USA > New Hampshire > History of New Hampshire, Volume II > Part 7
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I do, by advice and consent of his Majesty's council, issue this proclama- tion, ordering and requiring, in his Majesty's name, all magistrates and other officers, whether civil or military, as they regard their duty to the king and the tenor of the oaths they have solemnly taken and subscribed, to exert themselves in detecting and securing in some of his majesty's gaols in this province the said offenders, in order to their being brought to condign pun- ishment; And from motives of duty to the king and regard to the welfare of the good people of this province: I do in the mose earnest and solemn manner exhort and enjoin you, his majesty's liege subjects of this gov- ernment, to beware of suffering yourselves to be seduced by the false arts or menaces of abandoned men, to abet, protect, or screen from justice any of the said high handed offenders, or to withhold or secrete his majesty's muni- tion forcibly taken from his castle; but that each and every of you will use your utmost endeavors to detect and discover the perpetrators of these crimes to the civil magistrate, and assist in securing and bringing them to justice, and in recovering the king's munition; This injunction it is my bounden duty to lay strictly upon you, and to require your obedience thereto, as you value individually your faith and allegiance to his majesty, as you wish to preserve that reputation to the province in general; and as you would avert the dreadful but most certain consequences of a contrary con- duct to yourselves and posterity.
J. WENTWORTH.
Of course nobody paid any attention to this proclamation ; it was made, that the governor and his supporters might keep on good terms with the king by making a show of fulfilling their duty.
The second Provincial Congress was held at Exeter, January 25, 1775. The Hon. John Wentworth of Somersworth presided. No record has been preserved of the names of the deputies. The convention heartily approved of the proceedings of the Continental Congress, held the preceding September in Philadelphia. Major John Sullivan and Captain John Langdon were chosen delegates to attend the next Continental Congress, to be held at Philadelphia on the tenth of May. The Hon. John Wentworth, Colonel Nathaniel Folsom, Hon. Meshech
17 N. H. Prov. Papers, VII. 423-4.
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Weare, Colonel Josiah Bartlett, Colonel Christopher Toppan Ebenezer Thompson and William Whipple were chosen as a committee to call a Provincial Convention whenever they thought best, and they together with Samuel Cutts and John Pickering were made a Committee of Correspondence for New Hampshire. It was voted to raise two hundred and fifty pounds to pay the expenses of delegates to the Continental Congress. An address was issued to the people, exhorting them to obedi- ence to just laws and authorities, to the cultivation of peace and harmony, to "abstain from the use of East India tea," to encourage manufacturers, to practice economy and industry and shun all kinds of extravagance, to exercise themselves in military drill, to avoid lawsuits and pay their just debts, to continue their contributions for the poor and oppressed of Boston, and to implore the favor of God, always thought by sincere worshipers to be on the side of freedom and righteous- ness.
Various towns passed resolutions of a patriotic character, and Plymouth instructed its representative in the House, John Fenton, to use his best endeavors to preserve the laws of the land, to discountenance every act of oppression, to suffer no diminution of rights enjoyed, and to keep harmony and allow the public to hear the debates of the House, by having the doors open to the people. Before this it had been proposed to build galleries for the accommodation of those who wished to listen to the proceedings of the House. Secret assemblies of legislators chosen by the people met with no approval. Hills- borough county held congresses of its own, at Amherst. They specially recommended all persons not to engage in any "routs, riots or licentious attacks" on persons or property.
Shortly after the assault on fort William and Mary the frigate Scarborough and the sloop Canceau were anchored in Portsmouth harbor and remained some months, during that time dismantling the fort and carrying away the military stores that were left. This provoked the people to assemble to the number of about six hundred, who went down to Jeremy Point, where a battery had been erected, on Great Island, and brought away eight cannons of twenty-four and thirty-two pound shot. These were taken to Portsmouth, and Hunking Wentworth
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wrote to Matthew Thornton, advising that they be set up for the defense of that place. Some years afterwards Gen. John Sullivan wrote that there was a scheme to seize him and take him on board the Scarborough. However, no such attempt was made. The ships did seize merchant vessels coming into the harbor, laden with food supplies for the people, and sent the same to Boston for the troops of General Gage. For a time Portsmouth furnished to these ships a liberal supply of meat, perhaps because of the threat that otherwise the supply of fish for Portsmouth would be cut off. Merchants protested to governor Wentworth against the action of the Scarborough in stopping merchant vessels, but Captain Barclay said he had orders to send all vessels laden with food to Boston, and even salt and molasses were reckoned as food.
Meanwhile the farmers about Concord and Lexington had "left off planting corn and planted scarlet runners." The news of the fight ran like wildfire throughout the colonies, and great was the excitement. The amiable and well loved governor of New Hampshire kept on in his counsels of patience and modera- tion. The people had too much respect for him to willingly give him offense, and he sincerely cared for the happiness and prosperity of the people. His great ambition was the agricul- tural and commercial development of his province. At the same time his heart was loyal to the king of England, and he sought in every way known to him to effect a reconciliation between the colonies and the mother country. He tried to be a peacemaker, but the war for freedom had already begun. Lord North had got Parliament to adopt a conciliatory propo- sition, "that when any colony by their governor, council and assembly shall engage to make provision for the support of civil government and administration of justice in such colony, it will be proper, if such proposal be approved by the king and parliament, for so long time as such provision shall be made, to forbear to levy any duty or taxes in such colony, except for the regulation of commerce, the neat proceeds of which shall be carried to the account of such colony respectively." This proposition looks fair, but its aim was thought to be to divide the colonies. The British troops were to remain, and the col- onies that would not accept this proposition and make provisions
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satisfactory to the king and parliament were to be brought to obedience by force. Hopes of reconciliation were kindled in the breast of Governor Wentworth, which led him to call a new Assembly, which met on the fourth of May, 1775. It was composed of the leading men of the province, of whom some had taken part in the assault on fort William and Mary, and probably all the rest approved of that act. The governor had no power to arrest them and bring them to trial. Among those who presented themselves as representatives were Colonel John Fenton of Plymouth, Israel Morey of Orford and Mr. Green of Lyme. These came in consequence of the king's writ, a precept sent by the governor without any action taken by the House. This revived an old dispute about the respective powers of governor and House. Formerly the House had yielded to Governor Benning Wentworth; now they were in a position to win their case. They said to the governor, "As the Council are appointed for this Province by the Crown, we think it not only a cruel but an arbitrary stretch of Prerogative for your Excellency to issue writs to such towns as you think proper to send Representatives without the concurrence of the other Branches of the Legislature therein, for by that means the Representatives as well as the Council would in effect be chosen by the Crown. We can not think that such an attempt was ever made in any other government within the English Dominions." It was mistrusted that the governor was trying to pack the House with men of his own mind. His reply showed that what he had done had been done before by himself and by his predecessor, but they knew that such previous action had been allowed under protest or silently ignored when there was no issue of importance at stake. The new deputies were not admitted, and Colonel John Fenton especially was under suspicion. The reply of the governor was his last message to the House, and it was dated July 15, 1775.
Before this he had sent to the House a copy of the action of parliament, called the conciliatory proposition of Lord North, and had adjourned the Assembly in order that the members might have opportunity to reflect upon it and consult their constituents. Still earlier, May fifth, the governor said, in a message to the House:
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We cannot but view with inexpressible concern the alarming Pitch to which the unfortunate Dispute between Great Britain and her Colonies is daily advancing. A matter of such a momentous nature, which fills every human mind with the deepest anxiety & affliction, and wherein this province is unhappily involved, cannot I presume fail of engaging your most serious attention : It is therefore my Duty at such a critical & important moment to call, in the most earnest & solemn manner, upon you, gentlemen, who are the only constitutional and legal Representatives of the People, to direct your Counsels to such measures as may tend to secure their Peace & safety. On the Wisdom, Candor & Moderation of your Deliberations it will greatly depend to avert the Calamities that must naturally attend a continuance of this unhappy Contest, and I trust your conduct will be guided by such Prin- ciples as shall effectually lead to a Restoration of the Public Tranquility, and a perfect Reestablishment of an affectionate Reconciliation with our mother Country, upon a solid, equitable & permanent Foundation.
Connected as we are with our Parent State by the Strongest Ties of Kindred, Religion, Duty & Interest, it is highly incumbent upon us in this Time of General Disquietude to manifest our Loyalty and attachment to the best of Sovereigns, and our firm and unshaken Regard for the British Empire; And I have full confidence that those great considerations will in- fluence every part of your conduct. You may entirely rely on my most ardent zeal to co-operate with you in whatever constitutional measures may be found necessary to accomplish that most essential object to the Well Being of the Province,-a Restoration of our Harmony with Great Britain.18
The reply of the House was kind, courteous and firm. Their solicitude for the welfare of the province was equal to that of the governor, but they saw more clearly than he, that their welfare was inseparably bound up with that of the other American colonies. They wanted a reconciliation with the mother country, but their rights as freemen must be acknowl- edged. The prosperity of England was one with that of the colonies. They were as necessary to her as she to them, and increasingly unto the present day England has been learning that lesson. The patriots dwelt upon their grievances as though they were related to England as slaves to a tyrant; the people of New Hampshire did not forget that they were related as children to a mother. The governor wanted reconciliation at any cost and was more careful to guard the prerogatives of the king than those of the people; the House as the representa- tives of the people wanted reconciliation with honor and liberty and sacred rights protected, and they cared more for the people than for the king.
18 N. H. Prov. Papers, VII. 372.
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We have seen that one of the representatives who failed to be admitted to the House was Colonel John Fenton of Plymouth. He had once been a captain in the British army and had served in the Indian wars. He owned the farm on which was fought the battle of Bunker Hill and many years after- wards received from the British government compensation for destruction of property thereon. A grant of two thousand acres in Plymouth had been made him, where, being also justice of the peace and judge of probate, he was a man of importance, and he got himself elected as representative of that town. On the seventh of June, 1775, Governor Wentworth, who had made him a colonel, appointed him as commandant of fort William and Mary. On the twelfth he went to the assembly chamber and expressed himself too vigorously on the matter of his rejection therefrom. The people became convinced that he sympathized with their enemies and a mob pursued him to the house of the governor. A cannon was planted before the door, and its discharge was threatened, unless Fenton was given up. This induced Fenton to surrender himself. He was sent to Exeter and carefully guarded till he could be sent out of the province. Not long after he left the country for good, having no affiliation with the patriots.19
This incident induced the governor to withdraw, with his family, to fort William and Mary, where for two months or more he lived in narrow and inconvenient quarters, and. whence he addressed a letter to General Gage, at Boston, acquainting him with proceedings at Portsmouth. The fort had sixty pieces of cannon, but had neither men nor munitions. A few servants and guards were employed by the governor. On the fifteenth of July he wrote his last message to the House of Assembly, and on the twenty-second of August he went on board the frigate Scarborough and sailed for Boston. In Sep- tember he returned as far as the Isles of Shoals, whence he prorogued the Assembly till the following April. This was the last time he ever set foot in New Hampshire. Letters indicate that he was for a time at Halifax, Long Island, New York and Newport. He sailed for England, February 7, 1778. His home was in London till 1783, when he was again made sur-
19 Hist. of Plymouth, N. H., by Hon. Ezra S. Stearns, Vol. I., pp. 68-79.
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veyor of the King's woods in America. In consequence of this he removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and in 1792 George the Third made him Lieutenant Governor of that province. In old age he resigned his office and received a pension of five hundred pounds. England made him a baronet, and Aberdeen and Oxford Universities honored him with the degree of Doctor of Laws, even before Dartmouth College conferred the same honor upon him. He died in Halifax, April 8, 1820, aged eighty- three years.
In 1791, after the turmoils and passions of the Revolution had ceased, he wrote to Dr. Jeremy Belknap thus :
The independence having been consented to by the government which entrusted me with its powers, I do most cordially wish the most extensive, great and permanent blessings to the United States; and of course rejoice at the establishment of their federal constitution as the probable means of their happiness. If there is anything partial in my heart in this case, it is that New Hampshire, my native country, may arise to be among the most brilliant members of the confederation; as it was my zealous wish, ambition and unremitted endeavor, to have led her to, among the provinces, while under my administration. For this object, nothing appeared to me to be too much. My whole heart and fortune were devoted to it and I do flatter myself, not without some prospect of success.20
Governor John Wentworth was by birth and training a gentleman, well educated, courteous, polished in manners and speech, amiable and philanthropic. The dignity of his station did not hinder him from severe labors on his farm at Wolfe- borough, nor as surveyor in the woods of Nova Scotia. The wealth he inherited and his salary were lavished in hospitality. He was an esteemed friend of many of the nobility and highest officials of England. He had a patriotic love for Great Britain and a whole-hearted devotion to his king. In serving loyally the king he thought he was also serving best his native province. His station seems to have blinded him to a perception of the real state of affairs between the American colonies and England. It is always hard for the privileged class to realize the condi- tion and feelings of the oppressed and to enter into sympathy with them. He thought that previous conditions had been good enough, and so they were to him. He thought that he knew what the people needed better than they knew what they
20 Wentworth Genealogy, III., 541-2.
GOVERNOR JOHN WENTWORTH From Painting by Copley
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wanted. In this he agreed with the English parliament, though he would have modified and repealed some of their enactments. The province of New Hampshire had no charter, or written constitution. The king's commission to his agent, the governor, was their highest law, except that unwritten law, called the English Constitution, made up of customs, concessions wrung from reluctant kings, and long standing acts of parliament, which made up a body of rights and privileges long claimed by all subjects of Great Britain. Those who sit in the seats of the mighty are not usually reformers and advanced thinkers. The governor lacked political insight and vision of the future. It was inconceivable to him that the colonists would be vic- torious in a struggle with Great Britain. He firmly expected to recover those loved acres in Wolfeborough and to rule once more in state at Portsmouth. The people respected him for his learning and abilities and felt kindly toward him for his amiable and friendly disposition. He left not an enemy in New Hampshire, and, although his property was confiscated, all would have been pleased to have welcomed his return as a citizen of the new State. Had he done what no royal governor did and thrown himself with zeal into the defense of the rights of his countrymen and native land, he would have been one of the most popular among the patriots, a leader in councils, if not of armies. We are obliged to respect and almost pity him, if not to admire and love him. New Hampshire has never had a governor more truly devoted to her educational advancement and material prosperity than John Wentworth. Some day his native city and Province, now a flourishing State, will erect a bronze statue to his memory. The divergent opinions and feelings of revolutionary times are now so far forgotten or forgiven, that England can pay honors to George Washington.
Chapter IV THE STORM BURSTS
HOUSE OF GOVERNOR WEARE (First Governor of New Hampshire) HAMPTON FALLS, N. H.
FORT CONSTITUTION PORTCULLIS, NEW CASTLE
Chapter IV
THE STORM BURSTS.
Beginning of the Revolution-The Rush to Lexington and Cambridge- Third Provincial Congress-Leading Men of the Fourth Provincial Congress-Matthew Thornton-Ebenezer Thompson-Wyseman Clagett -George Frost-William Whipple-Josiah Bartlett-Meshech Weare- Enoch Poor-Nathaniel Folsom-Abiel Foster-Joseph Cilley-Samuel Hobart-The Committee of Safety-Fortification of Portsmouth Har- bor-Congress Sends Proclamation to the People and a Letter to Gov- ernor Wentworth-Battle of Bunker Hill-Stark and Reed at the Rail Fence-Lack of Ammunition-Costly Victory-Burning of Charlestown -To Whom Belongs the Glory of Bunker Hill ?- John Sullivan- Alexander Scammell-The Provincial Congress Assumes Powers of Gov- ernment-Issues of Paper Money-Seizure of the Prince George-Dr. Hall Jackson-Tories-Col. Timothy Bedel-New Hampshire Sends Men to Replace Connecticut Troops at Winter Hill-Five Thousand Men in the Field.
H AD some blood been shed when the powder was taken from fort William and Mary, the date of the beginning of the Revolutionary War would have been fixed in history as December 14, 1774, but Captain John Cochran aimed his guns so as to harm nobody. It was simply an affair of the bloodless looting of military stores, such an event as General Gage planned to repeat, on the other side, at Concord, Massa- chusetts, on the nineteenth of April, 1775. The former was as much an act of war as was the latter, and if the leaders could have been captured, they would have paid for their boldness with their lives. The patriots of New Hampshire foresaw the inevitable issue and were getting ready for battle. Powder was a necessity and must be had at any risk or cost; on the other hand General Gage thought that to deprive the New England militia of powder was one of the surest ways of preventing war. The red-coats who marched out from Boston to Concord expected to meet no opposition; the Yankees were "cowards" and would not fight. They learned better on Lexington com- mon, at Concord bridge and in their hasty retreat to Boston,
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as their ranks were decimated by those "shots heard round the world."
The news of the fight at Lexington flew swiftly in all directions, like the bursting of a shell. The farmers waited for no formal summons. Without uniforms or rations, they seized their rifles and shot-guns, that had no bayonets, and fairly ran to their respective village greens, the training grounds, or they joined their companies on the march, as fire- men rush to a conflagration. The news of Lexington reached New Ipswich sixty miles away before nightfall, and at two o'clock the next morning ninety-seven men, under Captain Thomas Heald, were on the march. Captain, afterwards Colonel, Nathan Hale left Rindge with fifty-four men that were in Cambridge before the night of the 21st. Ninety men of Keene marched eighty-five miles in two days and were at Med- ford on the 22nd. All the towns in New Hampshire responded instantly, even as far north as Boscawen. Bancroft says, that the ferries over the Merrimack were crowded by men from New Hampshire. "By one o'clock of the twentieth upwards of sixty men of Nottingham assembled at the meeting-house with arms and equipments, under Cilley and Dearborn ; before two they were joined by bands from Deerfield and Epsom; and they set out together for Cambridge. At dusk they reached Haverhill ferry, a distance of twenty-seven miles, having run rather than marched; they halted in Andover only for refresh- ments, and, traversing fifty-five miles in less than twenty hours, by sunrise of the twenty-first paraded on Cambridge common." Ninety-two men from Hollis and vicinity, led by Captain Reuben Dow, marched forty-two miles to Cambridge in a day. John Stark left his saw-mill at Dunbarton and rode in haste to the scene of action, alarming and encouraging men as he went. So many followed him that on the morning of the twenty- second he was posted at Chelsea with three hundred men. By the twenty-third New Hampshire had two thousand of her half-armed militia within striking distance of Boston. Twenty thousand men had gathered from all over New England, all animated by one spirit. Many were without provisions and munitions and returned soon to their homes. The New Hamp- shire forces had their rendezvous at Medford, organized in
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two regiments commanded by Colonel John Stark and Colonel James Reed. Bancroft says that Stark's battalion was a model for discipline. Four companies of troops passed through New- buryport before the twenty-first, and were joined by one hun- dred men from that town. Fears were felt that the enemy might attack the coast towns of New Hampshire, and it was questioned whether their militia ought not to remain for a home guard. This fear kept Dr. Hall Jackson's company in Portsmouth, well equipped and drilled.
The third Provincial Congress met at Exeter, April 21, 1775, only two days after the fight at Lexington. It was prob- ably that event that called the delegates together. Sixty-eight were present and on the twenty-fifth they were joined by forty- one more from the more distant towns. The Hon. John Went- worth of Somersworth presided, and Ebenezer Thompson of Durham was chosen clerk, or secretary. Every member pledged his honor and faith to keep secret the transactions of the con- vention. Colonel Nathaniel Folsom of Exeter was chosen to take the chief command of all New Hampshire troops that had gone or might go to assist suffering brethren in Massa- chusetts, and he was given discretionary power to order any needed supplies for the army. Josiah Bartlett and Theophilus Gilman were appointed a committee to go to Concord, Massa- chusetts, and consult with the Congress sitting there and ascer- tain what quota of men New Hampshire should furnish. James Sullivan came as a messenger from the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, reporting that reinforcements were hourly expected for General Gage's army in Boston, whose purpose was to reduce America to the most abject slavery. To prevent this there was need of an opposing army of thirty thousand men, of whom Massachusetts volunteered to raise thirteen thou- sand six hundred. A reply was sent by special messengers. The towns were asked to equip as many men as they could and have them ready to march at a minute's warning, also to raise a store of provisions. The Journal of this convention breaks off abruptly March second.
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