USA > New Hampshire > Sketches of the history of New-Hampshire, from its settlement in 1623, to 1833: comprising notices of the memorable events and interesting incidents of a period of two hundred and ten years > Part 16
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Serious alarm was excited in the western part of New- Hampshire in October, by the irruption into the eastern part of Vermont, of a large body of Canadian Indians, led by Hor- ton, a British officer. With savage fury they plundered and
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burnt the town of Royalton, killing or captivating as many of the people as fell in their way. Doct. Parkhurst, a physician now living in Lebanon, then a lad, received a musket ball in his back which passed through his body, and lodged under the skin. He fled on horseback, assuaging the pain occasioned by the ball by supporting it with his fingers, and arrived at Lebanon, a distance of sixteen miles. A strong body of men from the country adjacent, under the command of Col. House of Hanover, overtook the Indians in Randolph and exchanged several fires ; but the enemy made good their retreat, not however without leaving behind a part of their ill-gotten plunder.
The New-Hampshire brigade having served a part of the summer at West Point, and afterwards in New-Jersey, where their Commander, Gen. Poor, died, was reduced at the close of the year to two regiments, commanded by Colonels Scam- mel and Reid, and passed the winter in huts on the Hudson. Gen. Poor was a native of Andover, Ms. He had served with reputation from the beginning of the war, and was second in command in Sullivan's expedition into the Indian country. Even at this late period of the war, the troops in their winter quarters were not exempted from severe sufferings. A vivid picture of their distress is seen in the following extract of a let- ter written in December by Stark to President Weare: "My last gave you a hint that our troops were in a suffering condition for want of cash. None has yet been paid them by the public, nor can I learn that any is soon expected. You certainly know whether Congress have it in their power to supply them; if they have, I cannot see the policy of detaining it from them ; if they have not, it is necessary that the States should allow a pittance at least, sufficient to keep soul and body together .- What must be the feelings of officers who have obtained leave of absence to visit their families, without a shilling to pay their expenses on the road ? who, if they go, must assume the character of beggars ? Perseverance has long been their fa- vorite topic, and hope almost their only support ; but they have in a measure abandoned that. Despair stares them boldly in the face-flattery will no longer avail-an immediate remedy is their positive demand."
Amid the din of arms the State was not unmindful of the interests of education. In April, 1781, was incorporated an Academy at Exeter, the oldest in the State, and probably the best endowed in the country. It received, from the munifi- cence of the Hon. John Phillips of Exeter, an ample fund, amounting at the present time to $80,000 ; and has maintained N
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a distinguished rank among our Academical Institutions. Mr. Phillips, who was a Counsellor under the Provincial govern- ment, and the Founder of the Professorship of Theology in Dartmouth College, belonged to a family eminent for its pat- ronage of literary and religious objects. He was a son of the Rev. Samuel Phillips of Andover. In connection with his brother, Samuel Phillips, he had previously founded and en- dowed an Academy at Andover, Ms .; and he afterwards added considerable sums for the education of pious and indigent young men, especially those designed for the Christian Min- istry. His gifts and bequests, augmented by others from va- rious branches of the same family, laid a foundation for the present Theological Seminary at Andover. He died in 1795, leaving a name which will command the respect of subsequent generations.
Merely as a temporary expedient, to continue only during the war, did the people adopt the Plan of Government hastily prepared in 1776. As the war now seemed to be approaching to a termination, this PLAN was about to expire by its own limitation. Great inconvenience had resulted from its defects, some of which were the following :-- it had no Bill of Rights, as preliminary to a delegation of powers ; it contained no rule of exclusion, but permitted an accumulation of offices by a single individual, incompatible with the general good; and it provided no Executive Department distinct from the Legisla- tive body. This last "flaw," to borrow the language of that day, " was patched over with a Committee of Safety," to serve as an Executive during the recess of the Assembly-but the contrivance was found to be a clumsy one. A conviction of the necessity of forming a Constitution on principles more comprehensive and determinate, led to the assembling of a Convention for this purpose in June. It met at Concord, and was organized by choosing the Hon. George Atkinson of Ports- mouth, President ; and Jonathan M. Sewall of the same place, Secretary. Among the leading members were, in addition to the President and Secretary, Judge Pickering and Dr. Cutter of Portsmouth ; Generals Sullivan of Durham, Peabody of Atkinson, and Folsom of Exeter ; Judge Wingate of Stratham ; the Hon. Timothy Walker of Concord ; Ebenezer Webster of Salisbury, Joseph Badger, Sen. of Gilmanton, Ebenezer Smith of Meredith, Wyseman Claggett of Litchfield, Timothy Farrar of New-Ipswich, Francis Blood of Temple, and Dan- iel Newcomb of Keene. After a session of a few days, and the discussion and adoption of some general principles, the Convention adjourned to meet again in September, having ap-
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pointed a Committee of seven to prepare the draught of a Constitution. The Committee consisted, in part, of Gen. Peabody, who was Chairman, Judge Pickering, J. M. Sewall, Judge Farrar, and the Rev. Mr. Goddard of Swanzey. They appointed a sub-committee, to consist of Messrs. Pickering and Sewall, the former to draught the Form of Government ; the latter, the Bill of Rights.
At the adjourned meeting in September, the Convention received the report of the Committee, and agreed on a Con- stitution, which, accompanied with an explanatory address from the Convention, was printed and sent out to the people, for their decision in town meetings.
For the sake of giving a connected view of the doings of this important Convention, which subsisted more than two years, and had in the whole no less than nine sessions-a bo- dy, to whose patient labors the present generation is indebted for the substance of our excellent Constitution-it will be ne- cessary to anticipate dates. At their third session in January, 1782, they received the returns from the several towns, and found the objections to the first draught so numerous and va- rious, as to render it necessary to prepare a second. The Journal of their proceedings is unhappily lost : it is however believed that the Constitution was recommitted to the former Committee, to be by them re-modeled, so as to obviate objec- tions. At a subsequent session in August, the Committee reported a second draught, which after discussion and amend- ment, was in like manner sent out to the people for their appro- val or rejection. At this session, the Secretary being absent, Gen. Sullivan officiated as Secretary pro tem. The Conven- tion adjourned to meet again in December.
From the returns forwarded by the several towns to the Convention at the December session, it appeared that the se- cond draught was generally approved by the people. As some amendments were still found to be necessary, the Convention again adjourned to meet in June, 1783. At this session, they adopted sundry alterations and amendments, and again for the third time sent out the Constitution to the people for their final decision.
In resuming the narration of events in chronological order, we must return to the summer of 1781. A few families having planted themselves at Shelburne, and made a small opening in the wide wilderness on the north-east of the White Mountains, a party of Canadian Indians invaded the little settlement in Au- gust, and after plundering the houses, killing one of the inhab- itants and making another prisoner, retired unmolested into
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Canada. This was the last hostile incursion of savages into the now peaceful fields of New-Hampshire. Seen through the mists of time, their devastations seem to us like a dim and shadowy vision, to be looked at chiefly for the gratification of our curiosity : but to our Fathers it was far otherwise-the sound of the war whoop, and the sight of the uplifted toma- hawk, haunted their imaginations by day and their dreams by night.
In October, the finishing stroke was given to the war by the capture of Lord Cornwallis and his whole army. In this great achievement, effected by the combined forces of America and France under General Washington, at Yorktown in Vir- ginia, one of the regiments of this State took part, and lost its gallant commander, Col. Scammell of Durham, one of the most accomplished officers of the army. In the operations of the seige he was surprised, while reconnoitering, by a party of hostile cavalry, and inhumanly and mortally wounded after he had been taken prisoner. The capture of a second Brit- ish army ensured the triumph of America, and filled the coun- try with an almost frantic joy. On the reception of the intel- ligence, Congress went to church in solemn procession to render public praise to Almighty God, and appointed a day for a National Thanksgiving. The state of public feeling on the occurrence of this great event, is indicated by the fact, that the aged door-keeper of Congress, on learning the surrender of the British army, expired in a fit of joy. Every part of the country was animated by emotions similar in kind, though less violent in degree.
In relation to the seceding towns of Grafton and Cheshire counties, the controversy with Vermont still continued, and at last threatened to involve the two States in open hostilities. The New-Hampshire Courts held their sessions in both coun- ties without much opposition : but from the attempts of Sher- iffs to enforce the laws of the respective governments, resulted many angry collissions. Two inhabitants of Chesterfield were committed to Charlestown goal by a warrant from a Vermont Justice. The government of New-Hampshire directed Col. Hale of Rindge, Sheriff of the county of Cheshire, to release the prisoners :- but in attempting to exe- cute the order, he was himself imprisoned by the Vermont Sheriff. On his application for a military force to release him, the Governor of Vermont ordered the militia of that State to oppose force to force ; and for a time, it was seriously appre- hended that the question of his liberation would be decided by the issue of a battle at Charlestown. While the parties thus
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stood with the sword half drawn, a Committee from Vermont came into New-Hampshire to agree on a compromise. One of the number was the Vermont Sheriff, who was immedi- ately thrown into Exeter goal, and detained as an hostage for the release of of Col. Hale. The Legislature issued a Procla- mation, requiring the inhabitants of the revolted towns to subscribe within forty days an acknowledgment of the juris- diction of New-Hampshire, and ordered the militia to hold themselves in readiness to march against them, in case of their refusal.
In this crisis the influence of Washington was interposed to prevent bloodshed. A letter from him to Gov. Chittenden, earnestly advising Vermont to renounce her claim of jurisdic- tion cast of Connecticut river, was laid before the Assembly of that State. This advice, coming from the source it did, prevailed with a majority of the Assembly to accept, in Febru- ary, 1782, the west bank of the Connecticut as their boundary -an act which ended the controversy happily for both States.
Though at first it threatened tragic consequences, yet the imprisonment of the Sheriff of Cheshire had a ludicrous con- clusion. After he had been for some time in durance, the authorities of Vermont became desirous to be rid of the dif- ficulty in which the affair had involved them, and gave orders for his dismission. Expecting as he did to be released in a more honorable manner, than to be thus unceremoniously thrust out of prison, he refused to depart. Soon afterwards, a party of women, having entered the prison in the evening and compelled him to accompany them, placed him in a vehicle in which they conveyed him to Claremont, where they left him to take care of himself. It was more than suspected that some of these women were men in female attire.
The seceding towns expressed warm resentments at being cut off from their connection with Vermont, and for a time were not disposed to return to New-Hampshire. Disaf- fected individuals obstructed the sitting of the Inferior Court at Keene in September, so as to render an adjournment ne- cessary : they soon after attempted to prevent the sitting of the Superior Court at the same place, but without success .- A bill of indictment was found against the insurgents, who cast themselves on the mercy of the Court, and promised sub- mission to the government in future ; on which the proceed- ings against them were discontinued; and the jurisdiction of New-Hampshire was quietly re-extended to the western bank of the Connecticut.
The people called " Shakers," first appeared in the State at N*
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this period, and collected Societies at Enfield and Canterbury, in each of which places they possess a neat Village, and an extensive and finely cultivated estate.
In November, provisional articles of peace between Great Britain and the United States were signed at Paris, by which the independence of the States was acknowl- edged by the Mother Country. By this treaty, the object of America was fully attained, and the protracted sacrifices of a seven years struggle amply repaid. In the course of the war, New-Hampshire had furnished for the service not less than ten thousand men, of whom she lost four thousand in battle and by sickness. The troops of no State gained a higher reputation for gallantry and enterprise ; no State, in proportion to her means, contributed more powerfully to the establishment of American Independence.
The American revolution is one of the great events in the history of the world. It not only gave a new impulse to the American character, but opened new fields for enterprise, and supplied a powerful stimulus to exertion. It brought upon the theatre of human affairs an host of new actors, who shewed themselves competent to perform great and important parts. On the political state of the world, it has already exerted a vast influence. That some unhappy effects have resulted from the great contest is not to be denied. Dr. Ramsay truly re- marks that while "the literary, political, and military talents of the United States have been improved by the Revolution, their moral character is inferior to what it once was." The straight- forward, sterling honesty of former times, gave way,to no small extent, to looser principles of dealing and arts of speculation. In the confusion of the struggle, the institutions of religion were much neglected, and public worship was in many places long suspended. The depreciation of the paper currency reduced the salaries of many ministers to almost nothing .- That reverence for the Sabbath, once so deep and general, as to render the stillness of a New-England Sabbath proverbial, was sensibly weakened by the habits of travelling and business, induced by the war. The familiar intercourse of our military men with French officers, most of whom were infidels from the school of Voltaire, spread among us to an alarming extent the taint of infidelity-thousands became deeply and fatally corrupted. Had not the Ruler of the world counteracted the influence of these evils, at a subsequent period, by numerous revivals of religion in almost every part of the country, the re- sult must have been disastrous. But such has been the kindness of his dispensations, that the preponderating influence of this
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great Revolution has been decidedly on the side of hunan happiness and pure Christianity.
Of the distinguished officers in the revolutionary war, New- Hampshire had her full proportion. She furnished for the regular service three Generals, Sullivan, Poor, and Stark ; and the Colonels Reid, Scaminel, Cilley, and Dearborn. Col. Scammel, at the time he was slain, was Adjutant General of the American army. Gen. Whipple, who rose from the humble station of a cabin boy to high distinction, was frequently called into the service with detachments from the militia, and filled several important civil offices-among others, that of Judge of the Superior Court. Among those who were distinguished patriots of the revolution, and had influence in the public councils of the State, are, in addition to the names of President Weare and John Langdon, those of John Pickering and Woodbury Langdon of Portsmouth ; Nathaniel Peabody of Atkinson ; Nicholas Gilman, John T. Gilman, and Nathaniel Folsom of Exeter ; George Frost and Ebenezer Thompson of Durham ; John Dudley of Raymond; Samuel Livermore of Holderness ; Josiah Bartlett of Kingston; Timothy Walker of Concord ; John McClary of Epsom ; Matthew Thornton of Merrinac ; Jonathan Blanchard of Dunstable ; Wyseman Claggett of Litchfield ; Matthew Patten of Bedford; and Ben- jamin Bellows of Walpole. Of these men, some were delegates to the old Congress ; others held seats in the Council or the Committee of Safety, or were leading members of the House of Representatives; others were active in the Convention which formed the present Constitution of the State; and all were efficient supporters of the cause of their country. The hand of death has since removed from the world every indi- vidual of this band of patriots.
The Rev. David McGregor, a Presbyterian minister in Lon- donderry, long eminent for piety, eloquence and usefulness, died in the course of the Revolutionary war, after having exerted an important influence in preparing the minds of the people to engage in the perilous contest. Another individual of that day, deserving to be ranked among the worthies of the State, was the Rev. Timothy Walker, the first minister of Concord, who possessed in an eminent degree the veneration of his people, and died near the close of the war after a minis- try of half a century.
News of peace with Great Britain being received prior to the March meeting of 1783, the temporary "Plan of Govern- ment" expired by its own limitation. By the votes of the people, it was revived and continued in force for another year, under
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the expectation that within that period the new Constitution would be perfected. To the pens of Messrs Pickering and Sewall, the State is indebted for many of its most important articles. The Convention which formed it, met for the ninth and last time in October; Mr. Atkinson, the President, being absent on account of ill health, Gen. Folsom of Exeter was chosen President pro tem. The Constitution, which had been sent out to the people, was returned from the several towns, stamped with the approval of a great majority, and was accor- dingly established by the Convention, to take effect on the first Wednesday of June, 1784. It went into operation at that time, being introduced at Concord by a religious service called the Election Sermon, an observance which was continued in New-Hampshire for almost half a century, and not laid aside till 1833. That long-tried and faithful public servant, Meshech Weare, was again elected President, the title then used to designate the Chief Magistrate. The Constitution has been in general faithfully observed, and has contributed in an emi- nent degree to advance the social and political happiness of the State.
Having now traced the course of events in New-Hampshire down to the last important change in the form of government, we may pause, and look back on the forms that had obtained in periods preceding. From the origin of the State in 1623, through a period of sixteen years, the few Colonists on the Pascataqua were governed by the Rules and Orders of THE COMPANY OF LACONIA in England, of which Mason was the leading member. For the brief space of the two following years, each of the few towns, having formed itself by volun- tary association into a little Republic, managed its own con- cerns in its own way. During the thirty eight years, begin- ning with 1641, the government was COLONIAL, being administered by the authorities, and under the laws of Massachusetts. The PROVINCIAL or ROYAL Government began in 1680, and continued, with the exception of the short re-union with Massachusetts from 1690 to 1692, through a period of ninety six years. Early in 1776, this form was su- perseded by the REPUBLICAN, which was introduced by the formation of the temporary Plan of Government, to continue during the war; and was matured and made permanent by the introduction of the present Constitution in 1784.
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PERIOD IX.
FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PRESENT CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE IN 1784, TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF GOV. LANGDON'S ADMINISTRATION IN 1805.
Changes in the form of government in the States of the Eastern Continent, have generally been the result either of foreign interference, or of internal convulsions. In New- Hampshire, the introduction of a new Constitution was the voluntary measure of the people, peaceably and harmoniously effected. The first Legislature under the new order of things, met at Concord, on which occasion the Rev. Dr. McClintock preached the Election sermon. They found a variety of im- portant objects of attention, and their enactments were marked with wisdom. President Weare, enfeebled by age and worn out with public service, found himself compelled to resign the Chair before the expiration of the year, having been President of the State nine years. Without brilliancy of genins, he was eminent for practical wisdom, accurate knowledge of the af- fairs of the State, and industrious application to his public duties. In the discharge of the duties of morality and religion, he was exemplary, and retained to the last the confidence of the people. His resignation was soon followed by his death.
Late in the sunmer a party of gentlemen, of whom one way the Rev. Dr. Cutler, ascended the White Mountains for tho purpose of scientific observation. From observations then mnade, the height of Mount Washington, whose summit re- ceives the earliest rays of morning, and around which linger the last beams of parting day, was estimated at 10,000 feet ;- an estimate supposed by Belknap to be too low. Subsequent and more accurate measurements, made by Capt. Partridge, and by Messrs. Bracket and Weeks, have very materially re- duced this estimate, and assigned to the mountain an altitude of about 6600 feet-less than a third of the height of Chim- borazo, and only a fourth of that of Dhawalageri. As the
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party of Dr. Cutler was descending the precipitous face of the mountain, their guide slipped and was gone out of their sight ; but their apprehensions for his safety were soon removed by his re-appearance, without serious injury.
In the course of the year the Rev. Dr. Belknap, Minister of Dover, published the first Volume of his History of New- Hampshire. The second and third Volumes did not issue from the press till some years afterwards. His work evinces great research, and a scrupulous adherence to truth ; and is the repository of a multitude of important facts, many of which, had they not been recorded by his pen, had been irretriev- ably lost. It was received by the public with great approba- tion, and the name of BELKNAP, as the principal historian of the State, has been held in respectful remembrance. The last years of his ministry and life he spent in Boston, as the Pastor of a church in that city. He published also the first Volume of American Biography, a work of much merit ; and prepared a second, which issued from the press after his death. A third edition of his History was published in 1831, enriched with valuable Notes from the pen of John Farmer, Esq. Cor- responding Secretary of the New-Hampshire Historical So- ciety.
After a little rest from the labors of the war, the thoughts of some public spirited men began to be turned towards internal improvements. A bridge was erected in 1785 over Connecticut river, at Bellows' Falls in Walpole, by Col. Enoch Hale .- Erections of this kind over so deep and wide a stream, suf- ficiently strong to withstand the power of freshets and the descending masses of ice, had been considered, however desi- rable, as utterly impracticable. When Col. Hale announced his design, it was ridiculed as visionary ; but he persevered with firmness, and at an expense of less than 3000 dollars, completed a bridge which stood several years. His work was far more useful to the public than profitable to himself ; as embarrassments compelled him to sell his property, without having reaped from it that benefit, which a generous mind would award to enterprise and ingenuity so beneficial to oth- ers. This effort has been followed by the erection of numerous bridges, some of them expensive and elegant, over all the large rivers of the State.
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