USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Derry > The history of Londonderry : comprising the towns of Derry and Londonderry, N.H. > Part 23
USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Londonderry > The history of Londonderry : comprising the towns of Derry and Londonderry, N.H. > Part 23
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JOHN STARK.
The first company of emigrants who formed the settlement of Londonderry, were soon followed by a large number of their countrymen. Among these, was Archibald Stark, who arrived in 1722. He, like many of these emigrants, was a native of Scotland, and emigrated while young to London- derry in Ireland.
John Stark, the second of four sons, was born in London- derry on the 28th of August, 1728. In 1736, his father removed from Londonderry to Derryfield, now Manchester. In 1752, John Stark went in company with his elder brother, William, David Stinson of Londonderry, and Amos East- man of Concord, upon a hunting excursion to Baker's river, in the northern part of the State. While there, they were surprised by a party of Indians. Stinson was killed, and William Stark effected an escape. John, though a youth, evinced uncommon bravery on the occasion, but was carried, with Eastman, into captivity, and remained three months with the tribe established at St. Francis. At the end of this time, he was redeemed by Captain Stevens of Charlestown, N. H., and Mr. Wheelwright of Boston, who had been sent by the General Court of Massachusetts to redeem some of the citizens of that province, who had been carried into cap- tivity. Not finding those from Massachusetts of whom they were in search, they liberally paid the ransom of Stark and Eastman, one hundred and three dollars for the former, and sixty for the latter.
While in captivity with the Indians, Stark manifested those strong traits of character by which he was distinguished in subsequent life. "He appears," says his biographer, " to have caught the humor of the Indians, and, by observing their manners and character, to have known how to approach them on the side of their prejudices." This, the following incidents may serve to illustrate.
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It was the universal practice of the North American Indians to compel their captives to pass between the young warriors of the tribe, ranged in two lines, each furnished with a rod, and prepared to strike the prisoners as they passed. On the present occasion, Eastman was severely whipped as he passed through the lines. Stark, more athletic and adroit, and better comprehending the Indian character, snatched a club from the nearest Indian, laid about him to the right and left, scattering the Indians before him, and escaped with scarcely a blow ; greatly to the delight of the old men, who sat at some distance, witnessing the scene, and enjoying the confusion of their young warriors.
On one occasion he was ordered by them to hoe their corn. Well aware that they regarded labor of this kind as fit only for squaws and slaves, he took care to cut up the corn and spare the weeds, in order to give them a suitable idea of his want of skill in unmanly labor, and at length threw his hoe into the river, declaring, " it was the business, not of warriors, but of squaws, to hoe corn." This spirited deportment gained him the title of " young chief," and the honor of adoption into the tribe.
In 1754, the great Seven Years' war, which grew out of the struggle between the British and the French for the posses- sion of North America, in reality commenced. A corps of rangers was enlisted in New Hampshire for the service, under the command of the famous Major Robert Rogers. Stark's experience fitted him for this service, and his char- acter being already so well established, he received a com- mission as lieutenant in this company. The regiment to which it belonged, was commanded by Colonel Blanchard. During this long war, in which he continued to serve to its close, by his many fierce encounters with the savage tribes, and the sanguinary conflicts in which he led that invincible body of men, the New Hampshire rangers, he thoroughly inured himself to toil and danger, and proved that he was a
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man of indomitable courage, uncommon military skill, and great original resource. He served with this company during the successful campaign of 1755 ; and in the winter of 1757, he conducted the retreat, after the bloody battle near lake George. In the attack upon Ticonderoga, in June, 1758, he behaved with great sagacity and bravery. In this action fell the young and gallant Lord Howe, deeply mourned by the whole army, and between whom and Stark a strong friendship existed. At the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, Stark rendered efficient service to Lord Am- herst. At the close of the war he retired with the reputation of a brave and vigilant officer, and betook himself to the ordinary pursuits of domestic life.
When the report of the battle at Lexington reached him, he was engaged at work in his saw-mill. Within ten min- utes after the news had been received, he had mounted his horse, and was on his way to Cambridge, having left direc- tions for such of his neighbors as might choose to volunteer, to meet him at Medford. The morning after his arrival, he received a colonel's commission, and availing himself of his own popularity, and the enthusiasm of the day, in a few hours he enlisted eight hundred men. On the ever-memor- able 17th of June, 1775, Stark's regiment formed the left of the American line, and he maintained through the whole conflict his usual coolness and intrepidity. At the head of his backwoodsmen from New Hampshire, he poured on the enemy that deadly fire from a sure aim, which effected such remarkable destruction in their ranks and compelled them twice to retreat. He fought until the American forces had quite exhausted their ammunition, and were almost surround- ed by the British troops, when he succeeded in securing the retreat of his men in perfect order.
After the British evacuated Boston, Col. Stark joined the Northern army, while retreating from Canada, and had command of a party of troops who were employed in fortify-
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ing the post of Mount Independence. During the campaign in New York, he bore an active part. On the morning of the 26th of December, 1776, when the Hessians were sur- prised and defeated at Trenton by Washington, Stark, with his regiment, led the van, and contributed his full share to this brilliant enterprise, in which nearly a thousand were taken prisoners. After this engagement, he marched with the commander-in-chief to Princeton, and was also present at the battle of Springfield, in New Jersey.
But the battle of Bennington, on the 16th of August, 1777, the darkest and most desponding period of the Revolution, was one of the most decisive victories gained during the war, and was by far the most brilliant of Stark's numerous ex- ploits. It breathed new ardor into the drooping spirits of our Northern army, animated the hearts of the people, and completely prostrated the high hopes of Burgoyne, not only costing him more than one thousand of his best troops, but wholly deranging the plan of his campaign, and materi- ally contributing to the loss of his army. In his movements on this occasion, Stark acted independently of any superior officer. In the preceding spring, a new list of promotions had been made, in which his name was omitted, and those of junior officers were found. It was impossible for a man of his lofty spirit and unbending character, to acquiesce in what he considered an injurious disregard of his fair pretensions to advancement. He therefore immediately retired from the army, declaring to those who would have dissuaded him from executing his purpose, that an officer who would not main- tain his rank and assert his own rights, could not be trusted to vindicate those of his country. But though dissatisfied with his own treatment, he was in no degree disaffected to the cause. When therefore called upon, by the General As- sembly of New Hampshire, to take the command of the troops which they were about to raise, in order to defend their fire- sides and their homes against a formidable army, which was
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penetrating the States from Canada, he consented to assume it on condition that he should not be obliged to join the main army, but be allowed to exercise his own discretion as to his movements, and be accountable to none but the authorities of New Hampshire. His conditions were complied with. Hence, when ordered by General Schuyler, commander of the Northern department, to conduct his troops to the west bank of the Hudson, Stark declined, communicating to Gen- eral Schuyler the authority under which he was acting, and stating the dangerous consequences to the people of Vermont, of removing his forces from their borders. Although Con- gress passed a resolution, disapproving of the course pursued by General Stark, yet his refusal was founded upon the soundest views of the state of things, and was productive of inestimable benefits, as the event soon proved. General Stark, on the achievement of his victory, communicated the intelligence of it to General Gates. He also transmitted official information of it to the State authorities of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, whose troops were engaged with him in the contest. To each of these three States, he sent trophies of the battle, taken from the field.
As his letter to Congress, some months before, on the sub-® ject of his rank, had lain on the table unanswered, he forbore to write to them, even to communicate the tidings of his triumph. They, however, wisely chose to take the first step towards a reconciliation, and though they had passed their resolution, censuring his assumption of a separate command, yet, on the 4th of October, Congress passed the following resolution : -
" That the thanks of Congress be presented to General Stark, of the New Hampshire militia, and the officers and troops under his command, for their brave and successful attack upon, and victory over, the enemy in their lines, at Bennington ; and that General Stark be appointed a briga- dier-general in the armies of the United States."
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Several anecdotes relating to this signal encounter of the enemy have been recorded. Almost every one has heard of the pithy address he made to his troops on this occasion, but it will bear repeating. The ground had been chosen with deliberation and skill, the plan of the battle had been agreed upon, and small parties had been sent forward to reconnoitre. Pointing out the enemy to his troops, he exclaimed, " I will gain the victory over them in the ap- proaching battle, or Molly Stark will be a widow to-night."
Another anecdote may be noticed, as it serves to illustrate the spirit of the times, and the ardor which was enkindled to meet and repel the foe. "Among the reinforcements from Berkshire, Mass., came a clergyman with a portion of his flock, resolved to make bare the arm of flesh against the enemies of the country. Before daylight, on the morning of the battle, he addressed the commander as follows : ' We, the people of Berkshire, have been frequently called upon to fight, but have never been led against the enemy. We have now resolved, if you will not let us fight, never to turn out again.' General Stark asked if he wished to march then, when it was dark and rainy. 'No,' was the answer. 'Then,' continued Stark, 'if the Lord should once more give us sun- shine, and I do not give you fighting enough, I will never ask you to come again.' The weather cleared up in the course of the day, and the men of Berkshire followed their spiritual guide into action."
General Stark, after this, volunteered his services under General Gates at Saratoga, and assisted in the council which stipulated the surrender of Burgoyne; nor did he withhold his valuable services till he could greet his native country as an independent empire.
General Stark was of the middle stature, and well propor- tioned. In his early years, he was remarkable for his strength, activity, and ability to endure fatigue. His man- ners were frank and unassuming, but he manifested a pecu-
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liar sort of eccentricity and negligence, which precluded all display of personal dignity, and seemed to place him among those of ordinary rank in life. But as a courageous and heroic soldier, he is entitled to a high rank among those to whom a large share of glory is justly due. He was an object of respect, such as is due to age, patriotism, and public ser- vice of the most brilliant cast, in trying times. He died on the eighth of May, 1822, in the ninety-fourth year of his age, and was buried with the honors of war.
His remains were deposited in a tomb which a few years before had been erected at his request, upon a rising ground on the bank of the Merrimack, near the place of his residence. A monument, consisting of a block of granite, in the form of an obelisk, has been erected by his family on the spot, with the simple inscription, " Major-General Stark."
In 1757, General Stark was married to Elizabeth Page, daughter of Captain Page, of Dunbarton, by whom he had several children, some of whom still survive.
It is justly mentioned as an extraordinary circumstance in his life, that, frequently as he was engaged in battle, in two long wars, he never received a wound. His horse was killed under him in the battle of Bennington.
As illustrative of General Stark's character for bravery, amounting on some occasions, when he had an object in view which he deemed it important to accomplish, to a daring recklessness of life, we may here relate an instance.
Having volunteered his services under General Gates, previous to the capitulation of Burgoyne, he selected, as one of his aids on that occasion, Mr. Robert MacGregor (son of Rev. David MacGregor), who was then quite a young man, and a near neighbor of his. His forces being separated by the British troops, from the main body under Gates, the only avenue to Gates's quarters lay directly through a con- tinuous line of the enemy's pickets. One night, Stark suddenly thought of a communication which he desired to
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make to Gates, and without a moment's hesitation on account of the peril of life, which was imminent, instantly despatched MacGregor, with the message. MacGregor, who counted not the risk, immediately obeyed the order, and mounting his horse, set off at full speed. On being repeatedly chal- lenged by the enemy's sentinels, with the stern question, " Who goes there ?" enforced at the point of the bayonet, his uniform, brief, and very adroit answer - which undoubt- edly saved his life-was, " I have orders from the General," and at the same instant, clapping spurs to his horse, he rode on. The sentinels, put off their guard, and deceived by his manner, mistook him for one of their own officers, and each, in turn, suffered him to pass. On arriving at the camp of Gates, the latter, in much surprise, accosted him with the question, " For God's sake, where did you come from, sir ?" MacGregor duly explained his errand, when Gates replied, " Stark is mad, sir !" and immediately ordered him to take his position with his own aids, and on no account to return to Stark.
SAMUEL TAGGART.
Rev. Samuel Taggart was the son of elder James Taggart, of Londonderry, and was born about the year 1754. He graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1774, in the same class with Captain David MacGregor, Joseph McKeen, D. D., and Rev. James Miltimore ; all natives of Londonderry. About the year 1781, he was ordained pastor of the Presby- terian church and society in Coleraine, Mass. In 1803, he was elected representative in Congress, which office he *retained fourteen years. His connection with the church and society at Coleraine continued during the time he was a member of Congress, and until the close of his life.
Although Mr. Taggart was somewhat eccentric, he pos- sessed a strong mind, and was well informed on almost every important subject. His memory was remarkably retentive.
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He once remarked that he knew the name of every one who had been a member of Congress during his congressional life, and could give a description of his person. As a politician, Mr. Taggart acquired some celebrity, but as a pastor, he is said to have been in some respects deficient. In his person, he was very large and corpulent. He married Elizabeth Duncan, daughter of George Duncan, of Peterborough, N. H. He died at Coleraine, April 25, 1821, aged seventy- one years.
ISAAC THOM.
Dr. Isaac Thom, son of William Thom and Elizabeth Wiar, was born in Windham, N. H., March 1, 1746. In 1769, at the age of twenty-three, he commenced the practice of medicine, in his native town. He was very successful, and remained there about thirteen years. In 1782, he removed to Londonderry, where he continued to pursue his profession until 1795. He was highly esteemed as a physi- cian, had an extensive practice, and became somewhat dis- tinguished by the discovery and adoption of improved modes of practice, in certain cases. He was a justice of the peace, and for several years did a large proportion of the business appertaining to that office in the town. He was the first postmaster appointed in the town. He married, November 17, 1769, Persis Sargent, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel P. Sargent, of Methuen, Mass., and sister of Chief Justice Sar- gent, of Massachusetts. She died June 23, 1821. He died July 13, 1825. He had two children who died in infancy, and nine who lived to adult age, namely, Christopher S., William S., Persis, Susan, Isaac, James, Nathaniel, Eliza, and George. Of these but three survive, Persis, widow of Hon. Jolın Bell, James, and Eliza, wife of Alanson Tucker, Esquire.
MATTHEW THORNTON.
Hon. Matthew Thornton was born in Ireland, in 1714. Two or three years subsequent to his birth, his father, James
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Thornton, emigrated with his family to this country. He at first resided at Wiscasset, Me. In a few years, he removed to Worcester, Mass., where he conferred the benefits of an academical education upon his son, whom he designed for one of the learned professions. The son accordingly pursued the study of medicine, and commenced practice in London- derry, among those who were from his native land, and who proverbially possess warm national remembrances. Here he acquired a high and extensive reputation as a physician, and in the course of several years of successful practice, became comparatively wealthy. He took an active and influential part in the affairs of the town, sustaining several public offices.
In 1745, Dr. Thornton joined the expedition against Cape Breton, as a surgeon, in the New Hampshire division of the army, consisting of five hundred men ; and it is a creditable evidence of his professional abilities, and of the attention of the medical department, that from among that number of soldiers only six individuals died, previous to the surrender of the town, notwithstanding they had been subjected to excessive toil and constant exposure. The troops, a company of whom were from this town, under the command of Cap- tain John Moor, animated with enthusiastic ardor, readily encountered all the labors and dangers of the siege, and were employed, during fourteen successive nights, with straps over their shoulders, and sinking to the knees in mud, in drawing cannon from the landing-place to the camp, through a morass.
At the commencement of the revolutionary war, Dr. Thornton held the rank of a colonel in the militia. He was also commissioned as justice of the peace, under the admin- istration of Benning Wentworth.
Soon after General Gage had opened the bloody drama of war, at Lexington and Concord, on the 19th of April, 1775, the British government in New Hampshire was term-
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inated by the retirement of Governor Wentworth. Dr. Thornton, amid the perilous and appalling scene which the country exhibited, was appointed to the presidency of the Provincial Convention. On the 12th of September, 1776, he was appointed, by the house of representatives, a delegate to represent the State of New Hampshire in Congress. He did not take his seat in that illustrious body until November following, being four months after the passage of. the Decla- ration of Independence ; but he immediately acceded to it, and his signature is enrolled among those of the fifty-six worthies, who have immortalized their names by that mem- orable act. He was subsequently appointed a judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, having previously received the appointment of Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He removed from Londonderry to Exeter. After residing there a few years, he fixed his residence in Merrimack, having purchased the large estate of Edward Goldstone Lutwyche, Esq., which, in consequence of his joining the English, on the Declaration of Independence, was confiscated. It was situated on the Merrimack river, near Lutwyche's Ferry (as it was then called), now Thorn- ton's Ferry.
Judge Thornton died while on a visit to his daughter, Mrs. John McGaw, at Newburyport. His remains were conveyed to Merrimack, and interred in the graveyard near his dwell- ing. His monument bears the following inscription : " Erect- ed to the memory of the Hon. Matthew Thornton, Esq., who died June 24, 1803, aged eighty-nine years. The honest man."
The following anecdote of Judge Thornton, may serve as an example of that ready wit which he possessed in common with most of the Scotch-Irish race.
About the year 1798, the legislature of New Hampshire convened at Amherst, about eight miles from the residence of Judge Thornton, who found it convenient to attend, as a
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spectator, and listen to the debates. While there, he hap- pened to meet a gentleman from a neighboring town, by the name of D -- , who had formerly lived a near neighbor to him in Londonderry, and who was then a member of the legislature. Mr. D- was a man who possessed a fair share of natural talent, but who seemed by no means dis- posed to underrate his own consequence. During their conversation, Mr. D -- asked the Judge, if he did not think the legislature had improved very much since he (Mr. Thornton) held a seat in it, and if it did not then possess more men of natural and acquired abilities, and more eloquent speakers, than it did when he (Mr. Thornton) was a member. "For then," said he, "you know, that there were but five or six who could make speeches ; but now, all we farmers can make speeches." To this question, Judge Thornton, with his usual good-humor, replied, " To answer that question, I will tell you a story I remember to have heard related of an old gentleman, a farmer, who lived but a short distance from my father's residence, in Ireland. This old gentleman was very exemplary in his observance of religious duties, and made it a constant practice to read a portion of Scripture, every morning and evening, before addressing the throne of grace. It happened one morning, that he was reading the chapter which gives an account of Samson's catching three hundred foxes ; when the old lady, his wife, interrupted him by saying, 'John! I'm sure that canna' be true ; for our Isaac was as good a fox-hunter as there ever was in the country, and he never caught but about twanty.' 'Hooh ! Janet,' replied the old gentleman, 'ye mauna' always tak' the Scripture just as it reads. Perhaps in the three hundred, there might ha' been aughteen, or may be twanty, that were raal foxes, the rest were all skunks and woodchucks.'"
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JAMES WILSON .*
James Wilson, who has the honor of being the maker of the first pair of terrestrial and celestial globes ever made in America, is the son of James Wilson who lived in the South Range. His grandfather, James Wilson, emigrated from Londonderry in Ireland, to Londonderry, N. H., soon after the settlement of the place, and had thirteen children. James, the father of the subject of this notice, had four sons : James, Robert, David, and Samuel, and several daughters. Of these sons, James and David are now (1850) living in Bradford, Vt., and Robert in Derry. James was born in 1763. He early felt a strong love of knowledge, and gave proof of talents of the right stamp for acquiring . it; but felt constrained by circumstances to devote himself to the laborious occupation of a farmer. Up to the age of thirty- three, he pursued that employment in the place of his nativity, not however without reading, observation, and reflection. His inclination and genius turned his thoughts and studies especially to geography and astronomy, with the means of their illustration. In the year 1796, he removed with his family to Bradford, Vt., and took up his permanent abode on a farm which he purchased there, on the Connecticut river, about one mile north of the village. When about thirty-six years of age, Mr. Wilson had the pleasure of seeing and examining a pair of English globes ; and resolved to imitate them. He commenced with balls turned from blocks of wood, which he nicely covered with paper, and scientifically finished off, with all the lines and representations which belong to such apparatus, drawn upon them.
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