USA > New Hampshire > History of New Hampshire, Volume II > Part 9
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John Stock
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over one thousand. A return of Reed's regiment June four- teenth, only three days before the battle, shows four hundred and eighty-eight effective men. Stark's regiment contained five hundred and eighty-two men, after deducting the sick. Cap- tain Knowlton's Connecticut men numbered two hundred. If the Massachusetts men made up the majority, what were they all doing, defending a front of eight rods within the redoubt, while the minority of Connecticut and New Hampshire men were defending a line about three hundred rods long, as Ban- croft estimates it? He allows only seven or eight hundred men to Colonel Prescott, including the men from Hollis and from Connecticut. There were, then, only about five hundred men from Massachusetts in the battle of Bunker Hill, while New Hampshire furnished twice that number, or to be more exact, the total number of men from New Hampshire in the battle was one thousand one hundred and thirty-seven.11 There must have been more than fifteen hundred Americans engaged, prob- ably nearer two thousand, and the estimate of the British troops should be raised from two thousand, as reported by General Gage, to nearly three thousand, but in any case New Hamp- shire had more men in the fight than Massachusetts and Con- necticut together. They did more fighting and have made less noise about it in history.
There were really two battles in Charlestown. One was at the redoubt on Breed's Hill; the other was along the line of the stone wall and rail fence. There was no general com- manding officer over the Americans. Stark and Reed took their stand where they saw the greatest need and fought independ- ently of Colonel Prescott. Events proved that their military judgment was correct. The Royal Welsh Fusileers, flower of '''e British army and directly commanded by General Howe, ormed as on dress parade and marched gaily up to unexpected death. Stark went out in front of his line and thrust a stake into the ground, ordering his men not to fire till the enemy reached that stake and he gave the word of command. The aim of practiced marksmen was low and sure, while the bul- lets of the British went over the heads of the Americans. At
11 McClintock's Hist. of N. H., p. 351.
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the word "Fire" a flash of light was seen all along the line. The British line staggered and fell. Such deadly marksmanship had never been met before. Nothing could withstand it. To advance further was sure death. Volley after volley sent the British back out of gunshot, to be rallied and reinforced and come back to a similar reception and repulse. Their dead cov- ered the ground "as thick as sheep in a fold," as Stark after- wards reported. At the redoubt they waited till the British, encumbered with their knapsacks, came up the hill till within twelve, eight, six, five, four rods, according to different reports and at different charges, before the order was given by Pres- cott to fire. The enemy never got as near as that to the rail fence and breastwork of hay. At longer range the New Hamp- shire men, some of whom had been with Roger's Rangers, were sure to hit the mark. After two disastrous charges the attack on the breastwork was abandoned and the British troops were massed against the redoubt. Here there was need of reinforce- ments and of more powder. The few pieces of artillery proving to be of no use, the cartridges were torn open and the powder distributed, some men receiving it in powder horns and some in their vest pockets. Both Stark and Prescott afterwards as- serted that they were not supported by Putnam as they should have been. He seems to have been riding here and there, seek- ing reinforcements, intrenching with two hundred men on Bunker Hill, men that ought to have been in the battle, in fact, too busy to do much.
Lack of ammunition made the men at the redoubt give way, as they were attacked the third time, on three sides, pre- ceded by cannonading. Then the New Hampshire men left the rail fence and protected the retreat of their comrades. Swept by artillery as they crossed Charlestown neck, they lost more men here than in the battle. Here fell the gallant Major Andrew McCleary of Epsom, whose powerful form, stentorian voice and dauntless spirit had inspired others to noble deeds. A chance shot from a cannon released his lofty spirit. He was buried at the expense of the Provincial Congress. The Americans all withdrew from Charlestown in fair order, since the British were too much spent to pursue, and encamped on Prospect Hill, where, it is said, General Putnam first assumed command. Tech-
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nically the British won the battle, but it was to them the most costly victory that could be imagined. There were only twenty- seven half-barrels of powder in the whole American army about Boston. Had the troops of Prescott, Stark and Reed been well supplied with powder and bayonets, the British would have been routed and captured. As it was they lost over one thousand men in killed and wounded, while the loss of the Americans was less than half that number. The British artillery did more damage than their infantry, setting fire also to the village of Charlestown, which was wholly destroyed, while thousands of friends and foes looked on the scene of carnage and conflagra- tion from steeples, housetops and hills.
Concerning the burning of Charlestown John Langdon wrote to Matthew Thornton, words that are just as applicable now to events going on in Europe :
The low mean revenge and wanton cruelty of the ministerial sons of tyranny, in burning the pleasant town of Charlestown, beggars all descrip- tion ; this does not look like the fight of those who have so long been Friends, and would hope to be Friends again, but rather of a most cruel Enemy, tho' we shall not wonder when we reflect that it is the infernal hand of Tyranny which always has and ever will Delluge that part of the world which it lays hold of in Blood.12
In all accounts of the battle nothing is said about Colonel James Reed except the fact that he was there with his regi- ment, along side of Stark's regiment at the rail fence. Doubt- less he rendered as good service as Stark, but he was not so spectacular. He made no striking remarks, but quietly did his whole duty. About a year later he was made brigadier-general by Congress, on the recommendation of General Washington. Sickness obliged him to retire from the army to Fitzwilliam, his home. Thence he removed to Keene. He was afflicted with blindness in old age, but was highly esteemed for honesty and integrity. He died at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, February 13, 1807, at the age of eighty-three, and was buried with military honors.
But the glory of Bunker Hill should not be divided among Prescott, Putnam, Stark and Reed. It belongs equally to the private soldiers who fought as volunteers. They were a rudely
12 N. H. Prov. Papers, VII., 558.
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armed peasantry that had learned to shoot and face danger by hunting and Indian fighting. There were scores of men in the ranks that could have taken command as well as their colonels, and they were just as brave and devoted. One was Benjamin Pierce, afterward Major-General and Governor of New Hamp- shire. Another was Dr. Henry Dearborn of Nottingham, after- ward Colonel, member of Congress, Secretary of war, senior Major-general in the war of 1812, and minister plenipotentiary to Portugal. The New Hampshire troops lost one hundred and seven, killed and wounded in the battle. Stark's regiment suf- fered most, having fifteen killed and forty-five wounded.
It was well known that there was intense rivalry between Colonel Nathaniel Folsom and Colonel John Stark. Each wanted to be appointed brigadier general. Folsom wrote to the Provincial Congress at Exeter that Stark was insubordi- nate. A few days later he took back what he had written, since an agreement had been effected. The Continental Con- gress, on the twenty-second of June, elected eight brigadiers, and setting aside the claims of both Folsom and Stark they named Major John Sullivan as one of them.
General John Sullivan was probably born in Somersworth, February 17, 1740.13 He was son of John Sullivan, an Irish schoolmaster, who married Margery Browne. He was educated mainly by his father and studied law with Judge Samuel Liver- more of Portsmouth, settling in Durham as its first lawyer soon after 1760. He purchased in 1764 of the heirs of Dr. Samuel Adams the house now known as the Sullivan House and owned by a descendant of his brother, Governor James Sullivan of Massachusetts. He is mentioned in the town records of Durham as overseer of the poor, in 1771. He soon became well known as a lawyer of learning, eloquence and forensic ability. Prosperity enabled him to erect six mills in Durham for varied manufactures, which finally involved him in debt. He was commissioned major in 1772. We have seen the part that he took in the capture of military stores at fort William and Mary in December, 1774, for which act he was threatened with death. New Hampshire sent him as delegate to the Conti- nental Congresses of 1774 and 1775, where he took an active
13 See Appendix A.
ALEXANDER SCAMMELL
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part and urged the declaration of independence. After his appointment as brigadier general in 1775 he served during the siege of Boston and in the expedition to Canada, conducting the retreat. He was promoted to be major-general July 29, 1776. In the engagements about New York he was captured and soon exchanged, and he took part in the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown. He spent the winter at Valley Forge and commanded the expedition to Rhode Island. The Indian murderers of Wyoming were scourged out of the Susquehanna valley under his leadership, for which service monuments have been erected in his honor. Because of im- paired health and the pressing needs of his family he resigned his office in November, 1779, and was again elected to Congress in 1780 and 1781. He held the office of attorney general from 1782 till 1786. A son and a grandson have held the same office. General Sullivan had a prominent part in the formation of the Constitution of New Hampshire and was thrice elected presi- dent, or governor of the State, 1786-7, 1789. He also served as speaker of the House. President Washington made him first Judge of the United States District Court of New Hampshire, in which office he died. He was the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of New Hampshire, and the first president of the New Hampshire branch of the Society of the Cincinnati. His patriotism and ability in war and in peace have been recognized by the state in the erection of a granite monu- ment directly in front of his residence in Durham, on the spot where, as tradition says, he stored some of the powder taken from fort William and Mary, under the pulpit of the church then standing there. He died at Durham, January 23, 1795, having greatly honored the state in peace and in war.14
It was, doubtless, at the suggestion of Sullivan that Alex- ander Scammell was commissioned as brigade major. He was a clerk, or student, in Sullivan's law office at Durham. He was born in Milford, Mass., in 1744, son of Dr. Samuel Scammell, who came from Plymouth, England, in 1738. He graduated at Harvard College in 1769 and was employed as a school teacher
14 Hist. of Durham, N. H., 135-8; Amory's Life of Sullivan; Master John Sullivan of Somersworth and Berwick and His Family, by John Scales, A.M., in Proceedings of N. H. Hist. Society, IV., 180-201.
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in Kingston and Plymouth, Massachusetts, and in Berwick, Maine. For a year he served as a surveyor in exploring terri- tory in Maine and New Hampshire and was one of the proprie- tors of Shapleigh, Maine. He entered the office of Sullivan sometime in 1773 and was one of the committee in Durham to apply the Association Test, November 28, 1774, although there is no record that the test was ever applied in that town. Tradition has it that he pulled down the flag at the capture of fort William and Mary, but this needs further evidence. It is said, too, that he was at the battle of Bunker Hill, but this also may be questioned. He was promoted to be deputy ad- jutant general in 1776. He crossed the Delaware in the same boat with Washington as his special aid, and took part in the battles of Trenton, Princeton and Saratoga. In the campaign against General Burgoyne he was colonel of the First and then of the Third New Hampshire regiments. Though wounded he kept the field and witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne. In 1778 he was commissioned adjutant-general of the army. At the battle of Monmouth he was aid to Washington, rallied the troops and led the charge. Washington said of him, "The man who inspired us all to do our full duty was Alexander Scammell." He commanded the Light Infantry in the march into Virginia, was captured and wounded at the battle of York- town and died of his wound six days after, October 6, 1781, aged 31. He was buried at Williamsburg, Virginia. All his- torians speak of him in highest terms of praise, as a favorite with Washington, admired by Lafayette, wise in counsels and brave in battle. His portrait hangs in New Hampshire's Hall of Fame, telling more than words can of his noble character and dauntless spirit.
The Congress at Exeter sent a committee to order Theo- dore Atkinson to deliver the records of the province to them, which he allowed them to take, as he could make no resistance, and they were delivered to Ebenezer Thompson, as the new Secretary of State. Thus ended the official career of Theodore Atkinson, a man who had been very efficient in office and faith- ful in the discharge of his duties. His son, Theodore Atkinson, Jr., held the office for a few years, and on his early decease his father resumed the office, and his widow was taken by Gov.
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John Wentworth only two weeks after the death of her first husband. She was a cousin to both and a very estimable lady.
At the same time George Jaffrey, as treasurer of the prov- ince, was asked to exhibit his accounts and deliver all money in his possession to the newly elected treasurer, Nicholas Gil- man of Exeter, which he did, amounting to over fifteen hun- dred pounds. Thus the records were sent to Exeter, where they remained for over a century, and for a time Exeter became the capital of the State, all General Assemblies being held there. It was feared that the old custodians of records could not be safely trusted in revolutionary times and that British men-of-war might attack Portsmouth and possibly burn it, as they did Charlestown and Falmouth, now Portland.
The Provincial Congress made three quickly succeeding issues of paper money, amounting to forty thousand pounds, to pay the soldiers and other military expenses, hoping for reimbursement from the Continental Congress in due time. The emissions were in small notes, which passed for silver and gold for a little time, but soon began to decline in value, as more such issues were made and the war dragged on. These bills of credit were also counterfeited, which made matters still worse. The sinews of war were about as scarce as powder and General Sullivan wrote that in the whole army about Boston there were in August only thirty-eight barrels. This was kept a secret, so far as possible, and barrels of sand were stored in the powder house, to deceive any who might be spies. The lack of powder and proper munitions of war was the source of greatest anxiety to Washington, and when the British evacuated Boston, leaving behind more powder than the American army possessed, a burden was lifted from many a heart. Toward the last of August General Sullivan wrote to the Congress at Exeter concerning the activity of his forces at Winter Hill. He had taken possession of Plowed Hill, near the enemy's encampment at Charlestown, and there was heavily cannonaded throughout a day. Floating batteries and an armed vessel attempted to enfilade his ranks, but he had prepared a battery to offset such an attack, and the sloop's foresail having been shot away she sheered off. One floating battery was sunk and another injured. Then the enemy sent a man-of-war
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around to Mystic river, threw some bombs and discharged cannon that killed three or four men. Sullivan said he was unable to send any powder to the committee of safety, as the army had only half a pound to a man.15
General Sullivan wanted blank commissions sent to him, that he might appoint his own subordinate officers, but the committee of safety replied that they had no power to delegate to any person the power that had been entrusted to them by vote of the Provincial Congress. They asked him to send his nominations to them, and unless there were serious ob- jections, doubtless such nominations would be confirmed, and he cheerfully acquiesced in their decision.
In October, 1775, the ship, Prince George, from Bristol, England, was captured as she was entering Portsmouth harbor. She was laden with eighteen hundred and eighty barrels of flour, designed for the army of General Gage in Boston. After correspondence with General Washington about five hundred barrels of it were reserved for the soldiers and citizens of Portsmouth, and the rest was sent to feed the continental army. At this time there were only seventeen barrels of powder in the vicinity of Portsmouth, with which to defend three batteries and supply the militia. They were informed that Captain Mowat, a Scotchman, was about to sail to bombard Portsmouth and burn the town, he having three armed trans- ports. Everybody was alarmed and troops were rushed to the fortifications. It was this man who was responsible for the burning of Falmouth, now Portland. A great number of fire- rafts were made ready for the destruction of any hostile vessels, and these were so neglected after the alarm subsided that they became of no use and involved great waste of property. The rafts were constructed at Newington, Berwick and other towns and floated down the river to convenient stations. A roughly made pontoon bridge was constructed, to connect Great Island with the mainland.
In all these preparations for defence no one was more active than Dr. Hall Jackson, who had charge of the battery on the Parade. He was a very skillful surgeon and after the battle of Bunker Hill spent much time in caring for the wounded,
15 N. H. Prov. Papers, VII., 581.
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trusting to the Continental Congress to suitably reward him. On his return to Portsmouth he says that his whole time was taken up in laying fortifications at Kittery and New Castle, in preparing ammunition for field pieces, in raising and exer- cising the artillery company and in hearing and administering to the innumerable complaints of the soldiers in regard to their health.16
All these preparations for defense of Portsmouth were com- pleted under the direction of General John Sullivan, who had been dispatched by General Washington for that purpose. He was greatly annoyed by the Tories of the town and thus wrote to General Washington concerning them, "That infernal crew of Tories, who have laughed at the Congress, despised the friends to liberty, endeavored to prevent fortifying this harbor, and strove to hurt the credit of the Continental money, and are yet endeavoring it, walk the streets here with impunity; and will, with a sneer, tell the people in the streets that all our liberty-poles will soon be converted into gallows. I must en- treat your Excellency to give some directions what to do with those persons, as I am fully convinced that if an engagement was to happen, they would with their own hands set fire to the Town, expecting a Reward from the Ministry for such hel- lish service. Some who have for a long time employed them- selves in ridiculing and discouraging those who were endeavor- ing to save the Town, have now turned upon me and are flying from one street to another, proclaiming that you gave me no authority or license to take ships to secure the entrance of the harbour or did anything more than send me here to see the Town reduced to ashes, if our enemies thought proper. Sir, I shall wait your directions respecting these villains, and see that they are strictly complied with by your Excellency's most obedi- ent servant."17
In reply to this letter General Washington advised General Sullivan to seize every officer of government at Portsmouth who had given proofs of unfriendly disposition towards the cause of the patriots and to take opinion of the Provincial Con- gress or committee of safety in what manner to dispose of them.
16 N. H. Prov. Papers, VII., 653-4.
17 N. H. Prov. Papers, VII., 636.
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He suggested that some might be sent into interior towns, upon parole not to leave them till released. The Tories were allowed time to reform in their conduct and were carefully watched. In consequence of this advice the Provincial Congress ordered that Isaac Rindge, William Hart and George Jaffrey of Portsmouth withdraw fifteen miles into the interior, that Peter Gilman confine himself to Exeter, that William Torry and Captain Nathaniel Rogers confine themselves to Newmarket. These were liberated from such confinement after about six weeks. A special committee was appointed by the Provincial Congress to try Captain Benjamin Sumner, Samuel Cole, Esq., the Rev. Ranna Cossit and Eleazer Sanger, persons reported to be enemies to the liberties of the country, and the fine or imprisonment was left to the discretion of the committee, rather a dangerous and revolutionary power, yet we have no record that it was abused.
In the fall of 1775 an expedition against Canada was led by General Montgomery, in which Colonel Timothy Bedel with his regiment of rangers from the Coos country had a conspicu- ous part, especially in the capture of Chambly and St. Johns. This popular commander for thirty years had great influence in northern New Hampshire. He served as lieutenant and cap- tain in the French and Indian wars and on the sixth of June, 1775, he was made colonel of a regiment of rangers, designed for service on the northern and western frontiers to protect against invasions of Indians and Canadians. In September, 1775, he assembled all his men at Haverhill, where they received pro- vision for ten days, and thence marched to the mouth of Onion, now Winooski river, to join the army under Major-General Schuyler. Their line of march was through the wooded wilderness, guided by spotted trees. After the capture of Chambly he with about twelve hundred men besieged St. Johns, which surrendered after fifty days, without the loss of a single man in Colonel Bedel's command. This opened the way for the capture of Montreal by General Montgomery. Subsequently he had charge of a post called the Cedars, and while he was absent in an endeavor to secure the friendship of a tribe of Indians, after which he was prostrated with small pox, the Cedars was attacked by the British and their Indian allies. Major Butterfield surrendered,
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and many outrages were committed on the prisoners. Colonel Bedel was accused by the notorious Benedict Arnold of quitting his post in the presence of the enemy. He was found technically guilty and dismissed from the army, yet soon after volunteered in a military company and in November, 1777, was again ap- pointed colonel by the Continental Congress for the defense of the northern frontier. He did good service for the State through- out the war and as an official and counselor in the formation of the State Constitution.18
After the return of General Sullivan to Winter Hill the army besieging Boston was threatened by the loss of the troops from Connecticut, whose term of enlistment ended on the sixth of December. They demanded a special bounty to induce them to remain till the first of January. General Sullivan wrote to the committee of safety, asking that New Hampshire would send volunteers to take the places of the "cowardly poltroons," as Sullivan calls them, who began to leave their places by companies even six or seven days before their period of enlist- ment expired. "What has possessed these vile poltroons remains yet a secret," wrote Sullivan. "It is to their eternal infamy." He asked for thirty-one companies of sixty-four men each, mak- ing a total of one thousand nine hundred and eighty-four officers and men, whose term of service should be from the tenth of December to the fifteenth of January. "I earnestly entreat you for the honor of New Hampshire to show the world your attach- ment to the noble cause. Let the worthless sons of Connecticut know that the other Colonies will not suffer our lines to be given up or our country destroyed, nor the sons of New Hamp- shire (like those parsimonious wretches) want to be bribed into the preservation of their liberties. I hope the eager greed with which the New Hampshire forces will march to take pos- session of and defend our lines will evince to the world their love of liberty and regard to their country; as you find the business requires such infinite haste, I must entreat you not to give sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids till the troops are on their march." New Hampshire responded to this urgent call with the same alacrity and zeal that sent them for-
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