ste- vens, James Titcomb, Leond. Blanchard, Timothy Barron, Wm. Butterfield, James McCalley, Samuel Gibson, Thomas Lancey, Josiah Parker, Simon McQuestin, Peter Bussell, Samuel Chase, John Davis, Benj. Davis, Wm. Hutchenson, David Parker, Hen- ry Parker, William Sillaway, Jno. Webster, for D. Allen, Wil- liam Drought, Lazarus Rowe, Daniel Darling, Stephen Gilman, Tristram Quimby, John Sandburne, Gideon Young, Samuel Young, Stephen Webster, Solomon Prescutt, Thomas Parker, Ceasar Nero, John Corlis, David Nutt, Ebenezer Coarston, Moses Chase, John Stell, Jacob Bridgham, Patrick Clark.
One battalion of the regiment, under the command of Col.
311
SIEGE OF FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
Meserve, joined the expedition against Louisburg, while the other battalion under Lieut. Colonel Goffe, rendezvoused at Number Four. This battalion afterwards joined Gen. Webb at Albany, and was posted at Fort William Henry, under the command of the veteran Col. Munroe.
On the 20th of June, Loudon sailed from New York with a considerable force, taken from the proper defences of the colo- nies. Among these troops in addition to the battalion, under Col. Meserve, there were from New Hampshire two compan- ies of rangers, under the command of Captain Robert Rogers, and John Stark.
This absence of the Commander-in-Chief with so many of the English troops, left opportunity for the French to take ag- gressive measures, which did not go long unimproved. For aside from the opportunity, the failure of the French in their winter expedition against Fort William Henry, incited Mont- calm to more determined action. The absence of Loudon, hastened his movements, and in July he concentrated an army of 8000 strong at Ticonderoga, and the last of the month push- ed a large force, under the command of M. de Levi, along the shores of the Lake, guided by their Iroquois allies, against the coveted fortress.
Immediately upon hearing of the presence of the French ar- my upon Lake Champlain, Gen. Webb, who was in command of the English army near Lake George, and who had just ar- rived at Fort William Henry, with a want of foresight recon- cilable only with pusillanimity or cowardice, fell back with his troops upon Fort Edward, leaving Fort William Henry to be defended by about 2000 men, under the brave Col. Munroe. His troops were composed of Regulars and Provincials, and of the latter was a battalion of 200 men from New Hampshire, under Lieut. Col. John Goffe, of Amoskeag. They were left at the Fort to do scout duty, and to keep up a communication with Fort Edward. Besides those, there was a company of Rangers there from New Hampshire, under the command of Richard Rodgers. These men were mostly from the Merri- mack valley, and many of them from Amoskeag.
On the Ist of August, Montcalm advanced with the remain- der of his army, up the Lake in canoes and batteaux. The next day, both divisions united on the shores of the Lake with- in two miles of the fort. Here Montcalm first heard of the imprudent retreat of Webb, and determined forthwith to attack the fort. On the morning of the 3d, he sent by one of his aids, a written communication to Col. Munroe, demanding the
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
surrender of the fortress. To this demand, Munroe laconical- ly replied to Sieur Fantbrune, the messenger of Montcalm, "Tell Monsieur Montcalm, that I reject his proposal with dis- dain, and that I will defend the Fort, while I have a man able to fire a gun." This answer of defiance was given by the brave Munroe, under the full expectation that Gen. Webb, who was only fifteen miles distant, with an army of 4000 men, would send him immediate assistance.
Montcalm prosecuted his operations with activity, through the 4th and 5th, pushing his trenches close to the walls of the fort, and at day-break on the 6th, broke the stillness of the morning, by the discharge of shot and shell, from ten guns and a mortar, upon the invested fortress. Meantime, the Indians and sharp shooters of the Canadians, were posted behind every stump and tree that would afford protection, and furnish an un- erring aim at such of the beleaguered garrison, as should ex- pose themselves upon the walls. The besiegers redouble their energy, the defences give way under the effective fire of the French guns ; the fire from the ramparts decreases from scarci- ty of ammunition, the Indians send forth their appalling yell over their anticipated prey ; the pusillanimous Webb remains in stolid indifferance to the fate of Munroe and his brave com- panions ! At length their ammunition completely fails, can- non and muskets are silent, useless upon the ramparts, and to cap the climax of their misfortunes, Montcalm sends into the ill-fated fortress, an intercepted letter from Webb, advising Col. Munroe to capitulate upon the best possible terms, as he could afford him no present relief ! Farther resistance was in vain, and the garrison forthwith capitulated upon the main conditions that all public property should be surrendered to the French, that the garrison should march out with the honors of war, with their arms, baggage, and a field piece ; and that they should be protected from the outrages of the savages. This latter stipulation was the more necessary, as the outrage at Oswego was fresh in mind, where the plunder and massacre of many of the garrison, had been permitted by Montcalm, in gross vio- lation of the capitulation ; and farther as if to outrage outraged humanity, twenty English prisoners had been delivered into the hands of the Indians by Montcalm, for the purpose of tor- ture, and the cannibal feastings of the "Cold Country Savages." But as at Oswego, this article of the capitulation of Fort Wil- liam Henry was most grossly broken. Before the English had left the fort, the Indians in large numbers had gained access, in search of plunder and strong drink. To prevent the latter
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MASSACRE AT FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
falling into their hands, the liquor casks were stove in, and the rum settled in pools upon the ground. The sharpened appe- tites of the Savages led them to prostrate themselves upon the ground and drink without stint or measure, to madness.
Then commenced promiscuous plunder and outrage within the walls. The evacuation of the troops was hastened, and they had marched but a short distance from the fort, the Pro- vincial troops last in order, and the battalion from New Hamp- shire in the rear of the whole garrison, when as if by a pre- concerted signal, hordes of savages rushed from the woods in their war paint, and with their horrid yells, commenced a pro- miscuous onslaught upon the Provincials, many of whom had already been plundered at the fort! The English troops were paralized. No guard had been furnished by Montcalm. There was not a single round of powder among them, not a bayonet among the Provincials, and the regular troops who had them, being in advance and unmolested by the savages from fear of that instrument, were feign to make the best of their way from the danger that was besetting the unarmed Provincials in the rear. The tomahawk and scalping knife reigned supreme, with- out let or hindrance. Many were killed, scores were wounded and hundreds were taken prisoners. Of these latter, numbers were put to death the following night by the most excruciating tortures. The loss cannot be ascertained. Eighty, of the two hundred men composing the battalion from New Hampshire, were either murdered or taken prisoners. The transaction filled the public mind with horror-as well it might, for it finds no parallel in history, save in the equally horrid outrage at Oswe- go-perpetrated by the same parties !
Yet there are those at the present day who would feign pal- liate the conduct of Montcalm. And a late writer* has said:
"He may, indeed, still be censured for not having provided a sufficient escort for the surrendered garrison. Surely, how- ever, he may well have deemed 2000 men, such as those who had before defended themselves with becoming bravery against his host, might hold their own against an inferior number of savages. When the onslaught began, he used his utmost en- deavor to arrest it; he rushed into the bloody scene, and strove earnestly to stop its progress. Baring his breast, he called up- on the savages to slay him, their father, but to spare the Eng- lish for whom his honor was plighted. Then, finding his in- terference useless, he called upon the prisoners to defend them-
*Warburton's Conquest of Canada.
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
selves, and fire upon their pursuers ; it was in vain, however, so overpowering were the terrors of the Indian tomahawk." This writer seems forgetful of the fact that by acknowledging that Montclam "may, indeed, still be censured for not having provided a sufficient escort," he yields the whole question at issue. For had he furnished a sufficient escort, as he was bound to do by the articles of capitulation, the massacre could not have taken place. He had the ability to have furnished such escort, as he had 7000 troops at his command, and that he did not do it, with the horrors of Oswego fresh in recollection, is pretty conclusive testimony that he did not intend to do it, and that he connived at the massacre, as he had done at Oswego, about which there is no controversy and no attempt at palliation.
But the writer might have spared his implied charge of cow- ardice against the ill-fated garrison, contained in the paragraphs "surely, however, he ( Montclam) may well have deemed 2000 men, such as those who had before defended themselves with becoming bravery against his host, might hold their own against an inferior number of savages," * * "finding his interference * useless, he called upon the prisoners to defend themselves, and fire upon their pursuers ; it was in vain, however, so overpow- ering were the terrors of the Indian tomahawk." I say, this implied charge of cowardice may have well been spared, as ad- ding insult to injury, and having not the least shadow of foun- dation in fact to sustain it. "Surely," * *
* "2000 men, such as those who had before defended themselves with becoming bravery," might have obeyed Montclam's call to the prisoners to defend themselves, "and fire upon their pursuers," had they had the means within their power !
But the same writer says, speaking of the beseiged, "At length their amunition failed," and it is a well authenticated fact, that there was nct a single round of ammunition among the prisoners. Under such circumstances, the conduct of Mont- clam cannot be excused or palliated.
Of the prisoners, the wounded, and the slain in this inhuman massacre, there were a number from Amoskeag, while others from the same place escaped by the greatest good fortune.
Thus,
JOHN POLLARD.
was at the same massacre, but escaped captivity or injury. As the troops marc! ed from the fort they had so bravely defended upon the plain, the New Hampshire battalion was in the rear. A single Indian rushed from the woods in his war paint, and leaping upon a stump gave the terrific War Whoop. This
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MASSACRE AT FORT WILLIAM HENRY.
was immediately answered by hundreds of his companions in the woods who instantly rushed upon the plain and commenced an attack upon our troops, who were without ammunition, and could not defend themselves. The whoop of the Indian from the stump attracted Pollard's attention, the rush of Indians in their War Paint, excited his suspicions of their intentions, and thus on his guard, at the first attack, he rushed for the woods and fortunately escaped to Fort Edward.
And so of
JOHN DINSMORE.
of Goffstown, he was at the same massacre, and escaped from an Indian who had seized him by the shoulders, somewhat like Joseph of old, not by leaving his coat, but his hunting shirt, in the hands of the enemy. Thus rid of his upper gar- ment, he had freer use of his limbs, and taking to the woods soon distanced his pursuer. Passing two nights in the wilder- ness, swimming the Hudson several times, on the third day, the morning gun of Fort Edward, directed his steps, and he arrived at the fort in safety. A bible in his pocket, its leaves saturated with the waters of the Hudson, was long kept by him as a memento of his escape.
Then William McDougald of the same town, and John Moor of Bedford, were taken captives by the Indians at the same time, sold to the French in Canada, and returned home by the way of France.
SAMUEL BLODGETT,
of Goffstown, but subsequently of Derryfield, the Sutler of the New Hampshire battalion, escaping from the melee, he ran to the shore of the Lake and secreted himself under a batteaux. Here he tarried until he thought all risk at an end, when leav- ing his hiding place, he was discovered by some prowling sav- ages, and stripped of every vestige of clothing. In this plight he escaped his captors, ran into the woods, and got safely into Fort Edward !
But
EZEKIEL STEVENS,
of Derryfield, was not so fortunate.
He escaped to the woods but was overtaken by some savages, and plundered of most of his clothes. This was not done with- out a severe struggle, and the Indians becoming infuriated at his resistance, knocked him down, took the scalp from his en- tire head, and striking him with a tomahawk, left him for dead ! After a time he revived, and crawling upon a log seat- ed himself upon it. In this position he was found by another
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THE HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
Indian, who claimed him as his prisoner. Bleeding profusely from his wounds and faint from the loss of blood, Stevens re- sisted the attempts of the savage to remove him from his seat. While this altercation was going on, some French soldiers pass- ed them, who heard to the wounded man's request for assis- tance, and told him, upon their return, which would be in a short time, they would pass near the log, and he must rush in among them, and they would save him from the clutches of the savage. Accordingly, they were as good as their word, and returning in a short time passed near to Stevens and his savage claimant. Upon this Stevens summoning all his re- maining strength, rushed among the French soldiers, at the same time claming their protection. A part of them led him to the Fort while the others succeeded in pacifying the Indian, who was enraged at the loss of his prisoner. At the Fort, Ste- vens was well cared for, his wounds healed and in a few months he arrived at his home in Derryfield, where he died at a good old age. fis scalp was removed almost from the entire head save a line around it upon the limit betwixt the hair and the smooth skin of the face and neck. To protect his head thus exposed, he always wore a close knit cap upon it. This me- mento of the "Massacre of Fort William Henry" is well re- membered by many of the original citizens of Manchester at the present day, who have often heard from his own lips an ac- count of his thrilling adventure.
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