USA > Rhode Island > A history of Block Island : from its discovery, in 1514, to the present time, 1876 > Part 7
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
3. That the express purpose for which the tax is levied on the Americans, namely, for the support of government, administration of justice, and defense of His Majesty's dominions in America, has a direct tendency to render Assemblies useless, and to introduce arbitrary government and slavery.
4. That a tax on the inhabitants of America, without their consent, is a measure absolutely destructive of their freedom, tending to enslave and impoverish all who tamely submit to it.
5. That the act allowing the East India Company to export tea to America, subject to a duty payable here, and the actual sending tea into the Colonies, by said Com- pany, is an open attempt to enforce the ministerial plan, and a violent attack upon the liberties of America.
6. That it is the duty of every American to oppose this attempt.
7. That whosoever shall, directly, or indirectly, coun- tenance this attempt, or in anywise aid or assist in run- ning, receiving, or unloading any such tea, or in piloting any vessel, having any such tea on board, while it remains 8*
90
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
subject to the payment of a duty here, is an enemy to his country.
8. That we will heartily unite with our American brethren, in supporting the inhabitants of this Continent in all their just rights and privileges.
·
9. That Joshua Sands, Caleb Littlefield, and John Sands, Esqs., and Messrs. Walter Rathbone, and Edward Sands, Jr., or the major part of them, be appointed a committee for this town, to correspond with all other com- mittees appointed by any town in this Colony ; and said committee is requested to give the closest attention to everything which concerns the liberties of America ; and if any tea, subject to a duty here, should be landed in this town, the committee is directed and empowered to call a town meeting, forthwith, that such measures may be taken as the public safety may require.
10. And we return our hearty thanks to the town of Newport for their patriotic resolutions to maintain the liberties of their country ; and the prudent measures they have taken to induce the other towns in this Colony to come into the same generous resolutions.
WALTER RATHBONE,
Town Clerk."
This was a bold measure for a little island, so far from adequate protection, to take. Without fortresses on the land ; without a man-of-war of their own ; without a cer- tainty that a single war sloop could be spared from the American navy for their protection ; with shores on which privateers could land their crews at any point ; and with a fresh recollection of the repeated pillaging of their homes by an enemy less formidable than the one now provoked, the brave Islanders, in the above resolu- tions, as nobly laid their property, their lives, and their sacred honor upon their country's altar as did the men
91
THE REVOLUTION.
whose names were appended to the Declaration of Inde- pendence.
As the gathering storm-cloud darkened over the col- onies active measures were taken to remove from Block Island such resources as might tempt the enemy to assault the inhabitants ; as also might aid and comfort the enemy by falling into their hands, and as might by timely re- moval be saved, in value, to the Islanders, and also help the American army. Accordingly the General Assembly, in August, 1775, passed the following act :
"It is voted and resolved that all the neat cattle and sheep upon New Shoreham, excepting a sufficiency for the inhabitants, be brought off as soon as possible, and landed upon the continent ; that two hundred and fifty men be sent upon that Island to secure the stock until it can be taken off." Thus military law was enforced. Ac- tive measures were at once taken to enlist one hundred and ninety men to assist in executing this transportation. James Rhodes was appointed commander of these men, · and Gideon Hoxie, assistant. They, with George Shef- field, were empowered, at the expense of the colony, to remove, in the most prudent and effectual way, said stock to some place on the continent, the committee of safety supplying all necessary arms and provisions. The above- named Rhodes, Hoxie, and Sheffield were appointed to appraise the stock, which was transported at the expense and risk of the colony. Such stock as was suitable was to be sent immediately to the army. Such as was not fit for market was to be sold at public or private sale, unless the owners should choose to keep the same at their own risk.
The following account of stock taken from Block Island at the beginning of the Revolution is here given in full, for several reasons, chiefly to show who were here then, what stock they had, how great were their sacrifices for
92
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
their country, and to indicate their feelings as they parted with their favorite cows, their working oxen, their cloth- producing sheep, and the lambs which in the preceding spring the children had tenderly nursed by their firesides, the familiar lowing and bleating of which stock were to be heard no longer.
Sheep and Lambs taken by the colony from Block Island, September 2, 1775.
£
s.
d.
Giles Pierce, 241 fat sheep and lambs, .
78 6
John Paine,
78 sheep,
25
3
0
Walter Rathbone, 17
5
10
6
Abel Franklin, 32
10 18
0
John Littlefield, 62 66
20 3 0
Capt. John Sands, 150
34 02
6
Edward Sands, Jr., 20
6 10
0
Joshua Sands, Esq., 5
1
12
6
Henry Willis, Jr., 15
5
7
6
Samuel Rathbone, 4
1 6
0
John Barber,
96
66
34
4
0
Thomas Dickens, 11
3 11
6
John Mott, 2 lambs,
0 13
0
Hezekiah Dodge, 3
0 17
6
Benjamin Sheffield,
6
1 19
0
Henry Littlefield, 2
0 13
0
John Mitchell, 5
1 12
6
Thomas Mitchell, 9
66
2 18 6
Jeremiah Mitchell, 1
0
6 6
John Littlefield, 43
66
13 19
6
Capt. John Sands, 169 store sheep and lambs,
42 05
0 .
John Littlefield,
148 sheep,
37 0
0
John Barber,
175
43 15 0
Thomas Mitchell,
27
6 15 0
John Mitchell,
10
2 10 0
6
93
THE REVOLUTION.
£ S.
d.
Jonathan Mitchell,
10 sheep,
2 10
0
Joseph Mitchell, 3
0 15
0
George Franklin, 8
2 0 0
Henry Littlefield, 5
1 5 0
Nath'l Littlefield,
12
.
3 0 0
Edward Sands, Jr., 29
7 5 0
Joshua Sands, 4
1 0 0 0
Ezekiel Sheffield,
14
3 10
Henry Willis,
2
0 10
0
John Mott,
1
0
5
0
Giles Pierce,
441
66
110 5
0
0
John Paine,
23
~
5 15
0°
Walter Rathbone, 9
2 5
0
Nath'l Littlefield, Jr., 6
1 10
0
Henry Willis, Jr., 10
2 10
0
Tormut Rose, 6
66
1 10
0
Daniel Mott,
4
1 0 0
Jeremiah Mitchell, 3
0 15 0
Ezeziel Rose,
4
1 0 0
.
.
.
.
.
Total sheep and lambs, 1,908 ; the Rhode Island col- ony allowed for them £534 9s. 6d.
We find no complete account of cows and oxen taken off.
In February, 1776, the General Assembly took meas- ures to completely strip Block Island of every thing that was not absolutely necessary for the existence of the people there, who were urged to use their utmost diligence to comply with the decisions of Capt. John Sands, Joshua Sands, and William Littlefield, who were an authorized committee to determine what number of neat cattle and sheep should be left upon the Island, and to remove to the main all the stock "not absolutely necessary for the
0
Abel Franklin,
28
7
.
.
94
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
use and consumption " of the Islanders. This committee were also authorized to collect the fire-arms on the Island and agree with the owners for the payment for the same, and also that all the warlike stores then on the Island be immediately removed thence and delivered to the Rhode Island Committee of Safety.
Was not that a solemn time, when this lonely, isolated little spot was so completely divested of its former com- petence ? The policy adopted was much like that of befriending a banker by taking away his money to save him from being robbed. There was this compensating feature, however, in this case-there was a promise to pay the Islanders on the condition of victory and inde- pendence, and this condition was the talisman that re- vealed to the world the unsurpassed faith and patriotism of this miniature, insular democracy that had already without ostentation celebrated its centennial of freedom. Doubtless, however, there was much lamentation over the désolate condition of the Island, as it now appeared ten- fold more impoverished than it did after the repeated invasions of the French privateers. After the cattle and sheep were nearly all removed for the sustenance of the army, Edward Sands, Jr. was seen on the Island going from house to house numbering the people suggesting the thought that as the stock had gone to be slaughtered, so the able-bodied men would soon be chosen for the battle- field. Their condition was pitiable in the extreme. In- deed, what other portion of the colonies so remote from protection, or in any condition was required in the outset to give up so much for freedom ? Had they not retained their fish-lines and nets they might have been almost justified in saying to Liberty, "Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee."
That the colony of Rhode Island meant to act wisely in stripping the Island, and felt tenderly towards its inhabi-
95
THE REVOLUTION.
tants, there can be no doubt, in view of all the circumstances. Not many months after, the Assembly put upon record expressions of sympathy and honest purpose. For doing so they had abundant reason. Every movement, almost, on the Island, was one of alarm. In August 1775, An- drew Waterman raised twenty-nine minute men who, with him, were hastily dispatched to the Island. About the same time, while Joseph Dennison 2d and his company were transporting from there stock to the main, in the schooner Polly, all were taken by the enemy, making a bill of loss and service against the colony of £374, which was promptly paid. Soon, too, the soldiers enlisted in the spring for six months' service on the Island would finish the term specified, and the Governor was requested by the Assembly to consult with General Washington as to his wishes concerning the forces on Block Island. At about the same time, also, charges of treachery were pre. ferred against one of the citizens, and for his reported betrayal and delivering up two seamen to a British man·of- war, Jonathan Hazard, Esq., was dispatched to Block Island with a sufficient military force to arrest one John Wright, and to look after " some other inhabitants of suspected poli- tical character," and to confine them in jail to be tried at the next session of the Assembly. To give the climax to this alarming movement Mr. Hazard was also instructed to "earnestly exhort the inhabitants of New Shoreham to remove off from the Island." This exhortation the Assem- bly seasoned in the following manner. In May, 1776, it apportioned to the various towns of the colony a quantity of salt-thirty bushels for Block Island ; but in the Sep- tember ensuing the Assembly " Voted and resolved that no part of the salt ordered to be distributed within this State, be delivered to the town of New Shoreham; but their proportion thereof be reserved for said inhabitants, to salt any provisions that may be brought from the said
96
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
town to the main, there to be disposed of." There was one fable which, if the Block Islanders had ever read it, they then remembered-the fable of the Vulture and the Lamb. The lamb's bones were spared for the jaws of the lion. Such was the evening of the darkest day on Block Island. To the foregoing was added the following :
" WHEREAS, the inhabitants of New Shoreham, from their peculiar situation, are entirely in the power of the enemy, and very pernicious consequences may attend the intercourse of the said inhabitants with the continent, by means of the intelligence and supplies which the enemy may procure thereby :
" It is therefore voted and resolved, that the said inhabi- tants be, and they are hereby prohibited from coming from said Island into any other part of this State, upon pain of being considered as enemies to the State, and of being imprisoned in the jail in the county where they may be found, there to remain until they shall be discharged by the General Assembly. And all officers, both civil and military, and every other person being an inhabitant of this State, is hereby directed and empowered to appre- hend all persons so offending, and to commit them, as aforesaid.
"Provided, nevertheless, that this act shall not extend to any inhabitant of the said Island who shall remove from thence with his or her family, with an intention to settle in any other part of the United States.
" It is further voted and resolved, that in case any per- son in this State shall be convicted of having any inter- course or correspondence with the persons so offending, he or she shall forfeit and pay as a fine, to the use of this State, £30, lawful money, to be recovered by the general treasurer, at the inferior court of common pleas, in the county where the offense shall be committed.
97
THE REVOLUTION.
"It is further resolved, that a copy of this act be inserted in the Newport Mercury and Providence Gazette."
When the Islanders gathered around their evening firesides, and men, and women, and children read, or heard read this last act which virtually made them prison- ers of war, like Napoleon on St. Helena, and that, too, by their friends, leaving them in a worse condition than his, wholly unprotected, and dependent upon their own hands for food and clothing, with pastures and stables left vacant, it is not surprising if many a tear coursed the furrowed cheeks of age, if many a wrathful speech was uttered by younger men, if many a maiden's heart trem- bled for fear, and if all expressions of the Islanders settled down together into wailing notes kindred to those heard in the wilderness from those who mourned that they had not died in Egypt. But, as in the wilderness there were a few whose faith and heroism looked beyond the smoke and thunders of Sinai to the grapes of Eschol and to the land of milk and honey, and choose to go on, fearless of the sons of Anak, rather than go back to feed upon the leeks and garlics of bondage ; so on Block Island, when the heavy guns of war were booming near, and the clouds of God's providence thickened into darkness that could be felt, the faith and patriotism of the Sands, the Rays, the Rathbones, the Littlefields, the Dodges, and others of the Islanders saw the end from the beginning, and that end was FREEDOM, civil, and religious, and many lived to see the sight in reality, and to leave a posterity ever to be proud of their noble sires.
The last act of the General Assembly, above-mentioned, prohibiting the Block Islanders from intercourse with the main-land, was too much-too stringent, and was amended soon after its enactment, and it is due to the Assembly to repeat the amendment in full, here :
" This Assembly, deploring the unhappy situation of the
9
98
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
inhabitants of New Shoreham, and willing to give them every relief in their power, and being also necessitated to provide for the general safety,
"Do resolve, in addition to, and amendment of, the act passed at the last session, respecting the said Island, that the committee appointed in the said act may permit such of the inhabitants of the said Island as they can confide in, to go to Pawcatuck river, to procure at the mills there, such a quantity of meal as shall be necessary for the inhabitants of the said Island ; they taking the same and other necessaries on board, under the direction and with the written permission of George Sheffield and Phineas Clarke, or either of them, who are hereby directed to transmit to the said committee an account of all the arti- cles so taken on board for the said Island.
" That the said committee be empowered to permit such inhabitants of the said Island as they can confide in, to proceed to any part of the colony, to transact the neces- sary business of the Island ; and that no other person belonging to the said Island, besides the deputies, shall go to any other part of the colony, excepting to Goat Island, in the township of Newport, upon the penalty of being committed to jail, as in the aforesaid act is directed."
This was a great relief to the Islanders. It opened a few rents in the dark cloud, and let them see avenues, though narrow, to traffic and attainment of things need- ful for support and happiness. Before the close of 1776, by an act of the assembly Messrs. John Sands, Edward Sands, Jr., and Simon Ray Littlefield were given "liberty to bring any provisions, hides, or other articles " from the Island, to any part of the state of Rhode Island, and to carry back to the Island leather, cloth, and necessaries in general for their own use, but their boatmen were speci- fied and restricted to be Godfrey Trim, and John Rose, Jr. In March, of the next year, 1777, an act was passed
99
THE REVOLUTION.
permitting the Islanders then on the main, who chose to do so, to return home under the inspection of the com- manding officer of the district ; and those on the Island had the permit to go off, but all this going and coming was to close by the 10th of the next month, April. Stephen Franklin, Jr., however, and his parents, after the 10th were allowed to return to the Island, having been unable, for good reasons to return before the 17th. In September, of 1777, the Islanders who had removed to the main, in consideration of the property they had sacri- ficed at home, "in the beginning of this unnatural, cruel war ; " and of the service they had rendered against the enemy ; and in consideration of their having been " ex- cluded their proportions of flour and iron," were exempted from paying taxes.
During the year 1778 things seem to have held about the even tenor of their way as through the year preced- ing. But in 1779 a thunderbolt fell upon Block Island with an alarming crash.
The General Assembly, on information of illicit trade between the Island and the main ordered on the last Monday in February, 1779, the sheriff of King's County to "apprehend Waite Saunders, Thomas Carpenter, and Peleg Hoxie charged with having carried on an illicit commerce with the inhabitants of New Shoreham." He was also ordered to summon "Wm. Gorton, Robert Champlin, John Cross, Samuel Taylor, Simon Littlefield, John Sands, John Paine, Stephen Franklin, Edward Sands, and Robert Congdon to appear immediately before this assembly, upon the penalty of £150, lawful money each, for non-appearance." What the result of this ac- tion was we are not informed. Passing to and fro be- tween the Island and the main continued under close inspection, as in the cases of William Robinson, and Ben- jamin Sheffield, of Charlestown, going to Block Island to
100
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
collect rents ; and of Edward Sands and his wife, John Sands, Simon Ray Littlefield, George Franklin, John Paine, John Littlefield, and Stephen Franklin, (probably returning home from the trial for illicit commerce) taking with them in their own boat, " plow-irons," " cart-wheels, two setts of cart-tire, three iron bars, a parcel of wooden household furniture ; " and of Thomas Dickens, bringing with him necessaries in general. In the meantime a vig- ilance committee were watchful of all intercourse to and from the Island. In May, of 1779, the town council of Westerly were ordered to seize a quantity of grain that Stephen Franklin, Jr., of Block Island, had left in the hands of Phinehas Clarke, of Westerly. By the return of Ray Sands, Edward Hull, and Nathan Gardner, Jr., to the Island to collect rents, in June, 1779, we learn that they were among the number who left the Island during the war. In August of this year the General Assembly passed an act from which it is most clearly seen how com- pletely the Islanders were abandoned to the cruel mercies of the enemy, cut off, as they then were, from the resour- ces of the main-land. We quote the preamble, and epit- omize the act :
" WHEREAS, many evil minded persons, not regarding the ties of their allegiance to the United States in general, and this state in particular ; but influenced by the sordid principles of avarice, continue illicitly to correspond with and supply the inhabitants of New Shoreham, in the county of Newport, with provisions, and other articles, to the great detriment and distress of the virtuous inhabit- ants of this state.
"And whereas, the said town of New Shoreham hath been for a long time, and still is, within the power and jurisdiction of the enemies of the United States, whereby they obtain, in consequence of the evil practices aforesaid, supplies for themselves, and intelligence from time to
101
THE REVOLUTION.
time of the situation of our troops, posts, and shores ; by which means they are enabled to make frequent incur- sions, and thereby commit devastations upon, and rob the innocent inhabitants of their property, and deprive them of their subsistence ; wherefore,
" Be it enacted, &c." This act prohibited all trade with the Islanders of every description, except by special permits, upon the penalty of the confiscation to the state of all the property, personal and real, of the offender, and to this might be added the compulsory service in a continental battalion, or vessel of war, until peace should be declared ; or, if the offender were a female, or unfit for a soldier or a sailor, he or she was to be punished corporeally.
In September, 1779, John Rose, and Frederick Wyllis, of Block Island, were taken by an American privateer, on board a British vessel, were delivered to the sheriff ; he delivered them over to Col. Christopher Greene, and he passed them over to Maj. Ģen. Gates to be treated as prisoners of war, or dismissed. In May, of the same year, the above-mentioned Stephen Franklin, Jr., of Block Island, was under arrest to be tried before the General Assembly, but instead of trying him at a civil tribunal he was handed over to Maj. Gen. Gates to be tried by him as a spy, the result of which we do not know. For the grain which he left in. care of Phinehas Clarke, of Wes- terly, in the preceding May, which was confiscated, the Assembly paid to his father, in Dec., 1779, £145 16s. 0d. The grain probably belonged to the father. In the latter part of this year much of the stringency was removed from the Islanders. The acts prohibiting their passing to and fro between the Island and the main were repealed, but all restrictions on transportation of provisions and mer- chandise were continued. This repeal was a source of much joy, for previously even Mrs. Lucy Sands was 9*
102
HISTORY OF BLOCK ISLAND.
obliged to appear before Maj. Gen. Gates to obtain a per- mit to visit her family on the Island. Acts of courtesy were interchanged. But even Governor William Greene, in Feb., 1780, had to comply with the rule requiring a permit to transport articles of exchange, as in the case of sending then six barrels of cider to Block Island for his brother-in-law, John Littlefield, Esq., and his family. That was more welcome than the messengers from the colony, in the July following, who landed upon the Island with authority to take all the horses, cattle, grain, fish, and cheese as in their opinion could be spared by the inhabitants, and for the same to give certificates to the owners for future adjustment. These certificates, how- ever, were no better than receipts for a levy on the Island for supporting the war, unless the amount taken should prove to be more than a just proportion of a state tax, in which the surplus was to be credited on the next tax to be assessed. Thus the Islanders, besides the depredations from the British, denied traffic on the main, unrepresented in the General Assembly of Rhode Island, unprotected by the colony from the enemy, was burdened with a
heavy tax. This was taxation without representation; nay more, it was the imposition of a heavy burden upon those cut off from the common privileges on the main and abandoned to the cruel mercies of the enemy. But even this their faith and patriotism could endure while patiently waiting for the dawn of freedom.
In 1781, several permits to pass and repass between the Island and the main were granted, and occasional seizures of contraband articles and sales of the same by the sher- iff occurred. Goods, also, were transported to and fro, but under close inspection.
In 1782, the " Refugees " were making considerable dis- turbance here. They threatened to destroy the property of Henry Champlin, seize his person, and carry him off
103
THE REFUGEES.
to New York, and therefore he was permitted to leave the Island and take his goods with him. For some misde- meanor, during the war, the estate of Ackurs Sisson here was confiscated to the State, and taken possession of by Mr. John Sands in behalf of the colony.
At last the bright day seen by faith in 1776 was real- ized in May of 1783. The tempestuous, long night of the Revolution was over. The thunder of artillery died away. and the hail of musketry was felt no more by the heroes of freedom, and the rainbow of peace upon the receding cloud again arched the little " Isle of the sea." Of what account to its patriotic inhabitants were the vexations and losses of the seven years of hostilities, since now they were under the banners of independent Ameri- can colonies ? There were glad hearts, music and dancing, psalms of praise to the God of freedom, and thanksgiving for victory and peace once more, as the messengers of the General Assembly read the good news to the Islanders, " That all the rights, liberties, and privileges of the other citizens of this State be restored " to them, and that all restrictions of travel and traffic were removed.
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.