USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the end of the century : a history, Volume 1 > Part 62
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"Your most obedient humble servant,
WILLIAM GREENE."
The transports before mentioned were procured and anchored off Goat Island and the three companies of troops sent on board; one of these companies, commanded by Captain Sayer, was filled in Newport county ; the second, Captain Rice, in Providence county; the third, . Captain Cole, partly from each county. None of the inhabitants of Kent county was impressed, but for what reason does not appear.
While these warlike preparations were in progress France was no less active and was quietly planning an expedition on a grand scale, having in view not only the recovery of her lost possessions, but the conquest of all of the British colonics in America. A fleet of sixty
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sail with 15,000 men, and a land force of 8,000, under the Duke d'Anville, were seen off our coast before the colonists were aware that such an expedition was contemplated, causing much consternation. At the request of Governor Shirley and Admiral Warren, then in Boston, Rhode Island's sloop Tartar, Captain Fones, was dispatched with the news to Admiral Lestock, who was then expected on the coast of Nova Scotia with an English fleet. Meanwhile the most active preparations were made by erecting new works on Goat Island, and otherwise providing for the defense of the Colony against the expected French fleet. But the fleet did not appear during that summer, and late in October Governor Greene received a letter from Governor Shirley and Admiral Warren thanking the Colony for the spirit it had shown "by so cheerfully promoting a service of so much impor- tance as the relief of Annapolis Royal, and the saving of it from fall- ing into the enemy's hands". The writers had also learned from French prisoners that the dreaded fleet had met with severe reverses ; a subsequent letter informed Governor Greene that the dreaded armada had been dispersed and disabled in a violent storm in the West Indies, that Admiral d'Anville was dead, and that the Canadian camp before Annapolis Royal had been broken up. At the same time misfortune attended the Rhode Island transports; overtaken by a violent storm, some of them were wrecked on Mt. Desert and half their men perished; others suffered severely from the weather and disease; a portion landed at Martha's Vineyard, whence they went to Boston. The expedition had thus proved a failure.
But notwithstanding the failure of this sea expedition, it was determined to send a large body of colonial troops overland for the capture of the French post at Crown Point. Rhode Island was again called upon for troops, but owing to the lateness of the season, and being without transports or men in condition for the undertaking, the Colony took no part in it; Connecticut also declined to furnish troops. A call came also from Governor Shirley for reinforcements to send to Nova Scotia to secure the conquests made there in the preceding year ; this call was submitted to the General Assembly, but was declined for the reasons just mentioned. The cheering news soon reached the Colony that Parliament had made a grant of 800,000 pounds for pay- ing the charge of taking and keeping Cape Breton by the people of New England, and for raising forces for the desired Canadian expedi- tion.
Again in the following spring came urgent calls in letters from the Duke of Newcastle upon the New England colonies to supply troops for maintenance of British power in the island of Cape Breton. Governor Shirley and Admiral Knowles reiterated the demands of the king in letters to Governor Wanton. The Colony made bitter complaints at this time at the backwardness of the home government
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in repaying the heavy charges incurred in the expedition against Louisburg and the more recent expenses of sending troops and sup- plics to the relief of Annapolis Royal. A long correspondence took place on this subject between the governors of Rhode Island and of Massachusetts, which may be found in the Colonial Records. From Governor Wanton's letter to the Lords of the Treasury it is shown that the cost of raising three companies, arming them, furnishing sup- plies, transports, etc., for "the late expedition to Canada", £76,083 11s. 4d., New England currency, or, reduced to sterling, £10,144 9s. 6d .; of this sum there was allowed only £7,504 4s. 4d. The treasury allowed also for the Cape Breton expedition £6,322, which was subse- quently reduced to £3,700 ; this was not paid until 1750, and then only after the most urgent calls. The Colony received also £7,507 for ex- penses of the campaign of 1746-7.
By the treaty of peace signed at Aix-la-Chapelle on April 19, the conquests made by the New England troops reverted to the French, which caused great disappointment in the Colonies.
The war sloop Tartar, anxious for another brush with the enemy, went to sca without orders. She soon fell in with a Spanish vessel, bearing a pretended flag of truce, which she captured and sent to Newport in charge of Lieutenant Vaughan, where her cargo, consist- ing of sugar, was discharged; this sugar was intended for one of the northern colonies. As there was supposed to be something illegal about this seizure, the matter was brought before the General Assem- bly and a committee reported that the sailing of Captain Holmes without orders was a flagrant misdemeanor; but it appears that it was without evil design and to keep his men from deserting, and the captain was not suspended. After this the Tartar, which had per- formed such effective service, was dismantled and her crew dis- charged.
Complaints were made at about this time to the Lords Commis- sioners of the Admiralty that an iniquitous trade was going on be- tween Rhode Island Colony and the king's enemies under flags of truce. Inquiries were made which showed that during the previous year more than twenty vessels, commissioned as flags of truce by the Rhode Island government to carry prisoners of war to the West Indies, had in reality taken only a few prisoners; but, under their commissions, had carried cargoes of provisions to the French, and in return had brought back the produce of the French sugar planta- tions.
Peace between France and England did not long continue. In 1753 war began and the New England colonists were called upon to take up their share of the burden. Fort George was put in repair at a cost of £10,000 which was raised by a tax on the Colony. An order came to raise 3,000 men in New England, to be placed under command
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of Generals Shirley and Pepperell. The General Assembly was con- vened and promptly passed an act to raise four companies of one hundred men each, "to be employed on a secret expedition". Meas- ures were adopted, also, to prevent the exportation of provisions that inight find their way to the enemy.
Preparations for the oncoming war were on a more extensive scale than the previous struggles. While it was the apparent purpose of the French to make conquests that would confine the English to a narrow strip of land along the Atlantic coast, the English determined, on the other hand, to secure control of the country from Nova Scotia to the Mississippi. Attack on the French was to be made at Quebec, Montreal, Crown Point, Oswego, Niagara, and Fort Duquesne (on the site of Pittsburg). The campaign opened with Braddock's attack on Fort Du Quesne, where he was signally defeated. At this time Governor Shirley, who was one of the most active and effective spirits of this war, saw an opportunity to carry out his cherished plan of striking the enemy in the interior. He wrote Governor Greene on February 24, 1755, that "the expedition in Nova Scotia and the schemes which occupy the attention of the French and a great part of their forces on the Ohio, afford a most favorable opportunity for the five Colonies of New England, and those of New York and the New Jerseys, to erect such a fort near Crown Point as may command the French fort there and curb the city of Montreal". An expedition against Crown Point became Shirley's leading measure, and it was organized and placed under command of Col. William Johnson, the most influential of the pioneers of the Mohawk valley in New York Province, and who had obtained almost unlimited confidence among the Iroquois Indians. As on former occasions, Rhode Island was called upon by both the king, through Secretary Robinson, and by Governor Shirley for its quota of troops and other war necessaries. The former intimates that "as there is a considerable number of for- eigners, particularly from Germany, in the Colony, who will be capa- ble and willing to bear arms upon this occasion", a portion of the de- sired recruits may be obtained from them. At the May session of the General Assembly an act was passed for raising four companies of troops of one hundred men each, to co-operate in Governor Shirley's plans, and another act was passed to emit £60,000 old tenor, in paper money, towards defraying the expenses of the expedition.
The encroachments of the French was the watchword used by the ministry and their agents in America to rouse the Colonies to action, upon which subject Governor Shirley wrote Governor Greene a forci- ble letter explaining the situation. The four companies ordered to be raised by Rhode Island were placed under command of Col. Christopher Harris, the commissary being Christopher Champlin. Liberal pay was allowed in addition to a bounty of twenty pounds to
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such soldiers as were provided with a good firelock. While these prep- arations were in progress news was received of Braddock's defeat, causing great consternation in the Colonies, and renewed efforts were at once made to check the advance of the French. In August the As- sembly voted to raise three additional companies of fifty men each for the Crown Point expedition ; these were soon ready and were sent with dispatch to Albany to join Colonel Harris's command. An additional £20,000 were voted to be issued in Bills of Credit towards defraying the increased expenses of the expedition. Seven members of the As- sembly protested against raising the additional troops, as they were "unwilling to load their constituents with a burden which they thought exceeded their ability to bear".
Fearing that vessels sailing for foreign ports might carry supplies to the French, six vessels lying in Newport harbor, laden with provi- sions for the West Indies and Africa, were embargoed and the Com- mittee of War was empowered by the Assembly to take from them for the use of the government so much as they deemed necessary for the troops. About the same time a letter was received from Governor Phipps, of Massachusetts, transmitting a communication from Ad- miral Boscawen relative to the state of the town and garrison at Louis- burg, which confirmed him in the opinion that the French had been supplied by the English colonies with provisions. These charges as far as they related to Rhode Island were investigated by a committee and found to be "absolutely without foundation".
In September, after advices had been received from Major-Gen- eral Johnson to the effect that the French would bring into the field at Crown Point a larger force than that of the Colonies, an act was passed by the Assembly to raise still another two hundred men to re- inforce the English army.
Before these latter troops reached the front the battle near Lake George had been fought and won by the English over the forces of Baron Dieskau, with a loss of about three hundred to the former, and thrice that number to the enemy. Johnson was wounded early in the battle, leaving General Lyman in command, and Baron Dieskau was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. Johnson was knighted for his services in this, the most important engagement yet fought between the French and English. The Rhode Island troops engaged in this campaign, or on their way to the field of operations, numbered seven hundred and fifty men, divided into eleven companies. To sustain so large a force required more means than the Colony could command, and the alternative was the issue of more paper money, to the amount of £60,000, which was known as Crown Point Bills.
Although the war was active on land, there does not appear to have been such struggles at sea as in the former contests; at least there is no record that privateering was carried on as extensively. The
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people may not have been prepared; and, besides, the military re- sources of the Colony were so heavily taxed for the Crown Point expedition that the navy had not time to assume its former high stand- ing. The system of privateering was early resorted to in Europe, and the Channel ports were filled with prizes taken from the French. A vessel belonging to the Marquis de Lambertie, which had put into Newport in June, was seized and condemned by the Court of Ad- miralty and the marquis was imprisoned. He was afterwards sent to England, where he complained of his treatment in Rhode Island; but the government made him no redress.
In order that the English colonies might act in concert in their war measures, commissioners were appointed to meet General Shirley for consultation. Governor Hopkins and Stephen Updike were appointed on the part of Rhode Island. The act authorized them to "concert measures for subsisting the troops now in the field and for the cam- paign ; to agree upon the proportion or quota of troops to be furnished by each Colony", etc. The promptness with which this Colony had acted in raising and sending forward troops for the Crown Point ex- pedition gave great satisfaction to the ministry. Secretary Robinson, in writing to Governor Hopkins under date of November 11, says:
"I have received the King's command to express to you His Majesty's sense of the great zeal and spirit which the Colony under your government has so strongly manifested, in so cheerfully and effectually promoting this necessary and important service. The King further orders 'that this letter be communicated to the Council and Assembly, that they be acquainted that His Majesty will take an early opportunity of laying the particulars of their meritorious con- duct, upon this great occasion, before Parliament' ", etc.
Owing to the lateness of the season the reduction of Crown Point was abandoned by General Shirley and the larger part of the troops returned. Of the Rhode Island contingent one hundred and eighty- five were retained in the service, of which a part was to remain in the garrisons at Fort Edward and' Fort William Henry, near Lake George; the remainder were discharged While some of the Colonies lost confidence in their commander on account of his abandonment of the Crown Point assault, Rhode Island continued her preparations for another campaign through the winter. At its February session the Assembly voted to raise a regiment of five hundred men, exclusive of officers, to be divided into two companies, including those who had re- mained at Fort William Henry. Christopher Harris was appointed colonel and Christopher Champlin lieutenant-colonel. During the winter communication was kept up with the troops left at Fort William Henry. Commander Gleason, in writing to Governor Hop- kins, says that Captain Whiting, of Rhode Island, is adjutant of the
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garrison and highly commends all the officers belonging to the Colony. The Assembly, in order to furnish the means for carrying on the war, passed an act to issue £8,000, cqual in value to the lawful money of the Colonies of Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut; in silver their value was stated as six shillings and cight pence to the ounce. It was further enacted that all the money received from Great Britain for defraying the expenses of the war should be appropriated to sinking the paper issues called the Crown Point Bills, and after this, to sink- ing the £8,000 just ordered to be issucd. Thus it appears that, while the Colony was ready to issue paper money to fill its treasury, it ever manifested the most earnest desire to redeem its issues. To rebuild Fort George, in Newport harbor, and place it in a state of defense, an additional £5,000 were appropriated.
In March advices reached the Colony that General Shirley had been superseded as commander of the forces and that the Earl of Loudon was appointed in his place. The king, through his secretary, pressed the Colony in the strongest manner to "make early and effectual provision for raising, and assisting His Majesty's Officers to raise sufficient men to recruit the several Regiments in North America up to their full establishments". As a further inducement for men to enlist, each was to be allowed a grant of two hundred acres of land, in either the Province of New York, Nova Scotia, or New Hampshire, at their own choice. The governor was directed to "acquaint the Assembly with His Majesty's great goodness in having recommended their case to Parliament, who have granted one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds to be distributed, in such proportion as the King shall think proper, to the four Provinces of New England and to those of New York and New Jersey; and thereby enabled His Majesty, not only to manifest his sense of their past services, but, also, to encourage them, for the future, to exert themselves in the service with spirit and vigor". It was gratifying to the colonists thus to know that their services had been appreciated; and, not the less so, in finding that, in ordering a new regiment to be raised for the Crown Point expedition and in providing money for its support, they had anticipated the wishes of their sovereign.
With the opening of spring a hundred additional soldiers were raised to reinforce the Rhode Island troops for an expedition against Crown Point. Our little Colony did not wait for orders from England to prepare for the war, nor did she need to be urged to furnish men, as was necessary with some of her sister Colonies. The General Assembly at once voted to raise troops for another campaign, and she came nearer filling her quota than any other Colony, as General Winslow wrote Governor Hopkins. The Colony was active in all directions for aiding in the prosecution of the war. Seamen were urgently called for by General Shirley for manning ships at Halifax, without whom,
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he writes, it will be impossible for His Majesty's ships to protect the Colonies ; and adds that he has thus taken the liberty to call on Rhode Island for these men "by the knowledge of the ready assistance the Colony has always so laudably given His Majesty's forces on the like occasions".
Sir Charles Lawrence soon afterward wrote Governor Hopkins that many of the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, distributed among the different Colonies, had procured vessels and embarked on them in order to return by coasting from Colony to Colony. Sir Charles, believing that the return of these people would endanger the security of the Province, urged upon Governor Hopkins the necessity of detaining any such vessels as might be in Rhode Island, or might attempt to pass through it.
The news of the taking of Oswego by the French under the gallant Montcalm created great alarm in the Colonies and led to renewed effort to conquer and expel the enemy. Lord Loudon called upon Rhode Island for more troops, carriages, and ox teams to transport provisions. Soon after this disastrous event news arrived that the French army was advancing from Canada towards the English settle- ments. Massachusetts was about to raise six hundred men, in addi- tion to whom one thousand were ordered to be raised in the western part of the Province, all for the relief of the provincial forces then engaged in the Crown Point expedition. The General Assembly of Rhode Island was called together and passed an act for raising four hundred men, to be sent on to Albany as a further reinforcement of the army.
While this activity prevailed in prosecuting measures for re- pelling the enemy by land, the same spirit of enterprise which existed in former wars was awakened to maintain superiority at sea. Many privateers were fitted out which scoured the coast and extended their cruising ground to the West Indies. One of these, the Foy, of eighteen guns, with a crew of one hundred and eighty men, commanded by Captain Dennis, sailed for the Spanish main and was never afterward heard of.
To prevent the French from getting a supply of provisions from the Colonies an act was passed, prohibiting the exportation of pro- visions from any place within the Colony to any Dutch or neutral ports. This act further provided that if any master or owner of any vessel should "willingly suffer any collusive capture to be made of his cargo, he should forfeit all his real and personal estate".
In order to agree upon a plan for actively prosecuting the war, the Earl of Loudon addressed a letter to the Colony requesting it to send commissioners to meet others at Boston; James Honeyman and George Bourn were accordingly appointed, with instructions to lay
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before the carl the condition of the Colony with reference to its fortifi- cations, cannon, and military stores, together with a statement of its means of carrying on the war. They also passed an act for building an armed vessel to guard the coast, and for raising and paying four hundred and fifty troops for the ensuing campaign. Samuel Angell was appointed to the command of this regiment.
On the 4th of February, 1757, William Pitt, then secretary of state, wrote Governor Hopkins: "The King, having nothing more at heart than the preservation of his good subjects and colonies of North America, has come to the resolution of acting with the greatest vigor in those parts, in the ensuing campaign; and all necessary preparations are making for sending a considerable reinforcement of troops, together with a strong squadron of ships, for the purpose, and in order to act offensively against the French". Secretary Pitt urged the immediate calling together of the Assembly that they might order the raising of troops for Loudon's army. A fortnight later advices were received from Pitt that Rear Admiral Holbourne had been placed in command of the squadron and that if the Colony desired any as- sistance, application might be made to that officer. The Colony was directed to employ vessels to communicate with the squadron and to furnish the admiral with any information that could be obtained rela- tive to the movements of the enemy. Soon afterward Lord Loudon communicated with Governor Hopkins, from New York, recommend- ing the Colony to make vigorous preparations for offensive operations, and advising that an embargo be laid on the several ports in the Colony, without which he would be unable to carry out his plans. He also desired that the governor would furnish a full account of all the vessels in port, with the view of employing them as transports. The season having now advanced sufficiently for active operations, Lord Loudon directed that the Rhode Island forces, consisting of five com- panies, under Capt. Samuel Angell, should be sent by water with expedition and quartercd at Albany.
The embargo laid by order of Lord Loudon in the northern colonies gave great dissatisfaction and was soon afterward removed as far as shipments of corn and other grain were concerned to Great Britain and Ireland, owing to the failure of crops in those countries. I'ne Earl of Loudon, who was now about to relinquish command of the northern army, called upon Rhode Island to send one hundred and fifty men as a reinforcement to Major-General Webb, who was in command of the colonial forces at and near Albany, a request that was promptly complied with.
The many privateers which had been fitted out in the Colonies, as usual in time of war, now gave much trouble on account of their inter- ference with the commerce of nations with which Great Britain was at peace. The Earl of Holderness, now secretary of state, addressed
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a letter to the governor of Rhode Island, complaining in the strongest terms of "the piratical behavior of several privateers, fitted out in North America, against the Spaniards, in the West Indies", with which nation Great Britain was at peace. His lordship particularly referred to the Peggy, Hadden, master, of New York, and to a pri- vateer from Halifax, which vessels had been guilty of acts against the Spaniards, "not only contrary to all humanity and good faith, but to the general instructions given to privateers". The governor of Rhode Island was directed to detain these vessels in case they should put into Newport. He was further instructed with reference to any future commissions given by him to privateers, as well as to all privateers from other Colonies which might come into the ports of the Colony.
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