History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 30

Author: Scales, John, 1835-1928
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold
Number of Pages: 988

USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens > Part 30

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

308

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY

intentions, about four hundred men were gathered together." The result of the committee's conference and plans was that at 12 o'clock noon on Wednesday, December 14, they had secretly and quietly come upon the square, and with a drum and fife corps commenced parading the streets to call the citizens together. Of course Governor Wentworth heard the music and soon learned what were the intentions of the committee, and by his order the Chief Justice of the province made proclamation that what they proposed, to go and take the powder, would be open rebellin against the King. The Sons of Liberty were not terrified in the least. They kept the drum and fife going and the whole town came out to see what was the mat- ter. About 2 o'clock 200 men got on board all kinds of boats and started down the river for the fort at Newcastle. On the way others joined them, so that about four hundred men arrived at the fort about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and beset it on all sides. Captain Cochran says he had been informed about I o'clock that they were coming "to take possession of the fort, upon which, having only five effective men with me, I prepared to make the best defense I could, and pointed some guns to those places where I expected they would enter." When the men had landed from their boats Captain Cochran told them, on their peril, not to enter. They replied they would. The captain then says: "I immediately ordered three four-pounders to be fired on them, and then the small arms; and before we could be ready to fire again we were stormed on all quarters, and they immediately secured both me and my men and kept us prisoners about one hour and a half, during which time they broke open the powder-house, and took all the powder away, except one barrel; and having put it into boats and sent it off, they released me from confinement. To which I can only add, that I did all in my power to defend the fort, but all my efforts could not avail against so great a number."

That is the way the powder was taken from the fort, according to Capt. John Cochran, who was in command of it. Quite different from Mr. Brew- ster's pretty story in his "Rambles." It does not appear that any one was killed or wounded by the discharge of the cannon and small arms; if there had been three or four killed the great historians would have made as much of a story of it as they have of the Lexington and Concord fight. The pow- der was taken up to Portsmouth and kept a day or two, in the gondolas in which it had been loaded, in all ninety-seven barrels. Probably as the tide favored the boats were taken farther up the river. Just who led in this capture of the powder is not stated in any of the letters and documents relat- ing to it, but Capt. John Langon has always been mentioned as one of the number. The four hundred Sons of Liberty were all of one mind and did not

309

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

need any commander. Langdon and Pickering and Cutts were all in it with the rest. Governor Wentworth says "after they entered the fort they seized the captain, gave three huzzas, and hauled down the King's colors;" let this suffice for December 14.

On the following day, Thursday, December 15, 1774, Maj. John Sulli- van (later general), of Durham, appeared on the scene and took a hand in the affair of completing the work of dismantling the fort; he had no connec- tion with the first day's work. Of course those drumbeats on Market Square could not be heard at Durham, but expresses were sent out in all directions to alarm the county people, and one of these came to Durham. General Sulli- van in one of his letters says: "A messenger came to my house (on the night of December 14) from the Hon. Colonel Long (of Portsmouth) and I think also signed by President Langdon, informing me that one hundred barrels of powder were sent to my care; that they had been to the fort and secured as inuch of the powder as they could; and desired me to come down with a party to secure the remainder, with the cannon and munitions of war, as they were in danger of being seized by the British ships."

The result was that by the next forenoon Major Sullivan had mustered a large company of Durham men and they arrived in Portsmouth about noon of Thursday, December 15. He says that among the number were Rev. Mr. Adams, Deacon Norton, Lieutenant Durgin, Capt. Jonathan Woodman, Mr. Aaron Davis, a Mr. Footman of Dover, and Alexander Scammell, his law student, later colonel of the First New Hampshire regiment at the capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown, where he was killed. When they arrived at Portsmouth they were drawn up on parade, on Market Square. They chose a committee consisting of those persons who had been the most active in the affair of the preceding day, with Major Sullivan and some others, to wait on the Governor and ascertain whether he expected any of the King's troops or ships to come to the fort. They called on him and the Governor, after expressing great concern for the taking of the powder from the fort, which they pretended to disapprove and to be ignorant that it had been taken, assured them that he knew of neither troops or ships coming into the Prov- ince, and ordered Major Sullivan, as a magistrate, to go and disperse the people. The committee returned and reported to the assembled patriots what the Governor had told them. They voted it was satisfactory, but they also voted approval of the taking the powder from the fort. Matters then ap- peared to subside and the authorities thought the people had left quietly for their homes. They did leave the parade quietly, but Major Sullivan, with about seventy of his men, concealed themselves until the evening and then went to the fort, arriving before midnight, and took out the remainder of the

310

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY

powder, with fifteen four-pounders and one nine-pounder, and a quantity of twelve and four and twenty pound shot, with a lot of small arms, and having loaded it in gondolas, with favoring tide went up the river as far as they could, towards Durham. It does not appear in any reports that they met with any resistance at the fort, but the men said it was very cold work wading in the water to load the material in the boats on that December night.

They got all of this and the powder up as far as Oyster river all right ; then they had to cut ice with saws, and General Sullivan says it took two days to get it all up to his house at Oyster river falls. The ice was not strong enough to haul the powder and heavy guns on sleds by unloading it from the gondolas. This ends the first part of the story of Durham men in the Revolution.

CHAPTER XXXI

HISTORY OF DURHAM (IV)

DURHAM IN THE REVOLUTION-ON THE BATTLEFIELDS AND IN THE COUNCILS OF STATE

Durham men did valuable service on the battlefields and in the councils of state during the eight years of the Revolutionary war. Their careers and services are finely set forth in the valuable history of Durham by the Rev. E. S. Stackpole and Col. Leucien Thompson, recently published, so only a brief of what was done can be given here; those who want to know more in this regard are respectfully referred to the first volume of Stackpole and Thompson's history.

The Durham men who held high positions in the army were Gen. John Sullivan, Col. Alexander Scammell and Col. Winborn Adams. The two last named lost their lives in the service; Colonel Adams in 1777 at the battle of Stillwater, New York, and Colonel Scammell in 1781, Sept. 30tl1, at the siege of Yorktown, Va. At the Fort William and Mary overt act of war against the Crown, Sullivan was a young man of 34 years; Scammell was 28. He had graduated from Harvard College when he was 23 years old; then taught school a year; then came to Portsmouth, N. H., and was in the employ of Governor Wentworth, making surveys of his Wolfeborough land estate where he established his summer residence and planned great things for that section of New Hampshire around Lake Winnepesaukee which he would have carried out if the war had not changed the course of events in his life. The Governor had Scammell make data for a map of his prov- ince and mark the broad arrow on the best pine trees he found in the forests, for future use in the King's Navy. In 1772 he concluded he had had enough of forest survey work with Governor Wentworth and came up to Durham and commenced studying law with Maj. John Sullivan, that being the military title then of the future general, as he was an officer in a militia regi- ment; 'and being a law student he went down to Portsmouth with the Major and helped bring the powder and guns up to Durham. He had nearly completed his law studies and so, when Sullivan was elected delegate to the

311

312

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY

Continental Congress in 1775, Scammell took charge of the law business at Durham and carried it on until there was more call for war than for law. When his preceptor was appointed Major-General in the Continental Army July 29, 1776, he had Scammell appointed Brigade-Major, and the law office at Durham was closed, and remained closed three years, when the General resigned in 1779. at the close of his brilliant Indian campaign in Central New York, and came home and opened it to earn some clothing for himself and family, and provide them with the needed bread and butter. At one period in his military campaigns he said he had not money enough to buy a much needed new suit of clothes for military use. Scammel served with General Sullivan in the battle of Long Island and of Trenton and Princeton. In 1777 he took command of the Third New Hampshire Regiment of the Amer- ican Army, having been appointed on the 10th of December, 1776. His regi- ment was ordered to re-enforce the Northern Army under Gen Horatio Gates. In that campaign he was notably active and efficient and was wounded at Saratoga. In 1778 he was appointed adjutant-general of the army and became a member of General Washington's military family. He held that office until March, 1781. when he was given command of the First Regiment, New Hampshire Regulars, General Joseph Cilley having retired, after holding command of it from the beginning of the war. He went South with his regiment, under command of General Washington, and took an active part in the siege of Yorktown, on the 30th of September, 1781, he was reconnoitering the enemy's position and was captured by Hessian dragoons, and wounded after he surrendered. On request of General Washington, who was deeply grieved at the news, Cornwallis permitted him to be taken to Williamsburg for treatment, where he soon after died. Colonel Scammell was an accom- plished scholar; an eloquent speaker; a brave officer, sans peur et sans re- proche. Durham farmers very thoughtfully and properly have named their grange, "Scammell Grange."

John Sullivan, son of the famous school master John Sullivan of Som- ersworth, N. H., whose wife, Margery Brown, was equally noted, was born at what is now known as Rollinsford Junction, Feb. 17, 1740; it was then the Parish of Summersworth in Dover. The cyclopedias of American biog- raphy say he was born in Berwick, Me., which statement is incorrect. Mas- ter Sullivan gave his son an education equal to most of the graduates of Harvard College at that time. Later he studied law and opened his law offices in Durham. In 1772 he was appointed Major of the militia, receiv- ing his commission from Gov. John Wentworth, against whom he rebelled, and committed treason against King George in December, 1774. He did not send in his resignation to Governor Wentworth, but converted his regiment in

313

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

1775, into a regiment of patriots ready to fight for American rights. Fol- lowing is a brief of what he did for the glory of Durham and the success of the American cause.

Durham held a town meeting, at the call of Col. John Wentworth of Somersworth and elected Major Sullivan delegate to the provincial conven- tion held at Exeter early in 1775; the convention elected delegate to the Con- tinental Congress in Philadelphia ; that Congress, in June, 1775 appointed him one of the eight Brigadier-Generals for the American army; General Sulli- van came to Cambridge with General Washington and was placed in com- mand of New Hampshire regiments at Winter Hill which command he held during the siege of Boston, except that he came to Portsmouth in the fall, October, and put the troops, there gathered, in proper array to keep the Brit- ish warships from coming up the river to Portsmouth, and then left the river ports in command of Colonel Wingate. When 2,000 Connecticut troops left him at Winter Hill in December, 1775 he came to New Hampshire and raised 2,000 recruits to take their place; Durham sent a good number of his neigh- bors. General Washington complimented Sullivan's command at Winter Hill, during the siege, as being the best drilled, and kept in the best sanitary condition of any in the army around Boston.

It was while he was in command of the forces at Winter Hill, watching the Britsh troops on Charlestown Neck that he wrote John Adams a strong letter in favor of having Congress declare independence at once. This letter was written Dec. 21, 1775, six months before Congress actually issued its Declaration. The British troops had just been throwing shot and shell across from Charlestown into his camp; he says: "Let me ask if we have anything to hope from his Majesty or his Ministers. Have we any encouragement from the people of Great Britain? Could they exert themselves more if we had shaken off the yoke and declared ourselves independent? Why then, in God's name, is it not done? Whence arises this spirit of moderation? this want of decision? Do the members of your respectable body think that they will throw their shot and shells with more force than at present? Do they think the fate of Charlestown or Falmouth might have been worse, or the King's Proclamation more severe, if we had openly declared war? Could they have treated our prisoners worse had we been in open and avowed rebel- lion, than they do now?"

When the enemy had been driven from Boston, March 17, 1776, General Sullivan with Washington's approval was assigned to our army in Canada. He went there via Lake Champlain and the Sorrel River. When he reached our army there, which was on its retreat from Quebec up the St. Lawrence River, he found it in a pitiable condition with the enemy in close pursuit.

314

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY

General Montgomery had been killed at Quebec, and Maj .- Gen. John Thomas had been placed in command by Congress. On the retreat General Thomas died, just previous to Sullivan's arrival, who then took command. This first move was to reenforce General St. Clair at Three Rivers, but that proved useless, as the British force in pursuit numbered ten thousand while Sullivan, with the combined American forces had but seven thousand, and half of them were sick with smallpox. The Americans were in imminent danger of being cut off from a chance to retreat. From this position, and under these conditions, with the enemy only two hours' march behind him, Sullivan extri- cated his little army with admirable skill. Not a sick man was left behind, and he saved all of his military impedimenta, and brought the whole force, the sick and the well, down Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga, where he relinquished the command to another. At his parting he received the hearty thanks of the men and officers for the way he had conducted the awful retreat. Among those who signed the address were John Stark, Enoch Poor, James Reid, Anthony Wayne and Arthur St. Clair.

He was next assigned to duty on Long Island, not far from New York, under General Greene and assisted in the erection of defenses. General Greene being taken sick, General Putnam was assigned to command, with Sullivan and Lord Stirling as subordinates. The battle of Long Island occurred Aug. 27. The enemy numbered four times the American forces, and the Americans could not prevent defeat.

Sullivan next was engaged in the campaign in New Jersey and by the skilful movement of his forces he enabled Washington to make that brilliant movement upon Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776. At the crossing of the Delaware Sullivan was in command of the right wing, and Greene, with Washington present, in command of the left. The march was in a storm of snow and sleet. Sullivan sent word to Washington that the ammunition was thoroughly wet and asked what should be done. "Use the bayonet" was Washington's reply. That suited Sullivan and he dashed into Trenton, with John Stark in advance, overpowering all opposition and disposing his troops in such a manner as to prevent any escape on the right; Greene's cooperation took care of the left, and the Hessians were captured. Eight days after this Sulli- van with his troops captured Princeton, and nearly two hundred prisoners. He was stationed a while at Princeton, and kept close watch of the British movements. At the Brandywine, September 11, Sullivan commanded the right wing of Washington's army. Sullivan's activity and skill were every- where visible, but he could not do the impossible. At the battle of German- town Oct. 4, 1777, General Sullivan led two divisions, and succeeded in the

315

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

part assigned him, driving the enemy from their position; it was not his fault that Washington was compelled to order a retreat.

General Sullivan passed the winter in the sufferings of Valley Forge, but on the 17th of April, 1778, he was assigned to command of the army in Rhode Island, most of which was then held by the British, who occupied a strongly fortified position at Newport. That Rhode Island campaign was not the success it was expected, because the French fleet did not perform its part of the programme. But Sullivan ended the campaign with what Lafayette declared to be one of the most hotly contested and best commanded battles during the war. Congress passed a resolution declaring "that the retreat made by General Sullivan, with the troops under his command, from Rhode Island, was prudent, timely and well conducted, and that Congress highly approves the same, and that the thanks of Congress be given to Major-General Sulli- van and to the officers and troops under his command for their fortitude and bravery displayed in the action of August 29, in which they repulsed the British forces and maintained the field."

General Sullivan's last military campaign was the work of chastising the Indians in the Susquehanna Valley, and of dealing a blow at their power which would guard the frontier settlements from such atrocities as had befallen Wyoming in the preceding year. British, Tories and Indians were in combination. The British Government was employing savages in this infamous warfare. Congress directed Washington to provide for the work of chastisement. His orders were severe; the country was to be laid waste. General Sullivan was given four brigades with artillery and riflemen. After cutting their way through the forests General Sullivan's forces came in con- tact with the enemy August 29, 1779. From that to the end of the campaign Sullivan carried out Washington's orders perfectly. Not a fruit-tree or a cornstock was left standing. Immense quantities of supplies were destroyed. Not a roof-tree was left from the Genesee Valley to the Susquehanna. Some writers have condemned his severity; but they forget the murders of Wyom- ing Valley. In speaking of Sullivan's campaign Gen. Wm. T. Sherman said: "Washington gave General Sullivan orders to go there and punish the Six Nations for their cruel massacre in the Valley of the Wyoming, and to make it so severe that it would not occur again. And he did so. General Sullivan obeved his orders like a man and a soldier, and the result was, from that time forward, your people settled up these beautiful valleys."

Durham men were with General Sullivan nearly all the time he was in the army, captains, lieutenants and private soldiers. Congress, Oct. 14, 1779, adopted strong resolutions of thanks to General Washington for order- ing, and to General Sullivan and his brave officers and soldiers for effectually

316

HISTORY OF STRAFFORD COUNTY

executing, the expedition. This was General Sullivan's last military service. On the 9th of November, 1779, he tendered his resignation to Congress. He gave as a reason the impairment of his health, and the advice of his physicians. He then lacked three months of being forty years old.

Col. Wl'inborn Adams began his military service in June, 1775, when he was appointed captain to raise a company for Col. Enoch Poor's regiment, to consist of sixty able-bodied, effective men. There were eight companies in the regiment: Benjamin Tilcomb of Dover and Jonathan Wentworth of Somersworth were two of the eight captains. On the 17th of June Captain Adams was ordered by the New Hampshire Committee of Safety "to march by the middle of next week to join the army at or near Cambridge in the Massachusetts Bay, there to receive further orders." The next day Colonel Poor's whole regiment was ordered to march to Cambridge. Captain Adams remained in the service as captain during the siege of Boston, being at Winter Hill under General Sullivan. Colonel Poor's regiment was known as the Second New Hampshire. In April, 1777 it was reorganized and the follow- ing were its officers: Col. Nathan Hale of Rendge; Lieut .- Col. Winborn Adams, Durham; Maj. Benjamin Titcomb, Dover; Adjutant, William Elliot, Exeter. In July following Colonel Hale was taken prisoner in the battle of Long Island and died while a prisoner. Previous to the reorganization Captain Adams had been promoted to Major in Col. George Reid's regiment. The reorganized regiment went to Northern New York and were in the retreat of the army from Lake Champlain in the summer of 1777 and in September and October were in the battles that preceded the surrender of Burgoyne October 18, at Saratoga. As Colonel Hale was a prisoner, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Adams was in command of the regiment in the battle at Bemis' Heights, and during the engagement he was killed, 19th of September.

Captain Adams' company which he enlisted and first commanded in the Second New Hampshire Regiment was made up largely of men of Durham and the towns around. Previous to entering the army he kept a public house at Durham, opposite where the Sullivan Monument now stands. His wife was Sarah Bartlett. sister of Col. Thomas Bartlett of Nottingham, a very accomplished and excellent woman. After he entered the army Mrs. Adams continued to keep the tavern open for a few years, and it maintained a repu- tation for first class service. This was on the route of travel of the soldiers from Dover, Somersworth, Berwick and other towns in Maine, when they were on the march for Boston and beyond. And they always made a halt when they climbed the hill from Oyster River Falls to Madam Adams' Inn. They always regarded it as honoring Colonel Adams who had given up his life in the cause of American independence, as well as honoring and aiding

317

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

Mrs. Adams. In 1780, the General Assembly of New Hampshire, in accord- ance with the resolves of Congress, granted her a pension of one-half of her husband's pay.

Col. Hercules Mooney, who has already been mentioned as a schoolmaster in the Parish of Summersworth in Dover, was a resident of Durham and schoolmaster there for a number of years after 1750, and has a good war record in the Revolution. He had two sons, Benjamin and John, who were soldiers at times during the war, the former being lieutenant of a company. The record of Colonel Mooney and his sons is good from beginning to end.

Col. Thomas Tash was a prominent resident of Durham for a number of years and had a good war record in the French and Indian wars first preced- ing the Revolution. At a special meeting of the Council and Assembly of New Hampshire held Sept. 14, 1776, to consider the matter of raising more men to reenforce the army in New York, at which it was "voted that there be raised in this State one thousand men, officers included, to reenforce the army of the United States of America at New York, to be divided into two regiments, eight companies to a regiment, to be in the service until the first of December next unless sooner discharged."

In accordance with that, Sept. 17, Thomas Tash of Durham, an old French war officer was appointed to the command of the first regiment, the field and staff officers of which were as follows :- Colonel, Thomas Tash, Durham; lieutenant colonel, Joseph Welch, Plaistow : major, William Gregg, Londonderry; surgeon, John Cook; adjutant, Joseph Smith, Durham; quarter master, Jonathan Chesley, Barnstead. There were quite a number of Dur- ham men private soldiers in this regiment. In this connection it seems per- tinent to state that in the last half of the year 1776, New Hampshire had three regiments in the regular or Continental army under General Washington, viz., Stark's, Poor's and Reid's; a regiment in the Canada service under Col. Timothy Bedell; Col. Pierse Long's regiment, which was stationed for the defense of Pasquataque harbor until it marched to reenforce the garrison at Ticonderoga in February, 1777; and in addition furnished four regiments of militia as reenforcements, viz., Wyman and Wingate's in July and August, Tash's and Baldwin's in September and Gilman's in December.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Strafford County, New Hampshire and representative citizens, Part 30

Author: Scales, John, 1835-1928 Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Number of Pages: 988

Author: Scales, John, 1835-1928
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold
Number of Pages: 988