USA > Rhode Island > The Dorr war; or, The constitutional struggle in Rhode Island > Part 17
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Governor Dorr found that his small band had begun to fortify Acote's Hill, an eminence about eighty feet in height, a short dis- tance from the center of the village. The Providence turnpike passed along the southern side of this hill, entering the main street of the village at the southwest corner of the hill.
Immediately east of it was a lower hill, separated from it by a sandy, rocky ravine. Next east, on the same side of the road, was
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TIK CAPTURE OF ATOTK MEN AND TUR SACKING OF TRE VILLAGE OF CHEPATCHER,
BRAVE RHODE ISLAND ALGERINES, and the Command of the GALLANT COLONEL' BROWNE
ON THE 28"JUNE 1842 ..
A Icisvet Frown in the heat
6 Alger ine Max
.
THE CAPTURE OF ACOTE'S HILL.
Drawn by Henry Lord, who " was taken near Acote's Hill, marched with other prisoners, with arms pinioned, to Providence, and there, confined in the State prison, with thirteen others, in a cell 7 feet by 10, in which he was kept twenty-one days."-Burke's Report, 80.
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ACOTE'S HILL.
a pond, Across the turnpike, to the south, was a stretch of table- land, gradually rising to a height of a hundred and thirty feet, completely commanding Acote's Hill. No fort had been built, but slight breastworks had been thrown up on the south and west sides, the other sides being entirely unprotected. (11)
Rays
Hin
25
N
Pond
Acotes Hill
ravine
Hill
Mowryjs
Dory's Camp 80
30
ProvidenceTurnpike
1
Owen's Rand
Table Land
High &
rocky
Chepachet River
Marshy
Low
New Road
Hill
130
Above is a rough, but we believe a pretty accurate map of the position of the insurgent camp, and of the surrounding country They were entrenched upon Acote's Hill, which is 80 feet high. The hill on the south is 130 feet high, and of course commands the entrenchment It is three quarters of a mile distant. From Chepachet to the most eastern point on the map, is two miles. The entrench- ment was on the western part of the hill, facing the east and south The descent towards Chepachet is very steep, and was not protected by any embankments. There are no embrasures, but open spaces are left in the entrenchment in which the cannon were placed.
MAP OF CHEPACHET SHOWING DORR'S CAMP.
(COLLECTION RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.)
27
-Chepachet
210
THE DORR WAR.
Governor Dorr made the claim afterwards that he was greatly surprised to find the men "posted in an untenable position."(15) However, he took no steps to find or obtain a more tenable posi- tion. A little more work was done on the fortifications, several cannon were mounted, and then the men apparently settled down to wait the turn of events. Saturday passed, and nothing further was done but to send orders to all the towns in the county for the people's militia to "repair forthwith to headquarters for its de- fence." Sunday passed, and as many men departed as arrived; for until Monday morning, there was no attempt made to enforce dis- cipline among the troops. (16)
Scarcely. had the armed men begun to collect at Chepachet when they also were troubled with rumors. The fear that the charter government would send a large force against them was uppermost in the minds of all. (17) When the report came, late in the evening of Wednesday, June 22, that a body of men had been seen approaching the village along the turnpike, guards were posted at the entrance to the village; and one or two hours after mid- night the entire hostile force, consisting of four men, was arrested and lodged in a barn. Two were travelling from Providence to Killingly, Connecticut;(b) the other two had been sent out by the executive council to see what movements were being made at Che- pachet.(c) The four men were bound together and, between the files of a company of soldiers, were compelled at once to walk the twelve miles to Woonsocket Falls. Throughout the march they were harshly treated, and one became so exhausted that he had to be carried. Reaching Woonsocket at six in the morning, the four
(b) These men were Charles J. Shelley and John C. Keep, both of Providence.
(c) Samuel W. Peckham and Charles F. Harris, both of Providence.
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ACOTE'S HILL.
men were taken to a hill which seemed to be the headquarters of the so-called suffragists. After a couple of hours delay, the men were permitted to go, no reason being found for holding them. (18)
Hastily returning to Providence, the four men presented them- selves before a justice of the peace and swore to the truth of the story which they related. They had had considerable conversation with the insurgents, both at Chepachet and Woonsocket, and had learned that the two bands were preparing to unite immediately at Chepachet. The insurgents claimed that they cared nothing about the General Assembly nor any of its acts-they were pledged to uphold their constitution. Before sunset, they said, at least two thousand men would have assembled, and aid was on the way from New York; then they would march to Providence and demand its surrender ; if refused, they would bombard the city. (19)
This was of course merely the talk of a rabble, yet the story spread like wildfire throughout the city and thoroughly awakened the charter authorities. Governor King wrote a besecching letter to President Tyler, stating his grounds for fearing that open vio- lence was again ready to break out, (20) and describing the theft of cannon and powder, the gathering of armed men in the northern part of the State, and the establishment of a kind of martial law in Woonsocket and Chepachet. He enclosed the depositions of the four citizens of Providence who "were cruelly treated under pretense of being spies," and sent the letter by the hands of Sen- ator William Sprague, directing him personally to present the case to the President. (21)
Perhaps Mr. Tyler cannot be criticised very severely if he felt . like saying, " Wolf, wolf, when there is no wolf." In April Gov- ernor King had asked aid; in May he had twice begged for assist- ance; now, in June, he again sent a beseeching letter. At any
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THE DORR WAR.
rate, the President deferred a direct reply to the request by again calling the Governor's attention to the fact that the Rhode Island legislature was in session, and that the communication should have come from it.( ?? ) Governor King might well have answered that this session of the Assembly was legally the same as that of May 4, when it did officially call upon the President. However, though Colonel Bankhead wrote to Washington, advising the sending of troops ; (23) though Postmaster Hallett, of Providence, sent to the Postmaster - Gen- eral an account of the situation ; (2") though Senators Simmons and Sprague and Representative Til- linghast called upon the President, and also sent him an ur- gent letter, (25) John GOVERNOR KING RESIDENCE. Tyler did not yield. Two days after the fiasco of Acote's Hill, he requested the Secretary of War to go to Providence and take what steps were necessary.(2%) No steps were necessary, and the President had done well to keep his head.
After sending his messages to President Tyler, Governor King began to take steps to make use of the entire militia to repel the " invasion." Orders were at once sent out to all parts of the State, directing the military companies to put themselves in readiness for service and to be prepared to march to the scene of action within
t
213
t
ACOTE'S HILL.
two or three days. Saturday morning, three hundred and fifty men arrived in Providence-the artillery companies from Newport, Bristol, and Warren-and the steamboat at once returned to New- port for the remainder of the militia of that town ; a body of four hundred men arrived on the railroad, from the southern part of the State; (7) the militia of Providence and the neighboring towns were mustered and held under arms, ready to move at a moment's warn- ing. In the afternoon a review of the troops in Providence was held at Smith's Hill, when sixteen hundred men passed the review- ing officers, (28) while two or three hundred more were on duty in the city. On the arrival of the third and fourth brigades, later in the day, it was estimated that the force in Providence numbered twenty- five hundred men. (29)
Sunday was comparatively a quiet day in Providence. Martial law was declared, guards were stationed in all parts of the city, and the statutes were enforced with unusual severity. About thir- teen hundred men were under arms on Jefferson Plains, and the rest of the army, now numbering three thousand, was quartered in private families or at the college, from which the students had been turned out. (29) A portion of the fourth brigade was ordered to march direct to Foster, a town south of Glocester and border- ing on Connecticut. From this point as a base, the retreat from Chepachet to Connecticut might easily be cut off. William Gibbs McNeill was appointed Major- General and given command of the entire force. He made his headquarters at the Tockwotten House, at India Point. (30)
Hour after hour passed, on Monday, and no move was made. The troops were kept in readiness, but for what ? Were they simply collected in Providence to act in defense of that city? Did they not dare to take the offensive and attack the insurgents on
1
214
THE DORR WAR.
Acote's Hill? Were Governor King and General McNeill, with 3,000 or 4,000 men, afraid to attack the hill defended by a few cannon and a force of a thousand men, at the highest estimate ? Perhaps they feared disloyalty in their own ranks; but would a delay make the men more loyal? Or were the charter authorities waiting in the hope of obtaining a favorable reply from President Tyler ?
A remarkable change - in the appearance of affairs came Monday night. All was activity at the charter head- quarters, and orders were issued to begin the march. A sudden confidence seemed to have taken possession of those high in au- thority. The advance guard which had been sent forward to Green- COL. W. W. BROWN. WHO "STORMED" THE FORT ON AGHE'S HO !. ville was ordered to proceed at once to Che- pachet. Apparently this new confidence did not pervade the entire army. The officers in command of the various divisions of the charter forces obeyed these new orders slowly, using great caution.
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RHODE ISLAND
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ITUATE MILLE
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MAP DRAWN BY ORDER OF GEN. McNEIL, SHOWING LOCATION AND NUMBER OF STATE TROOPS, JULY 1, 1842. (COLLECTION RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.)
١٠٠٥٠
215
ACOTE'S HILL.
Not until nearly eight o'clock on Tuesday morning (June 28), did the advance guard reach the neighborhood of the hill. (31) The result of the attack was soon announced to the people of Provi- dence by the Military Orders, Number 54.
" The village of Chepachet and fort of the insurgents were stormed at quarter before S o'clock this morning, and taken with about one hundred prisoners by Colonel William W. Brown; none killed and no one wounded." (32)
The Providence Journal issued an extra edition in the afternoon, telling the story thus :
" Dory Fled and His Fort Taken.
" News has this moment arrived that the force under command of Colonel Brown has taken the insurgent fortification. Dorr has fled but large numbers of his men have been captured." (33)
The true facts seem to be that no fort was taken, for the rude fortifications need not be dignified by that name; that no fort was stormed, for Acote's Hill was without a defender; that none of the charter forces were killed nor even wounded, because there was no fighting; and that the prisoners reported as captured were taken from places of hiding or were non-combatants who were guilty only of being found on the spot. Governor Dorr had left, and his troops had disbanded more than twelve hours earlier; and the poor, deluded men, thus practically deserted, were trying to obey their last orders and escape to their homes. (31)
Dorr's flight was known to the charter authorities early Mon- day evening, and was the cause of the confidence so suddenly dis- played. Walter S. Burges, one of Governor Dorr's personal friends
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THE DORR WAR.
and former adherents, received a letter from Chepachet(d) about seven o'clock on Monday evening. It was handed to him, with the seal unbroken, by Colonel Edwin H. Hazard, for it had been intercepted by the charter authorities. Mr. Burges, at Colonel Hazard's request and in his presence, opened the letter, and found a line directed to himself and an enclosure directed to the pub- lishers of the Providence Express. The letter to Mr. Burges was signed "T. W. Dorr," and was a request that the enclosure be delivered as directed. Governor Dorr also wrote: "Believing that a majority of the people who voted for the constitution are opposed to its further support by military means, I have directed that the military here assembled be dismissed." He added that he hoped that "no impediments" would be " thrown in the way of the return of [the] men to their homes." Colonel Hazard carried the letter directed to the Express to General McNeill, who immediately opened and read it. A few moments later a general council was held, at which were present, among others, Governor King, several mem- bers of the executive council, General McNeill, Colonel Bankhead, and Mayor Thomas S. Burgess. (35)
The decision as to the state of affairs in Rhode Island for the next few days now rested wholly with the charter authorities; so they might publish the letter, and quiet the excitement so generally prevalent; they might keep their forces where they were, and per- mit the misguided insurgents to return to their homes without 1
(d)
" Glocester, R. I .. June 27, 1842.
" To the Publishers of the ' Express,' Providence, R. I.
" Having received such information as induces me to believe that a majority of the friends of the people's constitution disapprove of any further forcible measures for its support ; and believing that a conflict of arms would therefore, under existing circumstances, be but a personal controversy among different portions of our citizens, I hereby direct that the military here assembled be dismissed by their respective officers.
"T. W. DORR, Commander-in-Chief."
İ
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ACOTE'S HILL.
molestation ; ,or they might delay the publication of the letter, make a brave show of force, capture the abandoned fort, take as many prisoners as possible, and prove themselves so energetic that even the persistent Dorr would not dare to try again. They chose the latter course. The letter to Mr. Burges was handed to him at about seven in the evening of Monday, and must have been sent from Chepachet at least two hours earlier. Not until the next morning was the letter given to the Express, which had already suspended publication, fearing a riotous attack on the establishment. However, Mr. Burges obtained permission from the Governor for the publishers to print an extra edition, containing the letter, which did not appear until after noon. (36) A few hours later, the Journal copied the letter and printed it in the same edition with the news of the "Capture of Dorr's Fort." (37)
The decision to abandon the movement was made by a military council held by Dorr in the afternoon, but the order for dismissal was not, however, promulgated to the men until seven o'clock, and an hour later Governor Dorr and the officers had deserted the spot. (38)
The men were left to return home or flee from the State as best they could. What were the grounds upon which the decis- ion to abandon the movement was made? Was it because the conflict was evidently so unequal? A meagre five hundred or a thousand men were arrayed to withstand the three thousand or four thousand charter soldiers. For a time Governor Dorr antici- pated that his followers in Providence would follow the charter army, harass it from the rear, and thus render it less effective. (39) But he was undeceived in this matter when he was told the names of many former suffragists who were in the charter ranks. (10) The little band on Acote's Hill was in an " untenable position." Not only was the hill ill fortified, but the artillery ammunition would 28
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THE DORR WAR.
MEETING HOUSE
ThompsonsRoad
N.Art y. Quarters
WATERMANS
KIMBALL'S
/RA P. EAVANS R
Chefachei
FACTORY STORE
HEAD QUARTERS
SPRACU'S TAVERN
INFANTRY QRS.
HUNT'S
BATWILLS WARREN CY.
QUARTERS OF M. ARTILLERY
St. through Chepachet
RED HOUSE
-
SHELDON'S QRS.OF STEDMAN'S BRIGADE
Acote's Hill
CAMP
Ravine
MAP OF CHEPACHET.
Prov. Turnpiko
The above map shows the village of Chepachet, and the quarters of the troops which were station- ed there Col. Brown's headquarters were at Sprague's tavern , the Newport Artillery, were quartered in the meeting house ; the Light Infantry at Sprague's tavern , the Warren Artillery and Infantry at Samuel Y. Atwell's house , the Marine Artillery at Mr Hunt's the Third Brigade at Mr Sheldon's, and a portion of it at Mr. Atwell's, after the Warren companies had left The Bristol Artillery, Newport Volunteers, Middletown Volunteers, Bristol Neck Infantry, and Barrington Vol- teers. left Chepachet and quartered at Greenville for the night.
(COLLECTION RHODE ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY.)
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ACOTE'S HILL.
be exhausted in fifteen minutes.(41) " There was a scarcity of pro- visions," testified the "Acting Adjutant-General at Chepachet," " though a few barrels of flour and beef remained when the camp broke up."(12) There was no water on the hill, nor was there an abundant supply, in the neighborhood.(+3) Well might the military officers hesitate.
Nevertheless, the military reasons, though evidently sufficiently strong, were not given by Governor Dorr or his officers as the true cause for the disbanding. Dorr, inconsistent as he was in many ways, was always consistent in his intention to abide by the will of " the people." Nothing could have moved him but the be- lief that a "majority of the friends of the people's constitution dis- approved of any further forcible measures for its support." When he had come to this conclusion, Governor Dorr gave up the fight.
The People's Governor required many proofs before he was led to the belief that the people were no longer with him; and even his former associate refused him further support. Perhaps the first light that broke upon the Governor came from a card that appeared in the Newport Mercury of Saturday, and was copied far and wide ; (e) it was signed by Dutee J. Pearce and five others, and
(c) Newport Mercury, June 25, 1842 ; Providence Journal, June 27, 1842 ; Republican Herald, June 28, 1842 ; MMassachusetts Spy. June 29, 1842.
" We were opposed to the hostile movements recently made in this State -some of us labored hard to prevent them - we are now opposed to any movements of the kind, and are willing to do what can well be required of us to suppress them. The late Act of the Legislature, providing for calling a Con- vention of the l'eople, in most of its provisions meets our cordial approbation, and taken as a whole will receive our support. We hope our political friends will give it theirs. We who are members of the Legislature under the people's Constitution, long since relinquished all idea of ever again taking our seats in the same - some of us have made public avowals of our determination upon this subject. We are of opinion that under existing circumstances, it would be the height of folly for that legislature to attempt again to organize.
"(Signed), Dutee J. Pearce, Rober R. Carr, Daniel Brown, George C. Shaw, Sanford Bell, Benj. Chase.
" NEWPORT, June 24, 1342.".
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CHE DORR WAR.
stated that the undersigned were opposed to any hostile movement and were willing to do what they could in opposition to it. On the whole, they approved the act of the Assembly calling for a convention. The light was strengthened by another card which appeared in Monday's Journal, to the same purport, signed by David Daniels, W. S. Burges, and more than a dozen others. (f) Even the Express disapproved of his proceedings. (11)
Furthermore, the number of men that came to his support was lamentably small. Fourteen thousand had voted for the constitu- tion, it was claimed, but only a few hundred would take up arms for it. Thirty-five hundred Providence citizens had cast their bal- lots in favor of the new organic law: ten officers and thirty-five men came from that city to uphold their Governor at Chepachet. (15) " Since the people have deserted us, whether from cowardice or otherwise, and gone over to the enemy, giving them the majority,
() Providence Journal, June 27, 1842 ; Republican Herald, June 23. 1842. " Monday morning, June 27. 1842. " To the Editor of the Journal :
"DEAR SIR : - Will you have the goodness to insert in your extra Journal, the enclosed circu- lar, and call upon all who have advocated the suffrage cause, as a matter of principle, to manifest their devotion to the same, by sustaining the government of the State, against all force, domestic or foreign, which may be found arrayed against it. The path to success in this cause is now, at least, the path of law and order.
" Yours in haste, "W. S. BURGES. "'TO THE SUFFRAGE MEN OF RHODE ISLAND.
' 'The late law of the General Assembly, containing in our opinions, the substance of what we have ever contended for, we heartily recommend its provisions to the candor of our friends, and trust that they will render it their undivided support. The use of force in opposition to the Government is NOT to be tolerated- And we hope that the feelings, wishes, and opinions of the undersigned, may be well considered by those who would now oppose the present existing government of the State.' "
Signed by David Daniels, W. S. Burges, Hezekiah Willard, Adnah Sacket, A. V. Potter, Silas Weston, George W. Ham. J. W. Anthony, E. Montgomery, Wm. Blanding, Wm. Wentworth, Harvey Chaffee, Leonard A. Stalley, and a great many others.
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ACOTE'S HILL.
we ought not to contend longer; it would be a faction against the majority." (40)
For the time, Dorr's letter was kept secret by the charter authori- ties; although in the city and throughout the entire vicinity the excitement was intense. (47) Perhaps, had the people understood that all danger was at an end, Tuesday would have been a quieter day ; and the charter government would have saved itself much criti- cism. The truth was that the charter authorities greatly feared that troops were preparing to come from other States to assist the People's Governor. To be sure, probably as many non-residents of Rhode Island were enrolled among the charter troops as came to the assistance of the suffrage army; and even Major - General McNeill did not claim to be a resident of the State. (4) Yet Gov- ernor King was much afraid of the insurgents "from abroad," and Rhode Island was almost surrounded by other States; hence the military authorities thought it wise to station guards at various points along the border, especially at the Pawtucket bridge over the Seekonk river, in the village of Pawtucket. There the Kent- ish Guards were stationed in the late afternoon of Tuesday, and travel across the bridge was seriously interrupted during the even- ing, as every passer-by was halted and challenged. Some of the malcontents, who had not shown the courage of their convictions by betaking themselves to Chepachet, were ready to hoot the sol- diers, and, perhaps, threw stones at them. Naturally, and yet in- excusably, the soldiers were goaded on to fire. Who fired, or why they fired, has never been legally ascertained; but, inasmuch as the guns were all loaded with ball, and these must hit somewhere, three people were shot, all of them on the Massachusetts side of the bridge, and one, Alexander Kelby, was instantly killed. There is no evidence that any of these men had given any cause for the
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firing, and it is certain that Mr. Kelby had but just come from his home to look after his oldest son, who had been called out by the commotion. Had the letter from Governor Dorr been published Tuesday morning, the only real fatality of the Dorr rebellion might have been avoided. (19)
AUTHORITIES -1 Burke's Report, 756 : Address of Dorr, August, 1843 2 Providence Jour- nal, June 23, 1842. 3 Pitman. Trial of Dorr. 45 : Testimony of Silas A. Comstock ; Turner. Trial of Dorr, 18 ; also l'itman, Trial of Dorr, 35 : Testimony of lliram Chappel. 4 Providence Jour- nal, June 25, 1842. 5 Burke's Report, 756: Address of Dorr, August, 1843. 6 Providence Journal. June 27, 1842. 7. Burke's Report, 756: Address of Dorr, August, 1843. S Boston Saturday Evening Gocette, June 25. 1842. 9 Providence Journal, June 23, 1842. 10 Providence
Journal, June 24, 1842. 11 Providence Journal, June 25, 1842. 12 Providence Express, June
25, 1842. 13 Burke's Report, 756: Address of Dorr, August, 1843 14 Providence Journal, June 27, 1842. 15 Burke's Report, 757 : Address of Dorr, August, 1843 16 Burke's Report,
759: Address of Dorr, August. 1843. 17 Burke's Report, 341 : Deposition of Jedediah Sprague. 18 Burke's Report, 600: Depositions of Peckham. Harris, and Shelley ; Providence Journal, June 24, 1842. 19 Burke's Report. 692 : Deposition of Keep. 20 Burke's Report, 688. 21 Burke's Report, 68S : 1.etter of Thomas M. Burgess, Mayor of Providence, to the President ; Burke's Report,
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