USA > Rhode Island > A history of the destruction of His Britannic Majesty's schooner Gaspee, in Narragansett Bay, on the 10th June, 1772 > Part 2
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As to his letter, it cannot be looked upon as his, but the Assembly's, where it was put to the vote to answer your letter or not. They were all for the answer ; the Governor alone, for sending it to Lord Hillsborough.
Mr. Greene is one of the house, the owner of the rum. I could .expect 'no quarter from people of' that stamp. On the 20th, the sloop was condemned. I have taken the liberty to enclose my letter to the commissioners for your perusal, open ; as it was the intention of the people here, to have the sloop sold in the man- ner they have been used to, and which always falls into the old owners' hands, without opposition. I hope soon to have the board's answer, to determine her des- tination. I am, sir, &c., &e., W. DUDINGSTON.
To Admiral Montagu.
At the next session of the Assembly, which was in August following, and to which reference is made in the Colonial Re- cords, Vol. VII, p. 51, Governor Wanton presented a copy of his letter to the secretary of state, which was as follows :
The Governor of Rhode Island to the Earl of Hillsborough.
Newport, Rhode Island, May 20, 1772.
My Lord :- In conformity to a vote of the General Assembly, of this colony, I berewith transmit Your Lordship a copy of a letter I received from Admiral Mon- tagu, and the answer. They have also requested me to transmit to Your Lordship a narrative of all the proceedings referred to, in said letter.
As Admiral Montagu has endeavored to fix a stigma on my character and admin- istration as Governor of this colony, by charging me with attempting to distress the King's officers from strictly complying with his orders, Your Lordship will in- dulge me with giving a short account of my proceedings, by which the ungenerons aeeusation of Admiral Montagu, will, I flatter myself, appear not to have the least foundation in truth.
On the 21st of March last, a number of the inhabitants of this colony, gentlemen of established character, and whose loyalty to their sovereign is not to be ques- tioned. exhibited to me a complaint in writing, that a certain schooner was cruising
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in the Narragansett River, boarding every vessel and boat thas passed, and other- wise interrupting them in the pursuit of their lawful business: and not knowing hy what anthority the persons belonging to said schooner exercise-i that power within the body of the colony, requested me to make such inquiry concerning the same, as was consistent with law.
It therefore, became my indispensable duty, in order to satisfy the complaints, to demand of the commanding officer of said schooner, the reason of his thus acting, and whether he was vested with such powers as would justify L's proceedings, which produced my letter to him of the 22d of March. It was answered by Wm. Dud- ingston, of the schooner Gaspee ; but, as he did not give me that satisfaction I conceived I had an indisputable right to expect. I wrote another letter ; whereupon, be sent me, by one of Inis officers. an order from the lords of the admiralty, for his commanding the schooner Gaspee : also, their letter to the commissioners at Boston, requesting that board to give him a deputation in the customs. both which, I re- turned to the officer in the same hour he brought them, without attempting in the least, to distress or oppose him in the execution of his duty.
This, My Lord, is a true state of facts; and I believe Your Lordship is con- vinced that, in my proceedings, I have done nothing but what was my duty ; and that Admiral Montagu's acensation is as groundless as it is illiberal.
When I wrote my first letter, I do. upon my honor, declare. that I did not know whether the schooner complained of, was the Gaspee or not ; and even if I did, in my opinion, I am justifiable, as I was entirely unacquainted with Mr. Dudingston's authority, either as an officer in the revenue or navy; and I do not believe he had any right to officiate as a custom house officer within the body of this colony, before he had communicated to me, or some proper authority. his commission for so doing.
I must not omit mentioning, that the information which Admiral Montagu says he has received. that the people ot Newport talk of fitting out an armed vessel to rescue any seizures which may be made by the King's vessels, is, Your Lordship may be assured, a malicious representation. calculated, by the enemies of our happy con- stitution, to injure the colony, and bring upon the inhabitants his Majesty's dis- pleasure.
I acknowledge it a singular happiness, that this affair is brought before Your Lordship; and that your candor and inflexible integrity will fix the charge of insolence where it really belongs. I submit the dispute with pleasure, from a thorough con- viction, that Your Lordship's opinion thereupon, will be consonant to the strictest equity
It is now my turn to complain of Mr. Dudingston's illegal proceedings, in carrying a quantity of rum, he had seized on board a small boat, lying within the county of Kent, in this colony, to Boston, for trial; notwithstanding, by the 8th of His Majesty, it is expressly declared, that all forfeitures of this kind, shall be tried in that colony where the offence is committed.
To recite every particular of his unwarrantable proceedings, would, My Lord, be too tedious. Let it then suffice, that since the Gaspee and Beaver have been sta- tioned in this colony, the inhabitants have been insulted without any just cause, with the most abusive and contumelious language ; and, I am sorry that I have reason to say, that the principal officers belonging to said vessels, have exercised that power with which they are vested, in a wanton and arbitrary manner, to the very great in- jury and disturbance of the colony.
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I have. My Lord, constantly afforded the King's officers all the assistance in my power, in the legal discharge of their trust : but if any of them, through prejudice. ignorance of their duty or youthful indiscretion. insult this colony, it is my duty, as His Majesty's Governor, to remonstrate against it.
I am, &c., &e., J. WANTON.
To the Right Honorable Earl of Hillsborough, one of His Majesty's principal secretaries of state, Whitehall.
The foregoing letters present an account of the events which preceded the memorable night of the 9th of June, when the Gas- pee was destroyed. That Dudingston did not act wisely, to say the least, in exerting the authority he did, without first exhibiting his commission, is evident. But it is certain, that in sending some of the property seized by him, within the jurisdiction of the county of Kent, in Rhode Island, to Boston, there to be adjudi- cated upon by the court of vice admiralty, he was clearly in the wrong; as an act of Parliament expressly declares that such seiz- ures shall be adjudicated in the colony where the seizure is made. The goods here referred to, consisted of twelve hogsheads of rum, and some sugars, which were on board a sloop, bound from Greenwich to Newport, and were the property of Jacob Greene & Co., of Warwick .*
Dudingston seems to have been aware that this act was an illegal one, as he did not dare to go on shore, having been threatened with a suit at law by the owners of the goods.
Next in order, is the destruction of the Gaspee, the narrative of the particulars of which, we shall give, as written by Col. Ephraim Bowen, the last survivor of the party which de- stroyed this vessel.
Narrative of the Capture and Burning of the British Schooner Gaspee.
" In the year 1772, the British government had stationed at Newport, Rhode Island, a sloop of war, with her tender, a schooner, called the Gaspee, of eight guns, commanded by William Dudingston, a lieutenant in the British navy; for
· The firm consisted of Jacob, William, Elisha, Christopher and Perry Greene.
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the purpose of preventing the clandestine landing of articles, subject to the payment of duty. The captain of this schooner made it his practice to stop and board all vessels entering or leaving the ports of Rhode Island, or leaving Newport for Providence.
On the 10th day of June, 1772, Capt. Thomas Lindsey left Newport, in his packet for Providence, about noon, with the wind at the north ; and soon after, the Gaspee was under sail, in pursuit of Lindsey, and continued the chase as far as Nam- quit Point, which runs off from the farm in Warwick, about seven miles below Providence, now owned by Mr. John Brown Francis, our late Governor.
Lindsey was standing easterly, with the tide on ebb about two hours, when he hove about, at the end of Namquit Point, and stood to the westward ; and Dudingston, in close chase, changed his course, and ran on the Point, near its end, and grounded.
Lindsey continued on his course up the river, and arrived at Providence about sunset, when he immediately inforined Mr. John Brown, one of our first and most respectable mer- chants, of the situation of the Gaspee. He immediately con- cluded that she would remain immovable until after midnight, and that now an opportunity offered of putting an end to the trouble and vexation she daily caused.
Mr. Brown immediately resolved on her destruction, and he forthwith directed one of his trusty shipmasters to collect eight of the largest long boats in the harbor, with five oars to each ; to have the oars and row-loeks well muffled, to prevent noise, and to place them at Fenner's Wharf, direetly opposite to the dwelling of Mr. James Sabin, who kept a house of board and entertainment for gentlemen ; being the same house purchased a few years after, by the late Welcome Arnold, one of our en- terprising merchants ; and is now owned by, and is the resi- dence of Col. Richard J. Arnold, his son .*
* "This house, then unfinished, was occupied as an inn. It was soon after purchased and completed by Welcome Arnold, who resided there, till his death, in 1799. It then be- came the residence of his eldest son, Samuel G. Arnold, father of the writer [the Hon 3
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About the time of the shutting up of the shops, soon after sunset, a man passed along the main street, beating a drum, and informing the inhabitants of the fact that the Gaspee was aground on Namquit Point, and would not float off until three o'clock, the next morning ; and inviting those persons who felt a disposition to go and destroy that troublesome vessel, to repair in the evening to Mr. James Sabin's house. About nine o'clock, I took my father's gun, and my powder horn and bullets, and went to Mr. Sabin's, and found the south-east room full of people, where I loaded my gun, and all remained there till about ten o'clock, some casting bullets in the kitchen, and others making arrangements for departure, when orders were given to cross the street to Fenner's Wharf, and embark ; which soon took place, and a sea captain acted as steersman of each boat ; of whom, I recollect Capt. Abraham Whipple, Capt. John B. Hopkins (with whom I embarked), and Capt. Benjamin Dunn. A line, fromn right to left was soon formed, with Capt. Whipple on the right, and Capt. Hopkins on the right of the left wing.
The party thus proceeded, till within about sixty yards of the Gaspee, when a sentinel hailed, " Who comes there ?" No answer. He hailed again, and no answer.
In about a minute, Dudingston mounted the starboard gun- wale, in his shirt, and hailed, " Who comes there ?" No an- swer. Ile hailed again, when Capt. Whipple answered as follows :
" I am the sheriff of the county of Kent, G-d d-n you. I have got a warrant to apprehend you, G-d d-n you ; so surrender, G-d d-n you."
Samuel G. Arnold], and subsequently of his youngest son, Richard J. Arnold, the present owner, who has altered and enlarged it materially, within a few years. It is now the win- ter residence of the author of this history. The house is No. 124, on the east side of South Main Street, on the north-east corn r of Planet Street.
This brief sketch may find an excuse in the rich revolutionary associations that surround it. The year before his death, Col. Ephraim Boweo, the last survivor of the Gaspee expedition, wrote an account of that affair, which was engrossed by his daughter, and now hangs in the dining room of the old mansion; the identical room in which the plot was laid."-Note to Arnold's Hist. of Rhode Island, Vol. II. p. 312.
1
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I took my seat on the main thwart, near the larboard row- lock, with my gun by my right side, facing forwards.
As soon as Dudingston began to hail, Joseph Bucklin, who was standing on the main thwart, by my right side, said to me, " Ephe, reach me your gun, and I can kill that fellow." I reached it to him, accordingly ; when, during Capt. Whipple's replying, Bucklin fired, and Dudingston fell ; and Bucklin ex- claimed, " I have killed the rascal."
In less than a minute after Capt. Whipple's answer, the beats were alongside of the Gaspee, and boarded without op- position. The men on deck .etreated below, as Dudingston entered the cabin.
Assoon as it was discovered that he was wounded, John Maw- ney, who had for two or three years been studying physic and sui - gery, was ordered to go into the cabin, and dress Dudingston's wound, and I was directed to assist him. On examination, it was found the ball took effect about five inches directly below the navel. Dudingston called for Mr. Dickinson to produce bandages and other necessaries, for the dressing of the wound, and when finished, orders were given to the schooner's com- pany to collect their clothing, and every thing belonging to them, and put them into their boats, as all of them were to be sent on shore.
All were soon collected, and put on board of the boats, in- cluding one of our boats. They departed, and landed Dud- ingston at the old Still-house Wharf, at Pawtuxet, and put the chief into the house of Joseph Rhodes.
Soon after, all the party were ordered to depart, leaving one boat for the leaders of the expedition ; who soon set the vessel on fire, which consumed her to the water's edge.
The names of the most conspicuous actors in this remark- able event, are as follows, viz : Mr. John Brown, * Captains
* JOHN BROWN, and his brother JOSEPH BROWN, were (as Admiral Montagu observes in his letter to Governor Wanton,) among the most prominent citizens of Providence. This family, as is well known to the people of Rhode Island, have ever been among its most dis- tinguished citizens.
The first of them, Chad Brown, was one of the five associates of Roger Williams, who were the earliest founders of the State. John Brown, at the period referred to, was the
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Abraham Whipple,* John B. Hopkins,f Benjamin Dunn and five others, whose names I have forgotten ; and John Maw- ney, ¿ Benjamin Page, § Joseph Bucklin|| and Turpin Smith, T
leading merchant in the colony. lle was also distinguished as an earnest patron of litera- ture and science; being among the founders of Brown University, and otherwise contribut- ing liberally for the encouragement of science. His brother Moses, who died Sept. 6, 1-36, in his 99th year, was a distinguished philanthropist and encourager of education. Obadiah, his cousin, was the founder of the Friends' Boarding School,
The descendants of these brothers, have been equally distinguished in comunerce, naviga- tion and manufactures, as well as liberal benefactors of our literary and charitable institutions.
* ABRABAN WHIPPLE was captain of a merchantman, in the West India trade. During the French war, he commanded the " Game Cock," a celebrated privateer, which, in one cruise, took twenty-three prizes. Hli. shrewdness and bravery, led to his selection ascaptain of the party which destroyed the Gaspee. On the breaking out of the revolutionary war, he became a commander in the American navy, and rendered his country most important service.
+ JOHN B. HOPKINS, was a son of Commodore Esek Hopkins, a distinguished officer of the revolution, and nephew of Gov. Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the declaration of In - dependeoce. Ile commanded the ship Cahot, one of the fleet that sailed from Rhode Island, February 17, 1576. In au action that took place on this cruise, he was severely wounded.
# JOHN MAWNEY, was a descendant of one of the Huguenot families, that came to this country about the year 1700. He was educated to the profession of medicine; though, hav- ing inherited an ample estate, he never practised it to a very great extent. He was at one time, a colonel in the Rhode Island militia, and afterwards sheriff of the county of Provi- dence. Ile was distinguisbed for his classical attainments, and to the close of his long life, read with unabated interest, the Greek and Latin poets. He suffered greatly in the public esteem, on account of his hold and unblushing irreverence and infidelity.
It is believed that there are none of bis descendants now living; it is certain that there are none in the male line. He died at a great age, on his estate, in that part of Cranston, now known as Elmwood.
§ BENJAMIN PAGE, was a prominent ship master, and for many years commander of a sbip in the East India trade.
| JOSEPH BUCKLIN, was well known in Providence, and kept a prominent restaurant, or place of resort, in South Main Street, where gentlemen resorted for their suppers. Here, too, they assembled, to discuss politics; and where, possibly, the expedition which de- stroyed the Gaspee, was discussed, as well as at MIr. Sahins's house, which was near it.
" TURPIN SMITH, after the revolution, became a prominent shipmaster ; in which pursuit, be accumulated a handsome property, After his retirement from maritime life, he lived in Providence, greatly respected and beloved, discharging faithfully all the duties of a good citizen. He attained to more than four score years, and left to his posterity the rich in- beritance of an unspotted name.
Extract from the Providence Journal, relative to the Gaspee affair, in the celebatioo of the 4th of July, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary. In speaking of the parties in the procession, the account says :
" After these, the four surviving captors of the King's armed schooner Gaspee, rode in an elegant barouche, procured by SIr. Blake, of the Franklin House, expressly for this occasion. MIr. Blake, himself, appeared on the box, and managed with great dexterity, the four spirited horses attached to the carriage.
It was a matter of most interesting association and recollection, to witness these four sur- viviog lads, who burnt the Gaspee (as the orator so happily termed them), at the end or fifty-four years, riding in a splendid equipage, and receiving the award of a republican tri-
--
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my youthful companions ; all of whom are dead, I believe, every man of the party, excepting myself; and my age is eighty-six years, this 29th day of August, 1839.
EPHRAIM BOWEN."*
Colonel Bowen is in error as to the day on which the Gaspee was destroyed. He gives it as the 10th ; whereas, it is eer- tain that it was on the night of the 9th of June. Capt. Lind- sey's sloop, called the Hannah, according to the Providence Gazette, of June 13, arrived at Newport on Monday the 8th, from New York, where she reported her cargo at the custom house ; and on the following day, proceeded up the bay, to Providence, chased by the Gaspee. The attack was planned and carried into execution on the night of the 9th, by the burning of the vessel ; but as the destruction was not complete until the morning of the 10th, either day is applicable to the event. The proclamation of Governor Wanton, in relation to the affair, which is dated on the 12th, says the vessel was de- stroyed on " the 9th instant, in the night." Col. Bowen is also in error, as to the name of the captain, which was Benja- min, and not Thomas Lindsey.t
Mr. John Mawney, who was one of the party conspicuous
umph, for a deed, the commission of which, at that time, had well nigh caused them to ride in a cart to Execution Dock, or to be drawn on a hurdle to Tyburn, for high treason; an event they anticipated as vastly more likely, than that in 1826, the jubilee of American free- dom, they should become the time honored objects of the greatest interest to an immense concourse of citizens, thronging the streets, and crowding to the altar of freedom, to offer up the sacrifices and thanksgivings of a great, prosperous and free people. These four veterans, Col. Ephraim Bowen, Capt. Benjamin Page, Col. John Mawney and Capt. Turpin Smith, are among our most respected citizens; and on this occasion, the spirit that first animated them, in 1772, seemed to kindle anew in their still vigorous frames. We believe, from the present ages of these veterans, they were all not over twenty years of age, at the time of the attack upon the Gaspee."
* The compiler of the present history of the Gaspee affair, was well acquainted with the venerable Col. Bowen, and often rode in his chaise with him, between Provi- dence and his residence, in Pawtuxet. On these occasions, the Colonel liked to give his revolutionary rumniscenes ; among which, his connexion with the destruction of the Gas- pee, was prominent. The writer also remembers John Mlawney and Turpin Smith, who, with Col. Bowen, always had a prominent place in the proceedings connected with the 4th of July celebrations in Providence .- J. R. B.
t Arnold's History of Rhode Island. Vol II. p. 320.
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in the affair, published in the Providence American and Ga- zette, in the year 1826, a statement, in which some additional facts are given.
After hearing the drum beat, he hastened to Mr. Sabin's, the place of rendezvous, where he learned the object of the meeting ; and on being urged by some of his acquaintances, was induced to accompany them, as surgeon.
Statement of Dr. John Mawney.
" To this," he says, " I readily consented, and went to Corlis' wharf, with Capt. Joseph Tillinghast, who commanded the barge, it being the last boat that put off ; and in going down, we stopped at Capt. Cooke's Wharf, where we took in staves and paving stones ; which done, followed our com- mander, and came up with them a considerable distance down the river ; after which, we rowed along pretty rapidly, till we came in sight of the schooner, when Capt. (the late Commodore Whipple,) ordered us to form a line, which was instantly complied with ; after which, we rowed gently along, till we got near the schooner; when we were hailed from on board, with the words, ' Who comes there ?'
Capt. Whipple replied, ' I want to come on board.' The reply was, ' Stand off, you can't come on board.'
On which Capt. Whipple roared out, 'I am the sheriff of the county of Kent ; I am come for the commander of this vessel, and have him I will, dead or alive; men, spring to your oars !' when we were in an instant on her bows.
I was then sitting with Capt. Tillinghast, in the stern of the barge, and sprang immediately forward ; and seeing a rope hang down her bows, seized it, to help myself in. The rope slipping, I fell almost to my waist in the water ; but, being active and nimble, I recovered, and was the first of our crew on deck; when Simeon H. Olney handed me a stave, with which, seeing one that I took to be of the crew of the schooner, floundering below the windlass, I was in the attitude of lev-
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elling a stroke, when he cried out, 'John, don't strike." Being very intimately acquainted with Capt. Samuel Dunn, I knew his voice, left him, and sprang back of the windlass, where there was commotion and noise, but which soon sub- sided ; the crew jumping down the hold, I immediately fol- lowed, when I ordered them to bring cords to tie their hands, and told them they should not be hurt, but be sent on shore. They brought some tarred strings, with which I tied the hands of two behind, when John Brown, Esq., called to me, saying I was wanted immediately on deck, where I was instantly helped.
When I asked Mr. Brown what was the matter, he replied, " Don't call names, but go immediately into the cabin, there is one wounded, and will bleed to death.'
I hastened into the cabin, and found Lient. Dudingston in a sitting posture, gently reclining to the left, bleeding profusely, with a thin, white woolen blanket, loose about him, which I threw aside, and discovered the effect of a musket ball, in his left groin ; and thinking the femoral artery was cut, threw open my waistcoat, and taking my shirt by the collar, tore it to my waistband, when Mr. Dudingston said, 'Pray sir, don't tear your clothes, there is linen in that trunk ;' npon which, I requested Joseph Bucklin to break open the trunk, and tear linen and serape lint, which he immediately attempt- ed ; but finding the linen new and strong, could not make the lint.
I then directed him to place his hands as I had mine, which was, the ball of my left hand on the orifice of the wound ; and gave him the word to slip his hand under mine, and to press hard, to prevent the effusion of blood ; which being done, I went to the linen, and attempted to serape it into lint, but found I could not effeet it. As daylight was fast coming on, and our time short, I then tore the linen into strips, for com- presses and the necessary ban lages ; which was done, by knotting them into long strips, placed the compresses five or six deep, and with the ligatures by the lieutenant.
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