History of the city of Nashua, N.H., Part 48

Author: Parker, Edward Everett, 1842- ed; Reinheimer, H., & Co
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Nashua, N.H., Telegraph Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 652

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" Under the conduct of Lieutenant Wyman, they kept up their fire, and showed a resolute countenance all the remainder of the day, during which their chaplain, Jonathan Frye, Ensign Robbins, and one more were mortally wounded. The Indians invited them to surrender by holding up ropes to them, and endeavored to intimidate them by their hideous yells, but they determined to die rather than to yield. By their well directed fire the number of the savages was thinned, and their cries became fainter, till just before night they quitted their advantageous ground, carrying off their killed and wounded, and leaving the dead bodies of Lovewell and his men unscalped. The shattered remnant of this brave company collected themselves together, and found three of their number unable to move from the spot; eleven wounded, but able to march; and nine only who had received no hurt. All the rest, eleven in number, were slain.

"It was melancholy to leave their dying companions behind, but there was no possibility of removing them. One of them, Ensign Robbins, t desired them to lay his gun by him charged, that if the Indians should return before his death, he might be able to kill one more. After the rising of the moon they quitted the fatal spot, and directed their march towards the fort, where the surgeon and guard had been left. To their great surprise they found it deserted. In the beginning of the action one man (whose name has not been thought worthy to be transmitted, ) quitted the field, and fled to the fort. Here, in the style of Job's messengers, he informed them of Lovewell's death, and the defeat of the whole company, upon which they made the best of their way home, leaving a quantity of bread and pork, which was a seasonable relief to the retreating survivors.

"The fate of the survivors was scarcely less pitiable than that of the dead. 'Lieutenant Farwell, (of Dunstable) and the chaplain, who had the journal of the march in his pocket, perished in the

* I N. H. Hist. Coll., 114.

+ Robbins lived on Long hill, in the south part of Nashua.

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woods for want of dressing their wounds. Mr. Frye languished three days and died.' 'He was a very worthy and promising young man,' says Penhallow, 'and graduated at Harvard college in 1733.' 'Mr. Farwell held out until the eleventh day, during which time he had nothing to eat but water and a few roots which he chewed.' Josiah Jones 'after long fatigue and hardships got safe into Saco.' Solomon Keyes 'being wounded in three places, lost so much blood as disabled him to stand any longer ; but by a strange Providence, as he was creeping away, he saw a canoe in the pond which he rolled himself into, and by a favorable wind, without any assistance of his own, was driven so many miles on, that he got safe into the fort. Eleazer Davis was the last that got in, who, after wandering about many days, and being nearly famished, came at last to Berwick, and thence to Portsmouth. The others, after enduring the most severe hardships, and meeting many providential escapes, came in one after another. They were received not only with joy, but were recompensed for their valor and sufferings, and a generous provision was made for the widows and children of the slain.

"Mr. Wyman, who distinguished himself in such a signal manner, was, at his return, presented with a captain's commission. Edward Lingfield was also made an ensign, and the general assembly gave the sum of fifteen hundred pounds to the widows and orphans."*

"'In I Samuel, xxxi. chap., 11, 12, 13 verses,' says Penhallow, 'it is recorded in the immortal honor of the men of Jabesh-gilead, that when some of their renowned heroes fell by the hands of the Philistines, they prepared a decent burial for their bodies.' Now so soon as the report came of Captain Lovewell's defeat, about fifty men from New Hampshire, well equipped, marched into Pequawkett for the like end, but were not so happy as to find them.i But in the spring another company from Dunstable, under the command of Col. (Eleazer) Tyng, went to the scene of the action, and having found the bodies of twelve, buried them, and carved their names upon the trees where the battle was fought. At a little distance they found the Indian graves which he opened, in one of which he found the celebrated warrior, Paugus, 'a vile and bloody wretch,' as Penhallow mildly adds.

"The news of Lovewell's defeat and death reached Dunstable before the twentieth day of May. All was consternation and grief. What reports were brought by the survivors we know not, but immediate attack upon the town was feared by the inhabitants. The alarm extended through the settlements, and even reached Boston. The governor ordered Col. Eleazer Tyng into the wilderness to protect the frontiers against the anticipated invasion of the victorious foe. The state of excitement and alarm which pervaded the town may be conjectured from the following petition addressed to the governor and council of Massachusetts.#

"The petition of the selectmen of Dunstable, Humbly sheweth :

"That whereas your honors hath found it necessary to order Colonel Tyng and his men into the woods, on the said occasion of Captain Lovewell's defeat, we are extremely exposed and weak, by reason of so many of our fighting men being cut off last summer, and so many killed now in the province's service. We would beg leave to represent to your honors our case as very sad and distressing, having so many soldiers drawn out, and our inhabitants reduced to so small a number by the war. Several families have removed, and more are under such discouragement, not daring to carry on their planting or any other business, that they fully design it. We hope your honors will take our deplorable circumstances into your compassionate consideration, and order such measures to be taken for our defence and support, until our men return, as you in your wisdom shall think fit. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.

SAMUEL FRENCH, JOSEPH SNOW, JOSEPH FRENCH, JOHN LOVEWELL, JOHN FRENCH,

Selectmen.

JOHN CUMMINGS, JOHN CUMMINGS, Jr., NATH'L CUMMINGS, JONATHAN CUMMINGS, JONATHAN COMBS.

" Dunstable, May 20, 1725."

* Penhallow. I N. H. Hist. Col1., 118.

+ Under Capt. Joseph Blanchard, of this town, in July, 1725. Mass. Military Records, 1725.

+ Military Records, 1725, page 235-

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HISTORY OF NASIIUA, N. H.

"John Lovewell, the aged father of Captain Lovewell also petitioned the general assembly at the same time, for 'some assistance from the country to defend his garrison, or that he must leave it to the enemy.'*

"The petitions were granted. A guard of twenty-five soldiers was posted in town. Companies of scouts under Capt. Seth Wyman, Capt. Joseph Blanchard and Captain Willard, were scouring the valleys of the Merrimack and the Nashua, during the whole summer and autumn, but no enemy appeared. With Joseph, a Mohawk, as a guide, and Nessa Gawney for an interpreter, they ranged as far as Penacook, 'Winipisocket,' and 'Cocheco path,' but excepting killing a moose and a bear between Dunstable and Penacook, they found nothing.t

"This incursion into the headquarters of the Pequawketts, and the destruction of Norridgewock, alarmed the Indians so much that they resided no more at either place until after the peace. Nor after this did they commit any serious depredations. Their power was broken. 'Our encountering them at such a distance was so terrible and surprising,' says Penhallow, 'that they never formed any body after.' These conflicts were the themes of eulogy throughout the New England settlements. The names of their actors were upon all men's tongues 'familiar as household words.' The story of 'worthy Captain Lovewell' was the subject of many a ballad, and was sung by every fireside. The mother taught it to her child to excite in him a hatred of the 'Indian enemy,' and to set before him an example of valor and patriotism, which he was to imitate when he should become a man.

"Public gratitude kept pace with private enthusiasm. In addition to the gifts above cited, other donations were made, and the township of Pembroke, first called 'Lovewell's Town,' was granted by the general assembly of Massachusetts, 'in May, 1727, to Captain Lovewell and his brave associates in consideration of their services against the Indians. The whole number of grantees was sixty, forty-six of whom accompanied Lovewell in his last march to Pequawkett, and the remainder were among the sixty-two who attended him in his first enterprise.'#

"Of this company, as has been said, seven or more belonged to Dunstable, including nearly all the officers. Of these every man was killed or wounded. Captain Lovewell, Ensign Harwood and Robert Usher were killed on the spot. Lieutenant Robbins was left on the field mortally wounded. Lieutenant Farwell died on the march home. Samuel Whitney was wounded, and probably died not long after, as no mention of him is found in the records of the town after May, 1725. Noah Johnson was so severely ' wounded in the fight as to be disabled ' for many years, but was the last survivor of the company. In 1727 a pension of {10 per annum for seven years was granted him by the colony of Massachusetts, and after its expiration in 1734, the sum was increased to £15 per annum, and contin- ued for many years. § He died at Pembroke, Aug. 13, 1798, in his hundredth year. The grand- children of some of these still survive in this town and vicinity.

"Several of the ballads which were written to commemorate this event, one of the most impor- tant in our early history, have been preserved. If they do not possess high poetic merit, they answer well the purpose for which they were designed. 'Let me make the ballads of a people,' said the great Chatham. 'and I care not who makes the laws.' There was deep wisdom in the remark, and such ballads, rude though they were, nurtured the free, bold, self-sacrificing spirit, which wrested Canada from the French in 1755, and finally achieved our independence. One of the oldest of these ballads, composed, as is said, the year of the fight, 'the most beloved song in all New England,' is here inserted. |

* Mass. Military Records, 1725 : original petition, page 263.

+ Mass. Military Records, 1725 : page 263.

# Farmer's N. H. Gazetteer. Pembroke .- There seems, however, to be an error in this-the report of the com- mittee upon the subject of the grant says, that the whole number was eighty-eight, of whom sixty-two were in the second expedition, and twenty-six in the last as well as in the second expedition.

§ Johnson, it is said, occupied the farm on the south side of the Nashua at its mouth, extending probably as far as the house of Judge Parker. Lovewell is said to have occupied the farm near Luther Taylor's house.

il Drake's Book of the Indians, 132.

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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.

SONG OF LOVEWELLS'S FIGHT.

Of worthy Captain Lovewell I purpose now to sing, How valiantly he served his country and his king ; He and his valiant soldiers did range the woods full wide, And hardships they endured to quell the Indians' pride.

'Twas nigh unto Pigwacket, on the eighth day of May, They spied a rebel Indian soon after break of day ;

He on a bank was walking, upon a neck of land, Which leads into a pond as we're made to understand.

Our men resolved to have him and traveled two miles round,

Until they met the Indian who boldly stood his ground ; Then speaks up Captain Lovewell, "Take you good heed," says he,

"This rogue is to decoy us I very plainly see.

"The Indians lie in ambush in some place nigh at hand,

"In order to surround us upon this neck of land ;

"Therefore we'll march in order, and each man leave his pack,

"That we may briskly fight them when they shall us attack."

They come unto the Indian who did them thus defy ; As soon as they come nigh him two guns he did let fly,

Which wounded Captain Lovewell and likewise one man more,*

But when this rogue was running they laid him in his gore.

Then having scalped the Indian they went back to the spot

Where they had laid their packs down, but there they found them not ;

For the Indians having spied them when they them down did lay,

Did seize them for their plunder and carry them away.

These rebels lay in ambush this very. place near by, So that an English soldier did one of them espy ;

And cried out, "here's an Indian; " with that they started out

As fiercely as old lions, and hideously did shout.

With that our valiant English all gave a loud huzza, To show the rebel Indians they feared them not a straw ; So now the fight began as fiercely as could be ;

The Indians ran up to them but soon were forced to flee.

Then spake up Captain Lovewell when first the fight

. began,-

"Fight on my valiant heroes ! you see they fall like rain ;" For as we are informed, the Indians were so thick,

A man could scarcely fire a gun and not some of them hit.

Then did the rebels try their best our soldiers to surround, But they could not accomplish it because there was a pond, To which our men retreated and covered all the rear ; The rogues were forced to flee them although they skulked for fear.

Two logs that were behind them so close together lay, Without being discovered they could not get away ; Therefore our valiant English they traveled in a row, And at a handsome distance as they were wont to go.

'Twas ten o'clock in the morning when first the fight begun,

And fiercely did continue till the setting of the sun, Excepting that the Indians some hours before 'twas night, Drew off into the bushes, and ceased a while to fight.

But soon again returned in fierce and furious mood, Shouting as in the morning, but yet not half so loud ; For as we are informed, so thick and fast they fell, Scarce twenty of their number at night did get home weli.

And that our valiant English till midnight there did stay, To see whether the rebels would have another fray ;

But they no more returning they made off toward their home,

And brought away their wounded as far as they could come.

Of all our valiant English there were but thirty-four, And of the rebel Indians there were about fourscore ; And sixteen of our English did safely home return ;

The rest were killed and wounded for which we all must mourn.

Our worthy Captain Lovewell among them there did die ; t They killed Lieutenant Robbins, and wounded good young Frye, #

Who was our English chaplain; he many Indians slew, And some of them he scalped when bullets round him flew.

Young Fullam, too, I'll mention, because he fought so well,

Endeavoring to save a man, a sacrifice he fell ;

And yet our valiant Englishmen in fight were ne'er dis- mayed,

But still they kept their motion, and Wyman Captain made,

Who shot the old chief Paugus which did the foe defeat ; Then set his men in order and brought off the retreat ; And braving many dangers and hardships by the way, They safe arrived at Dunstable the thirtieth day of May.

# Robbins was from Dunstable. Frye' was a son of Rev. Mr. Frye of Andover, as before mentioned. Their notions were all Jewish, and in slaying the "Heathen Indians" they thought themselves obeying the voice of God.

*Lieutenant Farwell of Nashua.

t The powder horn worn by Lovewell in this fight is preserved in the family, and the cellar of the house where he lived is still visible a little distance from Salmon brook in Nashua.

- -

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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.

" The statement in the last verse that Paugus was killed by Wyman is not correct. He was slain by John Chamberlain, who afterwards settled in Merrimack. After the heat of the conflict was over, weary and faint, Paugus and Chamberlain both went down to the pond to quench their thirst, and to wash out their guns which had become foul by continued firing. There they met and at once recognized each other, for Paugus was known personally to many of the company. Seeing the useless condition of each other's guns, they tacitly agreed to a truce while they were cleaning them,

"During this process some words were exchanged and Paugus said to Chamberlain, 'It is you or I.' Cautiously but with haste they proceeded in their work, for it was a case of life or death. Paugus had nearly finished loading, and was priming his piece when Chamberlain struck the breech of his gun violently upon the ground, thus causing it to prime itself, and shot Paugus through the heart, the bullet of Paugus at the same time grazing the head of Chamberlain .*

Thus ended 'Lovewell's War.' Deep and universal was the gratitude at the restoration of peace. Well might the people rejoice. For fifty years had the war been raging with little cessation, and with a series of surprises, devastations and massacres which seemed to threaten annihilation. 'The scene of this desperate and bloody action is often visited with interest to this day, and the names of those who survived are yet repeated with emotions of grateful exultation.'t And a century after upon that spot strangers came together, from a broad and populous region won from the savages in that conflict, to pay their tribute of gratitude, with festive celebration, song and eulogy to the waning memory of 'Lovewell's Fight.'#

"After this fight no other attack was made by the Indians upon this town, although many years subsequently, during the French wars, the inhabitants were alarmed at the ravages committed in the neighborhood at Bedford, Pembroke, Dunbarton, Concord and upon Connecticut river. Garrisons were built and armed scouts kept out constantly, but the frontiers were now beyond us. Sometimes, indeed, individual Indians appeared mysteriously, seeking the life of some offending settler who had slain a relative, to appease his restless spirit by the sacrifice of 'blood for blood.' Such tales they tell of Chamberlain, the slayer of Paugus, of Ford, and others noted in fight, and how, mysteriously disappearing, the layer in wait became the victim.

"Perilous conflicts, providential escapes and strange adventures were thickly woven in the romance of our early history, but the remembrance of most of them has passed away utterly, and of others but dim and doubtful traditionary shadows remain. These traditions, handed down from the survivors long since departed, too direct and circumstantial to be entirely fictitious, and fixing neither time, nor place, nor actors of the scene, meet the enquirer at every step in his investigations and excite longings and questions which cannot be gratified. If there were indeed 'tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,' and 'sermons in stones,' what thrilling tales might not some of our old denizens of field and forest unfold.

" Many anecdotes which have been handed down, if not entirely authentic are at least character- istic of the times in which they are said to have occurred, and probably possess some foundations. The following are specimens :-

"A party of Indians, it is said, once came suddenly upon Ford, 'the Indian fighter,' so that he had no chance to escape. He was splitting logs for rails, and had just driven in his wedge and partly opened a log. Pretending to be very anxious to complete the work, he requested them to put their hands in the cleft, and pull it open, while he drove in the wedge. Suspecting nothing they did so, but watching his opportunity he dexterously knocked the wedge out instead of in. The log closed tight upon their fingers, and held them fast, and the whole party became his prisoners."

"At a later period an Indian appeared in Dunstable enquiring for 'Joe Snow,' who at some former time had slain his kinsman. The duty of revenge had long been transmitted, and the desire nourished ; and the descendants of the aggrieved and restless warrior had now come thus far through the wilderness, even from Canada, guided by tradition alone, to avenge and pacify his spirit. This errand, however, was vain, for 'Joe Snow' had long ago departed."

* Rev. Mr. Symme's narrative of the fight. Allen's Chelmsford, 37.

+ North American Review.

# Its centennial anniversary was celebrated on the spot of the fight, in Fryeburg, Me., May 19, 1825, when an address was delivered by Charles S. Davis of Portland.

[

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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.

"At some period during Lovewell's war, William Cummings of this town was wounded by the Indians, but how, when, or where, no record tells. For his wounds he received the sum of £10 from the colonial treasury."*

"An Indian once called upon Chamberlain at his saw-mill, intending to waylay him on his re- turn homeward at nightfall, through the forest. It was a time of peace, but Chamberlain suspected the character of his pretended friend, and the motive of his visit. While engaged in his work, he in- vited the Indian to examine the wheelpit, and seizing the opportunity, knocked him on the head with a handspike without compunction."

"Among those indefinite traditions, which have been assigned to a period subsequent to Lovewell's war, is the following: A party once went from this town to the eastward upon a hunting expedition in early winter. While absent they were attacked by a party of predatory Indians, and nearly all of them were killed. A few escaped and returned home bringing the sad tidings of the death of their companions and neighbors.

"One man, however, who was left in the field for dead, survived. His name was Whitney, and he lived in what is now the southerly part of Nashua, near Long hill. He was too weak to think of returning home alone through the trackless and unpeopled forest, so he built him a hut of logs, and bark, and branches of trees, and there passed the winter, subsisting chiefly on roots and cranberries. In the spring another party went out to find and bury the dead, and came to this hut which they sup- posed to be that of an Indian. As they approached they saw something stir within it. One of the party fired,-a groan followed, but the victim, to their great astonishment and grief, proved to be the unfortunate Whitney. He was just preparing to return home, having survived his wounds and all the perils and harships of a winter in the wilderness, only to perish by the hands of his own friends and townsmen."

After Lovewell's war, the territory in this section had for a number of years a period of tran- quility. The yell of the savage was not heard, and the "settlers felt so great security that they plunged into the wilderness in every direction." The outlands in Dunstable were taken up and soon "the wilderness was alive with population."

As early as 1726 a settlement was made in Concord, and between the years 1730 and 1740, Not- tingham, (on the east side of the Merrimack), Rumford or Merrimack, (on the west side of the Merrimack), Litchfield and Hollis were set off and incorporated, followed very soon by Souhegan West, (Amherst). Dunstable was no longer a frontier town, which may account for its immunity from frequent attacks by the Indians.

In the year 1745 the Indians committed much havoc in the frontier settlements around and above us. It was probably in the year 1747 that Jonathan Farwell and Taylor were captured by the Indians, while hunting in the south part of Nashua. They were in captivity three years, having been carried to Canada and sold to the French, but were then released and returned to their friends. (Mr. Fox has recorded in his history that a daughter of Farwell, Mrs. Rachel Harris, a granddaughter of Noah Johnson, one of Lovewell's men, was still living in Nashua in the year 1840).

In the year 1748 another treaty of peace-that of Aix-la-Chappelle-was entered into between George II. of England and Louis XV. of France, those two countries mutually restoring their conquests. England yielded up Cape Briton (Louisburg), whose capture had shed such glory on the colonial arms, and received in return Madras.

From that time (1748) onward, the inhabitants of Dunstable suffered so little at home from the redmen that it is deemed proper to close here any further mention of Indian warfare, and repeat with Mr. Fox "exposed for so many years to the dangers of a border warfare, every citizen was a soldier. The story of Indian atrocities, and French instigation had been handed down from father to son, and not a few had shared personally in the conflicts. To hold a commission was then a high honor, and an object worthy of any man's ambition, for it was only bestowed upon those who had given proofs of courage and capacity. Every officer might be called at any moment into actual service. The military spirit was fostered as a duty, and New England freedom, which placed in the hand of every child a gun as well as a spelling-book, made necessarily of every child not less a marksman than a scholar."t

* Mass. Military Records, 1734.

+ Fox's History. Page 159.

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HISTORY OF NASHUA, N. H.

Added to the natural hostility of the redman, the almost continual wars between France and England was a chief cause of the frequent attacks upon the early settlers by the savage. One or the other of those great rival nations always sought and secured some of the Indian tribes as allies.

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History of the city of Nashua, N.H., Part 48

Author: Parker, Edward Everett, 1842- ed; Reinheimer, H., & Co Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Nashua, N.H., Telegraph Publishing Company Number of Pages: 652

Author: Parker, Edward Everett, 1842- ed; Reinheimer, H., & Co
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Nashua, N.H., Telegraph Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 652