Part 4
Under his administration the heirs of Captain Mason, fortified by a proclamation from the king and parliament, endeavored to establish their ownership to the property left them in New Hampshire, and, although not authorized by the act mentioned to collect arrearages of rent from the descendants of the original settlers, little progress was made in the collection of any. The men, and the children of the men who had for half a century contested every inch of New Hampshire soil with the elements, the wild beasts, the Indians, and their white allies from Quebec, did not propose to pay tribute to the grandchildren of the man whose name was but a tradition. The result was the creation of a period in the records of New Hampshire, whose history reads strangely like a page from Ireland’s annals describing landlord rule.
For in all parts of the province, and among all classes of people, the most determined efforts were made to prevent the impositions of the new proprietors. The sheriff and his officers, while engaged in the performance of their duties, were often confronted with the axe and the musket, and when opportunity offered, the women took a hand and tested the efficacy of hot water. The sacred person of the governor even was not exempt from insult and assault, for on at least one occasion, while endeavoring to shield Captain Mason, the grandson of the original proprietor, from one of his irate tenants, he was thrown into the fireplace on the burning coals, sat upon, three of his ribs broken, two teeth knocked out, and his body severely burned.
William Vaughan, one of the Royal Councillors, and among the most influential men in the colony, for an assault upon one of the officers of the king, was arrested, and for several years kept in confinement.
The records of the province during this period, as printed in the state papers, make very interesting reading. The little rock-ribbed province was the northern picket line of New England, and in consequence her sons were equally expert with the musket, the axe, and the spade.
That these traits had been transmitted to their descendants is very clear, for the construction of the grapevine bridge across the Chickahominy in 1862, by the boys of the 5th New Hampshire, as well as the record made by the same regiment during the Civil War, is the evidence; the axe, the spade, and the rifle figuring in both, as they had in the hands of their ancestors at Bunker Hill and Bennington nearly a century before. But the demands of Captain Mason were not the only grievances. The government was bound to suppress any industry in the colonies which would in any way interfere with those already in operation at home. An elaborate project had been already planned by the Earl of Bellmont, for the production of tar and pitch in New Hampshire.
The home government was paying Denmark one hundred thousand pounds annually for these two articles. Both could, with a little perseverance and care, be produced on this side of the water, and be paid for, not in cash, but in the products of the English mills and shops, and in this manner saving the money and finding a new market for goods.
To this end, pine trees were selected and stripped, but before the scheme had matured, and the first step taken, the wicked New Hampshire men set fire to the trees, and this, with the Indian troubles, which were endless, put an end to the tar and pitch arrangement. This was not all they did, however. The governor claimed that not only did these lawless men of “Old Strawberry Bank” cut down the king’s timber which had been reserved for the Royal Navy, but that they had sawn it up into deals, and actually sold it to the enemies of the government, in the French and Spanish West Indies; and that no less a person than the Lieutenant-Governor of New Hampshire was engaged in the business, and not only engaged in it, but had boasted of his profits, and thus incited others to go and do likewise. He next tried to introduce the cultivation of flax, but this was a failure, labor costing three times here what it would in Ireland. This paternal care of the government continued under William’s successors. In 1749 an act of parliament, while encouraging the production of pig and bar iron, absolutely forbade its manufacture, and to carry its terms into effect, proclamation was made by the provincial sheriffs, and an inquiry as to the number of mills and forges in the province was instituted by the governor, to the end that steps might be taken to have them discontinued. With such an experience as this extending over three-quarters of a century, the people of New Hampshire were not only in sympathy with their fellow-countrymen in the other colonies, but stood ready as well to coöperate in any movement having for its object the welfare of the people as against the government.
[Illustration:
THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH NEWARK, N. J. ]
[Illustration:
ROBERT ELLIS THOMPSON PHILADELPHIA, PA. ]
[Illustration:
FRANCIS C. TRAVERS NEW YORK CITY ]
[Illustration:
T. RUSSELL SULLIVAN BOSTON, MASS. ]
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
At a meeting held in Portsmouth on Dec. 16, 1773, one of the resolutions adopted was, “That every virtuous and public-spirited freeman ought to oppose, to the utmost of his ability, every attack of the ministry to enslave the Americans.” Five months later, on May 19, 1774, a committee of the town of Portsmouth sent their sympathies to the people of Boston on the closing of their port, and for their fellow-townsmen, promised to exert themselves to carry into effect any plan which might be concerted by the colonies for the general relief, and that the interests of the people of Boston would be considered as their own.
From this time to the departure of the royal governor forever, it was a game of battledoor and shuttlecock between his excellency and the general assembly; the latter energetic and firm; the former diplomatic, but cautious and watchful, and ever on the alert to subserve the interest of the home government.
To this end he refused at first to adjourn the assembly in May, 1774, but finally acceded to the request of the members, and an adjournment was made to June 12 of the same year. Meantime the excitement increased; events at home and abroad intensifying the feeling against the government.
At the adjourned meeting in May, the House of Representatives, in common with the assemblies of the other colonies, had appointed a committee of correspondence. This Governor Wentworth tried to prevent, and when he dissolved the assembly he was fain to believe the committee of correspondence would disappear with it.
In this he was disappointed, for its very first act after the dissolution of the assembly was to issue a summons to the representatives, who again met in their own chamber. The governor, attended by the sheriff of the county, entered, and in accordance with custom they rose when he presented himself. He addressed them, declaring the meeting illegal, and directed the sheriff to make proclamation accordingly, ordering all to disperse. He then retired, but they resumed their seats.
On further consideration they adjourned to another house, where it was resolved to hold a convention at Exeter, which should choose delegates to the General Congress to meet in Philadelphia, and to that end, letters were sent to each town and parish in the colony, inviting the people therein to send deputies to the Provincial Congress. The last business transacted by the representatives was to recommend a day of fasting and prayer to be observed by the people of the province. According to Belknap, this was observed with religious solemnity. A request was made at the same time for funds to defray the expenses of the delegates to the Continental Congress, and this was promptly responded to.
The convention called at Exeter assembled on July 21, 1774, and is now known in history as the “First Provincial Congress” of New Hampshire. There were eighty-five members present, with the speaker of the assembly, Hon. John Wentworth, a relative of the governor in the chair.
This distinguished body, composed of the best men in the province, many of whom had seen service in the French and Indian wars, and who can justly be styled the founders of the state, chose for their first representatives to the Continental Congress Maj. John Sullivan and Col. Nathaniel Folsom; and for the first time in the history of his native state does the name of John Sullivan officially make its appearance in its legislative records. It is evident to any one who has read closely the history of the stirring events of the period that some master hand was at work directing all the movements, civil and military, occurring at the time; and that this was the hand of John Sullivan later events prove clearly. The son of an Irish exile, and the grandson of one of the ill-fated defenders of Limerick, he was born in Somersworth, N. H., at a point opposite Berwick, Me., on February 18, 1740.
He was educated by his father, who had himself enjoyed the benefits of a liberal and thorough training before he settled in America, and who, through a long life, extending to his one hundred and fifth year, was diligently employed in the education of youth. After a voyage to the West Indies he became a member of the family of Hon. Isaac Livermore, a lawyer of Portsmouth having an extensive practice, and under his instruction prepared himself for his profession. He early exhibited ability of a high order, gained the respect and encouragement of his instructor, and soon acquired a distinguished position at the bar of New Hampshire. Just before reaching his majority he located in the town of Durham, purchased a handsome residence, which is still in existence, and in which he lived up to the time of his death. Such was his professional success, that he married at the age of twenty, and for ten years later he was constantly employed in the most lucrative causes, thereby incurring the resentment of sundry persons in Durham and elsewhere, who petitioned the executive council in 1766, complaining of him for evil practices as attorney-at-law. This trouble, whatever its nature may have been, existed even to the end of his days, and was doubtless at the bottom of the scheme to injure his reputation years after his death; for to this day there are some who would rob him of the credit given him in the state records for planning the capture of the powder at Newcastle and leading the party that effected it.
In eloquence as an advocate he won a place in the front rank, and earned the reputation of being a sound lawyer and a judicious counsellor. This character was not confined to his native state, for in addition to the friendship of men like the Wentworths and Langdons in New Hampshire, he had secured the esteem and respect of Lowell, Adams, Otis, and other well-known legal lights in Massachusetts. Although attached to his profession, he found time to devote to agriculture and manufactures, being one of the early promoters of the latter, establishing cloth and fulling mills in Durham, and succeeding so well that on the authority of John Adams he was worth ten thousand pounds before the Revolution broke out. From his father and mother he inherited a robust constitution, and was blessed with an active, lively disposition. He had a natural taste for military life, but except an occasional bout with the Indians, generally on the defensive, he had, before the Revolutionary War, no actual experience in warfare; but all around him were the veterans of the Indian and French wars, whose descriptions of the campaigns of Louisburg and Quebec aroused all the martial spirit in his fiery nature.
To his historical studies, especially those relating to military movements, he was greatly devoted; and read them to such good purpose that he was able accurately to describe nearly all of the great battles of the world. It was natural, therefore, for him to seek the exercise of arms early; so at the age of thirty-one he held the commission of major in the Colonial militia, and spared no pains to make himself familiar with the duties connected with the position. From the first rumble of discontent, down to the actual outbreak of hostilities, he was one of the most active men engaged in the cause of liberty. His nature and his abhorrence of oppression, two traits transmitted by generations of heroic ancestors, marked his career from the beginning, and his extended influence and popularity marked him early as a leader in the coming contest. With a full realization of what was before him he organized a company numbering eighty-three men in Durham, and associated with him was the gallant young Scammell, who was then a law student in his office. With a knowledge of these facts it is not too much to say, especially when comparing them with the events occurring afterwards, that the “hidden hand” which directed the movements of the patriots in New Hampshire, down to the convening of the First Provincial Congress in July, 1774, was that of the grandson of the Limerick soldier, who, in little less than a century from the broken treaty, was paying with interest the debt due the government which had driven his father to the wilds of America. He was chosen by the First Provincial Congress to represent his province in the Continental Congress, being the first person to represent New Hampshire in that body. Two instances will be sufficient to show his energy and usefulness in that assemblage. On qualifying, he was at once placed on two of the most important committees, of one of which, that upon the grievances of the people, he was chairman.
“The committee of violation of rights,” says John Adams in his diary, “reported a set of articles which were drawn by John Sullivan, of New Hampshire; and these two declarations, the one of rights and the other of violations, which are printed in the journals of Congress for 1774, were two years afterwards recapitulated in the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July, 1776.”
“New Hampshire has perhaps not remembered that the bold hand and the legal training of John Sullivan are in the immortal Declaration of Independence.”
On the adjournment of Congress, Sullivan returned to New Hampshire. During his absence the agitation had increased; nearly every town had its committee of safety, and many persons of note, suspected of a leaning towards the government, placed under arrest and kept in confinement, or sent out of the state, unless they took the test oath prescribed by the Assembly. Steps were also taken to prevent the sending of carpenters and other mechanics to Boston to build barracks for the royal troops, as men could not be secured there for that purpose. In one instance a man suspected of procuring workmen for General Gage, was waited on, and the charge being proven, he was obliged to go on his knees, as nothing less would be satisfactory, and make the following confession and promise:
“Before this company I confess I have been aiding and assisting in sending men to Boston to build barracks for the soldiers to live in, at which you have reason to be justly offended, which I am sorry for and humbly ask your forgiveness. And I do affirm that for the future I never will be aiding or assisting in any wise whatever, in act or deed contrary to the constitution of the country, as witness my hand.”
The military stores in Fort William and Mary at Newcastle were a constant source of anxiety to the governor, but he felt confident that no lawless act would be committed by the people without provocation, and as he was cautious in his course, no pretext could be found in that direction, but the inevitable was to happen. A report was circulated that General Gage was to send a body of troops to secure the ammunition.
The arrival of Paul Revere from Boston gave color to the rumor, and on the day following, armed men from the surrounding towns assembled in Portsmouth, and after effecting an organization and choosing their leaders, marched in broad daylight, to the number of four hundred, for Newcastle. On arriving at the fort the commander bade them to enter at their peril. No heed being paid to his words, one volley was fired from the three-pounders in position, but before the guns could be reloaded the walls were scaled and the fort captured at three o’clock P.M. on Dec. 14, 1774. The result was the possession of one hundred barrels of powder, sixty muskets, sixteen cannon, and other valuable stores.
In his letter to General Gage informing him of the event, Governor Wentworth said, “The principal persons in this enormity are well known.”
He mentioned no names, but a little over two years later Peter Livius, who was at the time of the capture, one of the Provincial Councillors, wrote thus to John Sullivan in June, 1777: “You were the first man in active rebellion, and drew with you the province you live in. You will be one of the first sacrifices to the resentment and justice of government; your family will be ruined and you must die with ignominy.”
Belknap wrote that “Maj. John Sullivan and John Langdon distinguished themselves as leaders in this affair.” Adams, in his annals of Portsmouth, said it occurred “under the direction of Maj. John Sullivan and Capt. John Langdon.”
Sullivan himself said: “When I returned from Congress in 1774, and saw the order of the British king and council prohibiting military stores being sent to this country, I took alarm, clearly perceiving the designs of the British ministry, and wrote several pieces upon the necessity of securing military stores, which pieces were published in several papers.” Quint said: “Sullivan, bold and daring, then an active member of the Continental Congress, and well known throughout the province by his leadership at the bar, had great influence. The seizure of the munitions at the fort, though sudden at last, was doubtless not without previous thought. The result of this act was momentous. It was the first act of armed rebellion. It preceded Concord and Lexington by four months of time. The captors of the fort entered it against the fire of fieldpieces and muskets openly, and in daylight they pulled down the royal flag, the first time in American history. They gave three cheers in honor of their success. They carried off a hundred barrels of gunpowder, some light guns and small arms which, under the care of Sullivan, were taken up the river, which was at that time covered with thick ice, through which a channel had to be cut.”
This bold and audacious act was deeply felt in Great Britain. Conciliation was now out of the question. The king’s anger was aroused. It was already bitter enough on account of the Massachusetts troubles. Governor Wentworth issued threatening proclamations.
He dismissed the offending major and captain from their posts in the militia. In answer to his edict all persons in Durham holding civil or military positions under the governor, headed by Sullivan, assembled at the tavern on the green, and there publicly burned their commissions and insignia of office. There was no further need of secrecy. The die was cast and the leaders were well known. The official positions, civil or military, held by many of those who were principals in the affair, obliged them, up to this time, to act with caution. After the burning, not of his ships, but of his commission, Sullivan boldly stepped to the front. The very next day after the capture of the powder he headed a body of men numbering between three and four hundred from Durham and the adjoining towns, and, marching to the Council Chamber, demanded an answer to the question as to whether or not there were any ships or troops expected here, or if the governor had written for any.
His excellency meekly answered: “I know of none.”
The greater part of the powder was stored in the basement of the meeting-house in Durham. The balance, for safety, was distributed in several places, some of it going to Exeter. That stored at Durham, as well as another portion placed with Capt. John Demerritt, was taken by the latter in his own ox-cart, under Sullivan’s direction, to Cambridge, where it arrived barely in time to be dealt out to the troops at Bunker Hill. Of how much value it was there and how badly it was needed, is too well known to bear repetition. Without it and lacking the men from the old Granite State accompanying it, Bunker Hill would not have been such a serious affair for the British army.
In claiming the leadership for Sullivan in this affair there is no desire to extol him at the expense of those with whom he was associated,—men like Langdon, Weare, Bartlett, Thornton, Scammell, Thompson, Folsom, Wentworth, Gilman, and others whose names are now household words. The position was freely conceded by them at the time, and acknowledged by the best informed to-day. After the Lexington fight, and while Sullivan was in attendance at the Second Continental Congress, the gallant young Scammell, who was in his office in Durham, wrote him that, “when the horrid din of civil carnage surprised us on the 20th of April, the universal cry was ‘Oh, if Major Sullivan was here!’ ‘I wish to God Major Sullivan was here!’ ran through the distressed multitude.”
Capt. Eleazer Bennett, who died in Durham in 1852, at the age of one hundred and one, said “that at the time of the capture of the powder he was in the employment of General Sullivan, at his mill at Packer’s Falls, when word was brought in to come down to Durham, to go to Portsmouth, and to get anybody else he could to come with him.” So far as he could remember, the following persons were with him: Maj. John Sullivan, Capt. Winborn Adams, Ebenezer Thompson, John Demerritt, Alpheus and Jonathan Chesley, John Spencer, Micah Davis, Isaac and Benjamin Small, Alexander Scammell, John Griffin, James Underwood, and Eben Sullivan, the major’s brother.