11
Jill

THE

HISTORY

NEW HAMPSHIRE,

FROM ITS DISCOVERY, IN 1614, TO THE PAS
SAGE OF THE TOLERATION ACT, IN 1819.

BY GEORGE BARSTOW.

SECOND EDITION.

PUBLISHED BY
I.ITJ'LE & BROWN, BOSTON;
UEO. T. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE, NEW YORK.
. Jan. 20, 1853.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848,
BY GEORGE BARSTOW,
In tlie Clerk's Office of tlie District Court of Massachusetts.

CRAIUHEAO, PKINTKR.
r,2 Vtinj Street, .V Y

PREFACE.
It is not without distrusting my own abilities,
that. T have resolved to perpetuate what is worthy
of remembrance in the history of my native state.
I am aware ofthe difficulties and dangers of such
an undertaking.
To discard prejudice — to sit in calm judgment
upon those who cannot speak for themselves, but
who require justice from history — to examine with
a faithful scrutiny the institutions of one's own
country — to present candid, temperate, and just
views of men and things, and yet to mingle pleas
ure with instruction — this is a task which few
have the assurance to begin, and fewer still can
say that they have successfully executed. Yet I
have thought that I could do something for those
who would know their state's history with trifling
expense of time, and more for those who are better
pleased to travel in the smooth path of connected
narrative, than to toil up the rugged ascent of
time-worn documents, and broken, disjointed an
nals. From the mass of materials before me, I have
aimed to build a compact edifice, with fair pro
portions. My first and highest object has been to
present the truth. Yet I have desired to make
the history of New Hampshire not simply a record
of facts. I have endeavored to trace actions to

IV PREFACE.
motives, and results to causes. I have sometimes
delineated the character of those whose actions I
have portrayed. I have dared to censure where I
thought censure to be due, and have applauded
whenever superior' virtues, have presented a spec
tacle for admiration. Above all, I have sought to
place in bold relief those examples of moral great
ness which are fitted for the instruction and emu
lation of posterity. Such are the duties which I
have assumed, and which I have endeavored to
execute faithfully and impartially; but it is not
without many misgivings that. I now commit this
volume to the judgment of the public.
The valuable assistance rendered me by othore
demands a suitable acknowledgment. Of these I
lake great pleasure in mentioning my talented
friend James M- Rix, of Lancaster, to whose
research I am indebted for many important facts.
I am under like obligations to Alexander Ladd,
of Portsmouth, for all that relates to the commerce
of that town. Among those who have furnished
me with rare files of papers and documents, are
the Directors of the Portsmouth Athenaeum, and
Virgin & Moses, the present publishers of the
New Hampshire Gazette. It is due to Josiah
Stevens, Jr., secretary, and to Zenas Clem
ent, treasurer, of the state, to say that their
politeness and attention have greatly facilitated
the examinations which I have been obliged to
make of the state records and papers deposited
at Concord in the public archives.
Boston, June 1, 1842.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.
Introductios. — The red race— The first settlers of New Hampshire, their
character— The Scottish emigrants — Columbus — Early voyages — The Cabots —
Discoveries of the English, French, and Portuguese— Conquests of the Span
iards—North American Indians— Discovery of New Hampshire— Smith— His
character— Mason and Gorges— Sir Walter Raleigh— Landing at Portsmouth-
Melancholy decay of tho Indians —Search for gold— Description of the country-
Attempt to introduce the feudal system into New Hampshire— Death of Mason
— His character— Failure ofthe colony of Mason and Gorges — Reflections, 5
CHAPTER II.
Dover— The Autinomians — Exeter — Form of government a democracy — Antino-
mian controversy in Massachusetts — Hampton— Government formed at Ports
mouth — At Dover — Constitution — Causes which led to the settlement of Exeter
— The Puritans — Contest between them aud the AntinOmians, Henry Vane,
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, Wheelwright — They are banished from Massachusetts
— They come to Exeter — Their doctrines — Calvin — Calvinism — Union with
Massachusetts — Wheelwright — His interview with Oliver Cromwell — The con
federation — Passaconaway disarmed — The White Mountains explored — Neal
searches their summits for gold — Description of them — Superstitious reverence
of the Indians for their invisible inhabitants  38
CHAPTER III.
Witchcraft at Portsmouth — In England and France — In Germany and Scotland-
Trial of a witch — The Salem witchcraft — Conjectures as to the phenomena
of witchcraft— Persecution of the Quakers— Execution of Leddra, Robinson
and Stevenson — Reflections,  62
CHAPTER IV.
War with the Indians— Passaconaway — His character — His dying speech — The
Penacooks refuse an alliance with king Philip — Indian depredations — Fall of
Philip— Waldron seizes the refugees by stratagem — The Mohawks instigated to
attack the eastern Indians — Union with Massachusetts dissolved — New Hamp
shire made a royal province — President Cutts,  76

2 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
Organization of the new government— Laws— Crimes— Courts— Militia— Dis
content of the people— Death of Cults— Cranfield— His character— Arbitrary
measures— Gove's rebellion— He is sent to the tower of London— Persecution
of Moody— Character of Moody— Riot at Exeter— Andros made governor-gene
ral— Revolution in England— Revolution in the colonies— Andros deposed-
Union with Massachusetts— War with the Indians— Death of Waldron— Indian
cruelty — Sufferings of the captives,  93
CHAPTER VI.
Conquest of Canada attempted— It fails— Governor Allen— Union with Massachu
setts dissolved— Sir William Phipps— The small-pox first imported into New
Hampshire — Peace with the Indians — The war resumed — Madokewando —
Usher — Durham destroyed — Peace — The return of the captives — The Earl of
Bellomont— His character — His death — Death of Allen — War between France
and England— Dudley— His conference with the Indians — Indian depredations
— Expedition against Port Royal — It fails — Congress of delegates — Second ex
pedition against Port Royal — It is successful — Death of Hilton — Expedition to
Quebec — The fleet wrecked in the St. Lawrence — One thousand men perish —
Peace — The captives return — Vaughan — John Wentworth — Industry revives —
Monopoly resisted — Gov. Shute holds a conference with the Indians on an island
in the Kennebec— The Scottish emigrants— Their character, . . .109
CHAPTER VII.
The Aurora Borealis seen for the first time in New England in 1721 — Inoculation
first used as an antidote to the small-pox — War with the Indians — The Jesuit
missionaries— Father Rasle — his labors — his death and character — War with
the Indians — The family of Hanson — Captain Lovewell — Last battle with the
Indians at Lovewell's Pond — Defeat and death of Lovewell — Description of the
battle-ground and the scenery in the valley ofthe Saco— Departure of the Pena-
cooks — Boundary dispute — Settlement of Concord — Triennial act — Burnet —
Belcher — Death of Wentworth — his character — Dunbar — Contest between the
friends of the union with Massachusetts and the advocates of a separate gov
ernment — Boundary dispute — continues — decided in favor of New Hampshire — ¦
Benning Wentworth appointed governor — Sickness in New Hampshire — Intelli
gence — Morals — Schools — George Whitefield — comes to New Hampshire — his
eloquence — his character,  ? .132
CHAPTER VIII.
Expedition to Cape Breton— William Pepperell— Siege and fall of Louisburg—
Vaughan— War with the Indians— Settlement with the Masonian proprietors-
Defence of Number-Four by Capt. Stevens— Contest concerning the Vermont
lands— Stark— France resolves to connect Canada with Louisiana— Union ofthe
colonies for defence— Congress of delegates meet at Albany— Campaign of 1755
—Defeat of Braddock— Washington— The Rangers— Expedition to Crown Point
—Massacre at Fort Willam Henry— Monlcalin-Pitt— Attack upon the fortress
of Ticonderoga— The English repulsed— Quebec— Expedition against the St.
Francis Indians— Destruction of their village— Disasters of the Rangers— Con
quest of Canada completed— The Rangers— Unsuccessful attempt ofthe Indians
to exterminate the English-N. H. Gazette-Progress of settlement-Contest
between New York and New Hampshire for the lands of Vermont— The Revo
lution dawning, . ,.,
"¦-..... lol

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.
Administration of Pitt — Taxation — Stamp act — Duties — Debates in Parliament
— Excitement occasioned by the stamp act — Stamp distributor at Portsmouth
compelled to resign — Riots in other colonies — Threatened destruction of tea at
Portsmouth — Removal of Gov. Wentworth, and appointment of John Went
worth— Assault upon fort William and Mary, led by Langdon and Sullivan —
Ammunition and cannon removed by the provincials — Battle of Concord and
Lexington — A convention cajled at Exeter — Governor Wentworth recommends
reconciliation — Royal government dissolved in New Hampshire — Boston be
sieged by the provincials — Battle of Bunker's Hill — Death of Warren and Mc-
Clary — Whigs and tories — Formation of a state government in New Hampshire
— Adoption of a constitution — Meshech Ware, president — New Hampshire fits
out a ship of war — Land forces — Expedition to Canada — Sullivan meets the
army retreating — New Hampshire resolves on a declaration of independence —
Public sentiment — Burgoyne advances into Vermont — Battles of Bennington and
Stillwater— General Sullivan's expedition to Rhode Island— Surrender of Corn-
wallis — Great Britain acknowledges the independence of the United Colonies —
Washington retires to Mount Vernon  211

CHAPTER X.
Depreciation of continental money — Efforts of Congress to prevent the deprecia
tion — Proscription of persons and confiscation of estates — Constitution proposed
— rejected by the people — Another proposed- — Revolt of sixteen towns — Mone
tary distress — Insurrection — the insurgents made prisoners — Union ofthe states
— Convention of delegates at Philadelphia — The Federal Constitution— sub
mitted to the people — Convention assembles at Exeter to ratify the Federal
Constitution — Conflicting opinions — Joshua Atherton's speech against the adop
tion ofthe Constitution — It is finally ratified — Washington chosen President of
the United Slates — John Langdon elected President of New Hampshire — Wash
ington visits New Hampshire — Progress of settlements — Increase of population
— Support of common schools — Education — Establishment of post offices — State
debts — Revision of the Slate Constitution — Josiah Bartlett — Formation of par
ties — Republicans — Federalists — Depreciation of paper money — The privateer
ship M'Clary — Case of the prize ship Susanna — Remonstrances against the acts
ofthe general government — Jay's Ircaty — Progress of settlements — Lake Wiu-
nipiseogee — A medical school established— Troubles with France — Laws for the
observance of the Sabbath — Death of Washington — Administration of John
Adams — Organization of parties — Manufactures — Coos county — Scenery around
the mountains  . 265

CHAPTER XI.
Samuel Livermore — Matthew Thornton— Amendment of the federal constitution
— Ascendency of the republican party — Laws — District schools — Iron mines —
Franconia mountain scenery — The notch — Mount Lafayette — The basin — The
flumc  The Old Man of the Mountain, or Profile rock — Ascent of Mt. Lafay
ette  Execution of Burnham at Haverhill— Removal of the seat of government to
Concord — Commerce of Portsmouth — The effect of the embargo, the war of 1812,
and other causes— Right of search— Orders in council— French decrees— The
embargo— it is unpopular— The federal party again in the ascendency— George
Sullivan  Aggressions of Great Britain— War becomes a probable event — Mes-

4> CONTENTS.
sage of Governor Langdon— Debates in the senate and house — Speech of Gil
man— Speech of Parrott— Lotteries— Banks— Election of William Plummer—
his war message— Preparations for war— Madison calls an extra session of con
gress— Increase of the army and navy— The militia called out— Campaign of
1812— Daniel Webster— Progress of the war— Campaign of 1813— Change in
the judiciary— Great fire at Portsmouth— Campaign of 1814— Battle of Chip
pewa— Battle of Bridgwater— Miller— M'Niel— Weeks— Machinations of the
federal party— Battle of New Orleans— Peace— Debates in the legislature-
Speech of Mr. Handerson— Speech of Mr. Parrott— Gov. Plummer's message-
Change in the judiciary— Richardson— Bell— Woodbury— Pierce— Release of
the poor prisoners — Project of a canal — Western emigration, . . . 327

CHAPTER XII.
Controversy with Dartmouth College — Message of Governor Plummer — The state
assumes jurisdiction — The trustees refuse to submit to the law — they are sum
moned to meet at Hanover — A quorum do not obey the summons — they declare
the law unconstitutional — Second message of Governor PInmmer — Wheelock
re-appointed president — Charges against the professors — their address to the
public — Death of President Wheelock — Trial of the Dartmouth college case —
Arguments of counsel — Opinion of Chief Justice Richardson — overruled by the
supreme court of the U. S. — President Monroe — The toleration act — Toleration
in Connecticut — Bill of rights — Act of 1791 — Vexatious lawsuits brought
against dissenters — Toleration in Maryland and Vermont, Pennsylvania and
Maine — Speech of Dr. Whipple — Bill of rights — Speech of Dr. Whipple — Speech
»4>f Henry Hubbard — Dr. Whipple in reply to Mr. Parker — Speech of Ichabod
Bartlett — The toleration act is assailed — it passes — is again assailed violently —
finally becomes popular — The Methodists — The Baptists — The Universalisls —
Scenery of New Hampshire — Ascent up Moosehillock mountain — Owl's Head —
Scenes in the valley of the Connecticut — View from Moosehillock — from Cata
mount hill — from Haverhill corner — from mount Pulaski — Appearance of an
American forest in autumn — Route to the White Hills from Haverhill through
Bethlehem and Franconia — from Lancaster — The Notch — Valley of the Saco —
Scenery about Indian Stream and the country near the Magalloway — Dixville
Notch,  393

HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

CHAPTER 1.
Introduction. — The red race — The first settlers of New Hampshire, their
character — The Scottish emigrants — Columbus — Early voyages — The
Cabots — Discoveries ofthe English, French, and Portuguese — Conquests
of the Spaniards — North American Indians — Discovery of New Hamp
shire — Smith — His character — Mason and Gorges — Sir Walter Raleigh —
Landing at Portsmouth — Melancholy decay of the Indians — Search for
gold — Description of the country— Attempt to introduce the feudal sys
tem into New Hampshire — Death of Mason — His character — Failure of
the colony of Mason and Gorges — Reflections.
The origin of American history is not found in chap
the region of fabulous legend. Its beginning and ___Y_
progress are distinctly known. The people of the
United States are acquainted with their earliest
ancestors, and with all the succeeding generations.
They cannot, like the Romans, consecrate their
origin, or rank the founders of the Republic with
the gods. Nor have they built, like the nations of
modern Europe, over the ruins of fallen greatness.
They inhabit a new world — a world conquered from
barbarians but yesterday, and subdued by civili
zation to-day — a world which has begun to witness
the birth and growth, but not the decay and death,
of nations. No ancient empire has risen or moul
dered away within these limits. Except the red
race, of doubtful origin and melancholy fate,
America has no J' surviving memorials of the

I

q HISTORY OF
chap, past." Here are no magnificent and picturesque
ruins— no stupendous monuments of forgotten skill
—no curious relics of lost arts, the history and
birth of which are in dispute. Here were neither
high dukes nor mighty earls— neither a nobility, a
banditti, nor a priesthood. Yet American history
would be a treasure, if it could offer to the world
nothing but the name of Washington. Massachu
setts would be honored, if it were only for the
genius of Franklin. New Hampshire will not be
forgotten while she preserves the memory of Stark.
The first settlers of New Hampshire were a few
merchant adventurers. They were not distin
guished for literature or religion. They did not
come,4ike the pilgrims,
Breaking " the depths of the desert's gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer."
Yet they were, like them, a bold and hardy few.
Forsaking their English homes in quest of better
fortune, they opened a path over the ocean, and
chose the wildest solitudes of nature for the scene
of their experiment. Their energy and perse
verance, their fortitude and courage, made them
the terror of the Indians, and fitted them for the
struggles of freedom against oppression. They
were obliged to fight and conquer a savage foe.
They gained their subsistence by a constant war
fare against the obstacles of nature. They went
out to the field of toil with arms in their hands.
While with their axes they bowed the woods, their
firelocks leaned against the nearest trees. Their
swords hung at their sides. In the character of
these men avarice and romance were blended.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 7
After them came a band of the persecuted, chap.
They were driven from a neighboring colony*  Y
" for conscience sake." These shared the perils
of the others. Their character took its impress
from the troubled scenes in which their lives were
passed. Their days, also, were devoted to the
fields of toil and battle. Their descendants were
nurtured from childhood in the midst of hardships.
They were taught in the school of adversity.
Resolution, firmness of purpose, and patient en
durance impress themselves on their character and
mark their history.
The next and most brilliant period of New
Hampshire colonization is that- which is connected
with the history of Scotland. The border ro
mances, the songs of the bard, the Covenanter's
honest faith, and all the proud recollections and
glorious memories ofthe land of Burns, were to be
transported to the wild woods of New Hampshire.
They came with the settlers of Londonderry.
In one thing the companies of the emigrants
were all agreed. They founded government on
the natural equality of men. They trusted to find
all the duties growing out of civil society enforced
and performed by the popular will. They believed
that all the rights of man may be secured and en
joyed by a government purely elective and free.
It is the province of history to hand down to pos
terity the evidence of their efforts and their suc
cess. I shall begin the narrative with the dis
covery bf America.
On the fourteenth of October, at dawn of day, 1492.
Columbus led his followers to the shores of the
' Massachusetts.

8 HISTORY OF
chap, new world. The brilliant court of Spain received
__i_, the news with transports of joy, and chanted " Te
Deum* " for the discovery of a continent. But the
great navigator sunk to the grave in neglect, while
the world was yet unconscious of the nature and
the merit of his services. A jealous rivalf had
sent him home from the theatre of his achieve
ments, loaded with fetters. He could solace him
self only by the consciousness of integrity, and by
reflecting upon the great things he had performed.
An illiberal envy attended his whole career.
Many were struck with a sense of the great
actions of Columbus. Many more were touched
with sentiments of veneration and pity ;J but no
one appeared as the avenger of his wrongs. The
empress Isabella, his patroness, preceded him to
the tomb, and when she was gone, there was none
left to redress his injuries. He was doomed to em
ploy the little remainder of his days in fruitless
solicitation to Ferdinand, for the punishment of
his oppressors and the restoration of his privileges.
Vain effort ! The heartless monarch amused with
unmeaning promises the man who had added a
world to his dominions.
Meanwhile, the health of Columbus declined.
The ingratitude of his sovereign, whose reign he
had rendered illustrious, wounded his generous
spirit, and at length, exhausted by hardships, and
heart-broken by being deceived in his expectations,
he ended his days, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.
He was buried at Valadolid, leaving an admir-
* IrvinS- t Bovadilla.
t Among these was Alonzo del Vallejo, the Captain of the vessel, on boar<l
which Columbus was confined.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 9
ing world to reap the fruits of the most memorable chap.
experiment that human genius ever planned or ^^1^,
performed. The voyage of Columbus, while it filled Europe
with astonishment, excited England to emulate the
glory of Spain. In less than two years after his
return, Henry VIII. invested John Cabot, a 1495.
Venetian merchant, and his son Sebastian, with K™ch
the command of an- armament, destined to explore
unknown regions.
The chief object of Cabot was to reach India by
the shortest course. He embarked at Bristol, and 1497.
sailing due west, discovered an island, which the May.
sailors called Newfoundland, and, in a few days June 24.
after, a (smaller one, which he named St. Johns.
He landed on both and brought off several of the
natives. Continuing his course westward, he
reached the continent at Labrador, and sailed along
the coast as far south as Virginia.
Thus England was the "second nation that
ventured to visit the New World, and the first that
discovered the continent of America. The Cabots,
like Columbus, derived little benefit from their
genius and maritime skill. They gave a continent
to England, and were reverenced as the most re
markable men of their day. History preserves the
fact, among the few incidents of their career, that the
mean jealousy which pursued Columbus, when
thwarted by his death, did not fail to seek out the
luminous track of the Cabots and pursue them.
The scheme of finding a shorter passage to the
Indies was twice resumed under the reign of Hen
ry VIII. But neither voyage was successful, and
both were disastrous. The fisheries on the banks
2

10 HISTORY OF
chap, of Newfoundland were an object of attention in the
__L_ reign of Edward VI.; and the prospect of opening
a communication with China and the Spice Islands,
without doubling the Cape of Good Hope, con
tinued to allure the English.
France and Portugal, also, resolved to compete
with England and Spain. Gaspar Cortereal,
under the patronage of the king of Portugal
1501. ranged the coast of America for six hundred miles,*
1508. and Francis I., of France, excited, perhaps, by the
stories of some savages f from the north-eastern
coast, sent John Verazzani, a Florentine, to explore7
jin i7 *ne west. It is worthy of remark, that the repub
lics of Italy furnished all the great captains, who,
under the patronage of foreign kings, made the
early voyages to America. In the benefits or evils
of those voyages Italy was destined to have no
share. The reign of Henry VIII. was unfavorable to
discovery ; and a period of more than sixty years
elapsed, during which the sovereigns of England
gave but little attention to the country which was
to add so much opulence to their crown. Yet the
spirit of adventure did not slumber. Voyages con
tinued to be undertaken by companies and private
adventurers. Merchants fitted out ships, and gave
them to the conduct ofthe ablest captains. Though
the voyages were seldom profitable to the projectors*
yet, the sphere of English navigation was enlarged
and the shores of North America became known.
Hitherto no settlements had been attempted.
The French were forward in these enter-
* Bancroft's History United States, I. 14.
t Bancroft, I. 15.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. H
prises.* They were early awake to the glory of chap.
discovery, eager for gain — emulous to excel.  __
Eighty-six years from the date of Columbus' first 1578-
voyage, they had a hundred and fifty vessels at New
foundland, and in 1609 one French mariner had made
more than forty voyages to the American coast.f
While the English and French extended their
discoveries over the north, the active spirits of
Spain rushed to the more favored regions of Mex
ico and Peru. Cortez, Pizarro and Almagro
were leading their followers to the climes of the
New World. Mad with the passion for gold, they
swept like a whirlwind through half-civilized hordes
of natives, and gathered their booty amidst the
ruins of cities. Their love of riches was equalled
only by their contempt for industry. They hurried
the Indians in crowds to the mountains, and forced
them, with merciless rigor, to the fatal toil of the
mines. Inflexible pride, determined valor, and
deliberate atrocity marked their whole career of
conquest and oppression. It was a union of ava
rice, fanaticism and chivalry. These three ele
ments combined, gave rise to those amazing efforts
of mind and body, before which the effeminate
idolaters of South America fell and disappeared.
Desolation marked the footsteps of the Spaniards.
I The native emperors, incas, and people were in-
( volved in common destruction. Never were courage,
fortitude and valor devoted to more sordid, unjust
and barbarous ends. Never was genius more
powerfully employed to scourge mankind.
* See Bancroft's account of the voyages of Cartier, Roberval, and Chau-
vin, I. 18—25.
t Bancroft, I. 24.

I.

HISTORY OF
chap The paganism of the natives had allured to the
invasion a few of the old bigots of Spain ; and it
is sadly instructive to mark these champions of
the cross, trampling, in the name of religion, upon
the most sacred rights, and giving glory to God,
amidst the destruction of life and the desolation of
empire. The expeditions of Cortez and Pizarro
terminated in the conquest of Mexico and Peru.
The simple natives had been nearly exterminated.
But a golden harvest had fallen into the lap of
Spain. Ignorant of political science, the Spanish
monarchy greeted this accession of treasure as the
fruition of hope and the strength of empire. His
tory celebrated the achievements of the adven
turers, and the poetic genius of Spain invested them
with a romantic interest. They knew not how
weak is a throne resting upon golden pillars.
They had not seen how strong may be a govern
ment enthroned in the hearts ofthe people.
From the golden seed that was sown in Europe
time ripened a bitter harvest. When it expand
ed to fruit, liberty, prosperity and industry died
in Spain. The Cortes ceased to assemble ; public
virtue expired ; and long before a century had run
its round, it was apparent that the glory of ancient
Castile had departed forever.
Far different was the effect of English and
French colonization on the northern shores of
America. The action of the United States and the
Old World upon each other forms the noblest fea
ture in their history and ours. We have trans-*
planted arts, manners and languages. They are
transplanting liberty and the art of government.
The history of colonization has always been a

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 13
dark history. Whatever may have been the pro- chap
fessed motives of the founders of colonies, their ^-i —
progress has been destructive to the native inhabi
tants. It is not improbable that the early voyagers
to the North American coast possessed much of
the rapacious spirit which deluged Peru with blood.
Portugal had long since decided that human flesh
was an article of traffic ; and in conformity with
this, the natives were sometimes kidnapped. Here
and there an instance is recorded in history. But
there were causes operating to restrain the rapac
ity of the northern voyagers within very narrow
limits. First, there was a dearth of gold in all the
northern regions. Secondly, the natives of the
North were strong and warlike ; those of Mexico
and Peru were comparatively languid and effem
inate. Like all the inhabitants of the torrid zone,
they yielded their independence with but a feeble
struggle. Cortez confessed that he relied on noth
ing so much as the weakness of his enemies. But
the natives of the north were men of robust con
stitutions. They were hostile and jealous. When
they were first induced to traffic in their furs, they
demanded, in exchange, knives and weapons of
steel.* They remembered injuries, and cancelled
them in blood. The northern Indian never forgot
to tell the story of "his wrongs to his children, and
they told it again to theirs, to the latest generation.
But among the northern tribes there were marked
distinctions. While the Mohawks, the Pequots,
and the Tarateens of the far east were fierce, and
courted war, the Delawares, and the Penacooks
of the Merrimack, refused to shed the blood of
Bancroft. I. 17.

14 HISTORY OF
chap. Englishmen. The Indians of New Hampshire were
JL„ generally inclined to peace. Even when cheated
of their lands, and insulted, they, in many cases,
forbore to resent it, and often retired quietly before
the advancing waves of emigration.
Conspicuous among the northern voyagers to
America, was Captain John Smith — a name that
will be forever associated with the noblest achieve
ments in navigation. He was the founder of colo
nies — the father of states. It was he who first
explored the coast of New Hampshire and the
1614. beautiful harbor of the Piscataqua. With two ships
he ranged the shore from Penobscot to Cape Cod,
and, returning to England, presented a map ofthe
country to the young prince Charles. Though it is
certain that European vessels had visited the coast
before, though, for thirty years at least, European
traders and fishermen had coasted along the whole
line of New Hampshire, for the sake of its furs
and its fish, yet nothing remains, even in tradition,
to show that they ever entered the mouth of the
Piscataqua, or landed upon the banks, or the shores
of the sea.
While history retains a record of the generous
affection of Pocahontas, the name of Smith can
not be lost ; and if we search the annals of the
world, there are few whose adventures would lend
greater charms to history or to fiction. Though bora
to a competence, he is found at a very early age
embarking on the ocean. From his childhood he
was a rover. When but thirteen years of age
he sold his school books and satchel to obtain
money to go privately to sea ; and from that time
his whole career was one continued romance.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 15
Whether we view him embarking for Italy, with chap.
" a rabble of pilgrims," mounting the deadly 
breach at Regal, fighting hand to hand with the
Turks in the armies of Austria, wandering in the
deserts of Circassia, conducted a prisoner in the
country of the Cambrian Tartars, passing over
into Africa, and visiting the Court of Morocco, or
surveying the wild coast of New Hampshire, he
appears everywhere to be equally remarkable for
his eccentric genius, and his strange fortunes.
After passing through a variety of military ser
vice, we find him, in 1607, in Virginia. The
desponding minds of the colonists are turned to
him as the only man who can extricate them from
impending danger. He instantly adopts the only
plan which can save them from destruction. He
repels the hostile savages, and obtains for the
colony the most abundant supplies.* When sur
prised, and taken captive, his eminent faculties do
not desert him. He desires to speak with the Sa
chem. He presents him with a mariner's com
pass. He points out to the admiring savage the
magical play of the needle. He expatiates on the
shape of the earth, the vastness of the sea, the
course of the sun, and the order of the seasons.
Subdued by the influence of wonder, the Indians
suspend their purpose. Opecancanaugh gazes
with amazement, and, holding up the compass in
his hand, gives the signal of reprieve. From
that moment the Indians regarded Capt. Smith with
a superstitious awe ; and when the Great Spirit
" shut up the clouds," they sent to Jamestown to
entreat that he would pray for rain. But though
* Grahame's History United States, I., 50, 53.

16 HI.TOSY OF
chap, he delayed his fate by this stratagem, it did riol
,JL~ procure his release. Yet they regarded him as an
illustrious prisoner ; and it was resolved to refer his
destiny to Powhatan. This ferocious king in
stantly adjudged him to suffer death,* arid ordered
that his head be beat to pieces with clubs. His
self-possession did not forsake him. He had dis
covered that Pocahontas, the favorite daughter of
Powhatan, regarded him with affection. When the
appointed hour of death arrived, a large stone was
placed before the king, and the executioners stood
round it with clubs in their hands.f Captain Smith
was then conducted to the spot, his head laid upon
the stone, and the men prepared with their clubs
to beat out his brains.J Amidst these dreadful
preparations, Pocahontas stood with the crowd of
women that surrounded the executioners. When
she saw him dragged, defenceless and bound, but
still struggling, to the place of execution, she gave
way to loud lamentation. But the savage king was
inexorable, and the chief executioner began to lift
his club to strike, when Pocahontas rushed with
mournful distraction to the stone, and clasping the
victim's head in her arms, proffered her own to re
ceive the blow.§ At this gush of feeling, Pow
hatan relented. He dismissed the executioners, and
pronounced the prisoner's pardon. Twice had
death been strangely deferred ; but Captain Smith
now gained from Powhatan, not only his life, but a
quantity of provisions sufficient to keep the colony
from starving. When charged with sedition by
the Virginians, it appeared, on investigation, that
* Smith's Hist. Vir., fol. ed., I., p. 49. f Campbell's Hist. Vir., p. 39.
$ Burk's Hist. Vir., I., p. 113, 114. $ Smith's Hist. Vir,, fol.ed., I.,p.49.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 17 N
his only offence consisted in " the possession of chap.
enviable qualities."*  ___
It was from the story of this remarkable" naviga
tor, that the northern shore of America first
attracted the notice of the unfortunate Charles.
He bestowed upon it the name of New England.
But while Smith was returning to his sovereign
with the fruits of his discoveries, an act of perfidy
was consummated by his lieutenant, which planted
the sting of resentment deep in the savage heart.
Thomas Hunt, who remained in charge of a ship
which Smith left behind him on his return to Eng
land, far from conciliating the natives by acts of
hospitality, decoyed twenty of them on board,
cautiously hoisted his sails before they were aware,
hurried out to sea, and sold them for slaves in
Malaga. Thus, without an injury to provoke him,
or a show of hostility, the white man hurled at the
Indian all the horrors of slavery and the slave
trade.. In vain would history seek to apologize for
so perfidious a deed. It could spring only from
that fierce and cruel avarice which has robbed
Africa of her children, and entailed upon America
the curse of slavery and the scoffs ofthe world.
The country discovered by Captain Smith soon
became of importance. Rumor magnified its ad
vantages, and greedy credulity deemed none of its
wonders too extraordinary for belief. Its lofty
mountains, its forests of timber, its lakes, its nu
merous rivers and enchanted isles, dimly appearing
in the distance, caught the eye of adventure and
invited many, even of the nobility, to take active
measures to promote its settlement.
* Bancroft, History United States, vol. I., page 125.
3

8.

18 HISTORY OF
chap. Forty noblemen, knights, and gentlemen, were
_Jy constituted, by the sole authority of the king of
England, a council " for the planting, ruling, and
governing of New England in America."* Among
these were Ludowick, duke of Lenox, the mar
quises of Buckingham and Hamilton, and the.earls
of Pembroke, Arundel, Bath, Southampton, Sal
isbury, and Warwick. Various and strange were
the motives which, at that day, led these noblemen
to project settlements in the New World. Vision
ary ideas ever mingle with the spirit of discovery.
Farm- They were made a corporation with perpetual suc-
knap.V cession, by election of the majority ; and their
territories extended from the fortieth to the forty-
eighth degree of northern latitude. The patent,
or charter, which the king gave this company, was
their warrant of authority, and was tbe foundation
of all the grants made, of the country of New
England, until by its odious monopoly it was com
plained of as il a grievance of the kingdom," and
surrendered to the crown Thus the first govern
ing power exercised over New England was that
corporate power, which has often given a spring
to enterprise, and as often threatened to overthrow
those principles of civil liberty which first led the
fathers of New England to her rocky shores.
In the council of Plymouth there were two men
whose fame belongs to New Hampshire. These
were Ferdinando Gorges, and Capt. John Mason.
Gorges was a man of active genius and dauntless
enterprise. He had been at the court of Eliza
beth,! and was a companion of Sir Walter Raleigh
* Hubbard's New England, p. 80. Hume's History of England.
t Hume.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

19

—one of the most renowned and attractive names chap.
in English story— admitted to be a universal genius, _L_
a warrior both on land and sea, an orator, a phi
losopher, an historian, a poet, an architect, an
elegant courtier, a bold projector, a founder of
colonies— equally active and great in all— distin
guished for the most enviable success and the most
pitiable reverses of fortune ; raised to the highest
pinnacle of favor by the greatest female sovereign
of England,* and perishing at last on the scaffold ;
yet appearing upon the historian's page in glorious
association with the most illustrious names of
England. No man of that age exhibited so much
vigor of mind, with so much versatility of talent,
Nature seemed to have fitted him equally well for
study or for action. There was hardly a subject
which his pen did not touch, or a field of enterprise,
however hazardous, which his adventurous foot did
not enter. Gorges was full of the restless spirit
of his great companion. After the peace of 1604,
the king had appointed him governor of Plymouth,
in England. He soon grew weary of the quiet
round of official duty. He had heard vague stories
of the new world, and was burning to embark on
a voyage of discovery, when accident flung in his
way a new cause of excitement. A captain in
search of a northwest passage, brought into Ply
mouth five natives of America.f Gorges eagerly
seized threef of them, and kept them in his service
three years. He listened with enthusiasm to their
* Queen Elizabeth. t Gorges, p. 21.
J "These I seized," says Gorges. "Their names were Manida, Skettwar-
roes, and Tasquantum. They were all of one nation, but of severall parts,
and severall families.'' — Gorges' description of New England, p. 2.
\

gO HISTORY OF
chap, half articulate tales of a country abounding' in
___ rivers, islands, fisheries, and stately woods. He*
learned from them the number, force, disposition^
and government of the natives, their custoriis, and
modes of warfare. He made them trace in rude
outline on the sand, the figure of the country;
what mountains rose in it ; what great rivers ran
up into the land ; what tribes and chieftains dwelt
upon their banks. Naturally sanguine, his imagin
ation kindled at the tales they told, and he began
to estimate the profits of discovery. In Captain
Mason, he found a kindred spirit ; his inferior in
acquirements, his equal in credulity, courage, and
selfishness. Mason was a London merchant, but his
roving fancy led him to enter the navy. After the
peace, he was made governor of Newfoundland, and
came out to America. On his return to Eng
land, he was elected a member of the Plymouth
Council. From the cold island of Newfoundland
he had looked with covetous desire towards the
more southern lands of New England, and con
ceived the most extravagant ideas of the facilities
they afforded for immediate wealth. He was not
1621. *onS in procuring from the Council a grant of all
^the land from the river of Naumkeag, now Salem,
'round Cape Ann, to the river Merrimac, and up
each of those rivers to the farthest head thereof;
then to cross over from the head of the one to the
head of the other ; with all the islands lying within
three miles of the coast. This was called the dis
trict of Mariana. But circumstances had now
brought Mason and Gorges together; for the
former had become secretary, and the latter presi-
* Gorges, p. 4.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 21
dent ofthe Council. They resolved to unite their chap.
fortunes. Accordingly, the next year, a grant was ___
procured, by Gorges and Mason jointly, of the 1622-
province of Laconia. This comprised all the land
between the rivers Merrimac and Sagadahock,
extending back to the great lakes and the river of
Canada.* They now set to work, with characteristic vigor,
to people the vast region they had bought. Will
not after events show that in this their courage and
resolution were more conspicuous than their gain?
In the spring of the following year, they sent over 162a
some fish-mongers of London, with " a number
of other people in two divisions." These were to
establish a colony and fishery at the mouth of the
Pascataqua. They arrived in safety. They had
brought with them tools of various kinds and were
well supplied with provisions. One party landed
on the southern shore, and called the place Little
Harbor.f From the name of Strawberry Bank,
which they gave to the spot where Portsmouth
now stands, a late historian infers that they touched
the shore before mid-summer, and that a profusion
of strawberry-blossoms, or fruit, welcomed their
arrival. J They hastily erected salt-works, and
one§ rude house was quickly prepared. The other
party of emigrants went eight miles farther up the
river and sat down at Dover. ||
Thus came the first fathers to New Hampshire.
It is now to be seen with what spirit they will bear
up against the rugged poverty of the soil, the in-
* The St. Lawrence. t F. Belknap, p. 4. J Whiton, p. 1.
§ Adams's Annals of Portsmouth, p. 10.
|| At first named Northam, afterwards Dover.

22 HISTORY OF
chap, hospitable severity of the climate, and the opposi-
_L. tion of the surrounding Indians. Five thousand
rude tenants of the woods then sufficed to inhabit
a state which civilization has since peopled .with
nearly three hundred thousand souls. A small
tribe dwelt at Exeter, another at Dover, and a
third, the Pascataquas, on the banks of that river.
The Ossipees roamed round the Winnipissiogee*
and Ossipee lakes, and the Pequawkets dwelt on
the upper branches of the Saco. The Penacooks
lived on the beautiful lands around Concord, along
the banks of the Merrimac; and the hunting-
grounds of the Coos Indians extended through
Grafton county and upward, over the meadows
of Lancaster,! to the head waters ofthe Connecticut.
These confederated nations were distinguished by
the general name of Pawtuckets, and were subject
to the mild sway of the sachem Passaconaway.
He was old, had never seen a white man before,
and was reverenced as the father and supreme
head of the people. Peaceful and happy tribes !
How soon you are destined to perish ! You will
fall, like leaves scattered by an autumnal blast.
Civilization and barbarism have met together. Is
it doubtful that the former will" gain the mastery?
Civilization and barbarism ! How mighty are the
energies of the one ; how poor and powerless the
other ! At the mention of civilization, the tri
umphs of science rise before the mind, and all
nature is seen made tributary to the wants and the
fancy of men. At the mention of barbarism, the
mind is transported to the solitudes of the forest.
Woman is the slave of the wig warn, and man, far from
* Whiton> P- 8- t On Israel's river.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 23
being the conqueror of nature, is only left free to chap.
follow her and appears to be her simple child. Art __i_
binds him with no shackles. Society imposes no
restraints. He consults no adviser but inclination.
He roams or reposes at will.
The simple natives received the little band of
emigrants with friendship. It would have been
easy to exterminate them ; but they welcomed
them with hospitality, for the children ofthe woods.
looked not to consequences. The Indians have
now disappeared, and every memorial of them
is lost, save when the ploughshare or the water
course dishumes some skeleton form or buried
implement of the hunter, and reminds the present
generation of their ill-fated predecessors. Thus
a whole peculiar people have perished forever.
The first years of the little colony at Pascataqua
furnish few .events of interest, until 1628; when 1628.
the colonists were surprised at meeting Indians in
the woods of Dover, hunting with fire-arms. The
sale of them had been forbidden and had not been
suspected. It was soon discovered that they pur
chased guns and ammunition of a trader in the
Massachusetts colony. The vendor was seized at
Weymouth, and sent prisoner to England. But
the Indian had already learned, with fatal ^kill, the
use of fire-arms. He was charmed with an instru
ment of destruction so potent, when compared with
his feeble arrow and bow. These weapons he
soon learned to despise, and freely gave the richest
products of the chase for a rifle. The colonists
were made to rue, to the latest day, the dire con
sequences of the traffic at Weymouth.
Near the close of the next year, Laconia was 1629.

24 HISTORY OF
chap, divided, probably* by mutual agreement,! between
__i__. Mason and Gorges. The wild region east of the
Pascataqua was relinquished to Gorges, and took
the name of Maine ; while the tract west of this
river and extending back into the country sixty
miles, was confirmed to Mason. The county of
Hampshire, in England, had been the place of his
residence, and to his extensive grant in the New
World, he gave the name of New Hampshire.
The Pascataqua settlement now advanced slowly.
Apart of Mason's associates in the "Company
of Laconia," for the better security of their inter
ests, obtained a grant of the township of Dover,
while Mason himself procured a charter of Ports
mouth. Thus early the colonists were divided into
two distinct communities, and were familiarly
called the Upper and Lower Plantations. They
were subject to different regulations, were carried
on under different auspices, and were afterwards
two distinct governments, like independent states.
The Dover plantation was under the patronage of
the "west countrie" adventurers, and they ap-
1631. pointed Thomas Wiggin, their superintendent and
agent. The lower plantation was under the pat
ronage of the London adventurers, and the first
superintendent of Portsmouth, was Walter Neal.
The enterprise of the lower plantation soon whit
ened the harbor with a little fleet of shallops, fish
ing-boats, and skiffs ; and while the English were
busy with their lines, the Danish emigrants among
them sawed lumber and made potash. The few
pieces of cannon which the proprietors sent over
to terrify the Indians, were placed at the northeast
* F. Belknap, p. 8. f Whiton, p. 10.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 25
point ofthe Great Island, on a high rock, about a chap.
bow-shot from the shore. It was thought that "the „.~-~
redoubling noise of these great guns, rolling in the
rocks, would cause tlie Indians to betake themselves
to flight." But the colonists were soon in dan
ger of turning this artillery against each other ; for
when the agent of Dover took possession of a point
of land at Newington, the agent of Portsmouth
claimed it, and both parties, heated by dispute,
prepared to appeal to arms. But at length they
were persuaded to refer the dispute, for arbitration,
to their employers ; and thus, without bloodshed,
the place acquired the name of Bloody Point.
Shortly after the termination of this dispute Neal 1632.
was summoned to an expedition against the far-
famed pirate, Dixy Bull. This daring marauder
had appeared upon the coast and raised an alarm
by taking several boats and rifling the fort at
Pemaquid. Neal equipped four pinnaces and
shallops, and being joined by twenty more from
Boston, proceeded to Pemaquid to meet the enemy.
But a storm arose, and the winds that separated
his own barques drove the pirates beyond the
reach of pursuit. He was obliged to put back in
a shattered condition, and the Boston forces
returned home.
When the plantations appointed their agents,
they declared their "severall businesses" to be,
trade, fishery, salt-making, building and hus
bandry. These common pursuits, however, were
not all. The meagre profits of the fisheries and
salt-making were not sufficient to satisfy the
desires of such men as Mason and Gorges. To
search for gold was the great object of their errand
4

26 HISTORY OF
chap, to America. Mason believed the country to be
_J_ full of the precious metals concealed in mines. In
this opinion he was not alone.
Ever since the discovery of the New World was
proclaimed in Europe, the strangest delusions filled
the minds of men. America became at once the
region of romance. Descriptions of it appeared
in rapid succession, each presenting a new ac
cumulation of wonders. By these the people of
Europe were completely infatuated. To them the
western world was enchanted ground. Every
island and lake were such as mankind had never
dreamed of before. Every tree, and plant, and
animal, assumed extraordinary forms and differed
from those ofthe ancient hemisphere. Old Europe
began to be despised, as too narrow, and seemed to
offer to the heated imagination nothing above me
diocrity. Columbus himself, a man of sound
understanding, declared that in America he had
found the seat of paradise; and Ponce de Leon
ranged, with his followers, through the Lucayo
islands, in search of " the fountain of youth."
The old were to become young, by bathing in its
salutary waters. "Why do you quarrel," said a
young cazique to the Spaniards, " about such a
trifle as gold ? I will conduct you to a region
where the meanest utensils are made of it."
It was true that the natives of South America
ignorantly wore the material from which the most
precious jewels of Europe were made. The plun
derers of Mexico and Peru had actually returned
laden with gold. Montezuma had exhausted his
treasures to glut their rapacity. Their success
had surpassed the wildest vision of the boldest

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 27
imagination. It was everywhere extolled, and all chap.
Europe began to dream of America as a land  1^
where the sands sparkled with gold, and the earth
was paved with glittering gems — where mountain
and vale were brightly veined with silver, and
crystal rivers glided over beds pebbled with dia
monds. While such were the fabulous tales, half
believed in England, is it strange that Mason
should have come to Portsmouth with the same
visionary ideas of infinite wealth 1 He knew that
the Spaniards dug their gold from the mountains.
New Hampshire was a region of mountains.
Would fortune be less propitious in Laconia than
in Mexico ? Why should he hesitate to adopt a
conclusion to which he could so easily arrive by
reasoning from analogy ? He did not hesitate ;
and there were those among his followers who
looked to Laconia as a region where nature would
smile in eternal fertility and bloom — where wealth
would flow in upon them with the profusion of an
ocean — where towns* and cities would rise as by
a stroke of the enchanter's wand.
It had been described as containing divers lakes,
and extending back to a great lake and river in the
country of the Iroquois. This river was said to be
" a faire large river, well replenisht with many
fruitfull islands ; the ayr thereof is pure and whol-
some; the country pleasant, having some high
hills full of goodly forrests and faire valhes and
plaines fruitfull in corn, vines, chesnuts, wallnuts,
and infinite sorts of other fruits, large rivers well
stored with fish, and invironed with goodly mead
ows full of timber trees."!
» Gorges, p. 31. t Gorges, p. 58.

28 HISTORY OF
chap. In the great lake were said to be " 4 faire
 Y. islands, which are low and full of goodly Woods
and Meadows, having store of game for hunting, as
Stagges, Fallow-Deer, Elkes, Roe-Bucks, Beavers
and other sorts of Beasts, which come from the
main land to the said Islands. The rivers which
fall into the Lakes, have in them good store of
Beavers, of the skins of which Beasts, as also of
the Elkes, the Salvages make their chiefest Traf-
fique. The said Islands have been inhabited here
tofore by the Salvages, but are now abandoned by
reason of their late wars one with another. They
contain twelve or fifteen leagues in length and are
seated commodiously for habitation in the midst
ofthe Lake, which abounds with divers kindes of
wholsome Fish. From this lake run two rivers
Southward, which fall into the Eastern and
Southern Sea-coast of New England."*
Such was the description of Laconia, penned by
Gorges himself in the true style of adventure. The
king of England and his ministers entertained ideas,
of it scarcely less exalted, for in the patent of New
England, they took especial care to convey " the
Mines, Mineralls, Quarry es, Shoares, Soyles, Wa
ters, Lakes, Fishings, Huntings, Fowlings, Com
modities, Hereditaments, Prerogatives, Rights,
Jurisdictions, and Royalties, Privileges, Fran
chises, Escheats, Liberties and Prochemiences."!
But it is not from the testimony of Gorges alone,
nor yet from the technical language of the patent,
that the visionary hopes of the colonists are to be
inferred. ^ It appears from the letters of the Ports
mouth planters themselves, that " their views were
* Gorges, p. 47. f Gorges, pp. 34— 36. Patents of New England.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 29
chiefly turned towards the discovery of lakes and chap.
mines." It also appears that they expected to _}'__
derive a considerable revenue from the culture of
grapes. They fell into the errors which would
naturally be committed by those who are at once 1633.
sanguine and avaricious. Instead of subduing the
forest, they penetrated into the earth. Instead of
counting upon the natural growth of the colony,
founded upon its apparent and well-known re
sources, they built their chief expectations upon
the fortune of discovery. Agriculture they aban
doned for the uncertain and chance advantages of
Indian trade and fishing, and for the cultivation of
grapes. ]J No mill was erected for grinding corn ;
for " the colonists had none of their own to grind."
Bread came from England in meal, except some
corn and wheat, which were brought from Virginia
and sent to the windmill at Boston to be ground.*
Beef and corn they could have produced easily.
But these were luxuries almost unknown to them.
They searched the earth for roots, and caught the
wild game ofthe woods. At the end of ten years,
so large had been their outlays and so small their
returns, that the proprietors in England began to
feel the supplies they furnished them to be a bur
den. l|The colonists themselves acknowledged that
their golden hopes had failed. They did not in
crease in wealth or importance. No mines but
those of iron were discovered, and these were not
wrought. The lakes were not "explored. The
vines were planted,! but would produce nothing.
The peltry trade with the Indians was of some
value. So also were the fisheries. But neither
* Prince's Annals, pp. 30, 70. t F- Belknap, p. 13.

30 HISTORY OF
chap of them yielded great profits. Meanwhile, by the
v-Yw neglect of agriculture, they made but scanty inroads
upon the forest. Three or four houses only had
been built within the first seven years. The future
grew dark before them, and they began to be dis
couraged, j Around them lay a repulsive and un
explored wi derness. In ten years of privation they
had scarcely gained a foothold. Cut off from all
that made life sweet, obliged to derive their sup
port from an unkind soil, they saw before them only
the prospect of struggling forever with penury,
sickness and the undying hostility of the Indians.
At the thought of all this they became deeply de
pressed ; and the question arose whether they should
cling to the sinking colony longer, or depart to
some region of brighter prospect and fairer pro
mise. But the despondency of others o/ily served
to heighten, by contrast, the undaunted resolution
of Mason and Gorges. It awoke them to still
greater exertions, and bore them up through many
a vain effort to diffuse courage and hope amidst
the general despondency and gloom. They re
mained as sanguine as ever of success, and con
tinued to advance with alacrity against obstacles
which drove their followers to despair. So it is
with men' formed by nature for great undertakings.
They evinced, by all their conduct, that they had
come to America with minds not to be broken by
misfortune or depressed by adversity. An obsti
nate, unyielding temper shone conspicuously in
Mason ; and it was this that sustained his spirits
unbroken, while dejection hung like a black
cloud upon all around him. His wildly romantic
ambition extended his views forward, to results so

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 31
magnificent, and so refreshed his confidence that he chap
ever saw his glory ripening, and chided the seem- ^?^
ingly dim vision of his timid followers. But. they
were sullenly discontented, and most of them re
solved to remove. Some abandoned their lands
wholly. Others sold their shares and departed.
Thus Mason and Gorges became immediately the
principal, if not the sole proprietors. The shares
which had been relinquished, fell of course into
their hands. Others they bought, until nearly the
whole came to their possession.
They now looked around for means to revive the
drooping colony. They appointed Francis Wil- 1634.
liams governor, and sent over from England a
fresh supply of servants and materials for build
ing. Shortly after this time the Plymouth colony 1635.
surrendered their charter to the crown. It had
been complained of as a monopoly, and Gorges,
seeing it in jeopardy, resolved to appear in person
and defend it. He arrived at Westminster and
soon gamed an audience. The house being re
solved into a committee, Sir Edward Coke in the
chair, Gorges came forward to the bar.* Sir Ed
ward briefly explained to him that the charter of
the Plymouth colony had been complained of as a
" grievance of the Commonwealth ; also that it
was a monopoly, and that the colour of planting a
colony had been put upon it for particular ends
and private gain;" all which the house were to
look into and to minister justice to all parties.
First of all, demanded Sir Edward Coke, the
charter must be brought into the house and de-
* Gorges, p. 23.

32 HISTORY OF
chap, livered by Sir Ferdinando Gorges. To which that
_J-_ ardent hypocrite replied, in the canting tone of the
day, — " For my own part," said he, " I am but a
particular person, and inferior to many to whom the
Pattent was granted, having no power to deliver it
without their assents. Neither in truth is it in my
custody." " Humbly bold in behalf of himself
and the rest of those intrusted in the Pattent,"* he
continued strenuously to maintain that " it could
not be a grievance to the Publique, seeing at first it
was undertaken for the advancement of religion,
the enlargement of the bounds of a nation, the
increase of trade, and the imployment of many
thousands of all sorts of people."! A second and
a third time he appeared before a committee ofthe
house, and strove to convince them that all his ad
ventures were " for the advancement of religion in
those desert-parts, and that he had been drawne,
out of zeal for his countryes happinesse to
engage his estate so deeply, as he had done."J
This confused and sinister harangue availed noth
ing. When Parliament presented the "pub
lique grievances of thekingdome," the patent of
New England was the first. § They had heard
Gorges and his " Learned Councell severall dayes,
but they could not defend the same," and it was
resigned to the king. Gorges did not fail to ascribe
it to the influence of evil counsellors around the
throne. "Notwithstanding," says he, "amongst
those great swarmes, there went many that wanted
not love and affection to the Honor of the King,
and happinesse of their native country, however
they were mixed with those that had the state of
* Gorges, p. 24. f Gorges, p. 24. % Gorges, p. 28. § Gorges, p. 29.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 33
established Church Government in such scorne chap.
and contempt, as finding themselves in a country J'^_
of Liberty, where tongues might speake without
controule, many, fuller of malice than reason,
spared not to speake the worst that evill affections
could invent."*
Previous to the surrender, he and Mason had
taken care to secure to themselves some portion of
the expiring interest. That of Mason compre
hended both his former patents ; and in September
following, Gorges sold to him a tract of land on
the northeast side ofthe Pascataqua. It extended
three miles in breadth,! following the course of the
river, from its mouth to its farthest head, and in
cluded a saw-mill at the falls of Newichwannock.
In the midst of his fond anticipations of better
fortune, Captain Mason was removed by death. 1635.
This happened near the close of the year. He
had accomplished none of the great purposes for
which he came to this wilderness world. He ejp-
barked with vast expectations of boundless wealth
and grandeur. He proceeded " the best time of
his age, loaden with troubles and vexations from all
parts." Golden visions hovered round him to the
last, in spite of the light of experience. He had
no religious views in the purchase and settlement
of New Hampshire. His whole energies were
absorbed in the dJscovery °f wealth, and the
aggrandizement of himself and his family. His
darling scheme was the introduction of the feudal
system into New Hampshire ; by which his family
were to be the lords, and the people tenants of the
soil. For this he labored ; for this he sacrificed
* Gorges, p. 43. t F- Belknap, pp. 14, 15.
5

34 HISTORY OF
chap, his all ; still dreaming of the profits of discovery,
_!'-_ and the glory of founding a state. But though a
dreamer, he was at the same time a man of action.
"This Captain John Mason was himself a man of
action,"* is the testimony of Gorges. Nothing
daunted him. Nothing deterred him. Though
adversity might cloud his prospects, it never de
pressed his spirits. The frustration of his efforts
and the frequent wreck of his hopes only seemed
to display the indestructible vigor of his mind.
Amidst disappointment and discouragement he
continued to attempt the foundation of a feudal
empire, until death interrupted his toils and left
him only a reputation for attempting impossible
things. In their American possessions, both Mason and
Gorges readily embarked their whole property,
expecting the investment to return to them suddenly
with great gain. But their estates melted away,
and they received no profits. Yet their efforts,
though fruitless to themselves, were not wholly
lost. Their daring energy excited other minds;
and, like the first voyagers over an unknown sea,
they discovered and pointed out the quicksands to
others, who profited by their disastrous experience.
Thus they left the spur of their example to those
who should set on foot new enterprises, or improve
those which they had so boldly begun. "I began,"
says Gorges, "when there was no hopes for the
present but of losse ; in that I was yet to find a
place, and being found, it was itselfe in a manner
dreadfull to the behoulders ; for it seemed but as
a desaft Wildernesse replete onely with a kind of
* Gorges, p. 38.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 35
savage People and overgrowne trees. So as I chap.
found it no meane matter to procure any to go  Y
thither, much lesse to reside there ; and those I
sent knew not how to subsist but on the provisions
I furnished them withall."* Such was then a true
picture of this now flourishing state, and such were*
the endeavors of the first settlers. In all the
movements of Gorges there was a lack of system.
"I was forced," says he, "to hire men to stay
there the winter quarter at extream rates."!
There was no place prepared to receive the emi
grants who consented to be the companions of his
fortune. His enthusiasm allured them to his stand
ard ; his eloquence persuaded them to embark.
When they became discouraged, he inspired them
with confidence. When their provisions were ex
hausted, he supplied them. Meanwhile he con
tinued his exploring expeditions in the country,
feeding his mind with visions of future splendor and
power. But it was impossible to bear up against
the obstacles of savage nature. It was impracti
cable to reap prosperity in a plan which neglected
all the solid sources of growth.
//Gorges and Mason established no government.
They employed persons to trade and fish for them,
yet erected no tribunal to which they were ame
nable for fraud or breach of trust. They might
commit the most flagrant crimes, and yet escape
punishment. They might squander their goods,
and yet avoid any civil liability. It was not,
however, from undue confidence in man, or any
mistaken views of the goodness of human nature,
that they were led to dispense with the forms of
• Gorges, p. 49. t Gorges, D. N. E., p. 12.

36 HISTORY OF
chap, government and law. It was the philosophy of
_JY, Gorges, that " profit and content are (for the most
part) the motives that all men labor, however oth
erwise adjoyned with faire colours and goodly
' shadows."*!] He often wondered and complained
%when their plans failed. But how could it be
otherwise with those who neglected agriculture,
which is like rearing the superstructure, having
omitted the foundation? How could it be other
wise with those who, instead of grain, planted the
vine and sought a purple vintage, as if the cold
shore they dwelt on had been the brightest island
of a tropic sea? Their scheme throughout, in all
its details, was stamped with impracticability.
They sketched out a fanciful system of lordships,
and dwelt upon the plan of granting the lands sub
ject to quit rents and feudal tenures. The money
necessary for this splendid government was to be
dug from the earth ; the fashions and decorations
were to be imported from the old world. They
were to have stars and titles of nobility. But in
all this they were doomed to disappointment. No
lordships were established ; no order of nobility
arose. There were neither titles to be enjoyed,
nor wine-presses to be trodden. The same cold
wilderness still stretched before their eyes. The
rivers, broad and deep, rolled on, reflecting only
the wild woods that had intermingled their branches
and cast the shadows of ages over the waters. The
same soil, rugged, but strong and productive, yet
waited for the hand of industry, and refused to yield
anything but to patient toil. It could not give
them what it did not possess. It furnished wood
* Gorges, D.N. E., p. 11.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 37
and iron in abundance. But silver nor gold would chap.
it reveal. Had it possessed these, New Hampshire _JL„
might have been what Mexico is, and England
would have shared the calamities of Spain.
Well was it for posterity that the unnatural
eyes of Adventure, alone, could discern mineral
wealth in the hills of New Hampshire. Fortu
nate was it that the soil was, for the most part,
reserved for men who should settle upon it with
no chimerical and vain hopes of treasure ; but men
viewing human life and society in a true light —
not building the castles of avarice ; but living by
their industry — expecting only the rain and dew
upon the seed they had sown — hoping for health
and competence — and laying the only sure founda
tion for a great and flourishing country in intelli
gence and public virtue — good schools, good morals,
government, and sober industry. These are the
strength of a state.

CHAPTER II

Dover. — The Antinomians — Exeter — Form of government a democracy —
Antinomian controversy in Massachusetts — Hampton — Government
formed at Portsmouth — At Dover — Constitution — Causes which led to the
settlement of Exeter— The Puritans — Contest between them and the
Antinomians, Henry Vane, Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, Wheelwright Yrhey
are banished from Massachusetts — They come to Exeter — Their doctrines
— Calvin — Calvinism — Union with Massachusetts — Wheelwright — His
interview with Oliver Cromwell — The confederation — Passaconaway dis
armed — The White Mountains explored — Neal searches their summits
for gold — description of them — Superstitious reverence of the Indians for
their invisible inhabitants.

chap. The death of Captain Mason left the lower
 1__ plantation on the Pascataqua under deep embar
rassments. He had been the moving spring in all
its affairs, and his services were lost in the time of
sorest need. But while the upper settlement lay
under discouragement, the lower one also was
struggling with difficulties. It was finally resolved
that Captain Wiggin, the superintendent, should
make a voyage to England to obtain more ample
means for its advancement. He procured a num
ber of families from the west of England, some of
them men of property, and " of vsome account for
1633. religion," to come over and increase the colony.
Trade was their object, and they resolved to build
a town. Accordingly, they divided the land on
Dover neck into small lots ; and on the most invit
ing part of that beautiful eminence which lies be
tween the two branches of the river, they erected

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 39
a church; Danger compelled them to surround it chap.
with an intrenchment, and flankarts. High above JL.
the surrounding shores, commanding an extensive
and delightful prospect, stood this first edifice,
consecrated to the public worship of God. A
church! Seldom has the New England village
been found without one. Its spire, pointing to
heaven, is the ensign of those who put not their
trust in outward show, but in the inward purity.
But the pious Leveridge, whom Wiggin brought
over to minister to the people, was soon obliged to
leave them for want of support ; and he retired to
the Plymouth colony.)) After this, wandering ad
venturers,* and artful impostors, (as they were 1631.
supposed to be,) came and preached to the people.
George Burdet stole the hearts ofthe majority, so
that they elected him governor, to the defeat of 1636.
his rival, Wiggin. He represented his opponents
as hypocritical, and that, under pretence of greater
purity and discipline in matters of religion, they 1637.
were aiming at independent sovereignty. ))
At this time the far-famed Antinomian contro- 1638.
versy, at Boston, had occasioned a violent strife and
schism. It terminated in banishing from that colony
the principal persons who bore that name of re
proach. Conspicuous among the exiles were the
learned and truly pious Wheelwright, and his
famous sister, Anne Hutchinson. They had before
purchased some land of the Indians at Squamscot
Falls, and now came, with the few friends who
followed them into banishment, and began a plan
tation. They called it Exeter. Desirous to give 1638.
efficiency to those doctrines which they sacredly
» F. Belknap,.p. 18.

40 HISTORY. OF
chap, cherished, and for which they had been driven from
JL_ Boston, they formed themselves into a church.
They also combined into a separate body politic,
and chose rulers and assistants. Each ruler had
/two assistants.
1638. These were sworn into qffice, and the people
were as solemnly sworn to obey them. Their
rulers, with the assistants, were elected annually;'
The laws were made in a popular assembly, and
formally assented to by the people. Though they
styled the king "the Lord's anointed," and
puriished treason against the king or the country,
rebellion and sedition, yet in all their proceedings'
they presented a specimen of a pure democracy.
They founded government, on the true basis,
viz., the consent of the governed.// They recog
nised the right of every man to have a voice in the
selection of his rulers ; thus making the people the
source of power — the fountain from which it flows.
This government conferred upon man a perfect
equality of rights. It made the people subject to
no laws but those of their own enacting, and it left
in their own hands the absolute right of repeal ;
thus giving them the power to correct public evils
so soon as they should manifest themselves. This .
little association of exiles I consider to be the first
institution of government in New Hampshire.*
The colony of Mason cannot be regarded as such.
It contemplated nothing but amassing wealth. It
was formed wholly for purposes of trade and
emolument. It imagined a system which was
wholly impracticable, and was never,' in fact, at-
1638. tempted. The settlement at Exeter, therefore, was
* Trumbull's Hist, of Connecticut, vol. I., p. 6.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 41
the foundation of the state. That government has chap. ii
continued with trifling alteration for more than two ^J^,
hundred years. Two hundred years ! How wide
a space in the world's history ! In that period
what revolutions have convulsed the earth ! In
that period Napoleon has run his career, changed
the face of Europe, and died in exile. England
has deposed sovereigns, reared a Commonwealth,
and changed, again and _%ain, the entire structure
of her monarchy. France has overturned thrones,
and all Europe has been shaken by the earthquakes
and thunders of revolution. South America has
been made to reek with blood unprofitably shed.
The farthest east and the west, even to savage
wilds, have been desolated by war. But with
little interruption the northern states of America
have shown tov the world a proud example of
liberty, stability, and progress.
About this time the plantation of Hampton was 1638.
formed at -a place which the Indians called Winni-
p Bel-
cumet. The salt meadows had attracted the knaP,p.
20 21
notice of Massachusetts, and the general court of
that colony had empowered Richard Dummer and
John Spencer to build a house there. This
settlement opened the way and invited some per
sons from Norfolk, in England. They shortly
afterwards came over, and the Hampton settle- 1638.
ment, with this accession, numbered fifty-six. It
was considered at this time as belonging to the
colony of Massachusetts.
After the death of Capt. Mason, his widow, 1639.
weary of the great expenses and inadequate re
turns of the Portsmouth plantation, informed her 1639.
servants that they must provide for themselves.
6

42 HISTORY OF

chap. Some removed with their goods and cattle ; others
.— Y, remained, keeping possession of the buildings and
Whf n improvements, which they henceforth claimed as
their own. But the houses at Newichwannock
were consumed by fire, and nothing was left of
Mason's estate but a doubtful interest in the soil.
Thus, the people were left without a government.
After the example of Exeter, they formed them-
selves into a body politic.* Those of Dover did
Oct. 22. the same.! By a written instrument, signed by
forty-one persons, they agreed to submit to the
laws of England and such others as should be
enacted by a majority of their number, until the
royal pleasure should be known. Here was a
constitution, not dissimilar to that which is now
kept sacred by a mighty nation, grown up around
that first experiment upon constitutional govern
ment. Thus, I have briefly traced the history of these
first four republics of the wilderness. They rose
humbly from the forest. They stood as four cities
of refuge, thrown open to those whom the sword of
persecution might drive to them from beyond- the.
Atlantic, or from the borders of the neighboring
colonies. But it is here to be remarked that they
were in factj governments of the churches. The
Bible was their law book ; and when the magistrate
enquired his duty, he asked only what is the will
of God. The plantation at Exeter formed the first
congregational church, that at Hampton the
second, that at Dover the third. Their difficul-
* The time when is uncertain. f F. Belknap.
t With the exception perhaps of Portsmouth, where a small Episcopal
society had been formed, but no Congregational society existed there for
many years.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 43
ties, embarrassments and bickerings, arose from chap.
vexed questions of religious faith and practice. _J___..
The backsliding of some church member was
always an event of importance. The imprudence
of some minister was sufficient to agitate all the
colonies. These three plantations were in all their
circumstances much alike. Their governments
were essentially the same. Yet/lhe settlement at
Exeter must be regarded as the most important,
both in its origin and in its influence upon the
character of the state. It was made up of the
persecuted Antinomians// But the history of the
Antinomians is so intimately connected with that
of the puritans, that it is impossible to present the
one properly, without at least a preliminary view
of the other. Without such a view, the character
and motives of the first settlers of Exeter would
be but little understood. The term Antinomian
was a name of reproach. It signifies, an opposer
of law. The Exeter settlers were deemed oppo-
sers of law ; and I now propose to glance at the
history of the puritans, in order to show who were
these Antinomians — why they were thus stigma
tized, and how it came to pass, that they were driven
out from Massachusetts, and came, as exiles, to
take shelter in the woods of New Hampshire.
Next after the merchant adventurers at Ports
mouth, came the band ofthe persecuted to Exeter.
Massachusetts was peopled by a feeble company
of puritans, who fled from religious persecution in
England. Massachusetts was destined in her turn
to draw the sword of persecution, and to people
other colonies with the exiles whom she drove from
her borders. Her intolerance founded Rhode

44 HISTORY OF
chap. Island, and gave immortality to the name of Roger
^J__ Williams. The puritans distrusted the power of truth to
work out her own triumphs. This, however, was
the error of the age in which they lived ; and on
that account they demand from posterity, when
passing judgment upon them, a magnanimous for
bearance. History would do them injustice, did it
fail to suggest the universal prevalence of this
error, as an apology for the violence which the
cause of religious liberty received at their hands.
The puritans never professed to be advocates for
freedom of conscience. From their writings they
carefully excluded the idea of religious liberty.
They demanded ofthe Church of England the right
to enjoy their faith unmolested ; not because they
approved of toleration, but because they believed
they had found the true faith, and that all opposition
to it was rebellion against God. They expressly
denied and repudiated the doctrine of toleration, as
a heresy, whenever it was imputed to them in Eng
land ; and when they came to America, they came,
not to establish religious liberty, but to enjoy,
unmolested, the peculiarities of their own faith.
They fled to the New World to escape from inquisi
tion — not to establish a system from which inquisi
tion should be excluded. They regarded their dis
tant retreat rather as a home and household of their
own, than as the world's asylum, and they claimed
a right to dictate the terms on which their guests
should enter. American eloquence and poetry have
frequently eulogized them for opening a refuge for
the world's outcasts. This is far from being true.
They had no such intention. They always claimed

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 45
the right to thrust out those whom they should find chap.
to be enemies to their safety and harmony. Such ^J_
was the illiberal spirit by which they were actuated,
in common with the age in which they lived, that
they ever regarded the advocate of new doctrines
as an intruder, coming to sow tares in the field.
They experienced the alarm which the careful
shepherd feels at seeing a wolf enter his fold.
The fame of Massachusetts had gone abroad to
the mosf distant lands, and the year 1635 witness- iq35.
ed an accession of three thousand emigrants to
the puritan colony.* Among these came Henry
Vane, the younger ; a youthful statesman of aspir
ing mind, but of spotless integrity. His admirable
genius, his energetic will, his noble devotion to the
cause of civil and religious liberty, rank his name
high amongst those of whom history may be proud.
The author of "Paradise Lost" has composed his
eulogy in the most splendid forms of the English
language. His elevated rank, his distinguished
ability, his piety, and love of freedom, commended
him to the freemen of Massachusetts, and he was
elected governor, notwithstanding his extreme 1636.
youth and want of experience. Under his admin
istration, the effect of religious divisions began to
be felt, and the formation of two distinct religious
parties may be perceived. The first party consist
ed chiefly of the original settlers. They had
founded the commonwealth, and were intent upon
building it up. They were satisfied with the es
tablished order of things. It was the work of
their hands. They were afraid of innovations, and
« Bancroft, I., p. 383.

46 HISTORY OF
chap, dreaded the effects of unlimited freedom of discus-

n.
 sion.

The other party consisted of persons lately ar
rived in the colony. They had come, not so much
to build up a commonwealth as to establish, enjoy
and perpetuate entire freedom of religious opinion.
They had fled from the oppressive laws of Europe,
and they determined to resist every form of despot
ism over the mind in America. It was their pride
to follow out the principles of the reformation of
Martin Luther, with logical precision, to all their
consequences.* The founders of this party were,
Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and her brother, John
Wheelwright; theformer, a woman whose eloquence
and admirable understanding were universally ac
knowledged and admired. Mr. Wheelwright, her
brother, was a clergyman of elegant accomplish
ments and devoted piety, and, at that time, the
minister of Braintree, which then formed a part of
Boston. When Mrs. Hutchinson and her brother
examined the institutions of Massachusetts, they
found this new building of the reformation defec
tive, and proceeded in very bold language to point
out the "flaws." They denounced the clergy as
"ushers of persecution," and " popish factors" —
the magistrates as "priest-ridden," -and as not hav
ing imbibed the true doctrines of Christian reform,!
They were encouraged by Henry Vane. The men
of learning and members of the general court
adopted the opinions of Mrs. Hutchinson, and a
majority of the people sustained her in her pre
sumptuous rebellion against the clergy. Thus, at
the outset, the party of Mrs. Hutchinson was in
* Bancroft, I., p. 387. f Bancroft, I., 387.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. ' 47
the ascendency. But the subject became of the chap.
highest political importance, and both parties pre- _J_
pared for an obstinate contest. Nearly all the
clergy clustered together under Winthrop, and
selected him as their candidate for governor ;
while the new sectarians rallied under Vane. The
whole colony was convulsed with the contest.
Throughout Boston and its environs the tide of
enthusiasm rose to an unprecedented pitch. The
nicest shades of faith were of sufficient magnitude
to throw the whole community into transports or
broils. The most abstruse distinctions were de
bated with a confidence and a swell of importance,
such as the great fathers of theology never felt or
comprehended. The general court consumed its sessions in
debating what quantity and quality of piety should
be preached on the coining Sabbath, and on Mon
day they enquired what minister had preached
sedition the Sunday before. The speeches of the
members were made up of apt texts of Scripture,
endowed with a new and powerful meaning, de
signed1 for the context into which they found them
selves thus unceremoniously introduced.* The
shops were supplied with elaborate essays, and the
streets thronged with crowds eagerly discussing
the subtlest points of controversy. Many persons
declared themselves in personal companionship with
the Holy Spirit. Some became insane, and others,
plunged in learned doctrinal disquisitions, forgot the
duties of active benevolence. The Wheelwright
men were unforljearing and impatient of contra
diction. Mrs. Hutchinsoa divided the Christian
» Grahame.

^g HISTORY OF
chap, souls into sound and unsound, and stigmatized the
JL. last as a set of " unchristian vipers." The Win-
throp men, in return, denounced the followers of
Wheelwright as fanatics, extreme Calvinists and
Antinomians. In Mrs. Hutchinson they found an
unconquerable antagonist — slow to hear, quick to
speak. She assembled conferences, presided in
person, and kept the fire of controversy in a con
stant blaze. She attacked her opponents with
acrimony, and those who refused to receive her
doctrines found the consequence to be a full mea
sure of abuse. " There is no peace in the neigh
borhood," said the clergy. " Home and the fire
side have no quiet." Though they admitted her
to be an adept in debate, they professed to find her
deficient in all the gentle graces that adorn the
female character.
Meanwhile election day arrived, and on that
occasion the pious Wilson deemed it his duty to
climb into a tree to harangue the people at the
polls. The result of the election proved the
Winthrop party, the fathers and founders of the
colony, to be in a majority. They elected thei.
governor and their candidates for the magistracies.
When they found themselves in possession of
power, they procured a movement to be made in
the general court. Thus did the theological jar
gain admission into the legislature of the colony;
1637. An act was passed censuring Wheelwright and his
friends for sedition. Vane, who pleaded eloquently
for the liberties of Catholics and Dissenters in
Parliament, and afterwards laid down his life in the
cause of religious liberty, remonstrated, but inef
fectually, against this act of censure. He, likewise,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 49
opposed the alien law, which the puritan fathers chap.
passed, for the purpose of excluding "such infatu- ^^Y
ated men as Wheelwright" from the colony.
Wheelwright and his friends, however, bade de
fiance to the decrees of the court. They avowed
the dictates of conscience to be of higher authority
than acts of legislative assemblies. They declared
themselves to be, as usual, in direct communication
with the Holy Spirit, and guided by immediate
revelations from heaven. Winthrop and the pious
fathers now excited the people with apprehensions
of an immediate insurrection of lawless fanatics.
This spread alarm through the colony. They
declared themselves to be on the eve of a revo
lution, and that it was a crisis calling for a convo
cation of the grand synod of the clergy of New
England. It was accordingly convened,, but the
mountain of investigation gave birth to nothing.
The synod found, that with all their theological
acumen, they could discover no criminal difference
between the dreaded Antinomian heresy main
tained by Wheelwright and his sister, and the
more orthodox tenets of Winthrop and Colton.
They therefore adjourned, and left to the civil
magistrates the task of punishing the leaders of
Antinomianism. The magistrates, glad of an op
portunity to exercise their newly acquired power,
passed sentence of banishment upon Wheelwright,
Anne Hutchinson and Aspinwall. The exiles,
wearied with opposition, took up their march for
the wilderness, seeking a refuge from intolerance,
 banished from among banished men — exiles from
a place of exile. Dissenters could not tolerate a
dissenter. 7

50 HISTORY OF
chap. Thus ended the Antinomian controversy in Mas-
«J!y. sachusetts. It now remains to point out the dis
tinctive doctrines of each party. First, then, it is
to be observed that the Wheelwright men were
rigid Calvinists. They did not come to Massa
chusetts with'the first band of emigrants. When
they arrived, they found that the colonists had
relaxed somewhat from the precise tenets of Cal
vin. They were placing what was considered an
undue reliance upon good works, and were swerv
ing from the true faith on the important subjects
of election and foreordination. They proclaimed
the precise dogmas of Geneva, with which they
had come freshly laden, and "reproached the
colonists with .being practical men under a covenant
of works." The Winthrop men wished to pre
serve Calvinism, but softened and mellowed down
with an infusion of what they deemed practical
religion. The Wheelwright men relied for sal
vation on absolute predestination, which could not
be affected by the merits or demerits of men's
actions. The Winthrop men relied for salvation
on faith and good works. Wheelwright believed
that the divine choice had rested, from all eternity,
upon a certain number, to whom grace was given
by an absolute, unchanging decree. Winthrop
believed that the salvation of men was not so absq-
lutely decreed as to be impregnable against the
assaults of temptation and sin. The divine will is
unchangeable, said Wheelwright. The eternal
counsels of God are sure. Is the will of Heaven
to be defeated by the sins of man ? Of what use,
then, enquired Winthrop, is repentance? To
what purpose is the practice of virtue and pietv,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 51
since the divine favor is neither to be propitiated chap.
nor forfeited ? Wheelwright was himself a most .^J^
powerful pulpit advocate of Calvinism. Both he
and his sister, in their conduct and doctrines, were
prone to extremes. Yet in the history of the
Calvinists there is much to palliate error and much
to mitigate the harshness of censure. Liberty
never had braver defenders than were these extreme
Calvinists. Almost always in the old world, and
generally in the new, the warfare for Calvinism has
been a warfare against oppression. The soldier
of the cross, in the Calvinistic sense of the term,
has ever been the soldier of liberty ; and of all the
multitudes who have worshipped at the shrine of
that goddess, few have been more devout. They
have investigated the bounds of authority. They
have set limits to the power of kings. They
never were the slaves of priestcraft. In their
system of church government they acknowledge
no sovereign pontiff. It is a pure democracy.
The will of the majority is law. There is
nothing to disturb equality of rights. Whatever
power the clergy may have obtained, is no fault
of the system itself; for no power of necessity
pertains to them or to any officer of the church.
The humblest member has no superior but the
King of kings. Nor is the pastor superior to any
brother, except it be in faith, humility, and hope.
He has no greater power over the brother than the
brother has over him. They are monitors of each
other — counsellors of each other. They use no
liturgy — they bow to no confessor. The pastor is
but the expounder of the divine will. The body
of the church are the judges of it, and God is the

52 HISTORY OF
chap, judge of all. This system leads, of necessity
JL_ and naturally, to popular liberty. The idea that
wealth is to be deified, and government founded
upon property, never sprung from the system of
John Calvin. It is a plant of after growth amongst
us. The democratic theory springs naturally from
the Calvinistic system of church government. The
theory has been caught up by thousands who have
rejected the creed. The Calvinists were ad
herents of a system that sprung from the people.
The great reformer was himself a plebeian. His
infancy was cradled in a lowly abode. His youth
and manhood were spent in wrestling with the
errors of a world. He raised and elevated an en
slaved peasantry. He exposed the crimes of a
corrupt priesthood. He was the advocate of com
mon schools, the glory of New England. Onthe
whole, humanity is largely indebted to the man
whose cruel burning of Servetus has left an indel
ible stain on his memory.
Thus the motives of the first settlers of Exeter
were in harmony with democratic principles of gov
ernment. They were exiles "for conscience sake,,"
They came to the wilderness for freedom. They
were tried in the school of misfortune ; they were
disciplined by struggling with persecution. Such
was the Exeter settlement. Christianity presided
at its birth and " rocked its cradle."* It grew up.
It put forth its hands with increasing strength,
and displayed in its form the beauty of youth. It
ripened to maturity. It became the State of New
( Hampshire — a member of that Union which binds
together a mighty confederated Republic.
* Bancroft.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 53
Four distinct governments had been formed on chap.
the several branches of the Pascataqua. These  L_
combinations were but voluntary agreements. 1641,
They might be invaded by capricious leaders, or
dashed asunder by the first wave of popular dis
content. The people were too much divided to
form any general plan of government, and the dis
tracted state of the mother country cut off all hope
of the royal attention. In this state of things, the
minds of the more considerate men were turned to
a union with Massachusetts. The affair was agi
tated for more than a year, and on the fourteenth ap^
of April, it was concluded by an instrument of
union, subscribed in the presence of the general
court. Thus did Massachusetts spread the broad
wing of her jurisdiction over the Pascataqua set
tlements. Her laws now took immediate effect in
New Hampshire, and the histories ofthe two plan
tations, for a period of thirty-eight years, become to
blended together. The population of New Hamp- 1679-
shire, at this time, did not exceed one thousand,
which was about one twentieth of the whole popu
lation of the American colonies. When the act
of union took place, one extraordinary concession
was made to New Hampshire. By a law of Mas
sachusetts, a test had been established, which pro
vided that none but church members should vote
in town affairs, or sit as members of the general
court. This gospel requisite was dispensed with 1641.
in favor of the New Hampshire members, and her
freemen were permitted to vote in town affairs, and
her deputies to sit in the general court, without
regard to religious qualifications ; an amazing
stride in liberality — a stretch of toleration, which

54 HISTORY OF
chap, some declared to amount to absolute atheism, and
JL, others looked upon as the entering wedge of impi
ety, destined to sunder the goodly bonds of society.
It sent a shudder through the whole body of the
church. Under the new order of things, Wheelwright
was no longer safe. His sentence of banishment
was still in force, and when the laws of Massachu
setts took effect in New Hampshire, he was obliged
to make another remove, to escape the sword of
persecution. Attended by a few faithful followers
he withdrew to Wells, in Maine, and there gathered
a small church. He was afterwards permitted to
•eturn, and exercise his ministry at Hampton.
VIeanwhile, a revolution in England had raised
Oliver Cromwell to the head of the English com
monwealth. Some time afterwards, Wheelwright
went to England, and was conducted to the pres
ence of Cromwell. The Lord Protector, with
characteristic constancy to his early friends, recog-,
nised him as an old college acquaintance. They
had been at the University together. " I remem
ber the time," said Cromwell, turning to the gen
tlemen then about him, " when I have been more
afraid of meeting Wheelwright at foot-ball than of
meeting any army since in the field." Cromwell'
received him kindly, took him into favor, and ap
pointed him to a post of distinction. After the
1660. restoration, he returned to Salisbury, in New
Hampshire, where he died in 1680, at the advance^!
age of more than eighty years. It will be remem
bered that the immediate cause of Wheelwright's
banishment, was a sermon which he preached at
Boston. That sermon was considered, by the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 55
magistrates, as " tending to sedition." " But it chap.
was not such," says Savage, "as can justify the J_Y
court in their sentence for sedition and contempt, S
nor prevent the present age from regarding that PTO.|;
proceeding as an example and a warning of the
usual tyranny of ecclesiastical factions."
Scarcely had the act of union taken place, when 1642.
the settlers were alarmed by apprehensions of an
attack from the Indians. Rumors were circulated
of a plot formed for the utter extermination of the
English. A party was immediately despatched to
seize and disarm Passaconaway. The old chief, 1642.
as a pledge of amity, readily delivered up his guns.
It was soon discovered that the reports of a plot
had but a slight foundation, and the affair ended
with an apology to Passaconaway, for the acts of
violence which had been committed. But ground
less as this alarm proved, it drew the attention of
the colonists to the advantages of a confederation.
They were surrounded by common difficulties
and menaced by common dangers. On the one
hand, the Dutch coveted their possessions. On
the other the French threatened to encroach. All
around them lay savage tribes, against whom they
could rely for security only upon their arms, their
union and their valor. Influenced by th6se con
siderations, the inhabitants of four colonies, viz.,
Connecticut, New Haven, New Plymouth, and
Massachusetts, which embraced New Hampshire,
formed a confederacy. It lasted for half a century
— a type of that more glorious Union under whose
broad wings their posterity now repose.
By the articles of confederation, as they were
called, these colonies entered into a perpetual

56- HISTORY OF
chap, league of friendship and aniity. It was declared
JL. to have a twofold object. It was to propagate
the gospel and for mutual safety and welfare. Each
plantation was to retain its own jurisdiction and
government. No other colony could be received
as a confederate, nor could any two of the confed
erates be united into one, without the consent of
the rest. They decreed the establishment of a
legislative assembly to manage their affairs, and
this consisted of two commissioners, or members
chosen from each colony. All affairs of war or
peace, leagues, aids, charges, number of men for
war, division of spoils, and whatsoever is gotten
by conquest, receiving of more confederates for
plantations, and all things of like nature, which
are the proper concomitants and consequences of
such a confederation, for amity, offence and defence,
were weighed and determined by these commis
sioners, and the determination of any six of them
was to be binding upon all. The expenses of all
just wars, were to be borne by each colony, in
proportion to its number of male inhabitants. But
the commissioners were directed to take into con
sideration the causes of such war ; and if it should
appear that the fault was in the colony invaded,
such colony was not only to make satisfaction to the
invaders, but to bear all expenses of the war. The
commissioners were also authorized to frame; and
establish agreements and orders, in general cases
of a civil nature, wherein all the plantations were
interested, for preserving peace among themselves
and preventing, as much as may be, all occasions
of war, or difference with others. It was also
wisely provided in the articles, that runaway ser-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 57
vants and fugitives from justice should be returned chap.
to the colonies to which they belonged, or from •_!_
which they had fled. If any of the confederates
should violate any of the articles, or in any way
injure any of the other colonies, such -breach of
agreement was to be considered and ordered by
the commissioners of the other colonies. Such
were the powers of the general government of the
colonies ; and it was expressly provided that this
general power should not intermeddle with the gov
ernment of any of the jurisdictions ; which by the
third article was preserved entirely to themselves.*
While the leading men of the colonies were busy 1642.
with the confederation, Capt. Neal explored the
White Mountains.! He was by no nieans devoidj
of the passion for discovery ; and a feature so
prominent in the scenery of New Hampshire could
not fail to attract his attention. The Indians had
given the name of Agiocochook to the whole group
of northern mountains. These awful summits they
regarded with superstitious veneration. The red
man believed that a powerful genius presided on
their overhanging cliffs and by their waterfalls.
His imagination peopled them with invisible beings.
He saw the Great Spirit in the clouds gathered
around their tops. He heard his voice speaking in
the revels of the storm, and calling aloud in the
thunders that leaped from cliff to cliff and rumbled
in the hollows of the mountains. Wherever sur
passing excellence appears in the works of nature,
the Indian discerns the presence of a divinity. He
believes that some unknown agency has made the
* Pitkin's Hist. U. S., pp. 5Q, 51. Holmes' American Annals, vol. I., pp. 326-7.
| Whiton, p. 11. t Winthrop, Hist. New England, II., 67, 68.
8

58 HISTORY OF
chap, firmament, and set a light in the eastern sky. A
Ji_ god resides in the stars, the lakes, and the recesses
of the grottos. He sees him in the clouds and
hears him in the winds — frowning in the wintry
blast — breathing in the zephyrs of spring — smil
ing in the first blush of morning, and the last hue
of twilight that lingers above the pines in the
western sky. In his undefined ideas of Nature, the
sentiment of fear is always mingled. He cannot
solve the origin of her changes or analyze her laws.
Every uncommon appearance excites his amaze
ment and strikes him with terror. With every
hidden agency, with every mysterious influence of
Nature, he blends the idea of a divinity. Super
stition springs up in his mind from all her inexpli
cable relations and remarkable features. Influ
enced by fear, the Indians never ascended the
White Mountains. They supposed the invisible
inhabitants would resent any intrusion into their
sacred precincts. But while they presented an
impassable barrier to the Indian, they offered a
charm to the mind of the white man, and their
supposed mineral wealth allured him to their
heights. Such an impression had they madfc
upon the imagination of Neal, that he set out on
foot, attended by two companions, to reach them
through an unexplored forest. He described them,
in the most exaggerated style, to be a ridge
-_u\p. extending an hundred leagues, on which snoW
lieth all the year, and inaccessible, except by the
gullies which the dissolved snow hath made. On
one of these mountains the travellers reported to
have found a plain of a day's journey over ; whereOh
nothing grows but moss ; and at the further end

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 59
of this plain, a rude heap of mossy stones, piled up chap.
on one another, a mile high ; on which one might  Y
ascend from stone to stone, like a pair of winding
stairs, to the top, where was another level of about
an acre, with a pond of clear water. This summit
was said to be far above the clouds ; and from
hence they beheld a vapor, like a vast pillar, drawn
up by the sunbeams out of a great lake into the
air, whence it was formed into a cloud. The
country beyond these mountains, northward, was
said to be " daunting terrible," full of rocky hills,
as thick as mole hills in a meadow, and clothed
with infinite thick woods. They had great expec
tation of finding precious stones ; and something Bei-
resembling crystals being picked up, was sufficient
to give them the name of " Crystal Hills." From
hence they continued their route in search of a
lake and " faire islands." But their provisions
were now well nigh spent, and the forests of La
conia yielded no supply So they were obliged to
set their faces homeward, when "the discovery
wanted but one day's journey of being finished."
Late in the year, depressed with that disappoint
ment which ever treads upon the heels of extrava
gant expectation, they returned from their melan
choly journey across the wilderness. They seemed
to expect a treasury underneath every foot of the
rude soil. They imagined every rock of yellowish
hue to be impregnated with gold. They slept on 1642.
the mountains, dreaming of the rich ore lurking in
their rocky foundations, and overlaying the roofs
and floors of their deep subterranean halls. With
fancy's eye they saw through the fissures of the
rocks, and beheld yawning caverns starred with

60 HISTORY OF
chap, gems and rough with gold. Two centuries have-
Ji_ rolled over the bleak summits of these stupendous
mountains without realizing one dream of early
adventure. They still stand, the throne of the
thunder and the storm; still rear their snow-
crowned heads into the sky, unchanged and un
changeable — images of eternal duration.
" Oh ! that some bard would rise — true heir of glory,
With the full power of heavenly poesy,
To gather up each old romantic story
That lingers round these scenes in memory,
And consecrate to immortality —
Some western Scott, within whose bosom thrills
That fire which burneth to eternity,
To pour his spirit o'er these mighty hills,
And make them classic ground, thrice hallowed by his spells!"*1
1650. After the confederation ofthe colonies, few events
claim a notice in history, till the middle of the
seventeenth century. The settlements had con
tinued to increase in population ; and Major
Richard Waldron, having risen, by his bravery
and force of character, to be the most conspicuous
man of the province, was occasionally elected
speaker of the Massachusetts assembly. Ports
mouth had lost the rustic name of Strawberry
1652. Bank, and assumed its present appellation. Mas
sachusetts had begun that admirable system of
1647. common schools, which has ever been the pride of
New England ; and Mayhew Elliot and others had
begun to journey on foot through the pathless wil
derness — fording streams — paddling sometimes in
canoes on the rivers, lodging in the " smoky week-
warns," and suffering every privation, to preach
Christianity to the Indians. It was not the least
* Hibbard's description of the Franconia Mountain Notch, Democratic
Review of April, 1839, No. 16.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 61
of Elliot's labors that he translated the whole Bible chap.
into the language of the Pawtuckets. An im- _J_Y.
portant change had occurred in the form of legisla- ifU4.
tive proceedings. Hitherto the magistrates and
representatives, who together constituted the gen
eral court, had acted as one body. From this time
their deliberations assumed parliamentary forms.
The magistrates met in a separate apartment,
constituting an Upper House, and bills were sent
from one house to the other for concurrence in a
parliamentary way.
The heirs of Mason, in England, now learned 1658.
.that Massachusetts had extended her jurisdiction
over New Hampshire. They could offer no effec
tual resistance. While England was distracted
with civil wars, there was no time for legal inves
tigation ; and when Robert Tufton, the heir to
whom his estate descended, came over, on the
death of Mason's executrix, he found the heirs of
Mason already dispossessed of the lands at Ne-
wichwannock. To recover possession, he instituted
some suits in the county court. This induced
Massachusetts to order a survey, which extended
to Aquedochtan, the outlet of lake AVinnipiseogee.
The court decided that a portion of land propor
tionate to Mason's disbursements, with the privi
lege of the river, should be laid out to his heirs.
Tufton gave up the remainder for lost, and returned
to England, where now centered all hope of re
covering any further portion of his ancestral do
mains. The family of Mason had been too strongly
attached to the royal cause to expect any relief
from the commonwealth and the Protectorate of
Cromwell.

CHAPTER III.
Witchcraft at Portsmouth — In England, and France — In Germany, and
Scotland — Trial of a witch — The Salem witchcraft — Conjectures as to
the phenomena of witchcraft — Persecution of the Quakers — Execution'
of Leddra, Robinson, and Stevenson — Reflections.
chap. I have now reached an epoch in the history of
„~L_ New Hampshire, from which I would gladly pass
1658. to some other point, if oblivion could cover the
space that would lie between. While Old Eng
land was shaken by the earthquakes of two revo
lutions, and a civil war raged, in which an ancient
throne passed away and returned again, the people
of Portsmouth, in common with the whole of New
England, were agitated by convulsions scarcely
less terrific. Old women, in the shape of cats,
rode the air on broomsticks, and unwonted spectres
haunted many a disordered imagination. Some
were publicly accused, and many more were pri
vately stamped and known as witches. While
accusation and suspicion were confined to the
abodes of humble life, the bewildered reaspn of
man. submitted in silence, and the mania seemed to
admit, of no cure. But when some of the principal
persons were accused, they assumed the offensive*
and brought suits of slander against their accusers!
This put a stop to prosecutions ; but a lingering
belief in witchcraft still remained with the super
stitious. The trial of " Goodwife Walford " is a

March.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 63
curious relic of the times.* She was brought be- chap
fore the Court of Assistants at Portsmouth, on ^Y
complaint of Susannah Trimmings, and the testi
mony of a number of witnesses was gravely laid
before the court. The complainant, the person
bewitched, was the first witness, and testified as
follows :
" As I was going home on Sunday night I
heard a rustling in the woods, which I supposed to
be occasioned by swine ; and presently there ap
peared a woman, whom I apprehended to be old
Goodwife Walford. She asked me to lend her a
pound of cotton. I told her I had but two pounds
in the house, and I would not spare any to my
mother. She said I had better have done it, for I
was going a great journey but should never come
there. She then left me, and I was struck as with
a clap of fire on the back, and she vanished toward
the water side, in my apprehension in the shape of
a cat. She had on her head a white linen hood,
tied under her chin, and her waistcoat and petti
coat were red, with an old gown apron and a black
hat upon her head."
Oliver Trimmings, her husband, thus testified :
" My wife came home in a sad condition. She
passed by me with her child in her arms, laid the
child on the bed, sat down on the chest, and leaned
upon her elbow. Three times I asked her how
she did. She could not speak. I took her in my
arms, and held her up, and repeated the question.
She forced breath, and something stopped in her
throat as if it would have stopped her breath. I
unlaced her clothes, and soon she spake and said,
* Adams's Annals of Portsmouth. N. H. Hist. Coll., I., p. 255.

64 HISTORY OF
chap.' Lord, have mercy upon me; this wicked woman.,
 L_ will kill me. I asked her what woman. She said,
Goodwife Walford. I tried to persuade her it was,
only her weakness. She told me no, and related
as above, that her back was a flame of fire, her
lower parts were, as it were numb and without
feeling. I pinched her and she felt not. She,
continued that night and the day and night follow
ing very ill, and is still bad of her limbs, and com
plains still daily of it."
Nicholas Rowe testified, that " Jane Walford,
shortly after she was accused, came to the depo
nent in bed, in the evening, and put her hand upon
his breast, so that he could not speak, and was in
great pain till the next day. By the light of the
fire in the next room, it appeared to be Goody
Walford, but she did not speak. She repeated
her visit about a week after, and did as before, but
said nothing." -_.:%
Eliza Barton deposed that she "saw Susannah'
Trimmings, at the time she was ill, and her face:
was colored and spotted with several colors. She.
told the deponent the story, who replied that it was
nothing but fantasy ; her eyes looked as if they had
been scalded."
John Puddington deposed that "three years
since, Goodwife Walford came to his mother's.
She said that her own husband called her an old,
witch ; and when she came to her cattle, her own,
husband would bid her begone ; for she did over
look the cattle, which is as much as to say in our
<• country, bewitching."
Other oases occurred at Portsmouth, of a simi
lar character. But in no instance was the accused

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 65
condemned to suffer death. Yet the scenes which chap.
were enacted in New Hampshire would be worthy J_L_
of notice, as instances of remarkable delusion, if
they had not been far exceeded by the multitude
of witch trials at Salem, Braintree, Andover and
Topsfield, in Massachusetts ; which trials were
also far surpassed, in enormity and absurdity, by
cases which occurred in almost every country in
Europe. In France and Germany, in England
and Scotland, witchcraft was recognised as a crime
in courts of justice, and by sovereigns and legis
lators. The most learned judges of the day,
infected by the popular belief, gravely listened to
the testimony of witch-finders, passed judgment, in
the forms of law, upon the condemned, and inflicted
punishment in every form of death and torture.
Thus Europe, the land of the arts and sciences,
the world of civilization and learning, was echoing
with authority on the subject of witchcraft. Ac
counts were arriving constantly of its horrors in
the old world and the trials and executions of
witches. The same excitement began to prevail
in America ; until, at length, witchcraft broke out
at Salem in its most malignant form. Twenty J692,
persons were condemned and perished by the hands
of the executioner. They protested their inno
cence to the last, and died for a crime which
modern intelligence declares never existed but in
the imagination of man. The public excitement
rose to such a pitch that all legal principles seem
to have been as effectually destroyed as were the
Jewish laws at the trial of Christ.*
* See the "Trial of Jesus," translated from the French of M. Dupin, by a
member of the American Bar. *•
9

66 HISTORY OF
chap. The judges partook of the frenzy which bore the
J.JY multitude away. Thus it happened that this riiost
undefined of all crimes, witchcraft,'was established
by the most absurd modes of proof that ever
insulted a judicial tribunal. No punishment was
decreed against false witnesses.* During all this
delusion, no such thing as perjury was suspected.
The magistrates seem never to have thought of im
posture, fraud, or mistake. Cross-examination of
witnesses, one of the great shields of innocence,
was prohibited. The judges, whose duty it was
to protect the innocent, obeyed the popular
clamor, and sought to elevate themselves in public
estimation by entrapping the prisoner into confes-
,_, sions of guilt. The most diabolical witch evidence
and hobgoblin cant were greedily listened to from
the bench, and the testimony. of impartial, substan
tial witnesses was suspected and frowned upon.
Revolting and ingenious modes of torture were
often resorted to, and insults were offered to the
prisoner in open court, by the bystanders, and by
the judges and officers ofthe court.
While the laws were forgotten, or trampkd
upon, the ties of nature seemed to be loosened and
dissolved. It was not uncommon for young chil
dren to be witnesses against their parents, and
parents against their children. Contrary to the
laws of nature and the laws of civil society, hus
bands were permitted to accuse their wives, and
wives to bear witness against their husbands.
What can be more revolting than a superstition
thus deaf to the voice of humanity; arming itself
with supernatural terrors ; striding with icy foot
* Upham's Lectures on Witchcraft.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 67
over the family hearth ; sundering the sweet kindred chap.
. . . ih
ties, and making husband and wife, parent and child, ^-~_L-
the blind instruments of each other's doom !
So bitter was the public hatred against witches,
and with such a terrible zeal did the multitude
pursue all suspected persons, that many confessed
themselves guilty, that they might either be ac
quitted, or suffer death and find in the grave a
refuge from their tormentors. But, this was not
to be their lot. All who confessed were acquitted.
This is directly at war with the principles of the
common law, under which the witch magistrates
professed to act. By the common law, when a
crime has been committed, free, voluntary confes
sion is deemed the best evidence of guilt. Yet all
those who had been proved guilty by what is
usually deemed the best evidence, were acquitted ;
while those were executed, to procure whose con
viction all justice had been violated and every
principle of law broken down. Fifty-five persons
confessed that they were witches, and had formed
a compact with the devil. By maintaining their
innocence, they had before them the certain pros
pect of an ignominious death. They knew that
the delusion had full control of their accusers, and
of the magistrates and judges.* Self-preservation,
the first law of nature written on man's heart, was
the law upon which they acted. Some instances
occurred of persons really believing themselves
guilty, and confessing under that belief. Nor
need this excite wonder. Confused by the terrors
• This court consisted of seven judges, in it there was no jury, and law
yers were forbidden to practise there. The abuses of this court funuA a
terrible example of the danger of abolishing the tnal by jury, and denymg to
accused persons the assistance of counsel.

68 HISTORY- OF
chap, of an arrest, cut off from their friends, overwhelmed
i_L_ by evidence wholly new, and which they did not
suppose to exist, heart-broken and bewildered in
mind, they ceased to distinguish between things
suggested by their own knowledge and memory, and
things poured into their ears by their accusers, and
echoed and re-echoed by the popular cry. To
increase their embarrassment, there was a class of
professed witch-finders, who had various devices
for finding out witches. These creatures were per
mitted to give their spectral evidence in court, and
make oath to what they had discovered by the use
of charms. To this detestable jugglery the mag
istrates lent a ready ear.
The effect of accusation upon the accused some
times resembled the effect of epidemic disease';
for they immediately fancied themselves possessed
of, and exhibited, all the demonish witch symptoms
which the ignorance or malice of their accusers
attributed to them. When superstition has thus
become contagious, it reigns in its most appalling
aspect. It prostrates its wretched victims like the
blasting touch of the plague. It moves like a
spreading disease, and strikes both the heart and
the intellect, like the touch of the torpedo. It in
vades the bench, and manhood seems to be lost in
the magistrate. Unable to summon energy of
mind to resist or mitigate this merciless scourge;* he
seems prepared, under its baneful influence, to
inflict upon his fellow-men the greatest of evils.
The mode of examination and trial pursued by
the Salem magistrates, sufficiently explains the
control it had gained over them. It was this. A
warrant being issued out to apprehend the person

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 69
complained of by " the afflicted children," the said chap.
person is brought before the justices. "The af- J^L.
flicted children" are present. The justices ask
the accused, why she afflicts these poor children.
To which she answers, " I do not afflict them."
Unavailing is this artless plea of " not guilty,"
tendered to the magistrate in the simplest language
that insulted human nature could utter — I do not
afflict them. The justices next order the accused
to look upon "the said children;" which she
accordingly does. The afflicted are then cast into
fits. The accused is next commanded to touch
the afflicted ; whereupon the afflicted ordinarily
come out of the fits, and then proceed to affirm that
the accused has bewitched them. The accused is
straitway committed to prison, on suspicion of
witchcraft. In the solitude of her dungeon she
awaits her trial, wholly unconscious of the crime
which must seal her doom, and unable to fathom
the mystery which brings suspicion and punishment
upon an innocent head.
This process was called " the evidence of ocular
fascination;" and in order that it might have its
perfect work, the accused and the accusers were
confronted face to face, in the presence of the
court. When the supposed witch was ordered to
look upon the afflicted persons, instantly, upon
coming within the glance of her eye, they would
scream and fall down in convulsions. It was
thought by the magistrates of Salem, that an in
visible and impalpable fluid darted from the eye of
the witch, and penetrated the brain of the bewitch
ed.* By bringing the witch so near that she could
* Upham's Lectures on Witchcraft.

70 HISTORY OF
chap, touch the afflicted persons with her hand, it was
J_L_ supposed that the malignant fluid was attracted back
into her hand, and that thus the sufferers recovered
their senses. It was a favorite theory of the Salem
magistrates that a witch, or a person in confeder
acy with the devil, could not weep. The " callous
spot," also, was an infallible proof of guilt. They
believed that Satan affixed his mark to the bodies
of those in alliance with him, and that the spot
where this mark was made became callous and
dead. Thus, upon the testimony of witch-finders,
many aged women were condemned, because some
spot could be found upon their old and palsied
frames, insensible to a throb of pain ; or, because
they were so overwhelmed, when brought before
their tormentors, by the horrors of their situation
and approaching fate, that the fountain of grief was
dry. The public mind had become so inflamed that it
was unsafe to express a doubt of the reality of
witchcraft. Accused persons were accordingly
without defence. *But the extremity of an evil
sometimes suggests its cure. It is a fact that the
first check given to the Salem witchcraft arose from
an accusation brought against the wife* of one
of " the principal men of the town." This has
generally been considered accidental. But it may
be that there were, amongst the poor and unpro
tected, some bright minds, whose keen perception
discovered that the only way to check this fatal
delusion was to bring it home to the firesides of
the clergy, the magistrates, and the rich men ofthe
colony. It may be that these poor persons pur-
* Mrs. Hale.— See Upham's eloquent Lectures on Witchcraft.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 71
posely accused some of " the principal citizens," chap.
in order to awake others from their trance, in time J_^__
to avert the impending calamity from their own
humbler dwellings.
It would perhaps be difficult to offer a solution
of all the phenomena of witchcraft, upon scientific
principles. Most of them, however, point to
diseases of the nervous system ; and particularly
to an affection of the optic and auditory nerves.
To the afflicted, the air, the darkness, and all space
were full of strange sights and sounds. Drums
beat in the air at dead of night, and guns, swords,
and armed men appeared in the darkness. The
minds of all were oppressed with the most distress
ing apprehensions of coming evil. Every uncom
mon sight was construed into a preternatural sig
nal of approaching dissolution. Death bells tolled
through their dreams, and a departed spirit seemed
to shriek on every rushing blast. Their visions
were disturbed by the forms of their deceased
friends, walking before them in their grave-clothes.
Every village teemed with legends of haunted
houses, where ghosts looked out from the windows.
The simple guide-post, and the tavern signs were
transformed into ghosts, stretching out their hands
to the travellers, like supernatural assassins. The
withered tree, red with autumnal foliage, often
took the form of a murderer, giving in the con
fession of guilt by holding out his gory hands.
The strange twitchings, and spasmodic action, with
which whole families were seized, the fits and con
vulsions, the settled melancholy, and occasional
insanity of others, are all symptoms of nervous
affections ; and when we consider that the witch-

12 HISTORY OF
chap, craft excitement spread gradually over Europe*/
^_^__ and reached America, (while other portions of the
world were untouched,) reigning for a brief season^
and then disappearing, it is not an improbable
conjecture that the whole mystery of witchcraft
may be solved, by ascribing it to an epidemic
disease of the nerves ; which, like the cholera and
the plague, overspread vast portions of the earth,
and passed away ; leaving mankind in doubt, as to
the cause of its origin and the mode of its fearful
progress. v
1658. While the magistrates of Portsmouth were busy
with the witches, religious intolerance broke out
fiercely against the Quakers. During the whole
period of this persecution, New Hampshire was
but an appendage to Massachusetts, and the laws
by which Quakers were whipped and led through.
the streets of Dover, tied to carts, were laws of
Massachusetts. The stain of that vindictive;
persecution attaches itself to New Hampshire*!
because she had a small representation in the
assembly of Massachusetts when those laws were
enacted. The civil authorities at Boston justified their
proceedings, with the specious pretence of securing
the peace and order of society. They declared}
the "vagabond Quakers" to be "capital blas-= '
phemers," seducers from the glorious Trinity, open
enemies to government, and subverters both of
church and state.*
Accordingly, a law was published, prohibiting
the Quakers from coming to the colony, on pain
of the house of correction. "Notwithstanding
* Sewall's Hist. Quakers, p. 462.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 73
which, by a back door they found entrance."* chap.
The penalty was then increased to cutting off the  Y
ears of those who offended the second time. This
barbarous punishment was inflicted in several in
stances ; for which the public safety was the ready
apology. But even this proved ineffectual ; and the
offenders were next banished, upon pain of death,
for returning. But this availed nothing. The
Quakers returned and sealed with their blood the
testimony of their faith. Of all the wrongs which
man has inflicted upon his fellow-man, is there one
which has not been perpetrated in the name of reli
gion and for the public good? On the twenty-
seventh of October, Robinson and Stevenson were Oct.27'.
led to execution, attended by two hundred armed
men, besides many horsemen. When they had
come near the gallows, a coarse and vulgar priest
cried out tauntingly to Robinson, " Shall such
jacks as you come in before authority with their
hats on?"f To which the martyrs made a mild
reply. The prisoners then tenderly embraced
each other, and ascended the ladder. When Rob
inson signified to the spectators that he " suffered
not as an evil-doer," the voice of the priest was
again heard, — "hold thy tongue ; be silent ; thou
art going to die with a lie in thy mouth. "J The
sufferers were soon launched off; their last words
were silenced by the beating of drums. When 1661
William Leddra was brought to the gallows, he March
began a speech, which "took so much with the
people that it" " wrought a tenderness in many."

14.

#

See " The Apology of the Bloody Persecutors." Sewall, I., p. 460.
f This was one of the crimes of the Quakers. Sewall, I., p. 596.
\ Idem, p. 597. 10

74 HISTORY OF
chap. Allen, an officious priest was near, whose business
_^-l_ it was to make the martyr odious ; and instantly
interrupted him. " People ! " cried Allen, "I would
not have you think it strange to see a man so will
ing to die." The hangman was commanded to
make haste with Leddra, " and so he was turned
off, and finished his days." But his friends, with
pious solicitude, gathered around the foot of the
gallows, caught the body in their arms, as it fell,
bathed it with tears, and having waited until the
hangman had stripped it of the clothes, laid it
decently in a coffin. Thus intolerance had another
victim. When the news of this bloody work was carried
to England, and reached the king, an order was
1661. forthwith issued to Governor Endicot, to suspend
all executions, and send the Quakers to England,
for trial* — a privilege which they had claimed,
when brought before the courts of Massachusetts.
1662 The next year, three Quaker women were pub-
Dec, licly whipped in New Hampshire. In the depth
of winter, the constables were ordered to strip them
and tie them to a cart ; then to drive the cart and
whip these three tender women through eleven
towns, with ten stripes apiece in each town. The
route lay through Dover, Hampton, Salisbury,
Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, Wenham, Lynn,
Boston, Roxbury, and Dedham ; a distance of
near eighty miles. They were whipped at Dover
and Hampton, and then carried, "through dirt
and snow half the leg deep," in a very cold day,
to Salisbury ; and there whipped again. They
would probably have perished long before reaching
* Sewall, I., p. 475.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 75
the end of the route, but at Salisbury they were chap.
happily released. Walter Barefoot persuaded the J^__
constable to make him his deputy, and having
received the^warrant, set them at liberty, and they
returned to Dover.*
The Quakers were accused of courting perse
cution. It was said that " they rushed upon the
point of the sword." It would be difficult per
haps to reconcile all their conduct with that prin
ciple of common law and common justice which
requires every man so to use his own rights as not
to interfere with the rights of others. Actuated by
a mistaken sense of duty, they sometimes violated
this salutary maxim. But so long as the errors
of an honest faith inflict no great evil upon society,
enlightened reason will regard them rather as the
harmless eccentricities of misguided zeal, than as
offences deserving the extreme vengeance of the
law.
» Sewall, I., p. 563.

CHAPTER IV.
War with the Indians — Passaconaway — His character — His dying .speech—
The Penacooks refuse an alliance with king Philip — Indian depredations
- — Fall of Philip — Waldron seizes the refugees by stratagem — The Mo
hawks instigated to attack the eastern Indians — Union with Massachu
setts dissolved — New Hampshire made a royal province — President
Cutts.
chap. At the restoration of Charles II., Tufton, who
„Y_ now took the surname of Mason, determined to
1660. make one more attempt to recover the vast pos
sessions of his ancestor. The family of Mason
had been too strongly attached to the royal cause
to look for favor to the Protector. But when
Charles II. ascended the throne, it Avas hoped that
a ray of royal favor might beam from the mind of
the besotted king. The monarch received his pe
tition favorably, and referred it to the attorney
general, Sir Geoffrey Palmer. That officer re
ported that Mason had a good title to the province
of New Hampshire. But the English government,
being at this time involved in difficulties at home,;
nothing of importance was done relative to this
title ; and while it lay in supense an Indian war
1675. burst upon the colony. Suddenly, the towns ancL
settlements were filled with alarm. Business was
suspended, and the inhabitants, deserting their
dwellings, were seen flocking together into the for
tified houses, or hastily throwing up entrench
ments. Behind these they awaited, in terror, the
approach of the savages.

HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 77
At this time the far-famed sachem Passacon- chap.
away dwelt at Penacook. He was now old ; and _Y_
his reputation for wisdom and cunning had become 1675.
celebrated amongst all the eastern Indians. His
authority extended over the Penacooks, and over
all the tribes on the Pascataqua and its branches,
and around the environs of lake Winnipiseogee.
But he was famed not less for his duplicity and
cunning, than for his moderation and love of peace.
He had, also, the reputation of a sorcerer. The
Indians believed that he held secret intercourse
with the mysteries of nature; that it was in his
power to make water burn and trees dance. They
supposed he had power to change himself into
flame ; that he could darken the sun and moon ; that
in winter he could raise a green leaf from the ashes
of a dry one, and a living serpent from the skin of
one that was dead.* With the Indians, such at
tributes give their supposed possessor a boundless
influence. Passaconaway had always been an ad
vocate for peace. From the first landing of the
English, this savage seemed to have a presentiment
that they were destined to exterminate his race.
A few years before, the Indians held a gueat 1660.
dance and feast. On such occasions the elderly
men, in songs or speeches, recite their histories,
and deliver their sentiments and advice _to the
younger.f At this solemnity, Passaconaway was
present, and made his farewell speech to his chil
dren. The warriors and chiefs were gathered from
all the tribes, and sat reverently to hear the last
words of their great father. Passaconaway was
gifted with all the natural eloquence of the Indian.
* Hutchinson, vol. I., p. 474. F. Belknap, p. 66. t F. Belknap, 66.

78 HISTORY OF
chap. He rose deeply affected, and spoke as a dying man
J3l_. to the dying. He described the happy hunting-,
grounds, once theirs, with the stores of fish and ani
mals which the Great Spirit had made for his red
children ; and placed in mournful contrast their past
independence and power, with their present weak
ness and decay. He explained the superior powers
of the white man, and told the Indians plainly that
the day would come when the English would be
tenants of all the pleasant lands of their fathers.
He prophesied that a war would shortly break out
all over the country ; and that it was only by
standing aloof from it that they could hope to pre
serve a small seat, so that they might not be
beggars in the pleasant places of their birth.
" Hearken," said he, " to the last words of your
father and friend. The white men are sons of
the morning. The Great Spirit is their father.
His sun shines bright about them. Never make
war with them. Sure as you light the fires, the
breath of heaven will turn the flames upon you
and destroy you. Listen to my advice. It is the
last I shall be alloived to give you. Remember
it .and live."*
When this recital was ended, PassaconawayiSat
down, and a cloud of sorrow passed over the brow
of the venerable savage. The Indians remained
for some time musing in silence upon his words.
His speech had deeply agitated them, during the
whole recital. His aged frame, loaded with years,
his deeply plaintive voice, his sad and altered tones,
when he spoke of the hunting-grounds once theirs,
* Williamson's Hist, of Maine, vol. 1.. p. 461. Hubbard's Indian Wars,
pp. 67-8, and 329. Hist. New England, p. 60.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 79
strongly agitated the whole assembly. When he chap.
drew the picture of their melancholy decay, and JZy
compared them to the snows , of winter dissolving,
the Indians bowed their heads and gave way to
loud lamentation.
His counsels made a deep impression upon all ;
but upon none more than Wanalonset, his son.
With the exception of the Pequot war, in Connec
ticut, the settlers of New Hampshire had lived in
peace with the Indians for nearly fifty years. Yet
the Indians were not too blind to see, without
concern, the growing power of the English. Their
favorite hunting-grounds were growing narrower,
and their game fled at the repeated sound of the
woodsman's axe. The wilderness around them
was falling. What would be the end of this in
trusion ? Their minds began to be haunted with
melancholy forebodings of eventual dispossession.
Philip, the far-famed warrior of Mount Hope, per
ceived the discontent of his brethren, and resolved
to take immediate advantage of it to foment a war.
He had long sought a pretext for hostilities.
Philip was an artful, ambitious, warlike chief;
and if patriotism be the love of one's own country
and people, he was a patriot. He foresaw that his
people must eventually be destroyed, unless they
could equal the whites in civilization, or vanquish
them in battle. The former was impossible ; and
he resolved upon the latter. His old men approved
it, and his zeal was seconded by the rash ardor of
his young warriors. In pursuance of his design
he went from tribe to tribe, exhorting the Indians
to a war of extermination. He sent out his run
ners in all directions, always selecting men of ad-

80 HISTORY OF
chap, dress, to urge on the bloody enterprise. A fortu-
JlL, nate incident, happening at this time, brought into
his alliance the Tarrateens and most of the eastern,
Indians. It was one of those accidents which was
well fitted for his purpose. As the wife of Squando,;
whiton, sachem of the Pequawkets, was passing on Saco
PBe2i-' river, with her infant child in her frail birch bark
Pn7i'. canoe, she was met by some thoughtless sailors,.
They had heard that Indian children could swim
as naturally as the young of brutes, and wantonly
overset the canoe. The child sunk ; the mother
f. Bel- instantly dived and recovered it ; but the child died
nap' soon after, and the Indians ascribed its death to,
this brutal treatment. Squando was a noted sa
chem, a leader in the superstitious devotions ofthe
1675. Indians, and pretended to a familiar intercourse,,,
with the invisible world. Such an indignity, offered -
to a man of such distinguished character, was
sufficient to make- tha tribes of Maine and Massa-,
chusetts allies of Philip.
His next care was to enlist the Mohawks. This
he resolved to do by an artful and cruel stratagem.
With his own hand he slew some Mohawks, and
left them unburied in the woods. His intention,
was that their brethren should discover their man
gled bodies, and ascribe the deed to the Enghsh.
But this proved abortive. One of the number, left
for dead, unexpectedly recovered and disclosed his
cruel perfidy to the tribe. The Mohawks were ,
ever afterwards his implacable enemies. He found
no difficulty in bringing into his plans the Ossipees,
(in Stratford County,) the Indians at the mouth of
the Pascataqua, at Squamscot Falls, and at Ne-
wichwannock. The Penacooks were the only

NEW HAMPSHIRE. SI
tribe that resisted his solicitations. No arts of per- chap.
suasion could move them. In vain did he strive JZi.
to win over the young Wanalonset by artful ap- 1675.
peals to his pride and his remembrance of wrongs.
In vain, with well-timed eloquence, did he seek to
arouse the ambition of the young chieftain for war
and glory ; and in vain did he try to play upon the
superstitious reverence of the Indian for the bones
of his dead. The dying advice of Passaconaway,
his father, had sunk deep into the heart of the
youthful sachem, and he drew off his men to a dis
tant part of their hunting-grounds, that they might
escape the infectious influence of Philip.
Foiled in his attempts to enlist the Penacooks,
Philip now determined'to rest his hopes of success
on the support of the other tribes. He saw ranged
under his banner the warriors of many powerful
nations. He put himself at their he'ad and gave june,
the signal for hostilities. His first attack was upon 1675-
Swansey, in Massachusetts ; where several of the
inhabitants fell victims to the tomahawk. From this
point the flames of war spread rapidly. The eastern 1675.
and northern Indians, rushing from their coverts ww-
... ton, 26.
in small bands, fell upon the scattered inhabitants
at unawares, and killed many. In September they Sept.
extended their incursions into New Hampshire, and
spread destruction through Somersworth and Dur
ham,* and along the road between Exeter and
Hampton. They passed on, burning houses and
slaying the inhabitants, to the borders of Maine,
and came to attack a house in Berwick. In this
house were huddled together fifteen women and
* N. H. Hist. Coll., vol. V., pp. 129—153.
11

82 HISTORY OF
CHAP, children, amongst whom was a girl of eighteen
_ill_ years.. Discovering the Indians approaching, she
closed the door and stood firmly against it, while
f. Bel- the savages chopped it to pieces with their hatchets;,
v- 72' and then, rushing in, knocked her down and left
her for dead. Meanwhile the other inmates had
all escaped to a safe distance, except two of the
children, who, being unable to scale the fence, were
overtaken and slain. The adventurous heroine
recovered from her wounds, but neither history
nor tradition has preserved her name.
1675. On the sixteenth of October the enemy made an
0ct16' attack upon Berwick. Lieut. Roger Plaisted im
mediately detached a party of seven from his garri
son to search for the IndidVis. They scoured the
woods, finding no trace of them, until they suddenly
fell into an ambush. Three were instantly killed,
and the remainder retreated. Plaisted now des
patched an express to Major Waldron foisassist-
p.Bei- ance; which he was not in a situation to afford.
Pn73'. Plaisted resolved to do his utmost with the means
in his hands. The next day he ventured out with
twenty men and a cart drawn by oxen to bring in
the dead bodies of the slain. Unhapprly, they fell
into another ambush. The cattle, affrighted, ran
back. At this juncture Plaisted's men deserted'
him. Being a brave man, and disdaining to yield
or fly, he was killed on the spot, with his eldest
son and one more, while another son was mortally
wounded fighting at his side. The gallant behavior
of Plaisted and his sons caused the enemy to re
treat to the woods. They next made . an assault
upon Frost's garrison. This little garrison consist
ed of Mr. Frost and three boys. But they kept

NEW HAMPSHIRE. QQ
up a constant fire, and Frost gave orders to load, chap
as if to bodies of men marching and counter- . 
marching. The stratagem completely succeeded, **>75-
and the house was saved. Emboldened by suc
cess, the Indians soon appeared opposite to Ports
mouth, and threatened to attack the town ; but
were easily dispersed by a few cannon shot. They
showed themselves at Dover, Lamprey River and
Exeter, killing and plundering ; and thus passed
the autumn, till near the end of November, when Nov.
the number of slain amounted to more than fifty.
The inhabitants began to find the necessity of
vigorous action, and resolved upon an expedition
against the winter quarters of the Indians around
Winnipiseogee and Ossipee lakes. But at this ww-
crisis winter set in with uncommon severity, and p.™'.
wrapped the earth in a deep snow. This circum
stance inclined the Indians to peace. Pinched by
famine, they came to Major Waldron with profes
sions of sorrow and promises of amity. A peace was
easily concluded with the eastern Indians and with
those of the north. The joyful return of peace
brought with it a welcome deliverance to many
captives. In the mean time, Philip, at the head of
the southern tribes, was spreading death and deso
lation throughout Massachusetts. He burnt, in
rapid succession, the towns of Brookfield, Deer-
field, Mendon, Groton, Rehoboth, Providence and
Warwick. He laid waste Lancaster, and car- 1675.
ried Mrs. Rowlandson captive into the wilderness.
At Northfield he defeated Capt. Beers and slew
twenty of his men. At Muddy Brook, in Deerfield,
he surprised Capt. Lothrop and his company, while
gathering grapes, and with him slew more than

84 HISTORY QF
chap, seventy young men, the flower of Essex County.
J!Y At Sudbury, Captains Wadsworth and Brockle-
beauke sustained a disastrous defeat, and fell, with
fifty of their men, after maintaining the action
with great gallantry and killing one hundred and
fifty ofthe enemy.
These bloody reverses overspread the whple
country with gloom. It was apparent that, unless
a speedy check could be given to the career of
Philip, the utter extermination ofthe English must
follow. The colonists aroused themselves to a
last effort at self-preservation, and the campaign of
1676. 1676 opened with a plan at once bold, perilous,
and successful.
1675. Philip had retired, glutted with blood, to the
heart of a great swamp in Rhode Island. Thither
he was attended by his warriors, with a multitude
of old men, women, and children. He had carried
with him large' quantities of provisions, and had
built more than six hundred wigwams. These he
placed so that the whole of them formed a camp,
fortified in a manner far superior to the rudeino-
tions of his tribe. To render them bullet-proof,
he caused baskets of corn to be piled one above
the other around the inside of the wigwams. His
supplies were abundant, and he thought himself
secure. But the troops of Massachusetts, Ply-
Decf' mouth, and Connecticut, hearing of his position,
resolved to attack him in his winter quarters. They
approached the place, forced an entrance, after a
fierce conflict, and set the wigwams on fire. A
thousand Indians perished by the sword and the
flames. This disaster proved a death-blow to the
1676. power of the southern Indians. The next spring

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 85
they were able to renew the war but feebly. The chap.
English scoured the woods in all directions, killing _IV"_
large numbers ; and at length brought them to a
general battle on the west bank of Connecticut
river. Overtaken by surprise, a large number
were killed. Others threw themselves into the
river to escape their pursuers ; and some, rushing
panic-struck to their canoes, were unable to seize
the paddles, and, when they reached the current of
the river, were borne down over the falls. The
affairs of Philip had now become desperate. His
warriors, accustomed to victory, could not bear
defeat. His allies and dependents forsook him, and
he was at last surprised, with a few followers, and
slain by Captain Church.
Thus perished this savage warrior, whose name
had so long filled the colonies with terror. After
his fall, his tribes were unable to renew the war,
and New England happily found rest. But the
joyful return of peace in southern New England,
was quickly followed by the renewal of hostilities
at the north.
Numbers of the southern Indians, at the death 1676.
of Philip, fled and took refuge with the Penacooks,
the Ossipees and the Pequawkets. It was chiefly
by 'these refugees that the war was fomented. All
the inhabitants west of Portland, abandoned their
plantations and retired westward. But the settlers
of New Hampshire were now prepared to prosecute
the war vigorously. They had become accustomed
to Indian warfare. Massachusetts, freed from the
terror of Philip, could send powerful reinforce
ments ; and, accordingly, two companies marched sePt.6.
from Boston to Dover. Here they found a great

86 HISTORY OF
chap, number of Penacooks at Major Waldron's,. who
J^L, had come to confirm a peace. But there were
amongst them many known to have been the con
federates of Philip. They were disguised in their
looks and behavior. But it was not easy for them
to escape the discernment of those who had met
them in combat. After much deliberation., and
some misgivings as to the morality of the proceed
ing, it was finally resolved to seize all the refugees.
Waldron himself, was averse to the measure. But
the Boston companies had brought with them
orders to seize all the Indians who had been en
gaged in the war. Eager to avenge the slaughter
of their friends, they were desirous to fall upon
them at once. Waldron dissuaded them from this, ,
and contrived the following stratagem. He invited
the Indians to have a sham-fight and a training,
after the fashion of the English. To this they
readily assented, and it took place the next day.
Waldron's men, with the Boston companies, formed
one party, and the Indians the other. While en
gaged in this diversion, by a dexterous movement,
the whole body of Indians were surrounded before
f. Bei- they could form a suspicion of what was intended.
re.' ' They were immediately seized and disarmed, with
out the loss of a man on either side. A separation
was then made. Wanalonset and the Penacooks
were peaceably dismissed. The "strange Indians"
were sent prisoners to Boston. Seven of them
were proved to have killed Englishmen, and were
hanged. The rest were sent to Africa and sold
into slavery. Africa was destined to return the
boon with usury. This was an act of deliberate
treachery, for which there is no sufficient justifica-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 87
tion. Had not the Indians come to treat for peace? chap.
Were they not entertained for that purpose? To .  L_
attack them under such circumstances was a
wanton breach of good faith, and a violation
of the laws of nations. Such the Indians deemed
it, and with their accustomed remembrance of
injury, they treasured it up against the day of
vengeance. Does the responsibility of this act rest wholly
upon Major Waldron? His judgment was averse
to the measure. Did he yield, without reluctance,
to the rash counsels of the Boston troops? Did
he fail, after every effort, to dissuade them from the
attack, and then interfere and substitute a strata
gem only to save the lives of the Indians? If the
latter was his position, the whole blame rests upon
the companies from Boston. They could plead
nothing in extenuation of their conduct, except the
general orders of their government. Did the gen
eral orders of their government excuse them?
These were " to seize all who had been concerned
with Philip in the war." But no orders of gov
ernment imply the necessity of breaking over that
immemorial custom and universal law which gives
full protection to all individuals of the enemy
actually engaged in treating for peace. The laws
of war forbid firing upon a flag of truce, and pro
tect every one who goes to an enemy's camp to ask
for a suspension of arms. It is true that the
cruelty and treachery of a barbarous foe make it
impossible to conduct a war with him strictly
according to the usages of civilization. As a
measure of retaliation, therefore, it must be justified,

88 HISTORY OF
chap, if at all. Unhappily for the country, as the sequel
^__ will shew, it cost Waldron his life.*
Having sent to the government at Boston a cargo
of slaves, as well fitted for the market of Africa as
her own sable sons were for America, the trpops
1676. took eight Indian pilots from Cocheco, and pro
ceeded eastward. But they found only deserted
settlements. No enemy was to be seen, and the
companies returned from their fruitless march, to
Pascataqua. They next undertook a winter expe
dition to lake Ossipee ; for it was reported that the
Indians had constructed a strong fort on the west-
Nov. 1. ern shore. Four days they marched through the
wilderness, and crossed several rivers. On arriving
at the spot, they found the fort entirely deserted*,!
Not an Indian had been seen in all the march.*
The weather, in the meantime, had become severe,
and the snow was deep. Finding it impracticable
to proceed farther, the main body halted and sent
forward a select detachment. They proceeded
eighteen miles, and saw nothing but frozen ponds
and snowy mountains. After an absence of nine
days, they returned to Nefvichwannock, and found
that the story of Indians assembling at Ossipee
had been invented by a Penobscot. A third incur-
1677. sion into the Indian country was led by Major
Waldron, the next year. But he returned after a
few unimportant skirmishes.
Having been long harrassed by the alarms of
war, the people sought for some expedient by
which they might effectually guard against them.
They remembered the inveterate enmity of the
Mohawks to the New England tribes, and that
*N.H. Hist. Coll., II., p. 46.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. S9
the Penacooks still trembled at the mention of chap.
their formidable enemies. They imagined that if i-YY
they could incite the Mohawks to make a hostile 1677.
incursion eastward, it would terrify all the hostile
Indians. Agents were about being despatched to
further the project, when a doubt arose as to the
morality of the proceeding, and it became a subject
of debate. It was said that the Mohawks were
" heathen." The colonists, however, had an easy
way to settle the question. The Bible was strait-
way produced, and therein it was found that Abra
ham had entered into a league with the Amorites
to recover his kinsman Lot from a common enemy.
This argument was conclusive ; the most scru
pulous were satisfied ; and the Mohawks were
brought down to Amoskeag early in the spring. March.
They appeared at the falls, to the son of Wanalon
set, and killed several friendly Indians in the neigh
borhood of Dover. But this incursion of the
Mohawks failed of its object. It produced no
other effect than to pour suspicion into the minds
of the peaceful Penacooks, and irritate the more
warlike tribes of the east. The next summer was
passed in continual apprehension and alarm. The
Indians were hovering about the precincts of the
settlements, murdering and carrying into captivity. 1678.
Early the next year they discovered an inclination
for peace, and a treaty was negotiated at Casco.*
Three years of ceaseless anxiety had passed over
the colonists. The flower of the young men had
fallen in battle. But all this was now happily
terminated. The captives returned with joy, and
gentle peace succeeded the storms of battle.
* Now Portland.
12

90 HISTORY OF
chap. ' The omens and prodigies of superstition attended
_____ this war. The human mind, ignorant at that time
1678. of the most common phenomena of nature, stricken
by continual fear, and brooding constantly over hor
rors, sunk to puerile weakness, and readily resolved
every unusual appearance into prodigy and miracle.
Many people imagined that they heard guns and
drums in the air. Even an eclipse was viewed
with serious fears, and long lines of clouds in the
evening sky, having their edges illuminated by the
setting sun, were converted, by a disordered fancy,
into flaming swords and spears, gleaming athwart
the heavens, presaging wrath and impending havoc.
1675. In the midst of the difficulties and distresses of
this war, Mason again petitioned the king for the
restoration of his property. The king referred the
petition to his attorney general, Sir William Jones,
and his solicitor general, Sir Francis Winnington.
These officers reported that Mason " had a good
and legal title to said lands." The Massachusetts
1676. colony were thereupon summoned to appear and
Mf0rch answer the complaints which Mason and the heirs
of Gorges had made of usurpation. Accordingly,
William Stoughton and Peter Bullerly, two agents,
were despatched to make answer for the colony.
They arrived, and appeared before the Lords Chief
1677. Justices of the king's bench and Common Pleas.
After hearing both parties, the judges decided that
" Massachusetts has no right of jurisdiction over
New Hampshire." They did not settle the ques
tion of the right of soil ; but decided that Mason
had no right of government within the territory
which he claimed. It was likewise determined
that the four towns of Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter

Sept.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 91
and Hampton, were out of the bounds of Massa- chap.
chusetts. By this decision, it was evident that no __L_
court in England had jurisdiction of the pro
prietary claims. In order to the establishment of
Mason's title, it was necessary to erect a new
jurisdiction, with new modes of trial and appeal.
This decision paved the way to a separation from
Massachusetts. The king himself was in favor of
it. Influenced by his displeasure against that
growing colony, and by his desire to favor the claim
of Mason, he resolved on a separation of the two
colonies. Accordingly, things having been pre- 1679
pared beforehand, a commission passed the great
seal for the government of New Hampshire ; re
straining the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and
erecting New Hampshire into a distinct province.
The government was to consist of a President and
Council, to be appointed by the crown, and an
assembly of Representatives to be chosen by the
people. John Cutts, an eminent and popular
merchant of Portsmouth, was president, and the
counsellors were Richard Martin, William Vaughan
and Thomas Daniel, of Portsmouth ; John Gil
man, of Exeter ; Christopher Hussey , of Hampton ;
and Richard Waldrox, of Dover. Thus was
dissolved the union of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire. It had subsisted for thirty-eight
years. It was beneficial and satisfactory to both.
The growth of both had been promoted. The
government about to take its place, was instituted
at the instance, and with the view to favor the
claim, of Mason, the most repugnant to the people.
The system prescribed in this commission was
the most simple form of subordinate government in

92 HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap. America. The people were represented, in a body
_Y_. chosen by themselves, and had the right of in
structing their representatives. The king could
disannul the acts of both bodies at his pleasure.
Actuated by his aversion to Parliaments and repre^
sentative bodies, king Charles, by a clause art
fully worded, retained the right to discontinue the
representation of the people, whenever it should
suit his pleasure to resist their will. Yet into this
plan of colonial government there was infused
much of the spirit of the British constitution, and
there was much more protection given to the rights
of the people than in England. There was no
third branch between the king and the people.
Thus the house of peers, the worst feature of the
feudal system, composed of lords, enjoying a
sovereignty over their own territory, and ruling
powerful bands of vassals, was excluded from New
England. The relation of lordship and vassalage
was not to perpetuate the dependence ofthe many
on the few. Though the king ruled, yet the yeo
manry, the natural defenders of their own rights
and property, were the proprietors of the soil.

CHAPTER V.
Organization of the new government — Laws — Crimes — Courts — Militia —
Discontent of the people— Death of Cutts— Cranfield— -His character— Ar
bitrary measures — Gove's rebellion — He is sent to the tower of London —
Persecution of Moody— Character of Moody— Riot at Exeter— Andros
made governor general — Revolution in England — Revolution in the colo
nies — Andros deposed — Union with Massachusetts — War with the Indians
— Death of Waldron — Indian cruelty — Sufferings of the captives.
On the first day of January, a royal commission chap.
was brought to Portsmouth. Bearing the sanction _JL_
of the great seal, it declared New Hampshire a ]^°-
royal province. Unwelcome tidings to the people !
Unwelcome was the messenger who bore them.*
Having long enjoyed the advantages of the union
with Massachusetts, they yielded with reluctance
to the separation. They saw the evil genius of
Mason in the change, and viewed it as the triumph
of a vested right over rights acquired by purchase
ofthe Indians, and defended at the price of blood.
It was difficult for them to see how a piece of
parchment, taking precedence of both contract and
possession, should give title to the vast tract along
the Pascataqua and stretching eastward to the
Merrimack. The commission was received with
regret, even by the officers whom it clothed with
power. The aged and infirm, but upright and
popular Cutts accepted of the office of President,
only to prevent it from falling upon some instru-
* Edward Randolph, a kinsman of Mason.

94 HISTORY OF
chap, ment of royalty. The same motive also moved the
_JL_ generous and public-spirited Vaughan, and Daniel
Gilman, Hussey,* and Richard Waldron. These
men were all favorites of the people ; who, though
averse to the change, found some alleviation of
their discontent in the appointment of their trusty
friends. It was, with the king, a matter of policy
to smooth the way to an unpopular government, by
1680. introducing it through these hands. But no arti
fice of that kind could make it satisfactory to the
people. It struck liberty out of existence, by
denying them the choice of their own rulers ; and
they viewed the loss of liberty as a precursor to an
invasion of their property ; for this government
had kindled new hopes in the breast of Mason.
Feb.26. They, however, submitted in silence. Writs were
issued for calling a general assembly. An oath of
allegiance was administered to each voter. A
public fast was then 'observed, to propitiate the
favor of Heaven and the continuance of their
March "precious and pleasant things."! In March, the
assembly met at Portsmouth. They immediately
wrote a letter to the general court at Boston,J full
of gratitude and respect for their former protector's
— full of regret for that separation which they had
no power to prevent. They signified their wish
for a mutual correspondence, and offered their
services for defence against the common enemy.
Laws. Their next care was to frame a code of laws.
They decreed no less than fifteen capital offences,
and put witchcraft and idolatry on their black
crimes. catalogue.§ The president, council, and assem-
* Lewis's Hist, of Lynn, p. 29. f F. Belknap, p. 91. $ F. Belknap, p. 92.
$ Council Records, 1680. F. Belknap, p. 92.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 95
bly, constituted the supreme court, and inferior chap.
courts were established in the towns. The ___Y
militia was organized, and consisted of one com- Militia.
pany of foot in each of the four towns, one com
pany of artillery at the fort, and one troop of
horse; all under the command of the veteran
Waldron. The people were now watching, with jealous
eyes, for the first infringement of their rights.
They soon discovered it in the duties and restric
tions imposed by the acts of trade and navigation.
The office of collector, surveyor, and searcher of
the customs, throughout New England, had been
conferred upon Edward Randolph. Having pub
lished an advertisement, requiring that all vessels
should be entered and cleared with him, he be
gan to obstruct the vessels in passing from harbor
to harbor. In the execution of his commission, he
seized a ketch belonging to Portsmouth. When M^ch
brought before the president and council, on the
complaint of the master of the ketch, he behaved
with haughty insolence. But the affair terminated
with a reprimand to himself, and a fine upon his
deputy, Barefoot. Randolph and his commission
were equally unpopular at Boston. The decisions
of the courts there were invariably against him.
But the people, acting upon the ground that the
royal authority could be exercised only through
the president and council,* while they denied the
authority of Randolph, passed an order of their
own for the observance of the acts of trade, and
officers of their own to see it executed. While the 16S1
people were resisting the assumptions of this royal Aprils.
* Whiton, p. 35. F. Belknap, 93. Council Records, 1680.

96

HISTORY OF

chap, officer, President Cutts died, lamented, as he had
 J»_. lived beloved, and was succeeded by his deputy,
Major Waldron. In a sequestered spot, in a gar
den, the inhabitants of Portsmouth can now point
out his grave. The remembrance of his integrity
and b.enevolence has survived the tomb.
1692. Mason was disappointed in the government he
had been so solicitous to procure. He found that
President Cutts and a majority of the council were
opposed to his wishes. He, therefore, on his re
turn to England directed all his efforts to procure
a change. To this end he was assisted by the
necessities ofthe king. Negligent ofthe interests
of his people, and careless of glory, Charles II.
lavished their treasures with thoughtless extrava
gance. He raised immoderate supplies of money,
and squandered it with profusion. Consequently,
he was oppressed with debts, and straitened in his
revenue.* By surrendering one fifth of the quit
rents to the king, for- the support of a royal
Jan. 25. governor, Mason procured the appointment of Ed
ward Cranfield.
cran- The ruling passion of Cranfield was avarice.
Mason, perceiving this, secured to him the payment
of one hundred and fifty pounds per annum. This
made the government of this poor province, num
bering scarcely four thousand inhabitants, appeal1'
to him a dazzling and inviting object ; and he came
over less careful for the interests of _he people
than for the bettering of his fortune. Arbitrary,'
needy, and rapacious, he made no secret of his ob
ject in accepting the office, and openly sought to
* Hume, vol. IV., p. 405.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 97
return the liberality of Mason by a devotion to the chap.
proprietary claim. J^_
By his commission he was vested with extraor- May 9.
dinary powers. He could adjourn, prorogue and
dissolve general courts. He had a negative voice
on all acts of government. He could suspend any
ofthe council. He appointed judges and all sub
ordinate officers, and executed the powers of
vice-admiral. Within six days after the publi
cation of his commission, he suspended the popu
lar leaders, Waldron and Martyn. From this
exercise of power, the people plainly saw the
dangerous designs formed against them. They
perceived that the sole design of these novel and
extraordinary powers was to facilitate the entrance
ofthe claimant on the lands.* They had subdued
the rough wilderness, and defended their families
and estates against a savage enemy. Would they
surrender their property to satisfy a doubtful and
disputable claim ?
Meanwhile the assembly was summoned. Cran
field, to make a show of conciliation, restored
Waldron and Martyn to the council. The assem- Nov.
bly, hoping to detach him from the interest of Ma
son, voted him two hundred and fifty pounds.
This put the rapacious governor in good humor,
but it was of short duration. At the next session, Jan 2o.
the assembly refused to pass a bill for the support
of government, and he hastily dissolved them.
This kindled the popular discontent to a flame.
The public voice against him was loud and violent,
and the people, assembling in public meetings, be
gan to act in concert. They demanded redress.
* F. Belknap, p. 97.
13

98 HISTORY OF
chap. The more moderate only gave vent to their resent-
^1_ ment in murmurs. But the rash and thoughtless
proceeded to acts of rebellion and violence. A
tumultuous body assembled from Exeter and
Hampton, headed by Edward Gove, declaringfor
liberty and reformation. Marching at the head of
his followers, <Gove went from town to town,
bearing arms in his hands, calling upon the people
to rise and overturn the government. But the ma
jority, though disaffected, were not prepared for
open revolt. Gove, finding himself but feebly sup
ported, paused from his measures, and peaceably
surrendered. He was convicted of high treason,
and received sentence of death. All his accom
plices were set at liberty by the king, and Gove
himself, instead of being led to execution,* was
imprisoned in the tower of London — that prison
whose gloomy walls have so often echoed the sighs
of innocence, genius, and virtue.
On the fourteenth of February the governor
called upon the inhabitants to take out leases from
Mason. This would be an acknowledgment of his
claim, and they with one consent refused.
He threatened to seize the principal estates and
beggar the owners. His threats, however, intim
idated no one. His position was well understood.
He was determined, with the aid of the governor,
to enforce his claim to the soil of New Hampshire,
and the people were determined not to submit to
it. Cranfield, having assumed the whole legislative
power, acted as if the assembly had either no
existence, or no rights. He assumed to alter the
* N. H. Hist. Coll., II., p. 44. •

1683.
Feb. 14.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 99
value of money, changed the bounds of townships, chap.
and established the fees of office. When the acts JL_
of trade were not observed in Massachusetts, he
prohibited vessels from that colony to enter the
harbor of Portsmouth. Notwithstanding these
multiplied and extensive powers,* Cranfield was
dissatisfied with his position. He discovered, with
chagrin, that the path which he had seen leading
to fortune, ended in public hatred. It was evident,
also, that his hopes of sudden wealth must be pro
tracted to a length of years ; for he must apply for
money to the people he had so much abused. As
he could hope for nothing from their favor, he
started a vague rumor of war, trusting that he
could turn to his own benefit the measures which
the people should adopt for defence. He called
an assembly at Great Island and tendered them a Jan. M.
bill for supplies. The house debated it awhile,
and returned it with their negative. At this he
was highly incensed, and dissolved them. Sus
pecting the influence of the Rev. Mr. Moody, of
Portsmouth, a strenuous advocate of the popular
cause, he from that hour marked Moody as an
object for vengeance. Soon after the dissolution
of the assembly, he sent an order to Moody, re
quiring him to administer to himself, with Mason
and Hinks, " the Lord's supper," according to the
liturgy. This vindictive and arbitrary mandate
was contrary to the laws of England. By the stat
ute of 13 and 14 Charles II., it is enacted that no
person shall presume to consecrate and administer
" the Lord's supper," before he is ordained a
priest by " Episcopal ordination." 3Ioody had
"¦ N. H. Hist. Coll., I., p. 261.

100 HISTORY OF
chap, not been episcopally ordained ; and, as Cranfield
JL_. foresaw, refused to obey the order. This furnished
the desired pretext for a criminal prosecution.
When brought to the bar, Moody pleaded in his
defence the laws of England, and the rights of
conscience. Edgarly and Fryer, two of the
justices, pleaded strenuously for his acquittal, and
were rewarded by removal from office. Moody
was condemned, and, to the great joy of Cotton
Mather, was committed to prison. At a time
when no clergyman could doubt the reality of
witchcraft, without danger of a dismissal from his
society, Moody exposed it as a delusion, and de
nounced the Salem magistrates as murderers. It
was but natural that such a man should incur the
displeasure of Cotton Mather ; for, while that
fierce and sullen bigot was riding through the
country, fanning the excitement and dragging in
nocent victims to the gallows, Moody visited them.
in prison, warned them of their danger, plan?-
ned their rescue, and assisted them to escape.
Throughout the whole dark period of the Salem
excitement, he was the friend of the unfortunate
accused; and while Boston and Salem, the theatre.
of Mather's influence, were immolating their own
citizens on the altar of superstition, Portsmouth,
under the pastoral influence of Moody ^had learned^,
to despise the delusion, and became the asylum of ,
the accused.
It is thus that a great man sometimes stands out
amidst the follies of his time, a solitary monument
to the triumph of reason. Escaping, like Galileo,
from the narrow prejudices and the conceited
learning of his cotemporaries, he seems to pass the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 101
veil which divides the present from the future, and chap.
while to mortal eyes the future seems shrouded in _J^_
darkness, he beholds the dawn of a more enlight
ened age.
In obedience to an order* from England, Cran- m iT
field once more convened the assembly. But they
refused to vote anything for the support of govern
ment. " They are persons of such a mutinous
disposition," said he, in his letter to the Secretary
of State, " that it is not safe to let them convene."
He, however, called them together once more, to jU]y22.
pass acts for the suppression of piracy, and to raise
money. They passed the acts, but refused the
money, and he called them no more. Vexed at
their obstinacy and the failure of hie plans, ho re
solved upon a bold usurpation of power. Having
filled the council with creatures of his own, he
undertook to impose taxes on the people, by the
authority of the governor and council, without the
concurrence of the assembly. This was in defi
ance of the plain letter of the provincial laws.
The people were resolved not to submit to such
an imposition, and formed combinations for mutual
aid and resistance. At Exeter they attacked the Dec.22.
sheriff and drove him off with clubs. Most of the
constables went over to the people, and refused to
levy upon their goods.f Such as persisted, met
with insult in every form. When they attempted
to enter the houses, the women heated brimming
kettles of water, and poured upon their heads. J The
military were next called to aid the arm of civil
power, and a troop of horse were ordered to march
• Orders of Cranfield. N. H. Hist. Coll., II., p. 200.
f N. H. Hist. Coll., HI., p. 417. t Bancroft. F. Belknap. Whiton.

]02 HISTORY OF
chap, out on a certain day, completely mounted and
_Il_ armed. But the military were the people ; and
1685. when the day came, not a soldier appeared. Thus
foiled in every direction, New Hampshire began
to wear to the eyes of the governor a cheerless
aspect. The voice of complaint reached England,
and drew down upon him the royal censure.* The
king at length " granted him leave of absence,"
and Walter Barefoot, his deputy, succeeded to the
chair of the chief magistracy.
From the days of Cranfield down to the time of
Sir Edward Packenham, English governors and
generals, like English writers, have mistaken the,
character of the American people. It is only by
the severest lessons of experience, that American
courage and love of liberty have been made known
to the English armies. Cranfield believed that"
menaces and prosecutions would bend the necks
of the Congregationalists to the yoke of Episcopal
forms ; and Packenham, leading on the veterans
of Wellington, despised the American rifle in
the hands of back-woodsmen. The former sacri
ficed his power to his error ; the latter lost his life.
Both found the Americans more resolute in defence
of their rights than cautious of danger, or submis
sive to usurpation.
The rising settlements were now fast gain
ing upon the wilderness. One after another the
hardy pioneers of that day progressed into the
forest, until they reached the southern borders of
Cheshire county. The hand of oppression was
lightly laid upon them. The course of the
* Articles of complaint, against Lieut. Gov. Cranfield. N. H. Hist. Coll.,
I., p. 267.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 103
government was conciliating. The king was chap.
preparing them for the introduction of a governor- ^_
general. Three years before his death, Charles II., had
declared the charter of Massachusetts forfeited. 1685
James II., his successor, inherited the arbitrary Feb-6-
disposition of his brother Charles. The colonies
could hope for no favors from him. He organized iqqq
a new government and placed at its head, Joseph May25-
Dudley. But the administration of Dudley was
short. In December, Sir Edmund Andros arrived Dec.30.
at Boston, with a commission appointing him
captain-general and governor-in-chief of New
England. He began with fair professions and
conciliatory measures ; but he soon disclosed his
real object in accepting the appointment. It was
to enrich himself.* Finding the council backward
in aiding his oppressive exactions, he appointed
to that body none but willing instruments. Thus
fortified, he pronounced all the land titles forfeited
by the surrender of the Massachusetts charter ;
and, that he might cut off any reliance which the
people had upon titles purchased of the Indians,
he declared an Indian deed to be no better than
the scratch of a bear's paw. His intention was to
compel all the landholders to purchase of him new
titles. In addition to this, he imposed upon them
exorbitant taxes.
To silence the popular complaint, he restrained
the liberty of the press. That the people might
not consult upon their grievances, he prohibited
town meetings, except one in each year. To pre
vent complaints from reaching England, he forbade
• N.H. Hist. "Coll.. p. 269.

104 HISTORY OF
chap, any one to leave the colony without permission
^Y— from the governor.
The people had borne with this "rapacious
1688. plunderer"* for two years. Their patience was
exhausted. Meanwhile, the strides of King James
towards arbitrary power were preparing the way
to a revolution in England. His reign had been
one continued invasion of civil and religious
liberty .f It terminated in his expulsion from the
throne ; which William III. ascended in 1688.
1688. When the news of this great revolution reached
Boston, Andros affected to discredit the rumor,
and imprisoned the man who brought it. But the
people believed it, and were filled with joy.
Their native love of freedom kindled at the
prospect of deliverance. Actuated by a kindred
spirit with their brethren in England, they deter
mined to act with similar promptitude. Accord-
1689. ingly, on the morning of the eighteenth of April,
is" the drums in Boston beat to arms. Crowds came
flocking in from the country, as the day advanced,
to the assistance of the Bostonians ; and Andros
was seized and thrown into prison. A committee
of safety was hastily organized, and assumed, for
the time, the functions of government. Andros
1690. was afterwards, by order of King William, sent
to England, a prisoner of state, and New Hamp
shire was without a government. For some time
the people waited for orders from England. None
Jan. came, and they chose deputies to form a plan of
March g°vernment. They met, and resolved upon a
union with Massachusetts. Their petition was
readily accepted at Boston, and New Hampshire
once more became a part of Massachusetts.
* Whiton. | Hume, vol. IV., p. 463.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 105
Amidst the oppressions of Andros,* and the chap.

contests with Mason, the colony became involved
in an Indian war. The seeds of hatred, long
since sown, had begun to spring up. The Indians
had brooded over the seizure of their brethren, by
Major Waldron, with deep though silent resent
ment. Thirteen years had not been sufficient to
erase from their hearts the remembrance of injury
and the thirst for vengeance. Besides this, they
alleged other grievances and immediate causes of
war. In vain did the government strive to concil
iate them with presents, and eagerly sue to them
to make a treaty of peace. The Ossipees, the
Pequawkets, and even a portion of the Pena
cooks, united to raise the warwhoop. A grandson
of Passaconaway led the dreadful enterprise. It
required all the influence of Wanalonset, although
the dying charge of his father was often repeated,
to persuade a portion of the Penacooks to peace.
The Pequawkets were the movers of the war, and
were not without provocation. The mansion of the
Baron de St. Castine stood at this time at Penob
scot. The baron, though of an ancient and proud
family of France, chose to lead the life of an
Indian trader in the wilds of America. He had
adopted Indian customs, and had married a
daughter of the sachem Madokewando. Andros,
unprovoked, sailed up the Penobscot in the Rose
frigate, and plundered his house and fort, scarcely
leaving him the ornaments of his chapel. This
called on Castine for revenge. Instigated by him,
the Indians began to commit depredations at
North Yarmouth. Some of them were pursued
• N.H.Hist. Coll., I., 269.
14

IV.

1688.

106 HISTORY OF
chap and seized. Andros, hoping to conciliate those
^_ whom he had so wantonly and cruelly offended,
commands the captured to be set free. He
trusted that the enemy, in return for this mildness,
would liberate their prisoners. But this had not
the desired effect. The Indians retained their
prisoners, and put them to death with the most
cruel tortures. Andros now changed his mild
policy, and led into their country an army of
seven hundred men. They saw not an Indian in
their whole march.
Meanwhile the Indians were preparing for hos
tilities in New Hampshire. Some of those whom
Major Waldron sent to Boston to be sold into
slavery, had returned, and would not let their
"brethren rest unrevenged.^ It required but little
time to concert an attack upon Dover ; for
Waldron was there. The Penacooks, the Pe
quawkets, and the Ossipees, are called into the
league. And now, all things being ready, the
Indians set forward. It is the evening of the
1689. twenty-seventh of June. Waldron sleeps in one of
J2"e the garrisoned houses. Two of the squaws apply
at each of the houses and ask leave to lodge by
the fire. They are welcomed ; as is also the
chief, Mesandowit, who went to the Major's
house and supped with him in the evening.
" Brother Waldron," said the crafty savage, with
jocular and usual familiarity, "what would you
do, if the strange Indians should come ? " " I
can assemble an hundred men," replied the vete
ran, " by lifting up my finger." In this unsus
pecting confidence the family retired to rest. The
red men have "trapped the lion in his lair."

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 107
Night advances. At the moment of deepest sleep, chap.
the gates are softly opened by the squaws, and a _____
shrill whistle breaks the silence of night. It is the
signal agreed upon for attack. Instantly the In
dians rush in to take their long-meditated revenge.
Aroused by the noise, Major Waldron starts from
his sleep, seizes his sword, and, though bowed with
the weight of eighty years, drove the assailants back
through two doors. But in doing this, unluckily
an Indian darted behind him and stunned him with
the blow of a hatchet. The Indians immediately
raise him up from the floor, and setting him in a
chair on the table, they begin the work of torture.
They cut. off his nnse and ears, and gash his breast
with their knives ; each one exclaiming, with
_lon<ii..i> mirtli, " I cross out my account. """• r aim
from the loss of blood, he was falling from the
table, when an Indian held his own sword under
him and pierced him through. Thus fell this
gallant and venerable man. In this closing scene
of his existence he displayed the same determined
valor which had made him, through life, the terror
and admiration ofthe Indians.
After attacking other houses, and killing many,
the Indians effected a speedy .retreat, and sold
their prisoners in Canada. Aroused by these
barbarities, the government sent a party, under
Capt. Noyes, to attack the Penacooks. But
they could only destroy their corn. Another
party, under Capt. Wincol, were sent to Lake
Winnipiseogee, but they killed only one or two of
the enemy. Instigated by the French, who were
now at war with England, the Indians continued
* N. H. Hist. Coll., II., 46.

108 HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap, their depredations. The Count de Frontinae,
.  1_ governor of Canada, eager to distinguish himself
1690. m the cause of his royal master, the king of
France, detached three parties of French and
Indians from Canada. These murderous bands,
pursuing different routes, spread devastation along
their whole march. Many are the affecting inci
dents mingled in the history of this war. Women,
with babes at their breasts, were carried captive
in the depth of winter, and when their infants
became burdensome, they were taken from their
arms and dashed against the nearest tree. Some
times, in mid-harvest, the husbandman was shot
in the field, and the eropa burnod on which the
subsistence of a desolate family^ depended.
Young children were marched through the dreary
winter snows to Canada,* and in these protracted
journeyings suffered a thousand deaths.
Amidst these barbarities, an instance of Indian
gratitude now and then occurs, to brighten, by
its dim lustre, the gloomy recital. Here and
there, among their captives, they would discover
some one who had befriended them; and" such
were invariably set at liberty. In the voice of
some feeble woman, crying out under her tor
tures, the quick ear of the Indian would discover
his former benefactress, and he would spare her
life. Though gentle pity seemed never to inhabit
the breast of the North American Indian, he
was proud to remember favors, and never forgot
to revenge an injury.
* N. H. Hist. Coll., V., 199.

CHAPTER VI.
ConqtJEST of Canada attempted — It fails — Governor Allen — Union with Mas
sachusetts dissolved — Sir William Phipps — The small-pox first imported
into New Hampshire — Peace with the Indians — The war resumed — Mado-
kewando — Usher — Durham destroyed — Peace — The return of the captives
— The Earl of Bellomont — His character — His death — Death of Allen —
War between France and England — Dudley — His conference with the In
dians — Indian depredations — Expedition against Port Royal — It fails -
Congress of delegates — Second expedition against Port Royal — It is suc
cessful— Death of Hilton — Expedition to Quebec — The fleet wrecked in the
St. Lawrence — One thousand men perish — Peace— The captives return —
Vaughan — John Wentworth — Industry revives — Monopoly resisted —
Gov. Shute holds a conference with the Indians on an island in the Ken
nebec — The Scottish emigrants — Their character.
The people of New England now regarded chap.
Canada as the source of their calamities, and .  L,
resolved to carry the war into the enemy's country.
With but feeble resources, they formed the bold
design to subject that province to the crown of
England. For this object, an army of two thou
sand men, under the command of Sir William
Phipps, sailed from Boston for Quebec. Winter
met them on their arrival. The troops became
dispirited, sickness prevailed in the camp, and
this enterprise, which promised so much, and
involved the colonies deeply in debt, ended, having
effected nothing. Fortunately, however, at this
time the Indians ceased hostilities, and remained 1691.
June 9.
quiet till the summer of 1691.
An important political revolution conferred the 1692.

HO HISTORY OF

chap, appointment of governor upon Samuel Allen, of
_Z-L London, and that of lieutenant-governor upon his
son-in-law John Usher, of Boston. With un
feigned regret the people saw the dissolution of
their second brief union with Massachusetts. Al
len had purchased of the heirs of Captain Mason
their title to the soil of New Hampshire. It was
sufficient to make this announcement received
with coldness, that the inhabitants apprehended a
1692. revival of Mason's claim.
About the same time a new form of government,
p- 43. ' under the second charter, was established in Mas
sachusetts. This raised to the governor's chair
an obsure boy, born on the banks of the Kenne
bec. He was of a poor family, and at the age
of twenty-two could not read. But he discovered,
and drew up from the depths of the sea, the
treasures of an old Spanish vessel. This gave
him wealth. Wealth commanded influence ; and
thus was appointed to the post of governor that
remarkable child of fortune, Sir William Phipps.
To the calamities of the war, now raging, were
superadded the horrors of the small-pox ; a disease
then little understood, and its treatment imperfect.
Its importation in cotton bales from the West In
dies to Portsmouth and Greenland, was an event
which, from the nature ofthe disease and its well-
known fatality among the Indians, was calculated
to fill the colony with alarm. As if the intellect
were destined to be affected simultaneously with
the body, the public mind at this time was most
strongly infected with witchcraft.*
Some good, however, was now to be mingled
* See page 65.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. Ill
with the ills of fortune. Wearied with the contest, chap.
and some of their chief men being in captivity, the ________
Indians became, in their turn, advocates for peace. 1693.
They longed for the time to come when they could
remain idle in their wigwams ; and they needed a
space to recruit. Though their animosity still
burned against the English, they came into the
fort at Pemaquid, and there entered into a solemn
covenant of amity. They acknowledged their
subjection to the crown of England — engaged to
abandon the French interest — promised perpetual
peace — to forbear private revenge — to restore all
captives — and they delivered hostages for the per
formance of their engagements.
To the people of New Hampshire this peace
gave a grateful respite. They were dispirited and
reduced. The war had broken up their trade and
husbandry, and weighed them down with a heavy
burden of debt. The earth also was less fruitful
than before ; as if the kindly skies withheld their
gifts at such an exhibition of the follies and cruel
ties of man. The governor was obliged to impress
men to guard the outposts ; and sometimes these
were dismissed for want of provisions.* In this
situation, they applied to Massachusetts for assist
ance. Their application found that colony over- 6g_
whelmed with witchcraft, and rent with feuds
about the charter. Superstition and party spirit
had usurped the place of reason, and the defence
of themselves and their neighbors was neglected
for the ghostly orgies of the witch-finder and the
quarrels of the old and new chartists.
* F. Belknap, p. 136. See also Province Records, Journal House and
Assembly for 1692—1716, in the office of the Secretary of State at Concord.

112 HISTORY OF
chap. The peace, which they had so recently hailed
_^J_J with joy, was destined to be of short continuance.
1694. The spirit of Madokawando was abroad amongst
the Indians, for the plundering of Castine yet
rankled in the breast of his father. Villieu, at the
head of two hundred and fifty Indians, collected
from the tribes of St. John, Penobscot, and Nor-
ridgwock, marched to Oyster river. Durham* is
the object of attack. It has twelve garrisoned
houses ; but the inhabitants dream not of danger,
and are scattered in their own dwellings. The
Indians approach the place undiscovered, and halt
at the falls. It is the evening of the seventeenth
July 17. Q£ juiy. They are formed in two divisions, and
proceed on both sides of the river. These divi
sions are now subdivided into small parties, and
they plant themselves in ambush near every house,
that the destruction of the town may be sudden,
overwhelming, and complete. They are to be
ready for the attack at the rising of the sun. The
firing of the first gun is to be the signal. Happijy,
it was fired too early, and a part of the inhabitants
escaped. Five houses were destroyed, and an
hundred persons carried captive. The next year,
1695. the enemy remained inactive, but in 1696, a body
1696. of them, coming from the eastward in canoes,
made an attack at Portsmouth plain, and took
nineteen prisoners. A company of militia, under
Captain Shackford, was immediately detached in
pursuit. They came upon the Indians at Break
fast Hill,f while they were cooking their morning
repast, and, by a sudden onset, retook all the pris-
r
* N. H. Hist. Coll., V., pp. 129—153.
t Between Greenland and Rye. Mather's Magnalia, lib. 7., p. 86,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 113
oners. At Dover and Exeter many ofthe settlers chap.
were killed or captured ; and before the close of _Y__
1697, the widow of President Cutts, was among 1697-
the number of victims.* Madokawando was now 1698.
revenged. He gathered up all the scalps taken in
the war, and carried them to Canada — a fit offering
to be made to Count Frontenac. Thus the base
deeds of Governor Andros were visited upon the
innocent and unoffending. The Indian refuses to
discriminate. To his mind, the guilt of the race
is involved in the crime of each individual offender;
and when he imbrues his hands in the blood of a
guiltless child, it is because his code of justice
visits the iniquities of the fathers upon the chil
dren. During the war, Usherf continued to administer
the government, and to alienate the affections of
the people. He had amassed a fortune by specu
lation, and, like many others who have been sur
prised to find themselves suddenly rich, he became
bloated to a size corresponding with his fortune.
He assumed the airs of authority, and affected a
tone of despotic severity.
The airs of such a man as Usher could only
excite the contempt of the hardy colonists, who
had faced too many real dangers, and grappled with
too many real horrors, to be aAved by the pomp of
ignorance, or terrified at the wrath of a fool. He
was profoundly illiterate and weak-minded ; and
seemed to be decked with authority and crowned
with success, only to illustrate to the world that
fortune and merit are not inseparable companions.
» F. Belknap, p. 141.
f Province Records, Journal House and Assembly* 1692—1716.
15

114, HISTORY OF
chap. He was soon superseded by the appointment of
J^L_ William Partridge, as lieutenant-governor and
tune, commander-in-chief, in the absence of Allen. The
counsellors whom Usher had suspended, resumed
their seats, and he returned to Boston.* -
The The news of peace, coming at this time, equally
PRyes-°f surprised and rejoiced the inhabitants. The gov-
1698. ernor of Canada signified to the Indians that he
could no longer aid them in the war. He advised
them to bury the hatchet and restore their captives.
Many of them, however, had long since despaired
of release. The woes of exile did not silence the
affections and passions. Some of the young cap
tives learned to love the life they led. They
intermarried with the Indians, and preferred to
make their homes and their graves in the forest.
Even when invited to return, they refused, to the
poignant regret of their friends. But in the path
less wilderness through which they travelled to
reach Canada, an inhuman massacre took place,
as often as the sick and aged became a burden.
The infant, whose feeble cry irritated the sullen
Indian, was dashed against a rock or a tree, before
the eyes of its mother, with a wanton indifference
which indicated almost a total want of parental
affection and sympathy in the savage breast.
Those who were spared were compelled to pass,
unclad and almost unfed, over mountains and
through swamps and interminable forests, often
wading in deep snows. But the pious benevolence'
of the French missionaries often met them in their
dreary marches and soothed the sorrows of exile.
It is difficult, at this day, to estimate fully the
-,,, * Province Records, Journal Council, 1696—1722.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 115
discouraging circumstances under which the fa- chap.
thers carried on this war. They were not fighting J_^___
on a broad theatre, where their achievements would
be the theme of a world's admiration ; but with a
wily, lurking foe, who never felt the force of that
noble maxim of Tacitus, that " victory is most
honorable when mercy spares the vanquished.*"
If they should be taken prisoners, their lives would
be spared only to protract their tortures ; or they
must be led at the heels of their capjors, until
slavery should consummate the rights of the victors
over the conquered.
Early in the summer, Allen came to America. 1698.
Six years had elapsed since" the date of his appoint
ment. The people knew that the Earl of Bello-
mont,f a nobleman of accomplished manners and
liberal views, a friend of the late revolution, had
received the appointment of governor of New York,
Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Allen's
commission, however, remained in force till the
arrival of his successor. His administration lasted
a year, and was one continued scene of alterca
tion.! At the end of that time, Bellomont arrived,
and was received by the people with the greatest
cordiality. The counsellors, who had refused juiy3„
to sit at the board with Usher, resumed their
places, § and Partridge, who had been removed to
make way for Usher, was restored. From this
time onward, through a period of forty-two years,
New Hampshire and Massachusetts were placed
under the same governor. Each state had its own
* Annals of Tacitus, b. 12, s. 19. t N. H. Hist. Coll., IV., 251.
J Prov. Ree., Jour. Council and Assembly, 1692—1716. Jour. Council, .
1696—1722. $ Prov. Kec. J. C. and A., 1692—1716.

116 HISTORY OF
chap, council,* its own assembly of representatives, and
_-vJ_ its own laws. The council having been con
stituted in accordance with the popular wishes,
the next care of the people was to reorganize the
courts. This they did by selecting all the judges
from the decided opponents of the Masonian claim.
When things had been thus happily arranged, the
1701. Earl of Bellomont died at New York. He was a
March ., . - .
5. man of superior talents and oi an energetic charac
ter. He had always been the defender of popular
rights ; and when he was removed by death, the
people mourned, the loss of a nobleman, who,
though faithful to the king, never oppressed the
people. In his short administration, he had swept
from the seas the pirates who had so long harassed
the commerce ofthe colonies. Captain Kidd and
his daring followers, whose adroitness had eluded
the most vigilant search, were captured by Bello
mont, and sent to England in chains. , Before the
Earl's death, Allen had begun to agitate the Ma
sonian claim. Tired of controversy, the people
proposed to him terms of compromise. Allen
himself, advanced in age and failing in health, de
sired to pass the remainder of his days in quiet,
and sought an accommodation with the people.
A settlement was on the point of being agreed to,
when his death presented a result so desirable.
" His son revived the controversy, but without
1715. success.' The death of the son relieved the inhab
itants from the fear of being disturbed in their
1702. possessions. At the death of Bellomont, Joseph
July 13. Dudley was appointed governor of Massachusetts
and New Hampshire. Favorably disposed to the
* P. R., Jour. Council, 1696—1722.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 117
interests of the colonists, and opposed to the Ma- chap.
sonian claim, he was received with cordiality.  Y
The next year Usher was commissioned Lieut.
Governor. His rival, Partridge, being thus super- 1703.
seded, retired from the province. '
The peace that followed the treaty of Ryswick,
was of short duration. The seeds of war had been
sown in Europe ; and while England and France
were engaged in hostilities at home, it was natural
for them to make their American possessions the
theatre of warlike operations. The English claimed
the territory as far as the St. Croix. French ships
of war had driven the English fishermen from the
banks of Nova Scotia, and France had attempted
to prevent the English from settling east of the
Kennebunk. Such was the posture of affairs, when Dudley* 1702.
entered upon his administration. Fearful of an July13-
outbreak, he immediately sought a conference with
the Indians. They had solemnly agreed to be at
peace. He was met by delegates from the Nor- ju^o.
ridgwocks, the Penobscots, the Pequawkets, the
Penacooks and Ameriscogins. They presented
him with a belt of wampum in token of their sin
cerity, and led him to two heaps of stones that
stood in the valley. These had been raised years
before, and, as a pledge of peace, were named the
Two Brothers. To these they now added other
stones, in token of ratifying ancient friendship.
" High as the sun is above the earth," exclaimed
the savages, in the plenitude of their professions,
"so far distant from us is the least design to
break the peace." Yet, in less than six weeks, a
* Prov. Ree, Jour. C and A., 1692—1716.

118 HISTORY OF ,
chap, body of French and Indians laid waste all the
,__J_ settlements from Casco to Wells, killing and
Au^st carrying captive one hundred and thirty persons.
Scarcely had another week elapsed, when they at
tacked Hampton village and killed five.
The whole frontier, from Deerfield on the west,
to Casco on the east, was now thrown into con
fusion and alarm. The women and children re
tired to the garrisons — the men went armed into
the fields. Few of the lurking foe were taken,
though the government offered a bounty of forty
pounds for scalps.
With the return of spring, hostilities were resumed
afresh, and Indian vengeance fell heavily upon the
settlements on Oyster and Lamprey rivers. They
were pursued to Haverhill, in Coos, and one or
1705. two were killed. Early the next year, Col. Hilton
led two hundred and seventy men on snow-shoes
to Norridgwock, to attack them in their winter
quarters. It was a fruitless march. But an ex-
1706. P^ was performed the next year, which made
up in some degree for the failure of that expe
dition. It was the defence of a house in Durham*
by a few women. These heroines, in the absence
of their husbands, heard the war-whoop, and saw
the Indians approaching to attack the house.
What was to be done ? It was impossible to re
treat. Should they surrender ? Without a
moment's hesitation, they resolved to defend the
house. Throwing on their husbands' hats, and
disguising themselves as much as possible, they
assumed the resolute action of men, and com
menced a smart fire. The deception was com-
* F. Belknap. N. II. Hist. Coll., V., pp. 129—153.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 119
--plete. The Indians, supposing the house to be chap.
defended by a strong garrison, fled. Thus did ___J_,
these women, with a quickness of invention,
courage, and decision of character, worthy of the
most distinguished heroism of ancient or modern
times, successfully devise a plan, with the utmost
presence of mind, in the midst of danger, which
saved their lives and those of their husbands and
families. After killing twenty Indians at the eastward, 1707.
the colonists resolved to attack Port Royal, the
capital of the French settlements.* New Hamp
shire united with the other coloni-es and sent thither
a considerable army. Under convoy of two men- siay is
of-war, the forces approached the place. At their - '
landing, they were received into the midst of an
ambuscade. The Indians were hidden amongst the
sedge. Walton and Chesley ,f at the head of the
New Hampshire troops, who were already on
shore, pushed up the beach, and attacked the ene
my in flank. The Indians fled. But the advan
tages of victory could not be reaped, for there were
operating here, on a smaller scale, the same
jealousies and bickerings amongst officers, which
have ruined the prospects of the most splendid
military enterprises. A quarrel broke out between
the military and naval officers. Nothing could
reconcile differences, or inspire union. The army
was finally put under the direction of three super
visors, and the whole affair came to a wretched
end.J The army returned, sickly, disheartened, August.
!j * Penuhallow— Charlevoix. t F- Belknap, p. 174
% F. Belknap, p. 175. P. R., J. C and A., 1692—1716.

120 HISTORY OF
chap, and ashamed. They had lost sixteen killed, and
— v-L as, many wounded.
The colony at this time was in a dismal state.
The best warriors were abroad in pursuit of the
enemy. Those at home were harassed more than
ever by the cruel foe. Not an acre of land could
be tilled, except within sight of the garrisoned
houses. Their lumber trade and fisheries were
declining, taxes increasing, and there was no pros
pect of an end to the war. Besides, the Indians
had killed one hundred and thirty, between Casco
and Wells — five at Hampton, twenty-four at Oys
ter River, five at Exeter, two at Dover, one be
tween Exeter and Kingston.
Under these discouragements, great and over-
1708. whelming as they, were, the people had preserved
their fortitude. They maintained all their garri-
1709. sons, so that not one of them was cut off in New
Hampshire during the war.*
1709. In autumn, a congress of delegates, of all the
colonies, met at Rhode Island, and determined
upon an expedition against Canada. The British
ministry approved of the proposal, and the imme
diate reduction of Port Royal was agreed upon.
1710. Accordingly, an English force came over in five
frigates, and a bomb-ketch. They were joined by
the colonial troops, and sailed from Boston on the
sept, eighteenth of September. On the twenty-fourth
they arrived at the place. The governor, despair
ing to hold out against so formidable a force, sur-
oct. 5. rendered, after the firing of a few shots.
At the moment of organizing this expedition,
and before the appointment of officers, the people
* F. Belknap, p. 175.

18.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 121
of New Hampshire were called upon to mourn the chap.
loss of their favorite son, and bravest defender, _Zi_,
Col. Winthrop Hilton. He fell into an ambush,
and was slain by the Indians. They had long Juiy22.
thirsted for his blood, and waited patiently to take
him. At length they saw him go out with a party
of men to peel the bark from some trees which had
been felled. While engaged in the work, they
rushed upon them, and killed two ; one of whom
was Hilton. Their guns were wet, and they could
make no defence. Thus died Col. Hilton, univer
sally lamented. On the west bank of Lamprey
river, in his own field, by the side of his American
ancestors, where the descendants of four gene
rations have since been gathered around him, the
remains of the gallant man repose. He was
buried with honors due to his rank and charac
ter. The inscription upon his moss-covered monu
ment shows where the remains of a man, who sin
cerely loved and faithfully served " both God and
his country," have long since mouldered into
dust.* After the death of Hilton, Capt. Walton, with
one hundred and seventy men, traversed the eastern
shores in pursuit of the Indians. They encamped
on an island, and by the smoke of their first fire
some Indians, mistaking them for some of their
own tribe, were decoyed to the camp and made
prisoners. Among these was the sachem of Nor-
ridgwock. He had been an active and fierce war
rior. When he found himself in the hands of his
enemies, he surveyed them with haughty disdain.
When required to disclose the lurking-places of his
* N. H. Hist. CoU.
16

122 HISTORY 01
chap, warriors, he refused ; when they threatened, him
^J-, with death, and made before his eyes the prepara
tions to execute him, he laughed scornfully. His
wife, being an eye-witness of the scene, was so in
timidated as to make the discoveries which the cap
tors had tried in vain to extort from the sachem.*
They followed to the place pointed out by her,
and returned with seven scalps. This success,
inconsiderable as it may appear, kept up the spirits
of the people, and added to the loss of the enemy,
who were now daily diminishing by sickness and
famine. The success of the second expedition against
1711. Port Royal, encouraged an attempt, the next year,
on Quebec ; and an agent was despatched to Eng-
1711. land to solicit aid. To the surprise qf all, the min
isters of Queen Anne acceded to the proposal, and
a fleet came over, under the command of Admiral
Walker, consisting of fifteen ships of war, fifty
transports, and six store-ships. The troops which
they brought, had been selected from the veteran
legions of the Duke of Marlborough, the flower
of English valor. Never had New England seen
upon her waters a fleet or an army so formidable.
When joined by the colonial troops, they amounted
to six thousand five hundred men — a force con
sidered at that day fully equal to the reduction of
Quebec. f Their bright anticipations of conquest
were blasted in a single night. No sooner had
they entered the St. Lawrence, than the admiral
obstinately refused to direct his course by the ad
vice of the pilots. He had proceeded but ten
leagues up the river, when, on the night, of the
* F. Belknap, p. 179 t Whiton. F. Belknap.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 123

VI.
August

twenty-third of August, the weather being thick, chap
eight transports were wrecked upon an island, and
a thousand men perished. Of the whole number
only one was a New-Englander. The fleet put
back, and with great difficulty beat down the St.
Lawrence, and rendezvoused at the mouth of
Spanish river. There the officers held a consul
tation, and finally resolved to abandon the enter
prise. The Indians took courage from these misfor- 1712.
tunes, and fell upon Exeter, Dover, and Oyster
River. Such was the posture of affairs, when, to
the great joy of the inhabitants, the news of the
peace of Utrecht arrived in America. As soon as oct.29.
the Indians were informed of this, they came into
Casco with a flag of truce, and desired to make a
treaty. An unusual despondency was percepti
ble in their demeanor. Thoughtful of past misfor
tunes, they now saw that all further hostility
would be useless, and asked for peace. A sus- Oct.29.
pension of arms was proclaimed at Portsmouth,
and, on the eleventh of July, the chiefs and depu- J^;
ties of the several tribes solemnly ratified the treaty
of peace. Most joyfully did the inhabitants leave
the garrisoned houses, where they had suffered so
much, to resume once more the peaceful pur
suits of industry. The fields again looked gay
with the harvest — the wilderness and the solitary
place began "to bud and blossom like the
rose." Immediately after the peace, a ship was de- 1714
spatched to Quebec, to bring home the captives.
The scene, on their arrival, is not to be described.
Hundreds thronged the beach to meet them.

124 HISTORY OF
chap. Mothers were eagerly searching through the crowd
_!!__, for their sons, and watching, with trembling solici
tude, each person that stepped upon the shore.
Wives were there agitated with uncertain hopes,
and fearing to interrogate the strange company of
the ransomed ; for they were indeed strange.
Some could only make signs of recognition. They
stood locked in the embraces of their friends, and
wept tears of joy in silence. They had forgotten
their native language. Some came not. Captivity
had not quenched the feelings. They had inter
married with the Indians, and refused the call that
bade them return. They had grown out of the
habits and the memory of home. A new love had
been grafted, where the old had been broken.
They preferred the hut of the wilderness to the
home once so dear to them.
During the war, Dudley, as governor, and Usher,*
as lieutenant-governor, had administered the go
vernment, as faithful servants of the crown, and
to the satisfaction of the people. Affairs in Eng
land had now changed, by the accession of George
I. Many valuable officers, who had served the
English government in the late wars, were wasting
1715. away bv the rust of peace. They must be provided
for in America. Accordingly, George Vaughan
oIt!?3. was made lieutenant-governor, and Samuel Shute
commander-in-chief of the province of New
Hampshire. Dudley, expecting soon to be super
seded, went to pass the evening of his days in re
tirement, and left the helm of state in the hands of
Vaughan. t
Vaughan's first act offended the people. It was
* P. R., Journ. Council and Assembly, 1692—1716.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 125
an attempt to establish a perpetual revenue to the chap.
crown, by bringing into New England the land-tax _„__
of Great Britain. The assembly declined to lay
any imposts until the arrival of a governor. Shute, Oct. 17.
however, soon came to the chair. He abandoned
the land-tax, but displaced six of the old counsel
lors, and filled their seats with six more, all of
Portsmouth. This gave the trading interest a
preponderance in the assembly. The yeomanry
feared that the burdens of government would be
laid wholly upon their shoulders. Disputes and
bickerings* arose between the governor and the
house of representatives, and between the governor
and lieutenant-governor. The rash and precipi
tate, hasty and imperious temper which brought on
the contest,f disqualified Vaughan for managing it
with success. He disgusted the council and as
sembly, and did not conciliate the crown.| Ven- 1717.
turing to disobey some of the instructions of
Shute, he was complained of to the king, and
superseded by John Wentworth. The same hand
that penned the immortal soliloquy of Cato, and
traced the finest harmonies of the Spectator,
countersigned the commission of Wentworth. It
was the hand of Addison.
During the last, long, and distressing war with
the Indians, the resources and improvement of the
colony had been at a stand. But on the return of
peace, Industry ventured once more to ply her
busy hand, and the staple productions of the
colony rose into view and became objects of at
tention. The royal navy needed masts, and, by
• P. R., J. C and A., 1716— 172S. House, 1711—1724.
f F. Belknap, p. 187. fP.R., J.C.and A., 1715— 1728. House, 1711— 1721.

126 HISTORY OF
chap, law, all pine trees of a certain diameter were re-
_IL_ served for the king. To encourage the colonists,
Laws and for the benefit of Great Britain, lumber was
°n.6h." imported into England free of duty. In the east-
Lia™S8°f ern waters the fisheries had been successful, and a
considerable profit began to be derived from the
manufacture of tar and turpentine from pitch-pine
trees. A company of merchants soon attempted
to monopolize the manufacture of these articles.
But when many thousand trees had been prepared
for use, they were destroyed by unseen hands.
Thus did the fathers resist the first stride of the
giant Monopoly.
Something was done at this time towards the
culture of hemp. But it was soon found that the
people could till no more land than was requisite
for raising corn, and they turned their attention at
once to the means of subsistence. Their peaceful
pursuits were soon to be interrupted. The eastern
1717. Indians at this time discovered symptoms of un
easiness. With sullen discontent they saw the
rapid progress of English settlements — the erec
tion of mill-dams and forts, and the increasing
activity and power of the colonists. Governor
Shute resolved upon an effort to produce recon
ciliation. Assembling their chiefs on an island in
the Kennebec, he promised them trading -houses,
supplies of arms, and smiths to keep their guns in
repair. Their prejudices had been strongly ex
cited against the English. " Why are you so
strongly attached to the French?"* demanded a
stranger of an Indian sachem. " Because," re
plied the savage, " the French have taught us to
* Whiton.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 127
pray to God, which the English never did." The chap.
Indians found encroachments daily made upon ___
their lands, and desired the English to fix a boun
dary, beyond which their settlements should not
extend. This desire Governor Shute never com
plied with. Nor were the promised supplies ever
furnished. While an Indian war hung in suspense over the 17ig
colonists, they received an important accession to Arrival
their numbers. Early in 1719 came the Scottish Scottish
families, sixteen in number, to Londonderry, grant*.
Near the beginning of the seventeenth century,
their ancestors had emigrated from Argylshire, in
the west of Scotland, to the counties of London
derry and Antrim, in the north of Ireland.* There
they trusted that their posterity might dwell, be
yond the reach of tyrants. But the hand of per
secution, which fell so heavily upon all Protestants
during the reigns of Charles I. and James II.,
reached Ireland, and was laid upon the Scots.
There, while burdened with tithes and thirsting
for a larger liberty, they heard that there was a
delightful region in the New World, yet unmarred
by the foot-print of an oppressor. Cheered by the
most flattering hopes, one hundred and twenty
families embarked for America. Their voyage
was prosperous. They arrived, some at Boston,
others at Portland, and there passed the autumn
and winter. The next year M'Gregore, with six
teen families, selected for their residence London
derry ; and there he preached his first sermon,
under the shade of a spreading oak. Large ac
cessions of their countrymen were soon added to
» Whiton, p. 66.

128 HISTORY OF
chap, the original company ; and in a few years the
J-L. church numbered two hundred and thirty mem
bers. They were Presbyterians. They lived in
that age of enthusiasm when the adherents of old
and new creeds gloried in the name of martyrs,
and dissenters demanded, (what they were seldom
willing to grant,) unlimited freedom of religious
opinion. These emigrants were proud to enjoy^
and gloried in vindicating, the Presbyterian faith.
They Avere descended from men by whom that
doctrine had been maintained with a spirit of in
dependence unequalled in any state in Europe,
and hardly surpassed by the firmness and valor
with which their more remote ancestors, unawed
by the terror of the Roman name, defended their
moors and marshes against the conquering arms of
Agricola. It is not strange that they should have been
ardently attached to their faith. They knew that
it was Christianity that changed the savage man
ners of their remote ancestors, and brought to the
depths of the morasses and woods the dignity and
happiness of civilized social life. It was no won
der, then, that they should hold strong opinions.
It was no wonder that they should worship, with
fervent devotion, that Sun of Righteousness which
had shed such a reviving light over the highlands
and into all the glens of Caledonia. It is no won
der that they should deem it a sacred duty to serve
the cause of Heaven by making the fiercest oppo
sition to what they deemed a false faith ; nor,
when they had found what they esteemed true
Christianity, that they should be willing to sacri
fice for it the last and best joys and possessions of

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 129
man — even to forsaking their country and laying chap.
down their lives. _IL,
Next to their piety, the most striking character
istic of the Scottish settlers was their national pride
and high sense of honor. They held life in mean
regard, compared with the slightest stain upon
their honor. They felt the blood of the ancient
Scots swelling their veins ; and though far removed
from them by time, and far distant from home,
they still remembered Scotland, and cherished
as household words the local names of Moray and
Caithness, Galloway and Strath Clyde. It was
natural for men to feel some pride of country,
whose ancestors had been led to battle by such
heroes as Wallace and Bruce. It was still more
natural for those to feel it who had been taught
that other generations of Scottish heroes had ren
dered memorable the fields of Harlow, Sterling,
and Ancram-Moor. The earliest annals prove
the Scots to have been a gallant people. The
ancient Caledonians, preferring death to slavery,
met the Romans in the forests of Lochleven and
Loch Ore, and maintained their native indepen
dence, in spite of the universal conquerors ; com
pelling them to feel and acknowledge how great
must be the patriotism and valor which move a
people to defend such wild districts of mountain,
moor, and marsh, against the victors of the world.
In process of time the descendants ofthe London
derry settlers spread over Windham, Chester,
Litchfield, Manchester, Bedford, Goffstown, New
Boston, Antrim, Peterborough, and Acworth, in
New Hampshire, and Barnet, in Vermont. They
were the first settlers of many towns in Massa-
17

130 HISTORY OF
chap, chusetts, Maine, and Nova Scotia. They are
_^-L_ now, to the number of more than twenty thousand,*
scattered over all the states of the Union. But
wherever located, and however situated, these
ancestral recollections seem to have been cherish
ed by the posterity of the Scottish emigrants. To
this it is to be ascribed, in part at least, that
Stark, Reid, M'Clary, M'Niel, and Miller, have
displayed, in later days, much of the same pride
and patriotism which swelled the dauntless, hearts
of Wallace and Bruce. Inheriting the same great
traits of character, the American heroes of Scot
tish descent have made the achievements of Bunker
Hill, Bennington, and Bridgewater, not unworthy
to be associated in history with those of Flodden,
Melrose, Dundalk, and Bannockburn.
In the character of the Scots of Londonderry
industry was another and a prominent trait. It is
said of them that they were " a well-principled
people; frugal, hardy, and industrious."] It is
certain that they made rapid advances towards
wealth and importance ; and that the excellence
of their manufactures and the products of their
industry procured for them an extensive demand.
It is easy for the physiologist to discover, even
now, in the countenances of the people of Derry,
the same traits of character which led the ancient
Scots to encounter such formidable odds, and
cling with such tenacity to the defence of hills clad
in perpetual snow, and wintry shores washed by
the Northern Ocean. It is easy to see, in the
* Whiton estimates the descendants of the Londonderry settlers at be
tween twenty and thirty thousand— p. 67.
t Whiton, p. 66.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 131
faces that assemble on a Sabbath day at Derry, chap.
indications of the same deep feeling and high ^_Y__
resolve, which moved the Scots of olden time to
resist, thp fiprr.p tvrannv of thp Fnwlish church.

CHAPTER VII

The Aurora Borealis seen for the first time in New England in 1721 — Inoc
ulation first used as an antidote to the small-pox — War with the Indians
— The Jesuit missionaries^-FatherRasle — his labors — his death and char
acter — AVar with the Indians — The family of Hanson — Captain Love
well— Last battle with the Indians at Lovewell's Pond — Defeat and death
of Lovewell — Description of the battle-ground and the scenery in the
valley of the Saco — Departure of the Penacooks — Boundary dispute —
Settlement of Concord — Triennial act — Burnet— Belcher — Death of
Wentworth — his character — Dunbar — Contest between the friends of the
Union with Massachusetts and the advocates of a separate government-
Boundary dispute — continues — decided in favor of New Hampshife^-
Benning Wentworth appointed governor — Sickness in New Hampshire
— Intelligence — Morals — Schools— George Whitefield — comes to New
Hampshire — his eloquence — his character.
chap. The Aurora Borealis, the beauty of the north-
vn J

1721.
Dec. 17.

ern sky, which is now gazed upon with so much
delight, was seen for the first time in New Eng
land in 1721, and filled the inhabitants with alarm.
Superstition beheld with terror its scarlet hues,
and transformed its waving folds of light, moving
like banners along the sky, into harbingers of com
ing judgment, and omens of impending havoc.
Under its brilliant reflections, the snow, the trees,
and every object, seemed to be dyed with blood,
and glowed like fire.
Shortly after the appearance of this beautiful
and still mysterious phenomenon of the northern
heavens, it was for the first time proposed in New
England to make use of inoculation as an antidote
to the small-pox. It had long been known asr a

HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 133
remedy in Turkey, and was now introduced into chap.
the colonies, under the auspices of Cotton Mather. J_^__
It required all his influence to gain for it the coun
tenance of the clergy ; but the prejudices of the
people were inflamed against it to such a degree,
that when Dr. Boylston, who was the first indi
vidual to use it, offered to test its harmlessness or
fatality by applying it to his own family, they
raised a tumult and threatened his life.
But the attention of the people was soon ab
sorbed by another and more fearful subject. The
Indians were preparing for hostilities. The English
must make ready for defence. In the long interval
of peace, causes of war had been silently operating.
The royal governors at the north did not strive, as
did Oglethorpe and William Penn, to secure the
attachment of the tribes by frankness and strict
fidelity. The natives never regarded the northern
governor as their father, nor did they confide in
him, and appeal to him in every emergency of their
internal disputes. Seldom or never did he enter
the large square of the council place, or distribute
presents to his " red friends," or drink with the Ban-
warriors " the sacred safkey," or smoke with the m'
434-5.
nations the pipe of peace. They gave them few
presents, and purposely avoided explaining to them
the terms of treaties and conveyances of land. If
they did not openly break their engagements with
them, they pursued towards them a selfish and un
scrupulous policy. They erected dams and mills,
careless ofthe injury they did to the Indian fisheries.
The Indians more than once complained that they
were cheated in trade. Avarice often led the
English to obtain deeds of land by deceit ; and

134 HISTORY OF
chap, when the Indian had been taught to get drunk,
__ his best possessions could be taken from him in a
fit of intoxication, without an equivalent. They
did not foresee that the erection of forts and mills
was to drive away their game and fish ; and it was
not till they found their means of subsistence cut
off, that they repented of their unguarded confidence,
and sought to dispossess those whom they had
welcomed as friends. When they found that agri
culture was destroying their interests, they deter
mined, as a measure of self-preservation, to drive
away the new settlers, and bring back the already
half-reclaimed wilderness to its primitive state.
Having no records, the memory of bargains was
soon lost ; and then many of the land titles which
they had given came to be of doubtful validity.
The lands which had been sold onthe banks ofthe
St. George and Kennebec at an early period, the
Indians had no memory of; and when the sales were
proved to them, they declared that the sachems
had exceeded their authority.
From the first landing of the English, they
treated the natives as subjects ofthe crown. They
declared war against them as rebels, and in treaties
they styled them British subjects. When they
were conquered, they were compelled to acknow
ledge their submission to the English government.
The French, on the contrary, did not declare the
Indians to be subjects of France. They left to
all the tribes their native independence. Although
their traders often travelled and resided amongst
the Indians, they seldom or never sought to obtain
their lands. The French, sent to them mission
aries, who gained access to their hearts, and in
spired them with reverence and love.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 135
The Jesuits planted the cross at an early day chap.
among the tribes of the Abenaquis. But of the ^L
missionaries whom they sent there, no one endured
or accomplished so much to christianize the In
dians as father Sebastian Rasle. In early youth
he left the endearments of home and civilized life,
plunged into the depths of wilds unexplored, and
shared with the Indians the privations of the wil
derness. In the Indian village of Norridgewock,
by a graceful curve of the Kennebec, on a beau
tiful prairie, stood his abode. All around lay a
pathless wilderness. It was here that the mission
ary, then young, resolved to devote the remainder
of his days to the spiritual services whereto he
had been appointed. A church was erected, and
supplied with those splendid decorations by which
the Catholics seek to engage the imagination, and
through that to reach the heart. Above the village
stood one consecrated chapel, and below it another
was erected, and bore on its walls the image of
the holy virgin. By the assistance of women, the
church was embellished with tasteful ornaments,
and illumined by "brilliant lights from the wax ^^
ofthe bayberrics, gathered from the islands of the Hist.
sea." A bell was transported from Canada,
through the wilderness, which, at morning and
evening hour, called the hunters and warriors to
prayer. Around the village the primeval foresr
yet stood in its grandeur and glory. Islands, like
gems, studded the clear expanse ofthe Kennebec,
and a range of lofty mountains skirted the distant
horizon. The matin song began to be chanted in
these romantic solitudes, and with the unceasing
music of the waterfall mingled the vesper hymn.

136 HISTORY OF
chap. The Indians were taught to sing and recite in their
J_!L native tongue, and were charmed with the same
ceremonies which captivated the cultured minds
of Fenelon and Cheverus. By the winning con
versation of Father Rasle, and by the fervor and
pathos of his preaching, the Indians were pro
foundly impressed with the truth of his religion,
and yielded almost implicit obedience to his will.
He was master of all their languages, shared in
their privations, and adopted the customs of the
tribe. In times of scarcity he supplied them with
food, secured their affections by his gentle deport
ment, and finally gained over them an ascendency
superior to the influence of the native chiefs.
When he had grown gray in poverty and absti
nence, he was suspected by the English of insti
gating the Indians to war ; and a party under Col.
1721. Westbrook was sent to Norridgewock to seize
him. But a courier had preceded them to give
him notice of their approach, and he escaped into
the woods. The government soon resolved upon
another expedition to Norridgewock ; and accord-
1724. ingly Captains Moulton and Harmon invested that
t2.' village, each of them at the head of an hundred
men. When Father Rasle heard the tumult of
their approach, he knew the danger to which him
self and his people were exposed. Nothing in-
-timidated, he went forth, with fifty warriors, to
meet the assailants, hoping to hold them in check
till the women and children should have time to
escape. As soon as he was discovered, a volley
of musketry was directed towards him, and he fell
dead at the foot of the cross which he had planted.
The Indians mourned for him as for a chief and a

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 137
father. He was buried near the place where his chap.
altar stood, and where he had so often celebrated _„_,
the rites of his faith. More than a century after
his death, gratitude and reverence reared an hum
ble monument to his memory on the spot where he
fell. It was consecrated by Bishop Fenwick, with
the solemn and imposing ceremonies ofthe Catho
lic worship. No one could deny that it marked the
spot where a good man was stricken down ; and
when it was destroyed by the unseen hand of vio
lence, Charity could but mourn that enough of in
tolerant fanaticism should be found in the present
enlightened age, to invade the precincts of the
dead, in order to trample upon a monument which
the most savage conqueror would respect and
spare. It was impossible for the Indians to overlook
such an outrage upon their spiritual father, as that
which was committed in the first attempt to seize
Rasle. They regarded him with a reverence ap
proaching almost to worship. They determined
to retaliate, and sought eagerly for revenge. The
next summer they made an attack at Merry-meet- j72--
ing-Bay, and carried captive nine families. At
the fort of St. George's they were repulsed ; but
destroyed Brunswick. This determined the gov
ernment upon hostilities, and accordingly a formal
declaration of war was published at Boston and
Portsmouth. Walton, Westbrook and Penhallow
led the New Hampshire forces. Thus, after an
interval of ten years of peace, the colony was again
involved in a war with the Indians. The enemy
was expected on every part of the frontier, and
again the people fled to their garrisoned houses.
18

138 HISTORY OF
chap. The growing unpopularity of Shute admonished
_^-L_ him, at this time, to return to England. Although
the people of New Hampshire were quiet under his
administration, yet there was rising in Massachu
setts a violent and increasing opposition. Having
been a soldier in his youth, and accustomed to
military command and obedience, he was poorly
prepared to brook the crosses and perplexities of
political life. He did not possess that evenness of
temper and calmness, which are so necessary for
1723. the management of difficult affairs. It was in the
midst of an Indian war, when difficulties surrounded
the government, that he left for England, and
Lieutenant Governor Wentworth succeeded to the
chair. It was resolved to prosecute the war vigor
ously. Wentworth, in the absence of Shute, took
the field as commander-in-chief, and displayed
the prudence and energy of an able leader. He
was careful to supply the garrisons with stores and
to visit them in person, to see that the duties of all
were strictly performed.
The Indians approached the settlements by way
August 0f ^e Winnipiseogee. Their first appearance was
at Dover ; their next at Lamprey River ; and they
attacked, in quick succession, the settlements at
May Oyster River, Kingston and Crfester. A company
May marched to protect Oyster River, under the com-
16- mand of Abraham Benwick. At Dover some
families of Quakers, scrupulously opposed to war,
could not be persuaded to defend themselves. A
party of French and Mohawks marked the family
of John Hanson for their prey. They waited in
ambush till the eldest daughter had gone and the
two oldest sons. They then entered the house,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 139
killed and scalped two of the small children, and chap.
took prisoners Mrs. Hanson with her infant. The Jl!!_
first person to discover this disaster was the absent
daughter ; who, on her return, seeing the two chil
dren dead at the door, gave a shriek of despair,
which was heard at the same moment by her mo
ther in the hands ofthe enemy, and by her brothers
in the meadow. The people were quickly alarmed,
and went in pursuit ; but the Indians, avoiding all
the travelled paths, bore off their captives beyond
their reach. After this catastrophe, Mr. Hanson
removed to the house of his brother; who, though 1731
a Quaker, accustomed his family to the use of arms,
and defended himself. Thus do scruples of con
science sometimes yield to the supreme necessity
of self-preservation.
The captive lady, though tender and delicate,
possessed a vigorous mind, and bore the hardships
of the march with surprising fortitude. On arriving
in Canada, the prisoners were all sold to the
French. With ceaseless effort the sad father
gathered gold and silver for their ransom ; and
when a sufficient sum had been accumulated, he
traversed the woods to Canada, in search of his lost
family. Long and hopelessly he sought for them
through all the French settlements, and was about
to abandon the search, when, by the benevolence
of a French lady, he was directed to the house
where they were kept as slaves. Overwhelmed
with joy, he paid the ransom, and received his wife,
the three younger children, and the nurse. It was
impossible to obtain the eldest daughter, though
he saw and conversed with her ; and he returned,
leaving her in captivity. But he remained not long

140 HISTORY OF
chap, at home. The loss of his daughter continued to
- — ~L, prey upon his mind, and it was impossible to solace
1727. his grief. In a short time he set out to tread
again his lonely path to Canada. But the troubles
of his mind and the exposure and fatigues of the
first journey, had undermined his health, and be
fore he reached Crown Point his strength failed
him. Parental affection urged him on till the last
sands of life had run, and seemed to grow stronger
as his end drew near, until death extinguished life
and love together, and the father was laid in a
grave equally distant from his home and his
daughter.
1724. The enemy now ranged the whole extent of the
Sept. s. frontiers, plundering and laying waste ; and killing
Sept. 7. several at Dunstable and Kingston. One after
another, the Indian villages were visited ; but they
were found deserted. The fate of Norridgewock
was still fresh in their thoughts, and they could not
be found in their former abodes. Scouting parties
visited their principal villages, generally with little
effect. But there was one of these parties, distin- -
guished at first by success, and afterwards no less
distinguished by misfortune. Commanded by Cap
tain John Lovewell, they set out on their first
1725. excursion, north of Lake Winnipiseogee, killed
Feb.20. one indian an(J brought another home to Boston.
This trifling good luck augmented his company to
March seventy. Ten Indian scalps were the trophies of the
second excursion. Encouraged by repeated suc
cess, Lovewell marched a third time to attack the
villages of the once formidable Pequawkets, on the
upper branches of the Saco. The company, at this
time, numbered forty-six, including a chaplain and

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 141
surgeon. Two of them afterwards returned ; an- chap.
other fell sick. Partly for the accommodation of _!!___
the sick man, and partly for a place of retreat in knap!"
case of disaster, they halted and built a stockade
fort on the west side of Great Ossipee pond. Here
they left the sick man with the surgeon and eight
of the company for a guard. The number was
thus reduced to thirty-four. They had not pro
ceeded far northward, when they came to a pond,
on the margin of which they encamped for the
night. Early the next morning, they heard the
report of a gun, and saw a solitary Indian standing,
more than a mile distant from them, on the point
of a promontory projecting out into the water.
Suspecting that he had been placed there to decoy
them, and that a body of the enemy was in front,
they held a consultation and determined to march
forward, encompass the pond, and endeavor to gain
the place where the Indian stood. That they
might be ready for action, they laid aside their
packs, containing all their provisions. It hap
pened that two parties of Indians, commanded by
Paugus* and Wahwa, were returning from a scout
down the Saco, to the lower village of the Pe
quawkets. Falling on Lovewell's track, they fol
lowed it till they came to the packs. By counting
these they discovered at once the weakness of their
enemy. The number of men was less than their
own. They then placed themselves in ambush
near the spot, and quietly waited the return of the
men to their packs. The single Indian, who had
stood on the point of land projecting into the pond,
the party of Lovewell killed and scalped. Seeing
* Charles James Fox's account of Lovewell's fight— MS.

142

HISTORY OF

chap, no other enemy, they returned towards their packs,
— _ and while they were looking about for them, the
Indians rose and rushed upon them with a horrid
war-whoop. Captain Lovewell and eight men fell
dead at the first fire ; Lieutenant Farwell and
two others were wounded. By this time several
of the Indians had fallen ; but being superior in
number, they were able to keep up a brisk fire,
which was as briskly returned. Perceiving that
the Indians were endeavoring to surround them,
they retreated a short distance, and chose a more
advantageous position.
Here they were partially sheltered by a point
of rocks extending out into the pond, and by a few
pine trees standing on the sandy beach. Here
they made a stand. On their right was the mouth
of a stream ; on their left the rocky point ; their
front partly covered by a deep bog, partly exposed,
and the pond in their rear. Thus they were
hemmed in, and the enemy pressing upon them and
galling them in front and flank. The fall of their
commander and more than one quarter of their
number, at the first onset, was disheartening. But
they knew that their distance from the frontier cut
off all hope of safety by flight. Prudence as well
as valor dictated a continuance of the engagement.
They were now without a mouthful of sustenance.
They had fought till past noonday, and their chap
lain and ensign Robbins were mortally wounded.
Under these discouraging circumstances, the In
dians invited them to surrender, but they declined,
and under the conduct of Lieut. Wyman, on
whom the command had devolved, they kept up
their fire. As night approached, the war-whoop

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 143
grew fainter. The number of the Indians was chap.
greatly diminished; Paugus was slain;* and _!!___
before sunset they retired, carrying with them
their dead and wounded. Such was the fortune
of this bloody day. The field was left to the col
onists. The enemy, awed by their brave resistance
and weakened by their own loss, thought it pru
dent to yield them the honor of the field. The
shattered remnants of the brave company now as
sembled together, and found but nine of their
number who had received no hurt. Of the wound
ed, eleven were able to march. To dispose of
those who were unable to move was now the sad
duty of the survivors. To remain with them
would be certain destruction to all ; to remove them
was impossible ; and yet to leave their dying com
panions behind, to fall into the hands of those who
felt not pity, was little less than death to the gen
erous soldier. There seemed, however, to be no
alternative, and, after struggling with their feelings,
they tore themselves from the spot. Ensign Rob-
bins desired them to lay his gun by him loaded,
that before his death he might kill one more Indian.
By the light of the rising moon they quitted the
fatal field and directed their march to the stockade
fort, where they had left the sick man with a guard,
on their way to Ossipee pond. To their surprise
they found it deserted. In the beginning of the
action one man had fled from the field, and had
gone and told them of the defeat of the company.
They now abandoned the fort and set out to return
home. On their way, Lieut. Farwell and two
others died of their wounds. One by one the sur-
* Charles James Fox's account, in MS.

144 HISTORY OF
chap, vivors reached home, and were received with joy,
, — L. as men restored from the dead. A company
from Dunstable, headed by Col. Tyng, went out
to bury the bodies of Capt. Lovewell and his
companions. They found twelve of them, and
burying them, carved their names on the trees
around the battle ground. The village of Fryeburg,
in Maine, built in one ofthe most delightful valleys
in America, stands near the sheet of water which
has been made to commemorate this- battle, by
taking the name of Lovewell's Pond. The inhabi
tants are able to point out the spot where he fell.
The pond is a beautiful sheet of water, three miles
long. t
It is thought that the surrounding scenery has
been changed but slightly, although more than a
century has elapsed since the battle was fought.
The inhabitants of the town suppose that they can
designate the spot, now called Indian Point, near
the mouth of a small stream, where stood "the
decoy Indian." The waters are encircled by a
wide sandy beach, which rises with a gentle slope,
and is bordered with a growth of pines, which sur
round it like a belt. Lo,on island rises like a green
spec, near the centre, and at a little distance from
this is Pine island, crowned with trees. The Saco
sweeps within twenty rods of the pond, as if com
ing to receive the waters, which flow into it through
a narrow channel. The village of Fryeburg stands
on a level plain, elevated a few feet above the broad
intervals of the Saco. In the midst of this plain
rises a single stupendous rock, two hundred feet
high ; its top capped with small pines, its sides
clad in dark brown moss. When standing under its

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 145
overhanging cliffs, man appears to be an insignifi- chap.
cant object. It rises like an observatory in the ^Y_
midst of the unrivalled charms of a landscape, over
which the eye ranges for miles. From the south
comes the Saco, flowing in graceful meanderings,
its banks fringed with the various trees that adorn
the meadows, and loses itself at last towards the
north, amidst the hills which range themselves on
either side. Northward are the Pequawket moun
tains, and westward is Chocorua peak, the monarch
ofthe Sandwich range ; altogether, forming a semi
circular group of mountains of surpassing grandeur.
Anciently, within this town, scarcely six miles in
extent, the winding course of the Saco measured
thirty-four miles in length. The frightful freshets
of the river often compelled the inhabitants to re
treat, with their flocks and herds, to the highlands.
They have now, by a canal running across the nar
rowest neck of land, led the river from its bed and
dried it up for a distance of thirty miles. In early
times the Pequawket Indians could float with their
canoes, by making the circuit of Lovewell's pond
near the shores, and passing through its outlet into
the Saco, for more than a hundred miles, all with
in the town of Fryeburg. The features of this
valley are hardly equalled in New England. - From
an observatory, raised by the hand of nature in its
midst, the eye of the beholder ranges from Love
well's pond on the southeast, eastward over an
almost unbroken forest, until the view is bounded
by Pleasant mountain. He sees, almost at a .
glance, the silver thread of the Saco winding in
the distance — the bright waters of the pond, and
the plains and meadows — the clouds resting on the
19

146 - HISTORY OF
chap, summits of the mountains, or hanging wreathed
___. around their rugged sides, sometimes illumined by
the sun's rays like fluid gold, sometimes kindling
with the first fires of morning. Never did nobler
mountains fling their broad shadows, at sunset, over
more beautiful plains and meadows than those which
surround the village of Fryeburg. Nor is it the
least interesting ofthe traveller's reflections, while
gazing here, that he treads upon the favorite hunt
ing-grounds of the once formidable Pequawkets.
The battle with Lovewell was the last expiring
effort of the Indians in New Hampshire. They
never took the field again. They seemed to be
aware of their destiny. The prophecy of their
great father, Passaconaway, made more than a
century before, had been fulfilled.* The pale
faces were indeed tenants of all the pleasant places
of their fathers. Copying the vices without the
virtues of the white man, the Indian gained from
civilization no advantages equal to the ills he suf
fered ; and while impelled by instinct to self-
defence every effort which he made did but accel
erate his doom.
The battle of Lovewell's pond was the most ob
stinate and destructive encounter in the war.
Commissioners were now despatched, on the part
of New England, to Vaudruil, governor of Canada,
1725. to complain of the countenance he had given to the
Jan. 20. T 1 . °
Indians. This procured the ransom of some cap
tives, and exerted an influence favorable to peace.
After a few months, a treaty was ratified at Fal-
Dec.is. niouth.f Never were the people of New Hamp
shire so well trained to war as at this period.
* See page — . f Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1724—1743.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 147
Ranging parties, constantly traversed the woods, chap.
as far north as the White Mountains. Every man J^__
of forty years had seen twenty years of war. They
had been taught to handle arms from the cradle,
and, by long practice, had become expert marks
men. They were hardy and intrepid, and knew
the lurking-places of the foe. Accustomed to fa
tigue and familiar with danger, they bore with com
posure the greatest privations, and surmounted
with alacrity the most formidable difficulties.
The Penacooks* had now gone from Concord
and from all the valley of the Merrimack. Some of 1727
them, more warlike than the others, had gone to
the Abenaquis. The residue of them emigrated to
the confines of Canada, and mingled with the tribes
ofthe St. Francis. All obstacles being removed,
and there being no vicinity of hostile neighbors,
the settlement of Concord was commenced in
1727 ;f the same year that was distinguished by 0ct 29<
the second great earthquake which had shaken New
England.^ Not long after, scattering settlers plant
ed themselves along the Merrimack, from Dun
stable to Boscawen, and sometime afterwards, at
Hollis, Amherst, Winchester, Keene and Swansey.
Of the emigrants on the Merrimack and its western
tributaries, the greater part were from Massachu
setts. Another class was at the same time added
to the population. They came from Connecticut,
and planted themselves on the east bank of Con
necticut river. For years these different classes
of settlers exhibited characteristics so peculiar as
to be distinguished from each other like four na-
* Farmer's note on the Penacook Indians. N. H. Hist. Coll., I., p. 218.
t N. H. Hist. Coll., I., 158. t N. H. Hist. Coll., IV., p. 92,

148 HISTORY OF
chap, tions ; and time has not wholly obliterated the pe-
 L, culiarities which once so strikingly distinguished
from each other the inhabitants of the Pascataqua,
Londonderry, Merrimack and Connecticut River
settlements. While the cloud of war overhung the colonies,
1726. the boundary dispute had slept in silence. The
return of peace brought with it leisure, and the
contest revived afresh. Massachusetts asserted her
charter claim to all the lands lying beyond a certain
line. This line began at a point three miles north
10^74. of the mouth of the Merrimack. From thence it
Finap) ran wegt and north, at the same distance of three
^yP- miles from the river to a point in the present town
ship of Sanbornton — three miles beyond the paral
lel of the junction of the Winnipiseogee and the
Pemigewasset — thence due west to the Connecti
cut. This claim covered the whole of the county
of Cheshire and the greater part of Hillsboro'
Merrimack and Sullivan. Aware that their claim
to jurisdiction might be overruled by the king,
Massachusetts was desirous to acquire in these
lands the right of property. To further this object,
Massachusetts proposed the appointment of com
missioners to establish the line. The New Hamp
shire assembly refused to concur,* alleging that
they had already submitted the case to the king.
Both parties waxed warm in the dispute ; a sur
vey was ordered, and each state strove to plant
settlements within the confines of this disputed ter
ritory. Every pretence was sought, and every en
couragement given to entitle persons to become
* Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1724—1743. Jour. Council and Assembly
1716—1728.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 149
grantees of the lands. A claim was soon discover- chap.
• VII
ed, founded in feelings of gratitude to the country's ^~-L,
defenders. The descendants of those who had
fought in the wars of the preceding century were
yet unrewarded. Nine townships were readily
granted by Massachusetts to the heirs of these sol
diers. Those nine were called the Canada town
ships, and six of them were within the space
claimed by New Hampshire. To the survivors of
brave Lovewell's defeat, and to the descendants
of those who fell, a select tract was granted at
Suncook. New Hampshire, also, granted the
townships of Epsom, Chichester, Barnstead, Can- Mayi's
terbury, Gilmanton and Bow. None of these were
within the disputed tract, except Bow ; which in
terfered with grants already made by Massachu
setts in Suncook and Penacook. This brought
the parties directly into a contest ; for it was a
practical assertion, on the part of New Hampshire,
of her claim to the territory in dispute. A litiga
tion arose, which survived through the changes of
forty years.
Tlie deserted homes of the peaceful Penacooks
now invited the current of emigration to the banks
of the Merrimack, and a settlement was commenced
in 1727. In 1733 it was called Rumford,* and 1727.
did not take the name of Concord till 1765. Al
lured by the level and pleasant lands on this river,
settlers planted themselves along its whole course,
and all along its western tributaries. They fol
lowed up the Ashuelot, and planted themselves at
Keene, in one of the most beautiful vales in New
England. These settlers were from Massachu-
- N. H. Hist. Coll., I., p- 153— Ibid, 218.

150 HISTORY OF

VII
1727^

chap, setts, and were distinctly marked as the third
division of the inhabitants of New Hampshire.
They exhibited peculiarities, intellectual, moral,
social and political. The (Connecticut, Pascata
qua, and Londonderry divisions have all likewise
been distinguished by peculiar traits of character;
and long continued to display, in their manners,
customs and modes of thinking, the peculiar char
acteristics of former generations. The settlers car
ried with. them, into their new abodes, the habits,
feelings and principles deeply impressed on their
minds, when young, which long continued to dis
play their peculiar influences on their descendants.
Thus these settlers continued to exhibit almost the
national peculiarities of four distinct nations.
During the absorbing excitement of the boundary
contest, little progress was made in the improve
ment and settlement of the country. Projects for
colonies were continually formed — meetings of
proprietors* were held, and an avaricious spirit of
speculation in landed property prevailed every
where ; but the best lands remained uncultivated
and the real wealth of the country was diminished.
Its improvement was retarded. But in the midst
Nov. of these speculations and schemes of settlement,
the death of King George I. dissolved the assem
bly, and writs were issued for the election of a new
one, in the name of George the second. This as
sembly had subsisted for five years, which had
been deemed a grievance. By so long a con
tinuance in office, the representatives became too
independent of the people. Basking so long in
the rays of royal favor, they became alienated
from their constituents, and corrupted by long inti

21.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. • 151
macy with a royal governor and his council, and chap. VTT
popular opinion lost its just weight in government. _^Y_
The death of the king furnished a fit occasion,
and the democratic principle, which quickens the
natural progress of power from the few hands to
the many, -now manifested itself in a general desire
expressed by the people to limit the duration of
assemblies. Immediately after the organization of
the new assembly, a move was made for a trien
nial act.* The lieutenant governor, Wentworth,
favored the proposal, and both houses agreed in
framing an act by which the present assembly was
limited to three years, unless sooner dissolved by
the governor. This act afforded additional se
curity to the rights of the people, and was hailed
as a popular triumph. Having taken the first step,
the house were disposed to proceed to other alter
ations and reforms. They had already resolved
upon remodelling the courts.
But the council resisted. A contest arose be- 1727.
tween the two branches, which Wentworth sudden
ly terminated, by dissolving the assembly ;f an act
which embittered the people against him and his
administration. Most of the old assembly were
re-elected, and the same speaker, Nathaniel Weare, 1728.
was again chosen. Wentworth, however, nega
tived the choice, thus assuming the power of a
royal governor. After several days' suspension of
business, the house reluctantly chose another
speaker. The public business now proceeded
with ill humor. The chair and the house assumed
hostile attitudes. Continual reproaches passed
» Prov. Ree, Jour. Council and Assembly, 1716—1728. Jour. House, 1724
—1713. t P- B., J. H. aui A. 1717—1723. J. H. 1721—1713.

152 * HISTORY OF
chap, between them, and the house carried their oppo-
— Y_ sition so far as to resolve upon petitioning the king
to annex the province to Massachusetts. But in the"
midst of this controversy, William Burnet, son of
the famous Bishop of Sarum, arrived at Boston,
commissioned as governor of Massachusetts and
New Hampshire. He was an elegant scholar, and
an enemy to ostentation and parade. He had been
governor of New York and New Jersey. His
fame had reached New England, and the people
had formed high anticipations of favor and benefit
1730. from his appointment. Shortly after his arrival at
Portsmouth he died of a violent fever, and was
succeeded by Jonathan Belcher,* a man of a char
acter widely different from his predecessor. He
was a merchant, of an ample fortune, had passed
six years in Europe, and had been twice at the
Bel- court of Hanover, before the Protestant succession
p. 224'. in the house of Brunswick. In his person he was
graceful ; his manners elegant and polite, and of
a lofty and aspiring disposition. He was frank
and sincere, a generous friend, a vindictive, but not
implacable, enemy ; proud of his office, and fond
1730. of splendor. When he found the emoluments of
his office inadequate to support the luxuries in
which he chose to live, he determined to support the
dignity of his station at the expense of his private
Def°2 fortune. Shortly after his appointment, occurred
the death of Lieutenant Governor Wentworth.
Until the unfortunate controversy between him and
the assembly, near the close of his administration,
he had possessed the confidence of the people, and
he carried with him their respect to the grave.
*N.H. Hist. Coll., IV/p. 97.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 153
Wisdom and moderation marked the whole of his chap. vii.
public career. For nearly thirteen years he had _^Y_
conducted the affairs of the province, through the
perplexities of high party excitement and the diffi
culties of an Indian war. In every station he
secured the general confidence and esteem. In
his youth he had followed the seas. From being
the commander of a ship, he became a merchant.
He was charitable to the poor, courteous and affa
ble. As a merchant, he sustained the reputation
of a fair and generous dealer. As a citizen, he
was distinguished for his integrity, benevolence,
and public spirit. At his death, David Dunbar, a „
native of Ireland, and a reduced colonel in the June 2-1.
British service, succeeded him in the lieutenancy.
No sooner did Dunbar arrive in New Hamp
shire, than he joined the party opposed to Govern
or Belcher.* To the exertions of this party New
Hampshire is indebted for a large extent of terri
tory. Had it never sprung into existence, the
boundary line would have been yielded to Massa
chusetts ; and New Hampshire, curtailed in terri
tory and without a separate governor, would have
finally been annexed, as a mere appendage, to her
more wealthy and flourishing neighbor. The rise
of this party began before the death of Wentworth,
and received a powerful accession of numbers from
his influence. After the death of Burnet, it was
uncertain whether Belcher would be appointed, or
whether Governor Shute, who had been long
absent, would return and resume the chair. Went
worth wrote letters of compliment to both. Bel- knap,p.
c!;cr was not apprized of the letter to Shute until
* Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1721—1743.
20

154 history of
chap, after his arrival in America. He was then inform-
__ eel that Shute had received a letter from the lieu
tenant-governor, of the same tenor as his own.
This was deemed an act of duplicity, and excited
his displeasure. He withdrew all civilities from
Wentworth ; and having control over the emolu
ments of his office, he cut down his salary to the
smallest possible limits. At this, Wentworth's
friends were disappointed and disgusted. He did
not long survive. But his son, Benning Went
worth, and his son-in-law, Theodore Atkinson,
resented the affront, and having turned all their
influence against Belcher, they became leaders of
the opposition. Dunbar seconded their enmity
with great zeal, and the current of popular feeling
began to set strongly in their favor. The positions
and views of the two parties at this time may be
distinctly seen. Belcher and his friends had pro
jected- the union of New Hampshire with Massa
chusetts. To effect this, it was necessary to
induce the people unanimously to petition the
crown. This project was unpopular, and was
found to be impracticable. "They therefore kept
their plan out of sight, and awaited a favorable
opportunity to accomplish it.
On the other hand, the opposition warmly advo
cated the continuance of a separate government,
and demanded a distinct governor, who should
reside in the province. The greatest obstacle to
this was the poverty and smallness of the province.
The population of New Hampshire, at this time,
numbered not above ten thousand ; three or four
thousand of whom resided within the territory
claimed by Massachusetts. There were little

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 155
more than nineteen hundred dwelling-houses, and chap.
the amount of shipping did not exceed five hundred ^___
tons. The number of seamen was but forty. The
exports were small, and consisted chiefly of fish and wm-
lumber. The customs and excise brought only a p-ro.
revenue of four hundred pounds, while the annual
expenses of government rose to over fifteen hun
dred pounds ; and the deficiency was supplied by
a tax. In this state of things, the opposition saw
the necessity of enlarging the territory and fixing
its limits.
They easily persuaded the people that great
advantages would flow to them from establishing
the line — that the expenses of it would be but tri
fling and that the lands, when once acquired,
would be granted to them and their . children.
Both parties had become greatly embittered in
their animosities, and the spirit of intrigue marks
the whole course of their negotiations.* The
governor and his party found strong aid in the
powerful neighbor at their side, who, covetous of
territory, was no .idle spectator of the contest.
Massachusetts stoutly asserted her chartered
claims, and affected to look with contempt on the
ambitious plans of the small province which she
had once governed. On the other hand, New
Hampshire, aspiring to the rank of an independent
state, contested boldly every inch of ground with
her proud rival, and when baffled in her efforts, made
interest with the servants of the crown and sought
refuge in royal favor. Such was the state of par
ties, when, in the autunm of 1731, a committee of 1731.
both provinces met at Newbury, to settle this pro- ^
* Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1724—1743.

156 HISTORY OF
chap, tracted dispute. The influence of Massachusetts
VII.
 L prevented an accommodation, and this proved to
be a fruitless conference. The representatives of
New Hampshire now determined to treat no long
er with Massachusetts ; but represent the matter
to the king, and petition the crown to decide the
controversy. Accordingly, without the concur
rence of the council,* they commissioned John
Rindge, a merchant of Portsmouth, to present
their petition to the king. On its reception, it
was referred to the lords of trade, and Rindge, on
1732. his departure from London, left his business in the
hands of John Tomlinson, of London, and Mr.
Parris, the solicitor. These shrewd and persever
ing men supported the petition of New Hampshire
with great ability and success. In due time they
obtained a royal order referring the question to a
board of commissioners, to be selected from the
1737 councilors of the neighboring province. In Au-
Aug. gust, 1737, this board convened at Hampton, and
simultaneously with them the assemblies of the
two contending provinces met in the same neigh
borhood ; that of Massachusetts at Salisbury, and
that of New Hampshire at Hampton Falls. Thus
arrayed, each jealous of the other, watching to
circumvent, and eager to catch at the most trivial
mistake, the parties, with their commissioners,
entered upon the difficult business before them.
Massachusetts contended for a line to be drawn
whiton, three miles from the left bank ofthe Merrimack, up
p. 81. . j
to the confluence of its two main branches, and
asserted her right to all the lands south and west
of this limit. She also contended that the eastern
* Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1724—1743.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 157
boundary of New Hampshire should be a line drawn chap
from the mouth of the Pascataqua to the source of _„__
the Salmon Falls branch, and from thence due Chiton,
' p. 81.
north-west. This would have cut off small por
tions of Grafton, and almost the whole of Coos
county. On the other hand, New Hampshire
claimed for her southern boundary a line drawn due
west from a point three miles north of the mouth p._".
ofthe Merrimac ; and for her eastern, a line pass
ing up the Pascataqua, to the source of Salmon
Falls river, and thence north one or two degrees
west. After a long and angry discussion between
the parties, the commissioners fixed upon the present
eastern boundary. The southern they were una
ble to determine. An appeal to the king w-as the
only mode of adjustment. Tired of the contro
versy, both parties finally agreed to submit the
whole subject to the royal decision.* Three years
afterwards, George II. terminated the dispute in
iiivor of New Hampshire. In regard to the east
ern boundary, he confirmed the judgment of the
commissioners. His decision upon the southern
line was not anticipated by either party. He
substituted the present line for one running due
west from a point three miles north of the mouth
of the Merrimac ; thus giving New Hampshire a
territory of fifty miles in length, by fourteen in
breadth, more than she had clanWd.
This enlargement of territory, population and
wealth gave to New Hampshire a new political
importance ; and it was determined in England to
gratify her wishes as to a separate government.
Accordingly, Benning Wentworth, the favorite of
* Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1724—1743.

1740.

158 HISTORY OF
chap, the people, and the warmest opponent of Belcher,
-~-i, received the appointment of governor and com-
1741 ¦ mander-in-chief of New Hampshire. -After a long
absence, he had at length returned to Ports
mouth in triumph, invested with the honors of his
office. While this controversy was pending, the advance
of New Hampshire in wealth and importance had
been slow. A severe check had been given to her
population, in 1735, by a malignant throat distem
per, which spread from Maine to Carolina. In
New Hampshire alone more than a thousand per
sons, mostly children, fell victims to its ravages.
But the intelligence and morals of the colony were
in advance of her wealth. Schools had been well
established and sustained.* No public execution
had ever taken place since the first settlement, a
period of one hundred and twenty years. Freed
from the grasping claims of Massachusetts, pos
sessing solid resources, her boundaries enlarged
and established, and with a separate government
of her ownj she started afresh in her career, and
gave evidence of a capacity for improvement
hitherto unknown even to herself. The popula
tion of New Hampshire at this period began to
increase rapidly from emigration ; for there were
in England mw who "rather chose to spend
msfof themselves in seeking a new world, than servilely
P.3.g' to be hired as slaughterers in the quarrels of
strangers."
1744. An unusual religious excitement brought to
America, at this period, one of the most remark
able men of the age. With the exception of
t Rev. N. Bouton's Address, N. H. Hist. Coll., IV., p. 5.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 159
Patrick Henry, it may be safely said that no voice chap
was ever heard on the western continent so elo-  __,
quent as that of George Whitefield ; nor is there
a name so sacredly embalmed in the religious
remembrances of the American people. He was
of humble origin, and there is no genealogy of his
family relations to swell the bulk of history. In
his youth he discovered a predilection for the
stage, and acted some plays at school. Yet a
graceful delivery was so natural to him that he
may be said to have imparted it to the stage
rather than to have borrowed it there.* Like
many of the great orators of ancient and modern
times, he has left few memorials of his genius and
excellence behind him. Yet it would be impossible
to write the annals of eloquence and not insert the
name of him who was regarded as the great model
of excellence in his time. The lightning flashes
of his eloquence were never written, and never
could be reported. His printed sermons discover
but faint traces of that masterly power which held
multitudes fast bound, as by an almost supernat
ural spell. The free and hearty appeal, which
stirs and enchants the multitude, if ever so cor
rectly transcribed, will leave on the mind of the
reader a feeling of disappointment. Such were
the sermons of Whitefield. They were made up
principally of those extempore effusions and bursts
of passion, caught from the transient impulse of
present feeling, or inspired by the presence of a
vast assembly, which lose much of their force
when the man and the occasion disappear. He
was indifferent to worldly gain, and sought to
* Memoirs of Whitefield, p. 11.

160 HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap, build an orphan asylum, as the best legacy he
_J}?__ could leave to the world.
Gifted with a daring fancy, full of pathos and
enthusiasm, he dealt familiarly with all the pas
sions of the human heart, and moved his hearers,
at will, with every emotion of which human nature
is susceptible. If he melted them to tears, it was
only that he might pour upon them a flash of joy,
and make it still brighter by the contrast, when he
unveiled the face of a merciful Savior, and pointed
them to the mansions of eternal purity and bliss.
Whitefield preached many times in New Hamp
shire and in Massachusetts. So charmed were
the people by his eloquence, that they shut up
their shops,* forgot their secular pursuits, and laid
aside their schemes for the world. Crowds fol
lowed him from place to place, and the oftener he
preached, the more eager were they to hear him
again. Nor is it at all to the disparagement of
this eloquent and truly wonderful man, that he
was opposed and vilified by the professors of
Harvard College. While they are forgotten, and
while the names even ofthe brightest of his cotem-
poraries have passed 'away, like the transitory-
meteors of a lower sky, the fame of Whitefield
shines from the upper heavens with a fixed and
unalterable glory.
* Memoirs of Whitefield, p. 252.

CHAPTER VIII.
Expedition to Oape Breton— William Pepperell— Siege and fall of Louis-
burg— Vaughan— War with the Indians— Settlement with the Masonian
proprietors— Defence of Number-Four by Capt. Stevens — Contest con
cerning the Vermont lands — Stark — France resolves to connect Can
ada with Louisiana — Union of the colonies for defence — CoDgress of
delegates meet at Albany — Campaign of 1755 — Defeat of Braddock 
Washington — The Rangers — Expedition to Crown Point — Massacre at
Fort William Henry — Montcalm — Pitt — Attack upon the fortress of Ti-
conderoga — The English repulsed— Quebec — Expedition against the St.
Francis Indians — Destruction of their village — Disasters of the Rangers —
Conquest of Canada completed — The Rangers — Unsuccessful attempt of
the Indians to exterminate the English — N. H. Gazette— Progress of set
tlement — Contest between New York and New Hampshire for the lands
of Vermont — The Revolution dawning.
Fifteen leagues from Cape Ray, the south- chap.
western extremity of Newfoundland, lies the cold _iii,
and rocky island of Cape Breton. Wrapped in a 1744'
perpetual fog, which is impervious to the sun's
rays, summer brings no vegetation to perfection
on its sterile shores. It is visited by the long and
fierce winters which reign between the forty-fifth
and forty-seventh degrees of north latitude. The
face of the isle is either rough and mountain
ous or sinks into wet bogs. On the north and
west sides it is steep and inaccessible, sometimes
rising into mountains. On the south-eastern side
it is level, and indented with fine bays and noble
harbors. It invites no tiller to the soil. Its only
productions are pitcoal and plaster. Fields of
floating ice environ its shores long after spring
21

162 history of
chap, reigns triumphant over all the neighboring lands.
— r It acquired its name from the hardy mariners of
Brittany, and Normandy, "from their remembrance
of home."* It has no good fishing stations, and
derives all its importance from its central position
and the convenience of its ports.
By the treaty of Utrecht, England had ceded
this barren isle to France ; and received from the
French crown the neighboring possessions of Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland. On a neck of land,
south of one of the finest harbors on the island,
the French had built the city of Louisburg, two
miles and a quarter in circumference, surrounded
by a wail of stone thirty-six feet high, and a ditch
eighty feet wide. The entrance to the town by
land was at the west gate, over a draw-bridge,
defended by a circular battery mounting sixteen
guns. Within this strong enclosure the town was
regularly laid out in squares ; the streets were
broad, the houses of wood or stone. On a high
cliff, opposite the battery, stood the lighthouse;
a spacious citadel arose on the west side ; and
under the ramparts were casements to receive
the women and children in case of a siege. A
space of about two hundred yards on the side next
the sea was enclosed by a simple dike and a line
of pickets. The side fire from the bastions swept
this space, and secured "it from attack. There
were six bastions, and three batteries, containing
embrasures for one hundred and forty-eight can
non. By the labors of twenty-five years, these mag-
* Bancroft, Vol. I., p. 15.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 163
nificent works had been constructed ; and they chap
had cost the crown not less than thirty millions of  '.
livres. In peace, the fine harbors on the south
eastern side formed a safe retreat for the ships of
France, on their homeward course from the West
Indies ; in war, they could harbor a swarm of
privateers, to ruin the English fisheries and inter
rupt her coasting trade.
France was at this time warmly attached to the
interests of Spain, by the tie of relationship
between the royal families. Ever since the flame
of war had been kindled between Britain and
Spain, it had been expected that France would be
involved in the quarrel, and it was foreseen by all,
that when war should break out between France
and England, their American colonies would be
the scene of hostilities. These anticipations were
realized by a declaration of war on the part of 1744.
England against France, in 17H. Duquesnel,
the French governor of Louisburg, who had
received intelligence of this before it reached New
England, immediately led a body of French and
surprised the little English garrison at Canseau.
He destroyed the fishery, the fort, and the other 1744.
. 1 -r- i- 1 March.
buildings ; and after menacing the English posts
in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, returned with Ban-
sixty prisoners of war to Louisburg. croft,
This early disaster drew the attention of the 457.'
colonists to the importance of Louisburg, and
inspired a strong wish for its reduction. The
prisoners of Canseau, after passing the summer in
captivity, were sent to Boston on parole. From
them Governor Shirley obtained an accurate ac
count of that fortress, and, with his characteristic

croft. III.
457

164 HISTORY OF
chap, energy and decision, resolved at once upon an
J.5L enterprise against it. The fishermen of Marble-
Ban- head, interrupted in their pursuits, " disdained an
in', idle summer, and entered readily into the design.-'
Massachusetts, by a majority of one vote in her
legislature, resolved upon the expedition, and
poured forth a force of three thousand volunteers.
New Hampshire raised a detachment of five hun
dred,* bearing upon their banners the pious motto
of Whitefield, "Nil desperandum Christo
duce."| Connecticut sent five hundred and
ReJ.' sixteen men, and three hundred sailed from Rhode
House, Island too late to share the glory of the enterprise.
l\Ti7. Nor did the generous supply of provisions sent by
Coun. Pennsylvania arrive till after the surrender of the
Assem. city. The cannon contributed by New York,
i75o7 more fortunate in their destination, came safely
and seasonably to their hands.
The merit of originating this expedition is sup-
Dun- posed by many to belong to William Vaughan, of
Hisf. Portsmouth. He had learned from fishermen the
n
York, strength and situation of the place, and conceived
P. 354'.' the design of taking the city by surprise. He was
in Boston when the final vote was taken in the
legislature of Massachusetts. On the passage of
the resolution, circular letters were immediately
despatched to all the colonies. With one of these
* Bancroft estimates the number at three hundred and four ; but it is not
to be forgotten that one hundred and fifty from New Hampshire had previ
ously joined one of the Massachusetts regiments, and forty-six more manned
one of the armed sloops which served as a cruiser. This accession of New
Hampshire men swelled the Massachusetts force to upwards of three thou
sand one hundred; but I have chosen to put down the number actually
raised in each state, giving to Massachusetts about three thousand, and to
^ New Hampshire the number actually raised, which was five hundred, one"
eighth of the land forces. v
t Nothing is to be despaired of, Christ being the leader.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 165
Vaughan rode express to Portsmouth. The as- chap.
sembly was in session when his errand was an- __~-_-
nounced. The house of representatives caught
the enthusiasm of Vaughan, and desired an imme
diate conference of the two houses. It was im
mediately held, and the proposition of Governor
Shirley instantly agreed to ; and almost in a day a
committee was raised — their report made, favora
ble to the expedition — a proclamation issued for
enlisting men, and for providing military stores
and transports. Such, at that day, was the en
thusiasm of New England men. Nothing checked
the rush of legislators and people but the emission
of bills of credit ; a measure made indispensable
by the poverty of the exchequer. This was con
trary to the letter of royal instructions. But, by
the united ingenuity of Shirley and Wentworth, a
way was devised to surmount this obstacle, and
the governor consented to a bill for the emission
of ten thousand pounds. Fetus.
The most important arrangements being thus
made by the united colonies, it now remained to
appoint a commander-in-chief. There was not a
man in New England qualified, by professional
skill and experience, to take the command. But
there were many possessing fidelity, courage, and
popularity, the best substitute for military talents,
and even with them, a necessary requisite to the
commander of a volunteer army. Of these indi
viduals, William Pepperell, of Kittery, was one —
a militia colonel — a merchant of unblemished rep
utation — well known to the men, beloved and
admired by them all. On him the appointment
fell. It was in the midst of Whitefield's revival

166 HISTORY OF
chap, that the expedition was resolved upon; and the
_^_, famous preacher was consulted. He favored the
expedition — his newly converted followers enlisted
— and in some parts of the camp it assumed some
what the air of a crusade. The officers shrewdly
excited the ardor of the men with the hope of
destroying the images which, they had been told,
adorned the French churches of the island. One
Bei- of the chaplains even carried on his shoulder a
p/m. hatchet, to cut them down. Enthusiastic ardor
and religious zeal threw aside the cooler maxims
of prudence, toleration and justice ; and confidence
and fortitude raised the minds of all above the
dread of danger.
In the beginning of January, orders from Eng
land had been despatched to Commodore Warren,
to come from the Leeward Islands, with such ships
as he could spare from his fleet, and co-operate
with the land forces of the colonists. All fortu
nate circumstances concurred to favor, and Heaven
seemed to smile upon the enterprise. Fierce Win
ter, tyrant of the north, relaxed his severity in
the year in which this expedition was planned; and
the month of February resembled the mildness of
November. The harbors and rivers were open.
The abundant products of the preceding fruitful
season made it easy to provide plentiful stores; and
no intelligence of these preparations had reached
Nova Scotia. The Indians, indeed, had carried
the news of the Cape Breton Expedition to Can
ada, but the guardian angel ofthe colonies seemed
to interpose, for the French gave no credit to the
report. A wonderful good fortune brought to
gether, at this time, every ship of war from the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 167
American ports and islands, until Commodore chap.
Warren, an experienced and judicious officer, had I"L
at his disposal, for the assistance of the colonies, Bei-
a formidable squadron, consisting of four ships of P. 27*3.
the line and six frigates.
An equally remarkable concurrence of unfortu
nate incidents, at this time, attended the French.
Discontent and mutiny prevailed within the walls
of Louisburg. The troops of the garrison were
starving and unpaid. The ships that brought sup
plies for them from France, when they came upon
the coast, and while vainly struggling to cut their
way through the fields of ice which environed
the shore, were taken by our cruisers. Yet all
this was unknown to the garrison. In fancied
security, but with murmurs and complaints, the
French passed their days of privation, unconscious
of the design formed against them. No know
ledge of the expedition to Louisburg had reached
their ears.
In the small vessels of New England, the March
troops of Massachusetts embarked at Boston, and 31'
arrived at Canseau. Ardent for action, and impa
tient of delay, the New Hampshire forces, at their M|£ch
own request, were permitted to sail in advance of
the others, and had arrived two days before them.
Met by the ice drifting in heaps, they were obliged
to stop. While thus delaying at Canseau, they
were gladdened by the welcome arrival of Com- iP.
modore Warren's squadron, and the next day, by 24?
the arrival of the Connecticut forces, in a fleet of
nine vessels. Three weeks they waited for the
ice of Cape Breton to dissolve, and during all this
time remained undiscovered within sight of the

168 HISTORY OF
chap, enemy. An ample supply of provisions was ob-
^,^_ tained from the prizes which fell a prey to. their
vigilant cruisers. The armed sloop of New
Hampshire took one ship from Martinico, and re
took a transport which had been taken the day
before, and had made its escape. By the com
mand of Pepperell the same warlike sloop covered
a detachment which destroyed the little secluded
village of St. Peters. When the town had been
laid waste and the inhabitants scattered, the whole
fleet set sail.
Many were the schemes which the inventive
genius of New England suggested, at this early
day, to supply the place of warlike art. One man
produced the model of a flying bridge to scale the
walls. It was to be so light that twenty men could
carry it on their shoulders to the wall and raise it
Bei- in a minute. Four blocks and two hundred fath-
Knap,
p. 274. oms of rope were the apparatus for raising it, and
it was to be floored with boards wide enough for
eight men to march on it abreast. A covering of
raw hides was to guard it from the enemy's fire.
This bridge, it Was said, might be erected against
any part of the wall, even before a breach had
been effected, and it was "calculated" by the
inventor that a thousand men could pass over it in
four minutes. An ingenious clergyman, burning
perhaps with honest hatred of the Catholics, pre
sented to the general a plan for encamping the
army, opening trenches and placing batteries. He
also proposed a caution against subterranean
mines. This was, that "two confidential persons,
Bel. attended by a guard, should, during the night,
knap- approach the walls ; that one should, with a beetle,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 169
strike the ground, while the other should lay his ear chap
to it, and observe whether the sound was hollow, _„.
and that a mark should be set on all places sus
pected." Vaughan, when he first conceived the 1745.
design of taking Louisburg, had proposed to go
over the walls on the drifted snow.* Shirley's plan
was, that the whole fleet should make Chapeau-
rouge point just at the shutting in of day — from
thence to push into the bay undiscovered — the men
to be landed in the dark and before midnight — to
cut their way through the surf to the shore, then
through thicket and bog, three miles, to the city,
and some of them a mile beyond it, to the royal
battery — to pull down the pickets with grappling-
irons, and scale the fortification with ladders ; all
this in the space of twelve hours from their first
making the land, and nine hours from their de
barkation. Such a scheme could occur only to
one unskilled in navigation, unmindful of the tem
pestuous season, and unacquainted with the dan
gerous and inhospitable coast. It was concealed
from the troops and never attempted.
The forces proceeded from Canseau with pleas
ant weather and favoring winds. Finally, on the Apni
last day of April, at the dawn of morning, the
armament of New England, in a hundred vessels,
bearing only eighteen cannon and three mortars,
entered the bay of Chapeau-rouge, and came in
sight of Louisburg. They beheld the walls aimed
with an hundred and one cannon, seventy-six
swivels, and six mortars. Upwards of sixteen
hundred men composed the garrison. But so
* In that wintry region the depth of snow is immense, and the winds
sometimes raise it in drifts to the height of fifty or sixty feet.
22

170 HISTORY OF
chap, complete were the fortifications, and so decided
J^L were the advantages of locality, that three hun
dred men were considered sufficient to defend it
against five thousand besiegers. The New Eng
land troops were composed of mechanics, husband
men and lumberers. But though unskilled in
war, they were inured to danger. The mechanics
had been bred with arms in their hands. The
husbandmen had gone armed to their work in the
field ; and the lumberer knew, the hardships of a
winter encampment. Many of them were skilful
marksmen, and had trailed the Indians.
They had now come to the reduction of a regu
larly constructed fortress, which none of them, not
even their commander, had ever seen. But they
were resolute, and animated by an ardent patriot
ism, though they knew better how to confront,
than to measure the difficulties and dangers before
them. At the sight of Louisburg, they lowered
their boats and flew to the shore.
Although the plan of a surprisal had failed, by
the fleet failing to reach Chapeau-rouge point in the
evening, and the French had seen their white sails
on the bay, yet they could hardly believe the ex
tent of the design formed against the place. The
first detachments, who came down to oppose the
besiegers on the shore, were panic-struck, and fled
to the woods. The troops being landed, it was
now resolved to invest the city ; and Vaughan,
ever ready for the most daring adventure, volun
teered to conduct the first column through the
woods and lead on the attack. At the head of
four hundred men, chiefly from New Hampshire,
May'- at the dead of night, he marched by the city,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 171
saluting it with three cheers, and took post near chap
the northeast harbor. There he set fire to the  1
warehouses containing the naval stores. The 1745.
flames and smoke, which were driven by the wind
upon the French who had charge of the royal bat
tery, annoyed them to such a degree that they
abandoned it, and, having spiked their guns and
cut the halliards off the flag-staff, retired to the city.
The next morning Vaughan observed from the hill May 2.
which overlooked the battery, that the fires of the
barracks were out, and the staff without a flag.
For a trifling reward he induced an Indian to
enter at an embrasure and open the gate. Then
he wrote to the general these words: " May it
please your honor to be informed, that by the grace
of God and the courage of thirteen men I entered
the royal battery, about nine o'clock, and am
waiting for a reinforcement and a flag."
The city had now become alarmed, and a hun
dred men were despatched in boats to retake the
battery. But Vaughan, with his thirteen men,
resolutely confronted them on the beach, and, in
the face of a galling fire from the city and the
boats, kept them from landing till a reinforcement
arrived. The siege was now prosecuted with en
thusiastic ardor. For fourteen nights successively
the New Hampshire troops were employed in
dragging the cannon over boggy morasses ; and
when the wheels sunk in the mire, Meserve, a New
Hampshire colonel and a- ship carpenter, construc
ted sledges, on which the cannon were placed, and
the men, with straps on their shoulders, and sink
ing to their knees in mud, drew them safely over
from the landing place to the camp, within cannon-
shot ofthe enemy's walls.

172 HISTORY OF
chap. In the reduction of Louisburg, although courage
__Y_ and fortitude were often displayed, yet the move-
1745. ments ofthe assailants resembled the irregular and
crazy ardor of a mob, rather than the systematic
operations of an army. The whole siege was a
scene of confusion and tumult. The men laughed
at discipline ; and such were the irregularities
and want of system, that the soldiers themselves,
when they looked back upon the dangers they had
passed, regarded their preservation as scarcely
less than miraculous. Though the consultations
of the officers preserved all the formalities of a
council of war, though the orders of the general
were formally issued, and returns made at the
several posts, yet the camp was wholly without
discipline. While the front of the army presented a
formidable array to the enemy, the rear was a scene
of confusion and frolic. The men, when not on
duty in the trenches, were fishing, racing, wrest
ling, and running after shot from the enemy's guns.
For these they received a bounty, and then sent them
back to the enemy. Had the mutinous spirit of
the garrison been so far subdued that the officers
could have trusted the men to make a sortie, the
camp of the besiegers might have been surprised
and the whole army destroyed.
The garrison numbered at least six hundred
regular troops and a thousand Breton militia.
But this force was too feeble to admit of making
sallies. Hunting parties of the assailants were
ever on the watch to prevent surprise by land, and
the fleet of Admiral Warren, ever vigilant, guarded
the approaches by sea. Still, however, the siege
proceeded slowly. Four or five unsuccessful at-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 173
tempts had been made to take the island battery, chap
which commanded the entrance to the harbor. .__..Y
The troops were chagrined by the failure, and 1745.
the more it was talked of amongst them, the more
their pride and obstinacy revolted against aban
doning the undertaking. At length a party of
four hundred men volunteered, from the different
regiments, to go, under a chief of their own selec
tion, and attack the battery by night. But this May2c
attempt, like the others, was signally defeated.
Their approach was discovered ; — a murderous croft,
fire struck the boats before they could effect a 462.'
J f. Bei-
landing ; — only a part of the forces reached the kn*p.
shore — and these, after a severe contest of nearly
an hour, were glad to escape to the boats, leaving
behind sixty killed and one hundred and sixteen
taken prisoners.
After this failure, it was evident that the expe
dition must, be abandoned or the walls of the city
scaled ; for, notwithstanding the inefficiency of
the garrison, the French were daily making the
fortifications stronger, and no breach had as yet
been effected. It was now resolved in council of
war to make preparations for a general assault.
The naval officers agreed to sail into the harbor
and bombard the city, while the land forces were
to attempt to enter the fortress by storm. To
annoy the island battery, the Americans, under
command of Gridley, of Boston, erected a battery
on the Lighthouse Cliff; while, within two hun
dred yards of the city, trenches were thrown up,
and the guns of the royal battery began to play
upon the northwest gate of the city. Yet no breach
had been effected. The works were of immense

174 HISTORY OF
chap, strength, and able to resist a much greater force,
VTTT .
had Duchambon been acquainted with his duties.
But in the midst of these hostile demonstrations,
the garrison received intelligence that the Vigilant,
a French ship of sixty-four guns, laden with mili
tary stores for the garrison, had been decoyed into
the midst of the English fleet, and, after an en-
Juneis. gagement of some hours, had been taken, within
sight of Louisburg. When they heard ofthe loss
ie. of their supplies, the garrison became discouraged ;
the desponding and irresolute Duchambon sent
out a flag of truce ; terms of capitulation were
17. agreed upon; and, on the seventeenth of June, the
city, with the fort and all the batteries, were sur
rendered to the English. When they entered,
and beheld the extent and variety of the means of
defence, the stoutest hearts were appalled at the
vast strength of the place, and the utter impracti
cability of carrying it by assault. They shud
dered at the dangers they had passed, and thought
the taking of the city to be a special providence
of God! "
No sooner was the city taken, and the victorious
P.Bel- besiegers sheltered within its walls, than the
'aso1!' weather, which had been remarkably dry, changed,
and an incessant rain of ten days succeeded. Had
this happened during the siege, it would have been
fatal to many of the troops. They had no tents
thick enough to keep off the fogs, and slept upon
the earth in turf and brush houses. But the
weather was only in accordance with the general
D°us- good fortune. The ¦whole siege was a succession
336.' of lucky accidents on the part^of the English, and
of equally unlucky ones on the part ofthe French.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 175
"If any one circumstance," says Douglass, "had chap.
taken a wrong turn on our side, and if any one .  Y,
circumstance had not taken a wrong turn on the 1747-
French side, the expedition must have miscarried."
Soon after the surrender, the triumphant army
held a council of war within the walls, and it was
determined to maintain the place, and repair the
breaches. The French flag was still kept flying
upon the ramparts, and served to decoy many a
rich prize into the harbor. With the exception of
Quebec, Louisburg was the strongest fortress on
the continent. The fall of it, at such a time, could
not but. fill America with joy, and Europe with
astonishment. It was the greatest achievement of
the war. Pepperell and Warren each of them
received the title of a baronet ; the latter was pro
moted to the rank of admiral, and the former was
commissioned as a colonel in the British service.
Vaughan sailed for England, and urged his claims
to similar distinctions, which, after a year of delay,
were coldly rejected, shortly before his death.
Thus, while the successful commanders of the
expedition were distinguished by the honors of
knighthood, Vaughan, the originator of the enter
prise, and the most gallant spirit of the crusade,
remained more than a year in England, in the vain
expectation of receiving some token of recognition
from the sovereign, whom he had so signally Dun-
served, and finally died in an obscure street in the HiX.of
metropolis, a disappointed man. Warren claimed Voi.°i.,'
the victory to himself, and the English govern- Pwho '
ment awarded it to him. The ministry suppressed w"?sh?s
the facts which were urged upon them in support i_nl"
of Vaughan's claims. Warren entered the high merY

176 HISTORY OF
chap, court of Admiralty in England, and deposed on
._!2!__, oath that, with the assistance of his majesty's ships,
se^" ^e' t'ie deponent, " did subdue the whole island of
29- Cape Breton." But it is time to declare that not
Admiral Warren, nor yet Sir William Pepperell,
was the real hero of Louisburg ; but that what was
wanting in the good fortune of the besiegers and
the inefficiency of the garrison, was supplied by the
fiery valor of Vaughan, the cool intrepidity of Wol-
cot, and the hardy courage of Gridley, Meserve
and Fernald.
The active mind of Shirley had contemplated, not
merely the capture of Cape Breton, but the con
quest of all the French dominions on the western
hemisphere. Immediately after the fall of Lou
isburg, he repaired thither, and consulted with
Warren and Pepperell on the practicability of such
a design. From the captured city he wrote to the
British ministry, enforcing his solicitations by the
1746. brilliant success at Louisburg. In the follow-
Apnie. jng Sprjng ^he Duke of Newcastle wrote to all the
American governors, as far south as Virginia, call
ing upon them to form companies of one hundred
men each, and hold themselves in readiness fo
march. The plan was, that a squadron of ships of
war, and land forces from England, should be
joined by the New England forces, at Louisburg,
and proceed together up the river St. Lawrence,
The troops of New York, and the other provinces
at the southward, were to rendezvous at Albany,
and march against Crown Point and Montreal.
Besides the conquest of Canada, there were
other reasons for this expedition. The Indians, as
I shall hereafter relate, were at this time ravaging

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 177
the fields, and carrying the torch and the scalping- chap.
knife along the whole extent of the frontiers. Was ^_Y_
it not an inefficient, as well as a disgraceful mode
of warfare, to act entirely on the defensive, espe
cially after the success which had attended the arms
of the colonists at Louisburg ? Were scouts and 1744
garrisons sufficient to dispirit the enemy and secure
the frontiers from depredations ? Little argument
was needed. The design was popular, and the
colonies readily furnished their quotas.
The assembly of New Hampshire was immedi- Juae
ately convened, and voted* to enlist a thousand men.
They were also to keep in pay two armed vessels.
The same difficulty occurred about the emission
of bills of credit, as on occasion of the Louisburg
expedition — and was as easily remedied.! The
command of the troops was given to Colonel At
kinson ; and so promptly did the men enlist, that
at the beginning of July eight hundred were ready
for embarkation. Transports and provisions were
also prepared ; but neither orders, nor general,
nor fleet arrived from England. Seven times did
they leave Spithead, and seven times returned
again. Only two regiments ever reached Louis
burg. All summer long,-the men of the colonies
lingered in suspense, waiting for employment.
But the whole country is now thrown into con
sternation. France has planned the recovery of
Louisburg and the desolation of all the English
colonies. Report flies, that a large French fleet
and army have arrived at Nova Scotia, under com
mand of the Duke D'Anville. The troops des-
* Prov. Ree., Jour. Council and Assembly, 1742—1750. Jour. House,
1742—1747. t P- E-. J- C. and A., 1742—50. J. H., 1742—47. '
23

178 HISTORY OF
chap, fined for Canada are detained at home. The
J__^L. militia are collected to join them. Old forts on
the sea-coast are repaired — new ones are erected.
Another battery of sixteen guns, throwing thirty-
two and twenty-four pounds shot, is added to fort
William and Mary, at the entrance of Piscataqua
harbor ; another, of nine thirty -two pounders, is
placed at the point of Little Harbor. Military
guards are appointed, and for six weeks the people
are kept in a state of fear and anxiety. At length
some released prisoners bring the most affecting
accounts of distress on board the French fleet.
A pestilence has broken out amongst the men.
Eleven hundred were buried at Halifax, and hun
dreds more of the dead were buried in the deep
sea.
1746. The officers were divided in their councils, and
this, added to the disasters of continued storms and
shipwrecks, so dejected the commander-in-chief
that he put an end to his life by poison. The
second in command, in a fit of delirium, rushed
f. Bel- uPon nis sword and ended his life. By these mel-
pk2^'. ancn<>ly events the first plan was disconcerted.
They were next to attack Annapolis. But in
sailing from Chebuctoo, they were overtaken by a
violent, storm, off Cape Sable, and the ships which
escaped destruction returned singly to France.
Thus the French armada had been vanquished
without even the sight of an enemy.
When the alarm ofthe French fleet had passed,
Atkinson marched with his regiment, to cover the
lower part of the frontiers, and encamped on the
shores of Lake Winnipiseogee. Here they passed
an idle winter, with plenty of provisions, without

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 179
exercise, discipline, courts martial, or the punish- chap.
ment of offences. The men grew tired of the ser- J^__l
vice ; but not being permitted to engage in other
business, they were employed in scouting, hunting
and fishing. Some deserted. The ensuing sum
mer was passed in listless indolence. They re
posed in the expectation of peace, until autumn of
the next year, when, by direction of the Duke of
Newcastle, the provincial army was disbanded. It 1_*7-
appeared to many that England had not desired to
drive the French from Canada. It was even sus
pected that England, from motives of policy,
deemed it necessary to stimulate the love of the
colonies for the mother country, by keeping this
dangerous enemy on the frontier. It was sup
posed that the presence of the French was the only
force that could urge the colonies to submission.
They were forbidden to establish manufactures.
They were obliged to ship to England all the sil
ver and gold which they took from the earth.
They were not allowed any commerce of their
own* with foreign countries, except those under
the dominion of England. These, and similar
restrictions, cooled their ardor towards the father
land. Old England counted on long years of
colonial dependence ; but a Swedish traveller,!
even then, discovered in the rising colonies the
germ of freedom.
During the progress of the Cape Breton expe- 1746.
dition and the meditated attack upon Canada, the
frontiers were infested by the Indians. While the
colonial troops wore away the summer in idly
waiting for the armament from England, the In-
• N. H. Hist. Coll., I., 323. t Peter Kalm. Bancroft, HI., 464.

180 HISTORY OF
chap, dians were at leisure to infest the frontiers. This
J_J!L inactivity was fatal to many a settler. No longer
awed, but rather invited by the repose of an army
1745. able to fight, and prepared for the field, yet doing
nothing, the Indians took courage and commenced
a series of depredations. They first appeared at
Julys. Great-Meadow,* and next at the Upper Ashuelot,!
July 10. killing William Philips at the former place and
Josiah Fisher at the latter. They approached the
fort at Great-Meadow and carried captive the fa-
therj of a family. As they were leading him along
the river-side, they met his son, before whose eyes
the father was hurried away, and died in one of the
prisons of Quebec. Many were the heart-rending
incidents like this, which marked the war — chil
dren carried captive before the eyes of their pa
rents — husbands slain while defending their wives
— and brothers and sisters falling, while fighting
at each others' side.
1746. The next spring the enemy appeared at Number
Four,§ carried away three captives, cut out the
tongues of their cattle, and in April laid a plan to
surprise the fort at Upper Ashuelot. On the
April twenty-third of April, when night came on, a par-
-• ty of fifty silently approached and hid themselves
in a swamp. Here they lay concealed till morn
ing, intending to rush into the fort. But they
were discovered as day dawned, and the alarm was
given. One man, who bravely defended himself
against two Indians in close combat, one of whom
he stripped of his blanket and gun, was over-
1746. powered at last and fell. Another man and one
* Now Westmoreland. f Now Keene.
$ Penhallow. N. H. Hist. Coll., I. § Now Charlestown.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 181
woman were slain, and one man carried captive to chap.
Canada. At New Hopkinton* eight persons, five ^Y.
of them children, and one a woman, were carried A2^nI
captive ; one of the men and three of the children
were all that ever returned from captivity, and
these were sent with a flag of truce to Boston.
As usual, the enemy scattered themselves in small
parties. At Number Four, and Contoocook, and May 2.
the Lower and Upper Ashuelot, they fell upon the May 6.
inhabitants, and killed or carried them captive to
Canada. As the danger increased, Massachusetts
determined to send reinforcements of troops to
relieve the distressed towns ; and accordingly Cap- May!M
tain Paine, with a troop, came to Number Four.
Twenty of them fell into an ambush at the spot
where Mr. Putnam had been killed, and a skir
mish ensued, in which five men were killed on each
side, and one Englishman taken prisoner. This
engagement was succeeded, in less than a month,
by another at the same place. The Indians were
discovered in ambush by dogs, which gave the
alarm to the men, and enabled them to give the
first fire. After a sharp encounter the Indians
retreated to a swamp, carrying with them the dead,
and leaving on the ground a considerable booty of 1746.
blankets, hatchets, spears and guns. All business
was suspended, even the tillage of the fields.
Every place was full of danger. If the people k^'
wanted bread, they were obliged to go to the mills £;,fy9°;
with a guard. At Bridgman's fort, near fort J™e
Dummer, at Number Four, and at Winchester, 3
the inhabitants were fired upon, the houses burned, Aug 6
and the roads ambushed. * Now Hopkinton.

1Q2 HISTORY OF
chap. Such were the sufferings of the upper settle-
_UL ments. Nor did the lower towns escape. At Ro-
June27. chester the enemy fired upon five men, who were at
work in a field, expecting an attack, with their arms
near them. After the first fire they rushed upon the
men, before they could reload their guns. They
retreated to a small deserted house. The Indians
tore off the roof, and with their guns and toma
hawks despatched four of the men, and wounded
and took captive the other. Both Penacook and
Contoocook they attacked, killing some of the peo
ple, and carrying others into captivity. In the midst
of alarm and apprehension, slaughter and dread of
attack, the summer was passed, until August,
Aug.20. when a body of French and Indians attacked fort
Massachusetts, at Hoosuck. For want of ammu
nition it could not be defended, and fell into their
hands. This success seemed to satisfy the enemy,
and during that summer they made no other attack.
1746. Amid the ravages of this war, early in 1746, a
sale, by Mason's heir, of his whole claim on the
soil of New Hampshire, to a company of gentle
men in Portsmouth, terminated the tedious con
troversy between the people and the proprietor.
They prudently quit-claimed all the towns granted
previously by New Hampshire and Massachu
setts. This concession quieted the inhabitants,
and prevented any opposition to the titles to un-
granted lands which the purchase gave. They
were judicious in making grants, and took care
to promote the settlement of their lands. The
public mind gradually became reconciled to them,
and the public interests were identified with the
interest of the Masonian proprietors.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 183
In March of the next year, Capt. Phineas Ste- chap.
vens came with a company of thirty rangers and J_i_L
took possession of the fort at Number Four. Bel-
knap,
Scarcely had he entered, when he was attacked 292-
by a party of French and Indians. They had
come undiscovered, and lay in wait, watching a
favorable moment to begin the attack. But the
faithful dogs of .the garrison gave notice of their
concealment. Finding that they were discovered,
the Indians rose and commenced a fire from all
sides at the fort. They now determined to set
fire to the fences and log houses. The wind rose,
and the fort was surrounded with " the flames.
Stevens immediately ordered trenches to be dug
under the walls. Through these the men crept,
and extinguished the fires that caught outside the
walls. The flaming arrows, which the Indians
shot incessantly at the fort, took no effect ; and at
length, after two days of firing, accompanied with
hideous shouts and yells, finding no effect had
been produced, they prepared a wheel carriage
loaded with combustibles. This was to be pushed
before them against the walls, and then to be set
on fire. Before putting it in motion, they de
manded a cessation of arms, till tlje rising of the
sun. This was granted.
In the morning, Debeline, their commander,
came forward with fifty men and a flag of truce.
A French officer, with a soldier and an Indian, then 1747
advanced and proposed terms of capitulation — Apni 4.
which were, that the garrison should lay down
their arms and be conducted prisoners to Montreal.
It was agreed that the two commanders should
meet, and Stevens' answer should then be given.

184 HISTORY OF
chap. When they met, the Frenchman, without waiting
Jl!_i, for an answer, began to enforce his first proposal,
by threatening to storm the fort and put every man
to the sword. Stevens replied that he had been
entrusted with the defence of the- fort, and should
maintain it to the last. " Go then," replied the
Frenchman, "and see if your men dare to fight
any longer." Stevens returned and put to his men
the question, " Will you fight or surrender?"
With one voice they replied, "We will fight!"
This response was immediately made known to the
enemy, and both parties resumed their arms. On
the morning ofthe third day they requested another
cessation of two hours. Two Indians came up
with a flag, and proposed new conditions of sur
render. These were promptly refused. The
Indians again resumed their arms, fired a few
guns, and then sullenly retired.
Such was the defence ofthe rangers. No lives
were lost in the fort, and only two were wounded.
But the cool intrepidity pf the rangers entitled
them, in the estimation of their countrymen, to all
the applause of victory. The news of their success
was received in Boston with public demonstrations
of joy. Commodore Sir Charles Knowles, struck
with the gallantry of Stevens, presented him with
a sword ; and from this Number Four took the
name of Charlestown.
Through the summer and autumn, the Indians
continued their ravages, hovering about the settler
ments, and lying in ambush for the men at work
in the fields. At Rochester, at Penacook and
Winchester, at Hinsdale, Suncook and Notting-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 185
ham, they appeared, and again at Number Four chap.
in the winter. - J^il
The next year, depredations were committed at 1748.
Rochester, on West River, and between fort junJie!
Hinsdale and fort Dummer. The year 1749 was ^749.'
not entirely exempt from Indian hostilities. But
throughout this whole scene of devastation, the
Indians had forborne to exercise those arts of tor
ture and cruelty which in former years had re
doubled the horrors of captivity. Roasting their
prisoners by a slow fire, cutting out their tongues,
and maiming and disfiguring them, had all been
discontinued. Even the custom of making them
run the gauntlet had been omitted. The returning
captives exhibited in their appearance the good
treatment they had received, and bore unusual
testimony in favor ofthe humanity of their captors.
When feeble, they had been assisted to travel.
When sick, they had been allowed to halt. When 1749.
famine overtook them on the slow steps of their
dreary marches, the Indians had shared their pro
visions with them in equal proportion, even to the
last morsel which remained to the captors them
selves, in the most pinching scarcity.
By the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, peace had 1743.
been re-established between England and France.
This was quickly followed by a treaty with the
Indians, concluded at Portland. Cape Breton,
" won by Americans, was given up by England."*
Prisoners were restored without ransom. Con
quests made during the war were given up, and all
the warriors of the eastern tribes solemnly prom
ised to be at peace. Though not susceptible of
* Dunlap's Hist. New York, vol. I., p. 364.
24

186 HISTORY OF
chap, the finer feelings ,of humanity, and averse to the
_^__, more humane maxims of civilized warfare, yet,
while in the service of France, the blood-thirsty
savage had been forbidden to flay his prisoner
alive, and was often compelled to surrender the
victim whom he was preparing to bind for torture.
Thus ended, in 1749, another Indian war. The
promise of the natives not to resume the hatchet,
so often renewed and so frequently disregarded,
was kept but five years. But even that interval
seemed long to the class of military men, who had
grown up to a considerable number, by the neces
sities of the colony. The industry of peace was
burdensome, and to them this short interval seemed
long.
1749. The population of New Hampshire had doubled
within eighteen years, and now amounted to thirty
thousand. The tide of emigration rolled rapidly
northward ; and among those who were projecting
new settlements, many turned their eyes to the
rich lands on the west bank ofthe Connecticut, in
the present state of Vermont. It was not then
foreseen that on these lands there would rise, at
no distant day, a vigorous and powerful state.
These lands were claimed by New York ; and
she contended that her eastern boundary extended
to the Connecticut. It was true that she had
permitted the provinces of Massachusetts and Con
necticut to extend to a line drawn twenty miles
eastward of the Hudson. But this she viewed in
the light of a voluntary concession to those pro
vinces, which they had no right to claim ; and if
they had no right, neither had New Hampshire ;
so that nothing but a voluntary concession could

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 187
give New Hampshire a right to the lands west- chap.
ward, beyond the Connecticut ; and that, as no such ^___^L,
concession had been made, there was no reason
why the territory of New York should not extend
to the limit prescribed by the charter. On the other
hand, New Hampshire contended that "the king ^T
allowed her southern line to extend to the west, till
it met his majesty's other provinces ; and that
there was no reason for permitting Massachusetts
and Connecticut to pass westward to within twenty
miles of the Hudson, which did not apply with
equal force to the claims of New Hampshire."
The profits of granting lands were grateful to
the unbounded appetite of Wentworth for wealth
and splendor, and he accordingly made a practical
assertion of the claim of New Hampshire to the
Vermont lands by granting the township of Ben
nington. Other grants followed, at short intervals,
for three years ; until the French war, breaking
out, interrupted the progress of new settlements,
and drew the attention and resources of the colo
nies to the conquest of Canada and the expulsion
ofthe French.
The war? which closed in 1749, had absorbed all
other contests ; and internal dissensions had either
been checked or wholly silenced during its con
tinuance. There were, however, existing contro
versies between the governor and the people, which
only awaited the return of peace to break out with
new virulence and accumulated fury. The gov
ernor had resolved upon the maintenance of fort
Dummer ;* and to ensure a majority in the house in
favor of the measure, he had issued writs to towns
* N. H. Hist. Coll., I., 143—145.

188 HISTORY OF
chap, known to be friendly to the project, leaving other
___ towns of equal or greater population unrepre
sented. When the new members appeared, the
house refused them their seats ;* and, though
Wentworth had once yielded the point to the
house, when pressed by the exigencies of the
war, and the new members were excluded, yet
now, being supported by fresh instructions from
the king, and finding that a yielding policy did
not meet royal approbation, he resolved to con
test it with the house. This led to an open
rupture ; the house refused to recede, and the
governor was equally obstinate. Each side was
strongly supported by precedent. It appeared that
all additions to the house had been made by au
thority of their own. On the other hand, the right
of sending representatives was founded on the royal
commission and instructions. But the people were
already, at this early day, jealous of strengthening
the prerogatives of the crown. On the other
hand, the governor represented the king, and in
clined to abridge rather than enlarge the privileges
ofthe people. The governor and house contented
themselves for three years with writing violent mes
sages to each other, and meanwhile wholly neglect-
1749. ed the public business. The treasurer's accounts
were unsettled — the soldiers unpaid — the recorder's
office closed. Confusion and clamor were the con
sequence, and the voice of complaint came loudly
from the people. The neglected soldiers gained
sympathy everywhere when they told their tale of
service unrequited and hardships endured. ,
The opponents of the governor, eager to com-
* Prov. Ree, Jour. Council and Assembly, 1742—1750. J. H., 1747—1755.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 189
pass his removal and raise William Pepperell to chap.
his place, seeing his popularity severely shaken, at  _,
once transmitted a complaint against him to Eng
land. But so decided was the opposition which it
met from the English ministry, that it was not
presented to the king, and was never renewed.
A new assembly* was called in 1752. Mode- 1752.
ration prevailed — the new members were admitted
to their seats, by mutual concession. Meshack
Weare, whose rising popularity commended him
equally to the governor and the house, was elected
speaker. A liberal distribution of offices and
military commissions softened the resentment of
the governor's opponents, and the public business
once more claimed the attention of the assembly.
In the course of this controversy, the governor had
negatived the choice of Richard Waldron as
speaker of the house ; nor could the peremptory
and severe messages of Wentworth compel them to
choose a new speaker. These altercations between
two co-ordinate branches of a colonial govern
ment, aside from the disastrous consequences to
public business,! would be of little consequence
to the history of the state, were it not that the
governor represented the king ; and therefore the
determined resistance of the house was in fact but
the manifestation of a growing jealousy of the
royal prerogative — a growing desire for self-rule
— the germ of a republic — the dawning hope of
Liberty and Independence.
The war being over, the scattered settlers
returned to their homes. Some came bringing
• Pror. Ree., Jour. Council and Assembly, 1750—1765. J. H., 1747—1755.
t P. R.; J. H., 1747—1755. C. and A., 1750—1765.

190 HISTORY OF
chap, accessions to their numbers — others with increased
Z^L families ; and so the wilderness began to bloom
once more. It was feared that the French were
about to encroach upon the rich meadows of,
Haverhill and Newbury, and a few persons re
solved to plant a settlement as a barrier against
1752. them. In pursuance of this resolution, a party
passed northward in the spring, to view the inter
vals and lay out the proposed townships. The
tribes of the St. Francis observed them with jeal
ousy, and suspected their design. An embassy,
composed of warriors, soon appeared at Number
Four, with a flag of truce, and complained of the
encroachment. They averred that they had not
heard of the late treaty, reproached the English
for craving more land than they could cultivate,
and threatened hostilities. The warlike remains
ofthe tribes once planted in New Hampshire were
united to the Aresaguntacooks,* and the fugitives
from western Maine had planted revenge and re
sentment in the bosoms of the Canada warriors.
Besides, they knew the value of their lands, they
felt themselves the rightful lords of the soil, and
they still clung, with the pride of Indians, to the
hunting-grounds of their fathers. Captain Stevens
gave them little satisfaction. With their jealousy
aroused, and the remembrance of ancient injuries
rankling in their breasts, they crossed the moun
tains and pursued their way eastward into the
present township of Rumney. Four hunters, in
quest of game, had wandered northward along the
course of Baker's river, and were met by the war
riors of the St. Francis. Immediately, on per-
* Another name for the St. Francis Indians.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 191
ceiving the hunters, they rushed upon them with chap.
their tomahawks. One escaped* by flight — one J^ii,
was killed — and the remaining two taken prisoners.
The Indians, returning, proceeded up the Con
necticut, and down Lake Memphremagog, to the
head-quarters of their tribe. When they arrived at
St. Francis, the captives perceived, from the signs
and motions of the captors, that they were to run
the gauntlet, according to savage custom. This
consists in passing through two parallel files of
warriors, each of whom is privileged to give the
prisoners a blow. The elder of the prisoners
passed through first, and suffered little less than
death. The younger and remaining one was a lad
of sixteen years. When his turn came, he marched
forward with a bold air, snatched a club from the Me_
nearest Indian, and attacked the warriors as he 0fG™.
advanced along the lines, dealing the blows right p.'"^".
and left with a merciless and almost deadly force.
Nothing in the conduct of a prisoner so charms
the savage mind as a haughty demeanor and con
tempt of death. The old men were amused and
delighted, the young warriors were struck with
admiration, at the gallant bearing of the youthful
captive. They next ordered him to hoe corn.
He cut it up by the roots, declaring that such
work was fit for squaws, but unworthy of warriors.
From that moment he became their favorite. They
adopted him as a son, and gave him the title of
Young Chief. They dressed him in the highest
style of Indian splendor, and decorated him with
wampum and silver. It was not long after, that
Captain Stevens was despatched on an embassy to
• A brother of the youngest of the prisoners.

192 HISTORY OF
chap. Canada, to redeem the English captives. The
_^_„ first one offered him was their favorite Young
Chief. Captain Stevens received him at their
hands with delight. But no one of the rude
warriors recognised, in the young chief of their
adoption, the future American general, John
Stark. Another event soon occurred, which furnished
aliment to the already sharpened resentment of this
hostile tribe. Two of their warriors, Sabatis and
1753. piausawa, came to Contoocook, and lodged at the
house of a man who killed them the next day. By
the road-side, on the bank of the Merrimac river,
Bowen, the murderer, on the morning after these
two Indians had lodged at his house, plunged a
tomahawk into the head of Sabatis, and, drawing
it oiit, went back to meet Piausawa, who, seeing
Fknael *^e ^e °^ ^*s comPani°n5 pointed his gun at Bow-
P. 307, en's breast ; but it flashed. Piausawa now fell
note. '
on his knees and begged for his life. He pleaded
his innocence, and his former friendship for the
English ; but in vain. Bowen buried in his skull
the tomahawk still reeking with the blood of
Sabatis, and hid them both under p. bridge. Their
bodies were dragged forth by the wild beasts of
the woods, and the bones scattered on the ground.
By the treaty of peace it had been stipulated
that each party should punish its own offenders.
The murderer of Sabatis and Piausawa was appre
hended and brought to Portsmouth. But on the
night preceding the day for his trial, an armed
mob, with axes and crow-bars, entered the pri
son and bore him off in triumph. Rewards for
his discovery were of no avail. Public opinion

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 193
pronounced the rescue meritorious. The murders chap.
committed by the Indians were remembered — the J_i_L
treaty was forgotten. Thus the plighted faith of
the treaty was broken. But what could the feeble
tribes of the St. Francis do? They received a
handsome present, and made answer, that " the
blood was wiped away" — then ratified the treaty
of 1749. But the desire for revenge grew from
reflection ; and afterwards, when a conference was
held with several tribes at Portland, the St. Fran
cis refused to be present, and sent a message pur
porting that the blood was not wiped away.
By the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the island of
Cape Breton was restored to France, and all
things were placed "on the footing they were
before the war." But the limits of the French
and English territories on the continent were still
undetermined. The avarice and ambition of two
mighty nations were still left to make the colonial
territories the theatre of a war for conquest — the
game of kings. Both parties agreed to submit theii
pretensions to a board of commissioners, mutually
chosen. The commissioners met at Paris, but
determined nothing. France resolved to connect
her distant settlements of Canada and Louisiana.
These 'colonies, so widely separated, could be
joined by a chain of forts stretching from the St.
Lawrence to the Mississippi. To command navi
gation in the winter, it was also necessary to
extend the limits of Canada eastward, far south of
the great river St. Lawrence. These claims of
territory encroached upon the English colonies of
Nova Scotia, New York, and Virginia. When it
was foreseen that no arbiter but the sword could
25

194 HISTORY OF
chap, decide the controversy, the Earl of Holderness,
IHL. secretary of state, recommended to the colonies
a union. The first object was their mutual pro
tection and defence — the ' second, extending the
British settlements in North America. Dele
gates * of the several colonies accordingly met in
1754. general congress, at Albany ; and on the fourth
day of July, twenty-two years before the decla
ration of American independence, a plan of union
was agreed to. It provided for a general govern
ment, consisting of a grand council of delegates
from the several colonial legislatures, subject to
knap', the control of a president-general, to be appointed
by the crown, with a negative voice. -The dele
gates of Connecticut immediately entered their
dissent to the plan, on account of the negative
voice of the president-general. It was viewed in
America with disapprobation, and rejected, be
cause it gave too much power to the king ; and
with distrust in England, because it left too much
power with the colonies.
At the first alarm of expected hostilities, the
Indian tribes in the French interest resumed the
hatchet, and fell upon the frontier settlements of
New Hampshire. Though careful to preserve the
lives of their prisoners, now made valuable on
1754. account of the high price paid for them in Mont
real, yet, in the heat of actual contest, they still
slaughtered women! without pity.
1755. The campaign of 1755 opened, on the part of
the English, by three expeditions destined to attack
# Province Records, Journal House, 1747 — 1755. Council and Assembly,
1750—1765. t Penhallow— N. H. Hist. Coll., I., 13—132.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 195
the French forts ; one against fort Du Quesne, chap.
• VTTT
on the Ohio, led by General Braddock — another 
against Niagara, by Governor Shirley — and a third
against Crown Point, by General Johnson. For
this expedition New Hampshire raised five hun
dred men ; and Colonel Blanchard, of Dunstable,
distinguished as a land surveyor, was appointed to
the command. Johnson reached the shores of lake
George, and encamped, posting the New Hamp
shire regiment at fort Edward. Early in Septem
ber, on the eighth, Johnson was attacked in his sept. 8.
camp, by the Baron Dieskau, at the head of a
formidable body of French Canadians and Indians.
On the morning of that day a scouting party from
fort Edward discovered some wagons burning in Bjj-
the road. Col. Blanchard immediately detached p- ™-
Captain Nathaniel Folsom with eighty ofthe New
Hampshire regiment, and forty of the New York,
under Captain M'Gennis. They came to the
place, and found the wagoners dead, but no enemy
was there. Hearing the report of guns in the
direction of the lake, they directed their march
thither, and when within two miles of the shore,
they came upon the baggage of the French army,
under a guard. They attacked and dispersed the
guard, but had scarcely seized the booty, when
the army of Dieskau came in sight, retreating.
Folsom posted his men behind trees, and com
menced a galling fire. The enemy retired with
great loss, and Folsom returned to his camp. In
this well-timed engagement, but six men were lost
on the side of the English, and all the ammunition
and baggage of the French fell into their hands.
After this, the New Hampshire regiment joined the

196 HISTORY OF
chap, army, and were employed as scouts. After this
_ISL. battle, when it became necessary to reinforce the
army, another regiment was raised in New Hamp
shire, commanded by Colonel Peter Gilman ; and
they also acted as scouts. Alert, indefatigable,
accustomed to savage warfare, inured to danger
and fatigue, acquainted with the enemy's hiding-
places, they continued to render essential services
till the army was disbanded and returned home,
late in autumn.
These three expeditions against the French all
signally failed. Braddock was overwhelmed with
defeat, and slain on the banks of the Monongahela.
Washington, calm and collected amidst the con
sternation and uproar of this dreadful rout, rallied
the faithful " Virginia Blues,"* when the English
gave way, led them on to the charge, killed num
bers ofthe enemy, who were rushing on with tom
ahawks, checked their pursuit, and brought off the
Davies' shattered remains of the British army. " Provi-
°ra011 dence," it was said, even at that early day, —
dock'* " Providence has preserved that heroic youth for
defeat. . , . ,,
some great service to his country.
Shirley accomplished nothing ; and the expedi
tion of Johnson against Crown Point served only
to provoke the fury of the Indians against the fron
tiers of New Hampshire, now wholly exposed and
unprotected. The tribes of the St. Francis, not
yet revenged, having established an easy commu
nication between the Connecticut valley and the
head-quarters of their nation, made frequent incur
sions eastward, up the Ashuelot, and into Walpole,
1756. Hinsdale, and Number Four. The next year,
* Trumbull's Indian Wars, p. 120.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 197
Shirley, who rose to the post of commander-in- chap.
chief, on the death of Braddock, planned another  _.
expedition against Crown Point. New Hampshire,
that never failed in her quota of men, sent a regi
ment into the field, led by Colonel Meserve. But,
in the midst of the campaign, Shirley was super
seded by the Earl of Loudon. From that moment
the war languished. The summer passed in fruit
less marches and labor. The French besieged
and took the English fort at Oswego, and sent the
regiments of Shirley and Pepperell prisoners to
France. Then were formed from the New Hampshire
troops, by the express desire of Lord Loudon,
those famous companies of Rangers, who proved to
be the most terrible band of partisan warriors in
America. They were commanded by Rogers, and
by the two brothers, John and William Stark.
They were accustomed to the signs of the forest,
and could read the slightest indications of ap
proaching danger. To scour the woods ; to pro
cure intelligence; to skirmish with detached parties
of the enemy ; to hang on the wings of a retiring
army and harass them ; to issue suddenly from
their lurking-places, fall upon foraging parties, and
retreat into inaccessible places — these were some
of the duties of the rangers. On the most diffi
cult, hazardous and dangerous enterprises they
were sent. When it became necessary for Gen
eral Amherst to send orders from Albany to Gen
eral Murray, at Quebec, Rogers was commanded
to select four of his rangers, " who could be re
lied upon, and were used to scouting in an enemy's
wilderness," to carry the orders. They were all,

198 HISTORY OF ,
chap, to a man, fit for the crisis, and there was no diffi-
„_Y culty in finding the four men. Shute, and three
others, were commissioned, and undertook the per
ilous enterprise. They were landed at Missisqui
Bay, and directed their course to the river St.
Francis, by a route previously known to them.
This river, after some days and nights of suffering,
they crossed on rafts ; but not without losing two
Jap^" of the party, who were carried, over the rapids.
voi.T.,' The remaining two pursued their route, procured
Pno4te4' supplies by robbing the French planters on the
way, until they reached an English encampmenj
on the banks of the St. Lawrence. Here they
were received as friends, and forwarded to Quebec,
where they arrived in a few days, and delivered
their despatches to General Amherst.
1757. For the reduction of the strong fortress of
Crown Point another expedition was planned by
Lord Loudon, the next year. Another regiment
was raised in New Hampshire, commanded by
Colonel- Meserve ; who, with three companies of
rangers and a body of one hundred carpenters,
marched to Halifax, while the remainder of his
regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel Goffe, was
posted at fort William Henry, under the command
of Colonel Munroe, of the thirty-fifth British regi-
Aug. 3. ment. On the third of August, the Marquis de
Montcalm, at the head of a strong force of Cana
dians and Indians, invested that fort. For five
days the garrison withstood the siege ; but on the
sixth, finding their ammunition exhausted, they
capitulated. They were allowed the honors of
war, and were to be escorted by the French troops
to fort Edward, on the shores of lake George.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 199
Accordingly, on the morning after the surrender, chap.
the signal of departure was given, and the garrison, J_^L
to the number of three thousand, marched out of Aug'9-
the fort. The New Hampshire regiment, happen
ing to be in the rear, was the last to depart. The
Indians of the French army were enraged at the
terms of surrender, as they afforded to them no
opportunity for plunder. As the T^'alish issued
from the fort they were observed^ ? ? **wer near,
with evident signs of discontey a ^^ of them
mingling from time to time aPloverf -"j conquered
columns. The French soldi-.*, placed at a re
spectful distance to the right, offered no insult to
the vanquished. As the English army proceeded
slowly across the plain, accumulated numbers of
the Indians pressed into their lines and began to
plunder. While no opposition was made, they
proceeded quietly in the work. But as soon as
resistance was offered, the fatal war-whoop was
sounded, and the Indians rushed with fiendlike
fury upon the defenceless troops. They butchered
and scalped their victims, mingling their triumph
ant yells with the . groans of the dying, whom
they were permitted to murder without restraint.
Although it had been expressly stipulated that the
prisoners should be protected from the savages by
a guard, and the sick and wounded treated with
humanity, yet no guard was provided. Monroe
rushed through the French ranks to Montcalm, at
the risk of his life, and implored him to fulfil this
stipulation for a guard. All his entreaties were
ineffectual. The French were passive spectators
of the work of death, and no movement was made
for protection, although they were near enough to

200 HISTORY OF
chap, hear the shrieks of the wounded and to see the
J^L sick shrinking from the uplifted tomahawk. The
1757. blood-thirsty savages seemed to be heated and
maddened beyond their usual ferocity. Out of the
New Hampshire regiment alone eighty were killed
or taken ; and hundreds more were left dead upon
the shores of "The Holy Lake" — their bodies
unburied an/wangled with all the wantonness of
Indian ba^<' VY History may well be in some
doubt wI&timnS ty;'o assign to Montcalm — wheth
er to rank n_.-_° - those at once brave and hu
mane, or with those whose deeds of cruelty and
blood tarnish the lustre of victory.
Thus closed the third campaign in America. It
had been a series of disasters, originating in mis
management and folly. The people of England
were indignant, and demanded a new ministry, at
the head of whom was placed the celebrated Wil
liam Pitt, who rose from the post of ensign in the
guards to control the destinies of England. In
nothing was his genius more conspicuous than in
his selection of men to fill important stations. He
immediately presented to his majesty " a long and
melancholy list of lieutenant-generals and, major-
generals" to be removed; and he promoted to im
portant posts of command a crowd of meritorious
young officers, among whom were Amherst, Wolfe,
Monckfon,* Murray and Townsend. A new vigor
was immediately apparent, and the English fleets
and armies seemed once more inspired with their
ancient love of glory. A powerful force took
1758. Louisburg from the French, with its garrison of
five thousand men, and one hundred and twenty
* Horatio Gates, afterwards the conqueror of Burgoyne, was aid to Monckton.

Whi ton,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 201
pieces of cannon. But among the slain was chap. VIII
Col. Meserve, of Portsmouth, a gallant officer, and ^^L,
lamented throughout the province. Gen. Forbes
gained possession of fort Du Quesne, and General
Abercrombie advanced at the head of a third army,
which included eight hundred New Hampshire
men, to attack the strong fortress of Ticonderoga.
He passed down the lake in a fleet of a thousand
boats. After landing, Rogers' rangers were not
long in engaging the enemy in a skirmish. The p103
next day the whole army moved to attack the
French lines. But a murderous fire of artillery
and small arms compelled them to retreat, after
four hours of desperate fighting, with the loss of
two thousand killed and wounded. The English
lamented the loss of Lord Howe among the killed;
and the whole country was clad in mourning for
so many sons slain. Notwithstanding the bloody
defeat at Ticonderoga, the British government
determined to act with decision ; and the minister,
Pitt, marked out a plan for the next campaign, Hales
indicative of the energy and boldness of his genius, u. s.,
Three armies were to be led simultaneously p-zY.'
against the three strongest posts of the French in
America — Niagara, Ticonderoga, and Quebec.
Wolfe, though young, yet already considered a
hero, with a fleet and eight thousand soldiers, was
to ascend, the St. Lawrence and attack Quebec.
Amherst, with twelve thousand men, was to take
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and having sub
dued the fortresses of lake Champlain, he was to Dtm.
enter the St. Lawrence by the Sorel and form a HttoV
junction with the army below, under Wolfe. A 0yo*kW
third force, principally provincials, under General £,i3/T.'
26

202 HISTORY OF
chap. Prideaux, accompanied by the warlike Iroquois,
Ji-L was to take fort Niagara, descend the St. Law
rence, and make themselves masters of Montreal.
Whether this plan was well designed* to distract
the enemy and accomplish the great object of con
quest, or depended for success upon the fortune of
Wolfe, against probabilities, it is difficult to con
jecture. After a short siege, Niagara surrendered to
General Prideaux. In the army of General Am
herst were a thousand men of New Hampshire,
led by a brother of the lamented Captain Love
well. On the approach of Amherst, late in July,
Ticonderoga was immediately abandoned by the
French. Amherst pressed forward to take Crown
Point, which he found deserted, and immediately
pursued the retiring French to Isle aux Noix.
After a series of efforts against the storms of lake
Champlain, he became convinced that it was im
possible to take this place, and led back his army
to Crown Point. The expedition against Quebec
was more daring than the others, and its success
1759. more splendid. The danger of the enterprise
seemed to elevate the British soldiers to a level
with the difficulties to be encountered ; and the
battle which sealed the fate of the two gallant com
manders, Wolfe and Montcalm, gave success to
England, but equal glory to the French arms.
The city of Quebec, the strong capital of Canada,
the Gibraltar of America, and hitherto deemed an
impregnable fortress, fell before the daring young
generals whom Pitt promoted over their imbecile
predecessors ; but both of the contending armies
had much to regret, since the one mourned for
Wolfe, the other for Montcalm.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 203

The French being conquered, leiflfe was given chap.
to chastise the Indians of the St. Francis. During .^m_,
the war, while the fighting men had been absent 1759-
against the French, these Indians seized the op
portunity for devastation, and murdered without
restraint. But the dreaded rangers were now at
liberty. Two hundred of these trained warriors,
armed with tomahawks and knives, besides their
usual equipments, led by Major Rogers, left
Crown Point in September, and directed their Sept.
course to St. Francis. After a fatiguing march
of twenty-one days through the wilderness, they
came within sight of the village of St. Francis, and
viewed it at the distance of three miles. Major ""
Rogers halted with his men, and in the evening
entered the village in disguise, accompanied by
two officers. He found the Indians engaged in
a grand dance. Late in the night, as they all
fell asleep, Rogers returned to his men, formed
them into parties, which he posted to advantage,
and, just before day, marched to a general assault.
The Indians were completely surprised. They
were wakened from sleep to meet the same wea
pons which they had so often plunged into the
bosoms of unoffending women and children of the
frontiers. Some were killed -in their houses, and
those who attempted to flee were tomahawked by
parties who had been stationed to guard all the
paths that led to the village.
The dawn of day disclosed to the victorious as- 1759.
sailants the sight of several hundred scalps of their
countrymen, which the Indians had brought home
and elevated upon poles. They found the village
filled with the plunder of the frontiers, and enriched

204 HISTORY OF
chap, by the sale of captives. The houses of the French,
Z-!L who had mingled with the Indians, were well fur-
ifnap, nished — the church adorned with plate. The
p' 320' rangers loaded themselves with pillage, and, hav
ing set fire to the village, directed their retreat
up the river St. Francis, intending to rendezvous
at the upper Coos. Only one had been killed and
six wounded in the attack ; but their retreat was
^hiosn' attended with distressing reverses. They directed
their march, passing on the eastern side of Lake
Memphremagog, towards the mouth of the Am-
monoosuck. They had not. proceeded far, before
their provisions were entirely exhausted. Their
situation was such as might daunt the stoutest
hearts. They were in the midst of a trackless
wilderness, many miles from any human habita
tion, with a blood-thirsty, savage foe pressing upon
their rear. That they might procure subsistence
with less difficulty, by hunting, they separated into
small parties. Two of these parties were soon
overtaken by the Indians and slain, ^>r made pris
oners. The commander, with the main body,
famished and march-worn, finally arrived at the
mouth of the Ammonoosuck, where they expected
to find an abundant supply of provisions. But
whiton, they were cruelly disappointed. The party en-
p' 5' trusted with the provisions had departed but a few
hours before they arrived, leaving their fires still
burning. Guns were fired to recall them, which
1759. they distinctly heard ; but supposing them to be
fired by an enemy, they kept on their march down
the river. The rangers were now reduced to the
last extreme of suffering. They were entirely
destitute of provisions, and seventy miles from

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 205
Number Four,* the nearest place of relief, chap.
' VTTT
Ground-nuts and beech-nuts were the only provi-  _.
sions of the forest. To such extremities were they ^oT.'
reduced, that they boiled their powder-horns and
all their leathern accoutrements, that they mig'ht
taste something ever so slightly tinctured with ani
mal matter. As a last expedient, Rogers, with
two others, by the slow process of burning down whiton,
trees, constructed a raft, with which they floated
down Connecticut river to Charlestown, and de
spatched canoes up the river, laden with provisions.
But ere they could reach the starving rangers, fifty
had fallen by the hands of the enemy, or perished in
the woods, of hunger, exhaustion and despair. One
man! left the main body to seek out his father's
house on the banks of the Merrimac, by a nearer
route. The hunters afterwards found his skeleton
in the wilderness ofthe White Mountains.
Early in the ensuing spring, the French, having 1760.
concentrated their remaining forces at Montreal, * i.°p.'
made attempts to regain possession of Quebec.
Unsuccessful in these, they retired to Montreal. But
this year witnessed the completion of the conquest
of Canada. Three British armies, penetrating
the wilderness by different routes, arrived almost
simultaneously at Montreal. Eight hundred troops,
under Colonel Goffe, marched from NeAv Hamp
shire, and formed part of the forces concentrated
round Montreal. The French found it impossible
to resist the newly-awakened energy of the British
ministry and their armies. Montreal surrendered,
and the other French posts, in rapid succession, fell
into the power of the English. The tragic scenes
* Charlestown. t BenJ- Bradley, of Concord.

218.

206 HISTORY OF
chap, of Indian warfare ended with the reduction of
 _. Canada, and the terrific war-whoop of the savage,
which had been heard for so many years, ceased
to resound through the forests and the settlements.
The Indians passed under the dominion of Britain.
Her brave armies had encircled her name with
glory, and added extensive territories to her domin
ions. But, in doing this, three hundred and twenty
?*£' millions of dollars had been added to the national-
1763. debt, already overwhelming. A definitive treaty of
peace, signed at Paris in 1763, closed this long and
tremendous struggle. France had lost all her
North American colonies. For this splendid suc
cess, England was indebted to the energy of the
government, the blood and treasure of her own
people, and the powerful aid of the American
colonists. Some of her bravest officers had fallen.
From the time of the conquest of Canada may
be dated the more rapid progress of New Hamp
shire in wealth, and a greater increase of population.
While exposed to continual danger from the savage
tribes ofthe St. Francis, the growth ofthe settle
ments had been stinted and circumscribed.
During the war, other affairs of the colony had
been overlooked in the absorbing pursuit of arms.
Yet the colony had advanced in morals and intelli
gence. A printing-press, the first in New Eng
land, had been established in Portsmouth, and the
New Hampshire Gazette* had been issued in the
October following. The conquest of Canada was
the signal for the speedy downfall of the Indians.
* The Portsmouth Journal, at Portsmouth, was established iri 1789 ; the
Keene Sentinel in March, 1799, and the Farmer's Cabinet, at Amherst, Nov.
11,1802.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. * 207
Neither the degenerate Iroquois, who had fought chap.
as allies of Britain in the conquest of Canada, nor  Y-
the western savages, who had followed the fortunes
of France, saw that peace would be fatal to them.
Yet this was inevitable. When the white men
ceased from the work of destroying ea)ch other,
they would naturally turn to exterminating the red
race, who now sought, fortunately too late, for the
means of staying the irresistible progress of a
superior people. Scarcely had the red warriors
raised a shout of barbarous triumph, when they
were called upon to resist the aggression or those 1760.
for whom they had bled in the recent wars. It
would have been the same in the event of French
conquest. Contention between two rival nations,
claiming the soil of Canada, put a stop to that colo
nization which drove the red men away ; but the
strife being ended, the victorious party, who had
dispossessed its rival, would turn to the only re
maining obstacle, and pursue with a double zeal
the work of exterminating the native inhabitants of
the wilderness. The Indians awoke suddenly to a
perception of the danger impending, and formed,
with astonishing rapidity, a combination for exter
minating the whites. There was a simultaneous
rush of the Indians frpm all quarters' upon the out
posts, which in some instances were carried; but
hostilities were finally terminated by compelling
the Indian to submit to the power of the white
man. While the wars continued with the French and
Indians, numerous bodies of troops passed and
repassed through the green and fertile country
now ''"own as the state of Vermont. The soldiers

208 HISTORY OF
¦hap. perceived the fertility of the soil, and immediately
 L, upon the cessation of hostilities a great crowd of
adventurers and speculators made application for
these lands. Applications increased, and the sur
veys were extended so rapidly, that, during the
1761. year 1761, not less than sixty townships were
granted on the west, and eighteen on the east side
of the river. The governor's coffers were filled by
1763. the fees ; and scarcely had two years more elapsed
before the number of townships on the west side
of the river amounted to one hundred and thirty-
eight. A stream of emigration poured northward
from Charlestown to Lancaster and Northumber
land ; and settlements were soon extended to Clare-
win- mont and Plainfield, Lebanon, Hanover, Lyme,
ton, p. ' ' ' J '
ioo. Orford, Newport, Lempster, Alstead, and Mar-
low. At the same time new settlements stretched
along the Merrimac, and up the Pemigewasset,
over the western parts of Hillsborough and Mer
rimac counties, the eastern sections of Cheshire
and Sullivan, and the northern part of Strafford.
The passion for occupying new lands seemed
hardly exceeded by the passion for granting them.
The soldiers, to whom they had been promised as
a reward for their meritorious services in conquer
ing the country from France, were forgotten in
the hasty covetousness of an avaricious governor.
Wentworth retained five hundred acres of land in
each town to himself. The grants on the western
side of the Connecticut alarmed the government
of New York, who claimed the soil, under the grant
of King Charles to the Duke of York, as far east^
ward as Connecticut river. The emoluments of
granting lands were coveted by the governor of

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 209
New Yorkv The grasping selfishrtess of these chap.
two royal governors produced a disaffection, which X-111!
portended civil war, and would soon have led to it, ypinlip;
if the stamp act had not absorbed every other con- fr-Bei.
sideration, and called the " Sons of Liberty" to k3n2a5?'
consider the general defence and welfare, rather
than conflicting rights founded upon royal grants.
On the application of New York, an order was
passed by the king in council, declaring ." the
western banks of Connecticut river, from where it 1764
enters the province of Massachusetts Bay, as far July 20,
north as the forty -fifth degree of latitude, to be the
boundary line between the two provinces of New
Hampshire and New York." The settlers now
found themselves involved in a controversy with
the government of New York. The grantees of
the lands understood the words to be in the future
tense, (their obvious meaning,) and consequently
believed that their grants, derived from the crown
through one of its governors, were valid. The
government of New York referred these words
to the time past, and construed them as a declara
tion that the banks of the Connecticut always
had been the eastern limit of New York ; con-
sequently, that the grants made by New Hampshire kn'ap.p-
were invalid, and might be granted again. These
opposite opinions proved a cause of litigation,
enmity, and frequently of open fight, which lasted
for ten years. It was but natural that the settlers,
threatened by New York with having their lands
wrested from them, should think of independence
and self-protection. Such the sequel will prove.
They were at this time a hardy and intrepid, but
uncultivated race of men. Without the advan-
27

210 HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap, tages of education, destitute of the conveniences
J__!L and elegancies of life, with nothing to soften their
items' manners, and strongly provoked by injustice, rash
er-** ness, excess and violence naturally marked their
"ins. proceedings. An equal extreme of ferocity, though
graced with the name of law, marked the doings of
the New York government, when they proceeded to
brand the Vermonters as felons, traitors, and rebels,
and offered rewards for their discovery and appre
hension. Posterity will easily decide which was
most blamable, the greedy governor of New York,
who gave a forced construction to plain words, in
order to make laws to dispossess honest settlers,
or the settlers, who, when pursued and hunted as
criminals for acting in open and avowed opposition
to the wrong with which they were threatened,
Hjst. of declared, "We will kill and destroy any person
"""j1. or persons whomsoever that shall presume to be
Da_26' accessolT' aiding or assisting in taking any of us."
Both parties remained in this state of exasperation
until the drama of the Revolution opened at Lex
ington, and the attention of all orders of men was
immediately engaged,^nd all local and provincial
contests absorbed, by tne novelty, the grandeur and
importance of the contest between Britain and
America.

CHAPTER IX

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
Aoministratiow of Pitt — Taxation — Stamp act — Duties — Debates in Parlia
ment — Excitement occasioned by the stamp act— Stamp distributor at
Portsmouth compelled to resign — Riots in other colonies — Threatened
destruction of tea at Portsmouth — Removal of Gov. Wentworth, and ap
pointment of John Wentworth — Assault upon fort William and Mary,
led by Langdon and Sullivan — Ammunition and cannon removed by the
provincials — Battle of Concord and Lexington — A convention called at
Exeter — Governor Wentworth recommends reconciliation — Royal gov
ernment dissolved in New Hampshire — Boston besieged by the provin
cials — Battle of Bunker's Hill — Death of Warren and McClary — Whigs
and tories — Formation of a state government in New Hampshire —
Adoption of a constitution — Meshech Ware, president — New Hampshire
fits out a ship of war— Land forces — Expedition to Canada — Sulljvan
meets the army retreating — New Hampshire resolves on a declaration of
independence — Public sentiment — Burgoyne advances into Vermont —
Battles of Bennington and Stillwater — General Sullivan's expedition to
Rhode Island — Surrender of Cornwallis — Great Britain acknowledges
the independence of the United Colonies — Washington retires to Mount
Vernon. The administration of William Pitt shed an chap. IX
undying glory upon the name of England. In  1_
every quarter of the world the British flag was
triumphant. Nor was it the least of those splen
did events, which gave eclat to the administration
of Pitt, that the French had been defeated and
driven from their possessions in America. All the
colonies had passed under the dominion of Great
Britain. Such was the success and the glory of
England, under the guidance of Pitt. Rising
from an island in the midst of the sea, she had

212 HISTORY OF
chap, 'grown to a nation able to threaten the repose and
 L_ liberty of Europe. Space seemed to set no limits
to her ambition. Resting upon her American
colonies in the West, and her East India posses
sions in the East, she seemed to touch the extremi
ties of the globe, and to grasp at universal domin
ion. By the treaty of Paris, of 1763, she became
mistress of the vast continent of North America,
from the banks of the Mississippi to the shores of
Greenland. She also gained many islands in the
West Indies. In the East her empire was greatly
extended ; and so vast was her power, and so solid
the foundations on which it rested, that her com
merce and her arms reigned without a rival and
without control. Aspiring to rule the sea, she
became to all the powers of Europe, and espe
cially to the maritime states, the object of universal
umbrage and distrust. All nations desired to see
her humbled. Holland, and the other maritime
states, whose commerce she had harassed, ardent
ly wished to see her power reduced. Above all,
France, martial, France, stung with her recent
discomfiture— burning to avenge her defeated le
gions — ardently desired to humble her great adver
sary, and waited, with impatient longing, for an
opportunity to repair her losses and reconquer her
lost glory.
The powers of Europe could not injure England
more effectually than by separating from her the
American colonies. The Americans could there
fore hope, in case of a rupture, for at least an al
liance with France. It is not strange that they
began to reflect upon what they were capable of
achieving, and to consider themselves no longer in

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 213
a state of infancy, but a nation strong and formi- chap.
dahle of itself, and to ask by what right a distant ^_^__
island should assume to rule an immense and pop
ulous continent. To the most sagacious minds it
was already apparent that America must, in the
natural order of events, be free ; and that it de
pended on the policy of the British ministry to
hasten or stay the progress of freedom. Although
a conciliatory policy on the part of the British
ministry might retard the march of independence,
yet, in any event, the Americans' could not fail to
accomplish their destiny. But though the col
onies felt their importance and their power, there
was, as yet, no appearance of discontent or dis
loyalty. By avoiding all irritating measures,* the
mother country might still have hoped to keep
the Americans attached to the same government
under which they had been conducted to their
present prosperous and flourishing condition.
They had submitted to a system of commercial
monopoly, directly calculated to benefit England,
ever since the year 1660.! They had been pro
hibited from purchasing the manufactures of any
other part of the world. They had been obliged
to carry to England all the products of their lands
— even the fleeces of their flocks. They were for
bidden to buy the productions or manufactures of
any European nation, until these commodities had
first been carried into an English port. At all this
the colonies discovered no resentment. They were,
willing to contribute to the prosperity of the moth
er country, in return for her protection and the
* New Hampshire Gazette of Nov. 10, 1769.
f Botta's. History of the War of Independence, I., p. 21,

214 HISTORY OF
chap, succors of troops and ships she had sent them lo
J_?Y defend against" the attacks of savage tribes, and
against the encroachments of foreign powers. Yet
it was not without a silent dissatisfaction that
they submitted to laws,* which, though not im
posing taxes, yet in a thousand ways restricted
their commerce, impeded their manufactures,! and
wounded their self-love. Some of the acts of
parliament seemed to point directly towards vas
salage and degradation. Hatters were forbidden
to have, at one time, more than two apprentices.
An act of parliament had prohibited the felling of
pitch and white pine trees. Hats and woollens of
domestic manufacture could not be exported from
the colonies, nor introduced from one colony to
another. At the instance of the English sugar
colonies, sugar, rum, and molasses could not be
imported from the French and Dutch settlements
in North America, without paying a duty so
exorbitant that it amounted almost to a prohibi
tion. Finally, by an act of parliament of 1750,
the manufacture of steel and of certain iron works
was forbidden to be executed in the American col
onies. From these laws arose the first murmurs
of discontentj on ^e Part °f t^e colonists. But
to these they submitted, yet, not without repug
nance. They were regarded as regulations of
commerce. They passed under the name of regu
lations of commerce, and excited no open opposi
tion. But during all this time, and until the year
1764, the subject of taxing the colonies by author-
* Botta, I., p. 25. f Portsmouth Town Records, vol. II.
| N. H. Gaaette, Nov. 27, 1767— Dec. 11 and 24, 1767— Jan. 15, 22, 29—
Feb. 12, 19, 26— March 11, 18, 1768.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 215
ity of parliament, slept in silence. But England chap
was now in want of a revenue. Under the splen- _j$Y
did administration of Pitt, she had gained, by a
series of brilliant successes, both by land and sea,
an enormous increase of territory and strength.
It is here to be observed, that, in gaining this
greatness, in which England exulted, and which
made her the envy and fear of Europe, she had
contracted a vast national debt ; and it was to dis
charge the debt incurred by her aggrandizement,
that gave rise to the project of taxing the colonies.
In this debt the expense incurred by the conquest
of Canada was an important item. The expenses
of this war had added more than three hundred
millions to the national debt. The colonists
were mainly benefited by this, although it was
mainly the work of their own hands ; and it seem
ed but reasonable to England, that the colonists
should share some portion of the burden of indebt
edness which bore so heavily upon the mother
country. It was asked in England, " Are they not a rich,
happy and enterprising people? Is not their pros
perity known and envied by the whole world?
Assuredly, if there is any part of the globe where
man enjoys a sweet and pleasant life, it is espe
cially in English America. Is not this a striking
proof of the indulgence of England towards her
colonies? Let the Americans compare their con
dition with that of foreign colonists, -and they
would soon confess, not without gratitude to the
mother country, both their real felicity and the
futility of their complaints."*
* Botta, I., p. 28.

216 history of
chap. England, at this time, became jealous of the col-
^_L_ onies, and began to suspect, by degrees, that they
were shaking off the authority of the crown. It
is not improbable, too, that some far-seeing men
among the Americans, aspiring to loftier things,
had formed in the secret of their hearts the idea
of independence, and as they watched the storm
gathering at a distance, were preparing for the
emergency. Such was the state of England and
America — the one claiming that she was justly
possessed of a power which the other considered
mere tyrannical usurpation, and to which they
could not submit without degrading themselves to
a state of slavery. Such being the condition of
things, it was not difficult to predict that, without
a change of opinion on the one side or the other,
a contest must arise ; and if the power of the one
party could not force submission from the other,
a separation must ensue.
Meanwhile, the enormous duties on molasses*
and sugar introduced an almost universal contra
band in these articles. The increase of smuggling
was in proportion to that of commerce. To put a
stop to this, the courts in the colonies were au
thorized to grant writs of assistance. These were
a general search-warrant given by the courts to
the custom-house officers, empowering them to
search for and seize these articles, wherever they
supposed them to be concealed. In Boston,
opposition to these became violent ; and it was
maintaining this opposition which called out the
impetuous eloquence of James Otis. His genius
* N. H. Gazette, May 6, 1778. Also through March, April, May and June
of the same year.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 217
had manifested itself before, and its light afforded chap.
a hope on which America dwelt in silence, till the J.XY
moment of action should arrive. On this occasion
his eloquence burst out like a flame of fire.
Crowded audiences thronged to hear him, and
" every man," says John Adams, " went away
ready to take arms. Then and there was the first
scene of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great
Britain. Then and there American Independence
was born."
Exasperated at the enormous duties imposed,*
the inhabitants, with one accord, resolved to
renounce the use of every article produced from
the manufactories or from the soil of England.
English cloths were supplanted by those of domes
tic manufacture.! English gloves ceased to be
worn — and even funerals began to be celebrated
. . Botta,
without the habiliments of mourning. The richest p- ^.
inhabitants promptly abstained from every article
of luxury, and returned to the simplicity of early
times. Indeed, so generally did the inhabitants
concur in this, J that in the town of Boston alone,
in the year 1 764, the consumption of British mer- , 7Q.
chandise was diminished upwards of ten thousand
pounds sterling. The resolutions taken against
British manufactures were now becoming general.
Combinations to this effect were entered into in all
the principal cities in America, and were observed
with astonishing fidelity. - Such an interruption to
commerce was extremely prejudicial to England ;
* N. H. Gazette, 1768, April 8, 15, 22, 29— May 6. Ibid. Nov. 27, 1767,
f Botta, I., p. 34.
j The N. H. Gazette urges the people to dispense with superfluities, and
practise economy, for the sake of liberty and their country. See N. H. Gaz.
Dec. 29, 1769, article signed "Consideration."
28

218 HISTORY OF
chap, for the colonies had annually purchased to the
J^L value of three millions sterling. This trade was
lost, and the public revenues suffered materially.
This result greatly annoyed and irritated the
British ministry. They now revolved in their
minds a design far more lucrative to England and
more prejudicial to the colonies. This was to im
pose taxes or excises by acts of parliament. The
power of England was so vast at this time, that
it was thought impossible for America or the
world to resist her will ; and there were some
plausible arguments in favor of taxation. The
public debt at this time amounted to the prodi
gious sum of one hundred and forty-eight millions
sterling. It was, therefore, necessary to draw as
much as possible from every possible source of
revenue. The people of England were grievously
burdened with taxes ! "And shall our colonies,"
said they, " enjoy the magnificence of princes,
while we must drudge and consume ourselves with
efforts to procure a scanty subsistence?" Ameri
can affluence had been painted in vivid colors,
and the ministry no longer doubted that it was
1764 expedient and necessary to tax the colonies. Ac-
Botta, cordingly, on the 10th of March, 1764,* the cele
brated Stamp Act was introduced into^ parliament
in the form of a resolution. The effect of this
act was to require all notes, bonds, marriage con
tracts, and all legal instruments in the colonies, to
be executed upon stamped paper, on which a duty
was to be paid. For more than a year this reso
lution remained a mere proposition, unaccompanied
by any act to carry it into effect. No sooner did
* Parliamentary Debates of 1765. Commons, p. 21.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 219
the news of this intended tax reach America, than chap. ix
it spread everywhere through the country and __^L_
occasioned the most violent fermentation. All
were of one mind in asserting that parliament had ,
no right to tax the colonies. On what ground did
this asserted right rest ? Was it because England
had expended money in the French war ? Why
should the colonies pay the expenses of that war ?
It was not brought on by America. It was a
quarrel between England and France, in which
the colonies had no share. Their country fur
nished a theatre for it — their blood and treasure
flowed freely to assist the mother country. Was
it because England had sent men and ships to
protect the Americans against savage tribes ?
She had been more than repaid for that by the
profits of American commerce. Was it because
parliament possessed authority to raise money for
the crown ? The Americans were not represented
in parliament. " Taxation and representation,"
said they — adopting the language of Pitt-—" are
inseparable." The more they reasoned, the more
they became exasperated. Attachment and loy
alty rapidly turned to hatred and distrust. Every
day widened the breach between the two coun
tries. Every hour diminished the affection of the
Americans, and rendered more apparent the incon
sistency that they should be governed by a nation
more than three thousand miles off, from whom
they were separated by a wide ocean, and in
whose legislative enactments they had neither a
vote nor a voice.
But the ministry were not to be intimidated.
In defiance of the most solemn warnings, and the

220 history of
chap, visible signs of an approaching retribution, they
J_5lJ obstinately persisted, and accordingly the question
of the stamp act came up on its final passage in
1765. parliament, early in the session of 1765.* It was
but natural that a period of delusive splendor, like
that which England had just passed through, should
be followed by one of corresponding disaster and
gloom. It will be readily anticipated that the dis
cussion of this subject caused a violent shock of
Botta, opinions in parliament. Indeed, the eyes of all
1.42-3. Europe were turned to watch the progress and
decision of this question ; and it would be difficult
to find, either in the history of times past or present,
that there has been displayed more vigor of intel
lect, more love of country, more violence of party
spirit, or more splendor of eloquence, than in these
debates. The cause of America was not without
advocates in parliament. The first men of the
age were ready to espouse the American side.
h;3-5'. While the cause of the government was ably vin
dicated by the skilful eloquence of Weddeburne,
the majestic sense of Thurlow, and the masterly
dexterity of Lord North, the cause of the Ameri
cans employed the lively declamation of Barre-
and the philosophic fancy of Burke. Dunning,
famous for legal acuteness, and Fox, for argumen
tative vehemence, were on the American side.
Above all these rose the venerable form of Pitt,!
his tones solemn and sincere, as was befitting a
great man about to leave the world.
" These Americans — our own children," ex
claimed the minister Grenville, " planted by our
cares, nourished by our indulgence, protected by
* Pari. Debates, 1765. f Earl of Chatham.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 221
our arms, until they are grown to a good degree chap.
of skill and opulence — will they now turn their _Y_
backs upon us, and grudge to contribute their
mite to relieve us from the heavy load which
overwhelms us?"
Col. Barre caught the words, and boldly re
joined — "Planted by your cares! No! your
oppression planted them in America ; they fled
from your tyranny, into a then uncultivated land,
where they were exposed to almost all the hard
ships to which human nature is liable, and, among
others, to the savage cruelty of the enemy of the
country — a people the most subtle, and I take upon
me to say, the most truly terrible, of any people
that ever inhabited any part of God's earth ; and .
yet, actuated by principles of true English liberty,
they met all these hardships with pleasure, com
pared with those they suffered in their own coun
try from the hands of those that should have been
their friends.
" They nourished by your indulgence ! They
grew by your neglect; as soon as you began to
care about them, that care was exercised in send
ing persons to rule over them in one department
and another, who were, perhaps, the deputies of
some members of this house, sent to spy out their
liberty, to misrepresent their actions, and to prey
upon them ; men, whose behavior, on many occa
sions, had caused the blood of those sons of liberty
to recoil within them ; men, promoted to the high- *
est seats of justice, some of whom, to my knowl
edge, were glad, by going to foreign countries, to
escape the vengeance of the laws, in their own.
" They protected by your arms! They have

222 HISTORY OF
chap, nobly taken up arms in your defence, have exerted
— 1_ their valor, amidst their constant and laborious in
dustry, for the defence of a country, whose fron
tiers while drenched in blood, its interior parts
have yielded for your enlargement the little sav
ings of their frugality and the fruits of their toils.
And believe me, remember, I this day told you so,
that the same spirit which actuated that people at
first, will continue with them still ; but prudence
forbids me to explain myself any further. God
knows, I do not, at this time, speak from motives
of party heat ; what I assert proceeds from the
sentiments of my heart. However superior to me,
in general knowledge and experience, any one
here may be, yet I claim to know more of Amer
ica, having seen, and been more conversant in that
country. The people there are as truly loyal as
any subjects the king has, but a people jealous of
their liberties, and who will vindicate them if they
should be violated."
This bold speech left the house petrified with
astonishment. A dead silence ensued, in which
all continued to gaze on the speaker, without utter
ing a word. The right of parliament to tax the
colonies called in question ! This was sufficient
to make them act from jealousy of their contested
authority, and the bill passed on the 7th of Feb-
1765. ruary.* There were two hundred and fifty yeas,
while the nays did not exceed fifty. !The house of
lords approved the bill on the 8th of March fol
lowing, and on the 22d of the same month, it was
sanctioned by the king. The night on which the
bill passed, Dr. Franklin, then in London, wrote
to Charles Thompson: — "The sun of liberty is
* Pail. Debates, 1765-6. f Farl. Debates, 1765-6.— Lords.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 223
set ; the Americans must light the lamps of indus- chap.
'try and economy." To which Mr. Thompson J^L_
answered, " Be assured we shall light torches of
quite another sort." -
It is impossible to describe the ferment in the
colonies* on the first report that the stamp act
had become a law. On its arrival in America
there was a general burst of indignation through
out the colonies.! The house of burgesses of
Virginia was then in session, and there the first
opposition was made. The young and eloquent
Patrick Henry was there. He pronounced it 1765.
tyranny in the king to have sanctioned such an
act; and, alluding to the fate of other tyrants,
he exclaimed, " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I.
his Cromwell, and George III." — here he was
interrupted by the cry of treason ; pausing for
a moment, he added — "may profit by the exam
ple. If that be treason, make the most of it."
These were bold words — such as had not then
been heard even from the boldest. The irresist
ible eloquence of Henry prevailed. Resolutions
condemning the act were passed by a major
ity of a single voice. Simultaneously with these
proceedings, and before they were known in Mas
sachusetts, the General Court of that colony had
adopted measures of opposition, and proposed a
Congress of States. This proposition was gene
rally agreed to, though it met with so much oppo-
sition, that no delegates were elected from New
Hampshire and Virginia, nor from North Carolina
* New Hampshire Gazette, 1765—1766.
f Prov. Ree, Jour. -C. and A., 1765— 1774. H., 1759— 1765. Portsmouth
Town Records, vol. II. New Hampshire Gazette, 1765.

224 HISTORY OF
chap.' and Georgia ; and on the first Tuesday of October
,i^___ delegates assembled at New York, from the States
of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland and South Carolina. They drew up an
address to the king and petitions to parliament,
asking for redress of grievances. Meanwhile the
day approached when the stamp act was to take
effect ; and it was to be seen whether America
would resist, or whether she would submit to a
law by which no debt could be collected, no ship
put to sea, no apprentice indented, no marriage
solemnized, without payment of stamp duty. The
popular feeling against it had greatly increased,
and had spread everywhere. Indeed, the opposi
tion to it had become strong and systematic. The
1765. women, animated by a zeal for liberty, united their
exertions with the men. They cheerfully gave up
the use of British goods, and even relinquished
every species of ornament manufactured in Eng
land.* Everywhere the stamp act was treated
with derision by the people. In New York it was
carried about, attached to a death's-head, labelled,
" The Folly of England and the Ruin of America."
At Providence, in Rhode Island, the effigies of
stamp officers were dragged, with halters about
their necks, through the streets, hung to gibbets,
and afterwards burnt. In Connecticut, also, effi
gies were carried through the ceremony of a mock
trial and condemned in due form to be burnt.
The stamp officers in Connecticut and in New
York promptly resigned their offices. In Boston,
the mob demolished the houses intended for stamp
* Emma Wiliard's American Republic, p. 149.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 225
officers, and hung up the effigies of government chap.
officers on the branches of an old elm on the com-  __
mon, which took the name of "the Tree of Lib
erty." In Maryland the principal stamp distrib
utor was menaced, and fled for refuge to New
York. In New Hampshire George Meserve had been
appointed stamp distributor. He received his
appointment when in England, and soon after
arrived in Boston. The people requested him to Sept. 9.
resign his office before he landed. This he readily Bei-
0 J knap,
did.* They then welcomed him on shore. The p-sai.
news of his coming had preceded him to Ports- SeP-12-
mouth, and an exhibition of effigies had prepared
the minds of the people to receive him.. At his
coming they assembled, and he was compelled to 1765.
make a more formal resignation, on the parade, ep"
before going to his house.! The stamp act was Nov. 1.
to commence its operation on the first day of No
vember. On the last day of October the New oct.31.
Hampshire Gazette appeared with a mourning
border, and the next day was ushered in by the
tolling of bells, and a mock funeral was made for
the Goddess of Liberty. She is carried to the
grave ; but on depositing her there, some signs of
life are discovered, and she is borne off in tri
umph, amid the acclamations of the multitude.
Thus did the populace propagate the spirit of
independence, while the more moderate and even
the most eminent citizens testified their resistance
by more discreet but not less decided demonstra
tions. Governor Wentworth alone remained silent.
With failing health and an ample fortune, and now
* New Hampshire Gazette, Sept., 1765. f Ibid.
29

226 HISTORY OF
chap, far in the decline of life, he felt equally averse to
J^Y putting himself forward in the support of popular
measures, or of contradicting openly the voice of
the people. During these commotions, and while
it was considered doubtful whether courts of law
could enforce their decrees without the use of
stamped paper, a few licentious persons endea
vored to excite a general opposition to the payment
of debts. No sooner did this disorderly spirit
manifest itself, than associations were formed at
1765. Portsmouth, Exeter, and all the principal towns, to
support the magistrates in compelling obedience
to the courts and enforcing the obligations of con
tracts. This spirit of disorder was soon quelled.
Thus did the people show that, though resisting
oppression, they had within themselves the ele
ments of virtue and order.
It was soon suspected, notwithstanding the
resignation of Meserve, that he intended to distri
bute stamped paper. Instantly the drums beat,
1766. and the Sons of Liberty were assembled. They
then compelled him to deliver up his commission,
which was put on board a ship, then ready to sail,
and sent to England. It happened to arrive just
at the time when the parliament had heard of the
commotions in America, and when a strong effort
was making by the friends of America to repeal
the stamp act. A change had taken place in the
British ministry, and the new ministers, among
whom were the Marquis of Rockingham, the
Duke of Grafton, and General Conway, were more
favorable to the Americans. The petition of
congress and other papers were before them. Dr.
Franklin had been examined before the house of

Jan. 9.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 227
Commons, and had given it as his opinion that chap.
America would never submit to, the stamp duty _i_L_
unless compelled by force of arms. " My posi
tion," said William Pitt, " is this — I repeat it :
I will maintain it to my last hour : — Taxation and
representation are inseparable. This position is
founded on the laws, of nature ; it is more — il is
in itself an eternal law of nature ; for whatever
is a man's own, is absolutely his own : no man
has a right to take, jt from him, without his con
sent ; whoever attempts to do it, attempts an
injury ; .whoever does it, commits a robbery. I 1766.
am of opinion that the stamp act ought to be
repealed, totally, absolutely, and immediately."
The repeal passed the Commons, and the cause
of America having found an advocate in the person
of Lord Camden, it prevailed in the house of
Lords, and was finally repealed.*
But the law requiring the colonies to maintain,
at their own expense, the troops quartered amongst
them, still remained ; and as this was considered
an indirect mode of taxation, the same opposition
was made to it. In July, another change of min- July,
istry took place, and a cabinet was formed under 1767-
the direction of Pitt. In May, 1767, a second
plan was devised for taxation, by imposing duties
on all tea, glass, paper, and painters' colors, im
ported into the colonies. All the bitter feelings
engendered by the stamp act, now revived. Pe
titions and remonstrances poured into parliament.
Meanwhile, an affray had taken place with the
British troops in the streets of Boston, in which
* There were great rejoicings at the repeal of the stamp act. See N. H.
Gazette, January 2, 1767.

228 history of
chap, four of the inhabitants were killed. This served
.  Y. tofan the flame of war, now rapidly rising. Not-
IiZch withstanding the duties on importations were all
5- soon repealed, with the exception of the duty on
tea, still, while that remained, the right of parlia
ment to tax the colonies was not relinquished.
Committees of correspondence, those nurseries
of liberty, were now organized in all the principal
towns throughout the colonies, and produced a
complete concert of action. The ships of the
East India Company, laden with tea, were now
arriving in the American ports. If it landed, the
duties must be paid ; and it was determined not to
permit it to land. Accordingly, in Boston, reso
lutions were adopted that it should be sent back
to England in the same vessels in which it came.
Similar resolves were passed in Philadelphia and
New York. But the merchants, to whom the tea
had been consigned in Boston, refused to grant
the necessary discharges, and the ships tarried in
the harbor. Apprehensive that the obnoxious
article would be landed, the people resolved to
destroy it, and in the night a band of citizens, dis*
guised as Indians, boarded the ships, broke open
their chests, and emptied their contents into the
sea.
1767. In New Hampshire, Governor Wentworth had
been removed by the British ministry, on charges
of neglect of duty, and his nephew, John Went-
Aug. worth, appointed governor. He was a favorite of
the people, had been active in procuring a repeal
ofthe stamp act, and was appointed by the minis
try through whom it was repealed. Through the
influence of his principal friends, he prevented the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 229
adoption of a non-importation agreement in Ports- chap.
mouth. " We cannot depend on the countenance _I5l_
of many persons of the first rank here," said the
Sons of Liberty; "for royal commissions and
family connexions influence the principal gentle
men among us at least to keep silence in these evil
times." But the support which the cause of
England gained in New Hampshire fell far short
of the sanguine hopes of the governor and his
friends. It was evident that he was fast losing his
popularity. The majority were on the side of
liberty. As the crisis approached, the union
became more general. Those who felt disposed
to advocate the cause of England, from fear of the
popular hatred and derision, either became silent,
or were forced by the strong current of public
opinion to espouse the popular cause ; so that 1774
vyhen the first cargo of tea arrived in Portsmouth,
it required all the prudence of Governor Went
worth, all the vigilance of the magistrates, all
the firmness of the friends of order, to send
away the hateful commodity without a tumult.* june25.
A town meeting was called, and it *was pro
posed to Mr. Parry, the consignee, to reship it.
To this he consented, and it was peaceably sent
to Halifax.
Not long afterwards, a second cargo! came, Sept.
consigned to the same person. The popular fer- 8'
ment could not , be allayed. His house was
attacked and the windows broken. He applied to
the governor for protection. The governor sum
moned the council and magistrates. But, in the
meantime, the town committee prevailed on Mr.
* Portsmouth Town Records, II., pp. 295, 297, 299, 300, 303. f Ibid. 305.

230 HISTORY OF
chap. Parry to send the tea to Halifax, and quiet was
 Y, restored. Nearly all the towns had by this time passed
resolves condemning the use of tea. Committees
of vigilance and inspection, composed of the most
vigilant of the Sons of Liberty, aided by the senti
ment of the people, carried those resolves into
effect. Public sentiment banished tea from the
table entirely. The women, with praiseworthy
1774. spirit, gave it up ; and tradition says that the
more inveterate devotees of the herb descended
into their cellars, and, having barred the doors,
secretly and with trembling gave way to their love
ofthe proscribed and obnoxious beverage.
Everything indicated that the people of New
Hampshire were fast uniting with the views of
Massachusetts and the other colonies. In vain
did the governor labor to prevent the free action
of the people. In vain did he dissolve and adjourn
their meetings. In vain did he declare them ille
gal. They rose when he entered among them to
declare their proceedings void ; but no sooner had
he retired' than they resumed their seats and pro
ceeded, unrestricted by forms. An authority was
rising in the province above the authority of the
governor — an authority founded on the broad basis
of the people's will — an authority before which the
shadow of royal government was destined to pass
away. The people appointed committees of cor-
Juiyu. respondence, and chose delegates* to ' the pro vin-
SePt. 4. cial congress at Philadelphia ; and nowhere were
the proceedings of the congress more universally
approved. " Our atmosphere threatens a hurri-
* Nathaniel Folsom and John Sullivan.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 231
cane," wrote the governor to a confidential friend, chap.
" I have strove in vain, almost to death, to prevent __2y
it. If I can, at last, bring out of it safety to my
country, and honor to our sovereign, my labors
will be joyful."
The people of New Hampshire soon gave an
example of the spirit by which the whole country
was animated equally with themselves. An order
had been passed by the king in council prohibiting
the exportation of gunpowder to America. A Bei-
copy of it was brought by express to Portsmouth,
at a time when a ship of war was daily expected
from Boston to take possession of fort William
and Mary. The committee of the town, with 1774.
secrecy and despatch, collected a company from ^J"
Portsmouth and some of the neighboring towns, Dec.n.
and, before the governor had any suspicion of their
intentions, they proceeded to Newcastle and as
saulted the fort before the troops had arrived.
The captain and five men, who were-' the whole
ofthe garrison, were taken into custody, and one
hundred barrels of powder were carried off. The
next day another company removed fifteen of the
lighter cannon, together with all the small arms
and other warlike stores. These were carefully
secreted in the several towns, under the care of
the committees, and afterwards did effectual ser
vice at Bunker's Hill. Major John Sullivan and
John Langdon were the leaders in this expedition.
No sooner was it accomplished, than the Scar
borough frigate and sloop of war Canseau arrived,
with several companies of soldiers. They tool-
possession of the fort, but found only the heavy }a7n7fj
cannon. Sullivan and Langdon were afterwards

232 HISTORY OF
chap, chosen delegates to the next general congress, to
J3l. be holden on the tenth of May.
The winter of 1 774 passed away in gloomy
apprehension and anxiety. It was evident that
the breach between the two countries was too
wide to be healed. No mediator could be found,
and there was too much reason to fear that this
controversy must be decided on the field of battle.*
The port of Boston was shut and guarded by ships
of war. Its commerce was ruined, its poor with
out bread, its merchants without business. A
military governor presided over them, and was
concentrating troops, as if in apprehension of an
approaching crisis. Parliament had voted the
existence of rebellion in Massachusetts, and the
king had demanded an augmentation of his forces
by sea and land.
On the night of the 18th of April, Gen. Gage-
governor of Massachusetts, despatched a body of
his troops privately, to destroy a magazine of pro-
Aprii visions and ammunition which the provincials had
collected at Concord. He hoped also to secure
the persons of John Hancock and Samuel Adams,
two of the most active and ardent of the Sons of
Liberty. At eleven in the evening the troops
were embarked at Boston, under the command of
Lieut. Col. Smith and Maj. Pitcairn. The pro
vincials had notice of their approach, and at five
o'clock, on the morning of the nineteenth, they
had assembled at Lexington, to the number of
* The spirit which was displayed by the people may be seen by reference
to the New Hampshire Gazette for the period of 1760 to 1775. The follow
ing papers are of especial interest, viz.: 1767, Jan. 2; NoV. 27; Dec. 11,
24; 1768, Jan, 15, -22, 29; Feb. 12, 19, 26; March 11, 18; April 8, 15, 22,
29 ; May 6 ; June 17, 24 ; 1769, Nov. 10'; Dec. 29.

19.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 233
seventy. The royal troops appeared in sight, and chap.
Major Pitcairn, riding forward, brandished his _~-L_
sword at the head of his column, and cried out to
the Americans, " Disperse, ye rebels ! lay down
your arms and retire!" Not being instantly
obeyed, he ordered his men to fire. Eight of the
provincials fell, and the remainder retreated, pur
sued by the British.
Thus was spilled the first blood of the Revolu
tion. Thus was opened the grand drama, which
closed in the dismemberment of a great empire
and the birth ofthe first American republic. . The
American Revolution ! — that revolution which was
to make the names of its actors celebrated -with
immortal praises, and their memory dear to pos
terity — that revolution which was to be the dread
of tyrants, and the example and the hope of free
men, to the latest ages.
A simple monument, raised a few yards from
the church, now marks the spot where fell these
first martyrs to the cause of liberty. The detach
ment proceeded to Concord, and, after a hot skir
mish, destroyed or removed the stores, and then
retreated precipitately towards Lexington, assailed
with fury by the provincials. The minute-men,
hastily assembling from all quarters, followed in
close pursuit. Posted behind fences, trees, and
stumps, they kept up a galling and destructive
fife along the whole line of the march, which it
was impossible for the British to return. They at
length reached Lexington, where they were met
by Lord Percy, with a reinforcement of nine hun
dred men. At sunset they reached Charlestown
neck, overcome with fatigue, and having lost two
30 '

234 HISTORY OF
chap, hundred and seventy-three in killed, wounded and
__, missing. The provincials lost eighty-eight.
The news of the battle of Lexington spread
everywhere with electric speed. From all parts
the cry rung, to arms. The militia poured in from
all quarters, and soon there was collected in the
neighborhood of Boston an army of twenty thou-
May- sand men. In May, the Americans, under Ethan
Allen and Benedict Arnold, surprised and took the
strong fortress of Ticonderoga ; and soon after, a
detachment, under Colonel Warner, took pos
session of Crown Point. During all these hostile
movements, Governor Wentworth, who, like most
of the British governors, entirely mistook the
weems' genms OI* the people of New England, continued
wash- *° be sanguine in his hopes to plant the root of
mgton. peace jn New Hampshire. He summoned a new
assembly, and in his speech* exhorted them to di
rect their councils to peace. He earnestly con
jured them to an affectionate reconciliation with
the mother country. But the spell of royal influ
ence was broken. The assembly desired a short
recess, and he adjourned them to the twelfth of
June. Meanwhile, the crew of the Scarborough
proceeded to dismantle fort William and Mary.
They also seized two vessels, coming into the
harbor, laden with provisions. The inhabitants
demanded their release ; but the governor refused
to give them up. Immediately a body of men
armed themselves and proceeded to a battery at
May Jerry's point, at Great Island, and seized eight
pieces of cannon and brought them to Portsmouth.
But while they were engaged in this, the Canseau
* Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1770—1775.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 235
sloop convoyed the two provision-vessels to Bos- chap.
ton, for the supply ofthe British fleet and army. ___^L_
A convention ofthe people had been called, and
was at this time sitting at Exeter. They passed
a vote of thanks to those who had removed the
cannon from the battery, and to those who had
taken the powder and guns from the fort, under
Sullivan and Langdon. Recognising the doctrine
that the representative is the mere organ, servant,
or agent of the people, and bound to obey their
known will, the people had instructed the repre
sentatives how to proceed in several important par
ticulars at the next assembly. They had come
freshly from the people. In this body the province knap.
was fully and equally represented, and the voice of
' the convention was therefore regarded as the voice
ofthe people. Pursuant to adjournment, the house
met on the twelfth of June, and the governor again 12-
recommended " the conciliatory proposition."*
The house gave him no heed, as appears by the
first step they took. Recognising the duty of the
representative to obey the voice of his constituents,
they proceeded, in obedience to the instructions
of the convention, to expel three members whom
the governor had called by the king's writ from
three new townships. This they did because these
members were elected from their known partiality
to the royal cause,! while other towns, much older
and more populous, were not represented. One
of the expelled members, having censured this
proceeding, was assaulted by the populace, and
fled for shelter to the governor's house. The peo-
* The proposition of Lord North. Pari. Deb.
f Prov. Ree, Jour. House, 1770—1775.

236 HISTORY OF
chap, pie demanded him, and, being refused, they pointed,
 L a gun at the governor's door ; whereupon the
offender was surrendered and carried to Exeter.
The governor retired to the fort, and his house
was pillaged. He afterwards went on board the
Scarborough and sailed for Boston. He had
adjourned the assembly to the 28th of September.
But they met no more. In September, he issued
a proclamation from the Isles of Shoals, adjourn
ing them to April next. This was the closing act
of his administration. It was the last receding
step of royalty. It had subsisted in the province
ninety-five years. The government of New Hamp
shire was henceforth to be a government of the
people. The news of the battle of Lexington aroused
all America. Men of all classes — the mechanic
from his shop, the farmer from the field — all has
tened towards Boston ; and a volunteer army of
thirty thousand men were found assembled in a
short time, and closely pressing the siege upon the
British within the city. Twenty thousand of these
were sent home by the American generals.* But
of those who remained, twelve hundred were from
New Hampshire, under command of the colonels
Stark and Reid ; the former of whom, while at
work in his. saw-mill, heard of the battle of Lex
ington, and instantly dropped the implements of
labor, seized his musket, and hastened to the post
of danger. So closely were the British troops
besieged, and so completely was their communi
cation with the adjacent country cut off, thatit
was impossible to obtain supplies. They dared
* Botta, I., 186.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. .237
not to sally forth even to procure food ; yet they chap.
looked upon the insurgent people with disdain. ^Y_
All eyes were now fixed on the two armies at 1775.
Boston ; the one composed of the regular troops of
the king within the city, the other a body of raw
militia, collected from the workshop and the plough,
closely pressing a siege upon their disciplined and
confident foe. The Americans had elected Gen.
Ward commander-in-chief, with Col. Putnam for
the second in command. The British, already
reinforced, were under the command of Gage,
Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne ; all skilful and ex
perienced commanders. They had come from the
battle-fields of Europe freshly decked with lau
rels. They had combatted successfully against
the, most warlike nations in the world. Were
they to be seriously opposed by "a flock of
Yankees?" as they contemptuously named the
Americans. Elated with the recollection of their
past achievements, they panted to wipe off the dis
grace of Lexington. They could not bear to rest
under the thought that they had turned their backs
at Concord, and retreated before a foe whom they
despised and persisted in calling cowards.
They were now suffering extremely from scar
city of food. This, as well as a desire to execute
something, determined the British to attempt some
mode to extricate themselves from their difficult
position, and gain an entrance into the open coun
try. The American generals were apprized of
their intention, and, in order to prevent this move
ment they resolved to fortify the heights of Bun
ker's hill. Orders were therefore given to Col. i.,°2o_.
William Prescott to occupy them with a detach-

238 HISTORY OF
chap, ment of one thousand men, and to fortify himself
J_L. there. But, from some mistake, instead of repair
ing to the heights of Bunker's hill, he advanced
farther on, and commenced his entrenchments on
the heights of Breed's hill, another eminence which
overlooks Charlestown, and is situated towards
the extremity of the peninsula, nearer to Boston.
The labor had been conducted with such silence
as to be unperceived by the English ; and, by the
following morning at daybreak, the Americans had
already constructed a square redoubt, capable of
affording them shelter from the enemy. The Eng
lish had no suspicion of what was passing. It
was about four o'clock the next morning when the
iB°-03. captain of a ship of war first perceived it, and
began to play his artillery. It now became impor
tant to dislodge the provincials from this formi
dable position, or at least to stop the progress
1775. of their entrenchments. The English, therefore,
opened a general fire of artillery, which hailed
a tempest of bombs and balls upon the works of
the Americans. But, notwithstanding the fury of
iB°203 *^ie enemy's artillery, the Americans continued to
work the whole day with unshaken constancy ; and
towards night they had already much advanced
a trench, which descended from the redoubt to the
foot of the hill and almost to the banks of Mystic
river. The small passage between they obstructed
with two parallel palisades, which were made by
pulling up some adjoining post and rail fence, and
setting it down in two parallel lines near each
other/ filling the space between with grass.* The
right wing was flanked by the houses of Charles-
* Morse's Revolution, p. 231.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 239

»

town, which they occupied ; the centre and left chap.
wing formed themselves behind the trench, which, J3l_
following the declivity of the hill, extended towards
Mystic river. The troops of Massachusetts oc
cupied Charlestown, the redoubt, and a part of
the trench ; those of Connecticut, commanded by
Capt. Nolten, and those of New Hampshire, under
Cols. Stark and Reed, the rest ofthe trench.*
Before the battle commenced, Dr, Warren, Botta,
I. 204.
who had volunteered his services, arrived, and
joined the troops of Massachusetts. Gen. Pomeroy
made his appearance at the same time, and took
command of those from Connecticut. Gen. Put
nam directed in chief, and held himself ready to
repair to any point where his presence should be
most needed. About midday, the heat being in- B°»a>
tense, all was in motion in the British camp. A
multitude of sloops and boats, filled with British
soldiers, the whole under the command of General
Howe and Brigadier General Pigot, crossed over 1775.
T
to Charlestown, and landed without meeting resist
ance. Their debarkation was protected by the
fire of the artillery from the ships of war, which
forced the Americans to keep within their entrench
ments. The troops, on landing, began to display,
the light infantry on the right, the grenadiers on
the left ; but having observed the strength of the
position and the good countenance of the Ameri
cans, Gen. Howe made a halt, and sent to call a
reinforcement. The English now formed them-
" . , Botta,
selves in two columns. TLheir plan was that the 1.204.
left wing, under General Pigot, should attack the
* In describing the battle of Bunker's Hill, I have adopted the statements,
and, in some instances, the language, of Botta, the Italian historian.

£40 HISTORY OF
chap, rebels in Charlestown, while the centre assaulted
J^_ the redoubt; and the right wing, consisting of light
infantry, should force the passage near the river
Mystic, and thus assail the Americans in flank and
rear. It appears, also, that Gen. Gage had formed
the design of setting fire to Charlestown, in order
that the corps destined to assail the redoubt, thus
protected by the flames and smoke, might be
less exposed to the fire of the provincials. The
dispositions having all been completed, the Eng
lish put themselves in motion. The provincials
that were stationed to defend Charlestown, fearing
lest the assailants should penetrate between the
town and the redoubt, and thus to find themselves
cut off from the rest of the army, retreated. The
English immediately entered the town and fired
the buildings, which being of wood, the com
bustion soon became general. They continued a
slow march against the redoubt and trench, halting
from time to time for the artillery to come up and
act with some effect previous to the assault. The
flames and smoke of Charlestown were of little use
to them, as the wind turned them in a contrary di
rection. The scene presented by the hostile armies
was sublime beyond the power of language. The
veil of smoke rising from Charlestown, the flames,
the crash of falling houses, the uproar ofthe artil
lery, and the sanguinary nature ofthe conflict, all
conspired to render the spectacle one of surpassing
sublimity and interest. On the part of the Eng
lish, honor was at stake — fame might be won. On
the side of the Americans, the defence of their
country, the liberty and rights of themselves and
their posterity, now depended upon their arms and

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 241
their valor. The spires and roofs of Boston, the chap,
hills and circumjacent fields, were covered with _ _^_L_
swarms of spectators, all intently viewing the men,
who, unaccustomed to the glare of military show,
clad in the rude vestments of husbandry, with
scarcely a badge or a banner to deck their ranks,
were to show, by this day's conduct, whether they
were worthy to transmit freedom to their children.
The English advanced, exulting in anticipation of
an easy triumph. Their standards waved proudly
above them, and the wild music of their martial
bands rose on the air and mingled with the roar,
of the artillery. With muskets levelled, but re
serving their fire, the Americans awaited the result,
in profound tranquillity. The weather was clear,
and permitted them to take good aim. Not a shot
was fired until the English had advanced within a
few yards of the works, when a terrible flash came.
from tlie redoubt, and a deluge of balls poured
amidst the enemy's ranks. Volley after volley.
succeeded, with such fatal aim, that not even the
practised courage of royal troops could withstand
its effect. They reeled as before a whirlwind, and
fled in wild disorder to the place of landing. Some
threw themselves precipitately into the boats.
The English officers were now seen running 1775.
hither and thither amongst the disordered battal- June17-
ions, with promises, with exhortations and with
menaces, attempting to rally the soldiers for a
second attack. At length, after the most painful
efforts, they resumed their ranks and turned their
faces again towards the deadly redoubt. The
Americans reserved their fire, as before, until they
had advanced within a few yards, and then poured
31

242 - history of
chap, upon them the same deluge of balls. Overwhelmed
J^Y and routed, they again fled to the shore. For
B2°05ta' a moment General Howe remained alone upon
the field of battle ; all the officers who surrounded
him were killed or wounded. At this critical con
juncture, upon which depended the issue of the
day, General Clinton, who from Copp's Hill had
watched all the movements, seeing the destruction
of his best troops, immediately resolved to fly to
their succor ; and entering a boat he was rowed
rapidly to Charlestown. By an able movement,
this experienced commander re-established order,
and being promptly seconded by the officers, who
felt all the importance of success to English honor,
B2°0t^a' led the troops to the third attack. It was directed
against the redoubt at the several points. The
ammunition of the Americans being exhausted, and
being without bayonets, they defended themselves
valiantly for a while with the butt-ends of their mus
kets ; but, seeing the redoubt and the upper part
ofthe trench filled with enemies, they slowly retired.
During the action the ships of war raked the isth
mus of Charlestown to prevent any reinforcements
from passing to the Americans from Cambridge.
General Putnam, seeing this, rode several times to
and fro along the isthmus, to convince the Cam
bridge division that they could pass over with
safety. But being apprehensive of an attack in
their own position, they declined engaging in the
battle. The Americans had not yet reached the
Botta, period of their greatest peril. The only way of
retreat was by the isthmus of Charlestown, which
was raked by the guns of the Glasgow ship of war
and two floating batteries. The Americans, how-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 243
ever, issued from the peninsula without losing any chap
considerable number of men. Yet their loss was _I^L,
great, for it was here that the brave Warren was
killed. A British officer singled him out and shot
him with a gun which he borrowed from a soldier.
He fell and died upon the spot. In him America
lost a man of the purest patriotism and the most
undaunted bravery — an able statesman, an ac
complished orator. New Hampshire here lost a
gallant son, Major Andrew M'Clary, who was
killed by a cannon shot after he had passed the
isthmus. Thus ended the battle of Bunker's* hill,
and with it the confidence which the British had l£ls,
reposed in the cowardice of the Americans. The
Americans "reaped the fruits of a victory. The ^^
British remained masters of the field. Their loss . Bel-
knap,p.
was ten hundred and fifty-four. The Americans 359'
• WM-
lost, in killed, wounded and missing, four hundred ton,
and fifty three.! p'
In this battle the New Hampshire troops, posted
behind the breast-work, on the left of the main
body, behaved with distinguished bravery. They
helped to sustain that galling fire which swept
down whole regiments of the British as they
advanced to the attack. They made good the
defence of their position, until the loss of the
redoubt compelled the American commander to
sound the signal of retreat. The number lost from
Stark's regiment was fifteen killed and missing,
and sixty wounded ; the number from Colonel
* In compliance with the popular languagBj I call the scene of the battle
Bunker's hill, which is a quarter of a "mile north of Breed's or Russell's hill,
where the battle was fought.
f Hale's Hist. TJ. S., vol. I., p. 269. Morse sets it down at 355. Revo
lution, p. 232. Neither of these authors gives any authorities.

244 HISTORY OF
chap. Reed's regiment was three killed, one missing,
_IX; . twenty-nine wounded.* After the battle, the
third New Hampshire regiment, under the com
mand of Colonel Poor, assembled and marched to
the camp ; and, with the other New Hampshire
regiments, was stationed on Winter Hill, under the
immediate command of Brigadier General Sulli
van. Besides these troops, a company of artillery
was raised to garrison the forts. A company of
rangers was posted on Connecticut river, and two
companies more were organized to be ready to
march wherever the committee of safety should
direct. The whole militia was divided into twelye
regiments.! Out of these were enlisted four regi
ments of minute-men, J wno were to hold themselves
in readiness to march to any point, and were con
stantly trained to military duty. In the succeed
ing winter, the Connecticut forces, whose term of
service had expired, withdrew from the camp, and
sixteen companies of the New Hampshire militia
1776. supplied their place until the British troops evacu-
lV? ated Boston.
Meanwhile the American congress had assem-
1776. bled at Philadelphia. George Washington had
June been appointed commander of the American
1775. army, and had entered Boston in triumph, amidst
the rejoicings of the people. In the forty-fourth
year of his age, a period of life which placed
him beyond the illusions of youth, and possessed of
an ample fortune, renowned for his fidelity and
virtue, the congress found united in him all the
* See Stark's letter, Coll. N. H. Hist. Soe., II., 145. Sweet's Hist. Bunker
Hill Battle.
t N. H. Hist. Coll., I., 336.
because they were to march at a minute's warning.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 245
qualities necessary to secure success in the chief chap.
of the union. To him they resolved to adhere  Y
in every extremity with their lives and fortunes.
Still further to ensure success, they resolved
to place at the head of the army other able
and experienced officers. Accordingly, Artemas
Ward, Charles Lee, and Philip Schuyler were
appointed major generals. Horatio Gates, an
officer known to be profoundly versed in all the
details of military science, was made adjutant Bona,
general. They also created eight brigadier gene- \
rals, viz., Seth Pomeroy, William Heath and John
Thomas, of Massachusetts ; Richard Montgomery,
of New York ; David Wooster and John Spencer,
of Connecticut ; John Sullivan, of New Hamp
shire ; and Nathaniel Green, of Rhode Island.
After these appointments had been made, the
congress applied themselves, with the greatest
activity, to obtain the means to carry on a war.
The people promptly seconded their efforts, and
proceeded, in the several colonies, to raise men,
to arm and equip them, and to provide themselves
with arms and munitions of war. An exact scru- _., 219.
tiny was commenced in the cellars and stables for
saltpetre and sulphur. In every part of the coun
try manufactories of gunpowder and foundries of
cannon were seen rising ; every place resounded
with the preparations of war. All men fit to bear
arms were ordered to form themselves into battal
ions. Those who could not bear arms, came forth
to aid the cause by every other means in their power.
The most rigorous religious opinions easily found
evasions. Even the Quakers, kindling in the great
convulsion, allowed themselves to be transported

246 HISTORY OF
chap, by a zeal for liberty, and joined the companies of
J_5_ the Philadelphians. The aged Germans resumed
the profession of arms, so long relinquished, and
resolved to bear a part in the common defence.
With crape upon their hats, to denote their regret
at the unfortunate causes which compelled them
to take up arms, they formed themselves into a
body, called the " Old Men's Company," and
resumed their arms to defend the liberty of that
country which had offered them an asylum, when
oppression forced them to abandon their own.
The women were forward to signalize their zeal
for liberty. They chose to work the soldier's
rough garb, rather than the embroidery of fashion.
With their own hands they embroidered the colors
and adorned them with appropriate mottos ; then
presented them to the regiments, with eloquent
discourses on liberty, and earnest entreaties to the
soldiers never to desert their banners. In the
county of Bristol, Pennsylvania, they resolved to
equip a regiment of men at their own cost.
While such was the enthusiasm for liberty, it
was but natural that a violent resentment should
be kindled against those who still adhered to the
royal cause. These took the name of tories ;
their opponents, the name of whigs, or sons of lib
erty. The tories were persecuted with relentless
fury. Some of them were arrested and imprison-
Bel. ed. Some fled to Nova Scotia, or to England,
^Tfil'. some joined the British army in Boston. Others
wrere restricted to certain limits, and their motions
continually watched. The passions of jealousy,
hatred and revenge were under no restraint.
Although many lamented these excesses, there

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 247
seemed to be no effectual remedy. All 'the bands chap.
of ancient authority were broken. The courts „_^L_
were shut ; the sword of magistracy was sheathed.
But amidst the general laxity in the forms of gov
ernment, order prevailed ; reputation, life and
property were still secure ; thus proving that it is
not in outward forms of austerity, or sanguinary
punishments, or nicely written codes, or veneration
for what is old, that our rights find protection —
but in the potent, though unseen, influence of fam
ily ties, virtuous habits and lofty example. These
contributed more, at this time, to maintain order
than any other authority ; thus illustrating how
much stronger are the secret than the apparent
bonds of society. But the people of New Hamp
shire proceeded to perfect, as far as possible, their 177f>;
provisional government. The convention which
had assembled at Exeter, was elected but for Nov
six months. Previous to their dissolution in 14.'
November, they made provisions, pursuant to the
recommendations of congress, for calling a new
convention, which should be a more full represen
tation of the people. They sent copies of these
provisions to the several towns, and dissolved. 1775.
The elections were forthwith held. The new con- 21/
vention promptly assembled, and drew up a tempo
rary form of government.
Having assumed the name of House of Repre- 1776.
sentatiVes, they adopted a constitution,* and pro- Jaa- s-
ceeded to choose twelve persons to constitute a dis- Bei-
tinct and a co-ordinate branch of the legislature, V™U.
by the name of a council. These twelve were
empowered to elect their own president ; and any
* A copy of this is in N. H. Hist. Coll., IV., p. 150.

248 history of
chap, seven of them were to be a quorum. It was or-
J^Y dained that no act or resolve should be valid,
1776. unless passed by both branches of the legislature ;
that all money bills should originate in the house
of representatives ; that neither house should ad
journ for more than two days, without the consent
of the other ; that a secretary and all other public
officers of the colony and of each county for the
current year, all general and field officers of militia,
and all officers of the marching regiments, should
be appointed by the two houses ; all subordinate
militia officers by their respective companies ; that
the present assembly should subsist one year, and,
if the dispute with Britain should continue longer,
knap and the general congress should give no directions
264- to the contrary, that precepts should be issued
annually, to the several towns, on or before the
first day of November, for the choice of council
lors and representatives.
Thus did the convention establish annual elec
tions and co-ordinate branches of government, each
having a negative upon the other. But in this
system there was still a material defect. It pro
vided for no executive. To remedy this, the two
houses assumed to themselves the executive duty
during the session, and they appointed a committee
of safety to sit in the recess, varying in number
from six to sixteen, vested with executive powers.
The president of the council was president of the
Bei- executive committee. To this responsible and
p.n36_. honorable station they called that old and tried
servant of the public, Meshech Weare ; a man of
no brilliant parts, but of a sound understanding,
a calm temper, and a benevolent heart ; a ripe

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 249
scholai-, accurate in his judgment, of modest de
portment, prudent and diligent. So great was
the confidence reposed in Weare, that he was also
made judge of the superior court.* Thus the
people did not scruple to invest him, at the same
time, with the highest offices, legislative, executive
and judicial. To the offices of president of the
state and judge he continued to be chosen, by
annual elections, through the stormy period of the
revolution, discharging his various duties with
unsurpassed fidelity and wisdom. He died in the 1786.
seventy-third year of his age. As he had not
enriched himself by public employments, he died
poor in worldly goods, but rich in the gratitude of
the people, and honored by their unaffected.sorrow.
Congress now resolved to contest the power of
England, on her chosen element, the seas. Having -77g
observed the skill and success of a few privateers,
in protecting the coasts of the continent, and in
tercepting English navigation, they decreed that
five ships of war should be constructed and armed.
Of these, one was to be built in New Hampshire.
After long delays, the Raleigh was completed in
Portsmouth, and joined the other ships, all under
command of Commodore Hopkins. With incred
ible despatch this little fleet was equipped. A
multitude of privateers sprang into existence at
the same time, and swarmed ont into the sea, with a
success fatal to English navigation. An immense
quantity of provisions, cattle, arms and munitions
of war, which the English were transporting across
the ocean„at a vast expense, became the prey of
the American ships.
* N. H. Hist. Coll., V., p. 245.
32

250 HISTORY OF
chap. While New Hampshire thus contributed her full
.__ share to this humble squadron, she also furnished
1776. /her quota of troops. Two thousand men were
raised for the service of this year, and constituted
four regiments. One moved from Boston to New
York, in the army of Washington, and was placed
under command of General Sullivan. One, raised
in the western part of the province, under com
mand of Colonel Bedell, was destined to join the
expedition against Canada — one of the most sin
gularly bold, and romantic enterprises recorded in
military annals. The names of Montgomery,
Morgan, Allen,* Warner, Livingston, Brown and
Arnold, appear as leaders — all bold spirits, distin
guished for deeds of daring ; and all, with the
exception of the last, true to the American cause.
This expedition contemplated the bold plan of
leading two forces, one of which, by the way of
the Kennebec, was to emerge from the wilderness
near Quebec, and join another force marching by
the way of lake Champlain. With incredible for
titude, and after incredible hardships, they had
reached their destination, and, in the face of fear
ful odds, had taken Montreal. Hastening to
Quebec, amidst the snows of that fierce climate,
1775 in the month of December, Montgomery hurried
Dec. on to the assault of that strong fortress. Pro-
digies of valor were performed by the American
troops, but they were overpowered by numbers.
Montgomery, the brave and generous Montgomery,
fell there, wept and honored ; Arnold was carried
off the field wounded, and Morgan succeeded to
the command. Impetuous as the thunderbolt, he
* Of Vermont, who led the " Green Mountain Boys."

31.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 251
rushed forward, and fought like a lion at the chap.
head of his forlorn hope ; but was forced to sur- ,_^__,
render. While the American troops were com
pelled to retreat from Quebec, calamity followed
them in another quarter. The important post of
the Cedars, about forty miles above Montreal, gar
risoned by four hundred men, under Col. Bedell,
was surrendered, in the most cowardly manner, by
a subordinate officer* of Colonel Bedell, to five
hundred British and Indians. Finally, after linger
ing in the vicinity of Quebec until the augment- 1776.
ed numbers of the British army rendered every
hope vain, the Americans determined on evacuating
Canada, and commenced their retreat. It was to
meet the broken remnants of the army of Canada,
that General Sullivan was detached by Washing
ton, from New York, at the head of the New
Hampshire troops.
At the mouth of the Sorel he met them, in the June 1.
last extremity of suffering. They had been com
pelled to subsist sometimes upon the meat of dogs,
and had even boiled their shoes in the last extrem
ity of hunger. The small-pox had broken out
amongst them, to which the commander-in-chief,
General Thomas, had fallen a victim. Followed
by an army of thirteen thousand men, they retreat
ed to St. Johns, where pursuit ceased, and on the
first of July, they arrived at Ticonderoga. Near- Ju]y l-
ly one third of them had perished by sickness.
Those that remained, marched under Washington,
and took part in the brilliant actions of Trenton
and Princeton.
The American congress were now about to take
\
* Colonel Bedell was, at the time, absent at Montreal to obtain assistance.

dence. June

252 HISTORY OF
chap, an important step. Independence had become the
__~-L general voice of the people. On the eleventh of
H^np- June, 1776, a committee was chosen by the assem-
srer-6 bly and another by the council of New Hampshire,
SonVeas " to make a draught of a declaration of the inde-
ationof pendence of the united colonies." On the fifteenth,
pen- the committees of both houses reported a Decla
ration of Independence, which was adopted
tiT unanimously, and a copy sent forthwith to their
delegates in congress. It was in these words : —
"Whereas it now appears an undoubted fact, that,
notwithstanding all the dutiful petitions and decent
remonstrances from the American colonies, arid
the utmost exertions of their best friends in Eng
land on their behalf, the British ministry, arbitrary
and vindictive, are yet determined to reduce, by
fire and sword, our bleeding country to their abso
lute obedience ; and for this purpose, in addition
to their own forces, they have engaged great num
bers of foreign mercenaries, who may now be on
their passage here, accompanied by a formidable
fleet to ravish and plunder the sea-coast ; from all
which we may reasonably expect the most dismal
scenes of distress the ensuing year, unless we
exert ourselves by every means and precaution
possible ; and whereas we, of this colony of New
Hampshire, have the example of several of the
most respectable of our sister colonies before us,
for entering upon that most important step of dis
union from Great Britain, and declaring ourselves
FREE AND INDEPENDENT of the crown
thereof, being impelled thereto, by the most violent
and injurious treatment ; and it appearing abso
lutely necessary, in this most critical juncture of

NE_W HAMPSHIRE. 253
our public affairs, that the honorable, the conti- chap.
nental congress, who have this important object _Li_
under immediate consideration, should be also
informed of our resolutions thereon, without loss
of time ; we do hereby declare that it is the opin
ion of this assembly, that our delegates at the
continental congress should be instructed, and
they are hereby instructed, to join with the other
colonies, in declaring the thirteen united colonies
a free and independent state — solemnly pledging
our faith and honor, that we will, on our parts,
support the measure with our lives and fortunes —
and that, in consequence thereof, they, the conti
nental congress, on whose wisdom, fidelity and
integrity we rely, may enter into and form such
alliances as they may judge most conducive to the
present safety and future advantage of these
American colonies : Provided, the regulation of
our own internal police be under the direction of
our own assembly."
This declaration was not in advance of the pop- Gazette
1 r June 8,
ular sentiment. The New Hampshire Gazette, as '"6.
early as October, 1775, had hinted at indepen
dence, and now advocated it. " Wherein," says
a writer in the Gazette of June 8th, 1776, "is
America lawfully subject to the crown of Great
Britain, or to any other power in that island?
The answer, at the present time, is very obvious ;
that Great Britain, by the free consent and con
currence of the king with the other two branches
of the "legislature, having, by acts of the greatest
injustice and inhumanity, and with unparalleled
cruelty and violence, broke faith with America, the
latter stands wholly disengaged from, and indepen-

254 HISTORY OF
chap, dent of, and unconnected with, the former, and is
ix . . •
_~Y at liberty to form any new plan of union or dis
union, as she thinks fit and best. All charters and
agreements between the two countries are entirely
cancelled and vacated ; and a state of nature in
America, so far as relates to the laws of Great
Britain, has revolved upon the former, wholly
owing to the misconduct of the latter — all laws
naturally returning back into the hands of the
people, or at least, ought so to do, as often as
tyranny and oppression extend their lawless
sway." This writer only gave expression to the popular
feeling and to the sentiments ofthe declaration.
1776. Other states passed similar resolves ; and on the
fourth of July, a day ever memorable, that im
mortal body, the American Congress, in which
July 4 New Hampshire was represented by Josiah Bart
lett, William Whipple and Matthew Thornton,
published their high resolve to the world. R was
framed by the philosophic mind of Jefferson, and
proclaimed the complete independence of the col
onies. It dissolved all connexion with Great Brit
ain. It was received with joy by the army and
the people. Within fourteen days, it was pub-
knap, lished by beat of drum in all the shire towns in
New Hampshire. At Exeter it was read, by the
patriotic Gilman, to the assembled multitude, with
a rapturous emotion which for a few moments
choked his utterance.
And now America presented a spectacle inviting
the admiration of the world. With defeat on her
arms, yet with a resolution soaring above the
reverses of fortune— with Washington in the field

NEW HAMPSHIRE. , 255
— Franklin and Jefferson in her councils — Adams chap. TX
and Henry in the popular assemblies, with hun- _-__
dreds like them in feeling, she stood before the
world, confronting the giant power of England.
The patriotism of New Hampshire, at this epoch,*
did not evaporate in momentary feeling. For the
service of 1777, three regiments, under the com
mand of Colonels Joseph Cilley, Nathan Hale'and
Alexander Scammell, were raised for long enlist- 1777.
ments, and rendezvoused at Ticonderoga, under the
immediate command of Brigadier General Poor.
Here they remained until the approach of the
British army, under General Burgoyne, rendered
it advisable to abandon that post. On the retreat, Ee'.-
Colonel Hale's battalion was ordered to cover p."*.'.
the rear of the invalids, which brought him seven Ju'y6-
miles behind the main body. The next morning
he was attacked by an advanced party of the
enemy at HubKardton. A sharp skirmish ensued,
in which Major Titcomb was wounded, and Colonel
Hale, Captains Robertson, Carr and Norris, Ad
jutant Elliot and two other officers, with about
one hundred men, were taken prisoners. The
main body of the army fell back upon Saratoga.
But, before their arrival, a skirmish tpok place at
fort Anne, in which Captain Weare, a son of the
president, was mortally wounded, and died after
wards at Albany. When the news of Burgoyne's
advance reached New Hampshire, the assembly
was quickly summoned together, and, in a session
of three days, adopted an effectual plan of defence.
They formed the militia of the state into two
* See "Returns of the Association Test," for 1776, in the office of the
Secretary of State, at Concord.

256 HISTORY OF
chap, brigades, under command of William Whipple
J5l_ and John Stark. A portion of each were drafted,
and were ordered to march immediately to stop
the progress of the enemy. Stark pushed forward
and joined the Vermont forces, under Colonel
Warner, twenty miles above Bennington. Gen.
Burgoyne, with the main body of the British army,
had arrived at fort Edward. Burgoyne had
1777. vaunted that his course should lead through Ver
mont, and should be but a triumphal march, which
was to complete the conquest of New England.
Finding his army in want of provisions, and learn
ing that the provincials had a large depot of pork,
beef and flour, at Bennington, he despatched
Colonel Baum, with fifteen hundred men, to pene
trate to Connecticut river, to collect horses to
mount the .dragoons, and cattle for provisions.
He was to persuade the people among whom he
should pass that his detachment was the advanced
guard of the army, which was in victorious march
to Boston. Learning that the provincials had a
large depot of beef, pork and flour at Bennington,
Colonel Baum went, with five hundred men, to
seize them. Some of the Indians who preceded
this detachment, being discovered about twelve^
miles from Bennington, Stark detached Colonel
Gregg, with two hundred men, to stop their pro
gress. In the evening of the same day, informa
tion was given that a body of regular troops were
1777. marching upon Bennington with a train of artillery,
ug" The next morning he marched with his whole
brigade to the support of Gregg, who, having found
himself outnumbered, was retreating, the enemy
pursuing within one mile of his rear. When thev

NEW HABIPSHIRE. 257
perceived Stark advancing, they halted, erected chap.
breastworks, and sent back to call a reinforce- __Y__
ment. Stark drew up his men on an eminence in
open view, but could not bring the enemy to an
engagement. He then marched back a mile, and
encamped, leaving a few men to skirmish with the
enemy. The next day being rainy, Stark kept his
position; but, to try the spirit of his troops, he sent
out skirmishing parties to harass the enemy. The
militia being brave, in the several skirmishes
between small detachments were uniformly suc
cessful. This sharpened their courage, and on Ogle's
the sixteenth of August, Stark, who now had Yin'"
his forces augmented by the Berkshire men from p- 33-
Massachusetts, resolved to attack the main
body. His force now amounted to sixteen hun
dred men. Colonel Nichols, with two hundred
men, was ordered to the rear of the enemy's left
wing ; and Colonel Hendrick, with three hundred,
to the rear of their right. Three hundred men were
ordered to attack them in front, and draw their
attention. Then, sending Colonels Hubbard and
Stickney, with two hundred, to attack the right
wing, and one hundred more to reinforce Nichols
in the rear of their left, the battle commenced
by an attack on the rear of the left wing, at pre
cisely three o'clock in the afternoon. It was
immediately seconded by the other detachments,
and, at the same time, Stark himself advanced
with the main body. For two hours the Hessians*
fought bravely; but, overwhelmed by numbers,
and their entrenchments assaulted by yet braver
troops, they were overpowered. The Americans
* German troops in the English service.
33

258 history of
chap, forced their entrenchments, and they fled in dis-
^-1_ order. But carelessness had now well nigh lost
what valor had won. The Americans, apprehend
ing no danger, dispersed in search of plunder and
fugitives. Suddenly the reinforcements sent to
Baum arrived, and fell furiously upon the scat
tered Americans. Fortunately, at this critical
juncture, the Green Mountain Boys came up,
under Colonel Warner, and threw themselves
impetuously upon the enemy. The scattered
militia rallied fast to his support. The battle
lasted till night, when the enemy, retreating under
cover of the darkness, made good their escape.
Four pieces of cannon, with all the baggage wag
gons and horses of the enemy, were the trophies
of this victory. Two hundred and twenty-six men
were found dead on the field of battle. Colonel
Baum, mortally wounded, was taken ; besides
whom thirty-three officers and seven hundred pri
vates were made prisoners. Of Stark's brigade,
four officers and ten privates were killed, and forty-
two were wounded.
Long before the battle, General Poor, a junior
officer, had been promoted over Stark ; who, being
offended, had resigned his commission, and, in dis
gust, retired to his farm. At the news of Bur-
goyne's approach, he had taken the field, and was
acting under the authority of the assembly of New
Hampshire. When congress heard of this, a few
days before the battle, they passed a resolve, that
the movements of General Stark were "destruc
tive of military subordination, and prejudicial to
the common cause." But by accident the same
congress heard of his victory. They immediately

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 259
passed a vote of thanks to him, and promoted him chap.
to the rank of a brigadier general. .—Y,
The colonies had long been depressed by dis
aster and defeat ; but the decisive victory of Ben
nington turned the tide of success, and diffused
confidence and joy. The prospect of a more glo
rious victory burst upon the Americans, and
crowds of militia flocked to the republican camp.
It happened, at this time, that there was a change 1777.
of officers, and General Gates had been appointed
to the army of the north. Arnold, the thunder
bolt of war, whose path was always marked with
carnage, was also there, and Morgan, already dis
tinguished for his brilliant achievements, with the
patriot of Poland, the brave Kosciusko, were there.
These several causes combined, produced a, gen
eral rising of the people at the north, and it
seemed that every man, who could bear arms, was
rushing to the camp of Gates.
Thus General Gates found himself at the head
of an army of five thousand men. On the 8th of sept. s.
September he left his encampment at the islands,
proceeded to Stillwater, and occupied Bemus
heights. On the twelfth, Burgoyne crossed the ^_?-
Hudson, and on the seventeenth, moved forward to Sept.
Saratoga, and encamped within three miles of the 17'
American army. The next day occurred the first Sept.
battle of Stillwater. It began by skirmishes be
tween the scouting parties. Each side sent rein
forcements to their combatants, respectively, until
nearly the whole of both armies were engaged.
The Americans took advantage of a dense wood,
from which they poured a deadly fire. Unable to
withstand it, the British lines broke, and the

260 HISTORY OF
chap. Americans, rushing from their coverts, pursued
___L, them to an eminence, where, their flanks being
supported, they rallied, and, charging in their turn,
1777. drove the Americans into the woods, from which
they again poured a fire too deadly to be with
stood. Again the British fell back. At every
charge their artillery fell into the hands of the
Americans. Night put an end to the conflict.
The Americans retired to their camp, having lost
between three and four hundred. The British loss
was five hundred. Both sides claimed the victory.
The former gained the advantages of a victory,
the latter reaped the worst consequences of defeat.
From this time to the seventh of October, fre
quent skirmishes occurred between the two armies.
On that day a general battle was fought at Sam
oa, r. toga. It began by an attack of the Americans,
under General Poor, on the left flank and front
of the British. At the same time, Morgan made
an onset upon their right. The action now be
came general. The efforts of the combatants on
both sides were desperate, and both displayed
equal valor. Burgoyne and his officers fought as if
their all of reputation depended on the issue of the
day ; while the Americans contested the field like
men resolved to die rather than surrender their
native soil to invaders. In fifty-two minutes the
Wil. invading army gave way. The defenders of the
Repul soil pursued them to their entrenchments, and
hcf206. force(j the guard. Arnold was seen amongst the
most furious, and seemed to court danger.
Throughout the whole action, he fought like a
lion, overturning with fierce slaughter all that
opposed his progress. Putting himself at the

Oct. 17.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 261.
head of a small band, he rushed into the thickest chap. ix
of the enemy, and carried apportion of the works  L
by storm. His horse was shot under him, and he
himself wounded. Mounting another, he plunged
again into the thickest of the fight, but night com
ing on, Gates retired ; and the ruin of the British
army was reserved to another day.
The Americans, that night, rested on their arms
upon the field which they had so nobly won. Gates Hale,
now perceived that a bloodless victory wras in his
power. Burgoyne was completely ^surrounded and
hemmed in on every side. His supplies were cut
off, and all hope of succor from General Clinton 1777.
had failed. In this distressed condition, he sum
moned a council of war. Their advice was unan
imous, and on the seventeenth, the whole army,
amounting to five thousand seven hundred and fifty-
two, surrendered, prisoners of war. Their arms,
thirty-five brass field-pieces and five thousand mus
kets, fell into the hands of the Americans. They
marched out of their camp with the honors of war,
and thus terminated the vaunted expedition of
Burgoyne, from which so much was expected, and
so much was feared. The news of this great vic
tory diffused everywhere the wildest joy. At the
news of Burgoyne's downfall, Clinton dismantled
the forts he had taken, and retreated, bearing with
him the execrations of a people whom he had
plundered, and a fame for having revived, in an age
distinguished for civilization, atrocities which be
long to the most barbarous times.*
There no longer remained an army at the north,
and the theatre of war changed to the south. In 1778.
* Willard's Republic, p. 207.

262 history of
chap, the battle of Monmouth, a part of the New Hamp-
_Y__ shire troops, under Colonel Cilley and Lieutenant
Colonel Dearborn, behaved with such distinguish
ed bravery as to receive the notice and approba
tion of the illustrious Washington. At the close
of that campaign, they retired to huts at Reading.
France had now become our ally in the struggle,
and in July, congress received, with inexpressible
na47 J°y> a letter from Count D'Estaing, announcing
the approach of a French fleet. On his arrival,
in concert with General Sullivan, who had com
mand of the troops in that quarter, he planned a
combined attack by land and sea, on the British
forces at Newport in Rhode Island. A call upon
the militia of New England, brought to the standard
of Sullivan an army of ten thousand men. He
took a position on the north end of Rhode Island,
and then moved towards Newport. Admiral
Howe, having received a reinforcement, appeared
before the harbor ; but while preparing for battle,
a storm dispersed both fleets. The ships being
damaged, Count D'Estaing proceeded to Boston,
and Sullivan, deserted by the fleet, and finding it
unsafe to remain longer on the island, retreated to
his first position. He was pursued and attacked.
He gallantly resisted, and the British were repuls
ed with loss. Through the rest ofthe day he kept
a bold face towards the foe ; and having deceived
them into a belief that he was preparing to attack
them, effected, in the ensuing night, his retreat
across the narrow sheet of water which divides
the island from the main. With great secrecv and
Whiton, -.i . i , . „° J
p. 141. without loss, this retreat was effected.
The next morning the British discovered, from

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 263
an eminence, several American officers at break- chap.
fast, in the general's quarters. Immediately a cap- _i^L
tain of artillery was directed to point a cannon at
the spot. It shattered the leg of John S. Sher
burne, at that time aid-de-camp to Gen. Sullivan.
The massacre at the beautiful settlement of
Wyoming, now attracted the notice of congress ;
and General Sullivan was appointed to the com
mand of an army of four thousand men,* destined
to carry terror to the savages. His route lay up
the river Susquehannah, into the country of the
Senecas. Into this unexplored region, no troops
had ever penetrated before. General Sullivan had
all the difficulties to encounter, which had so often
proved fatal to the whites in the preceding Indian
wars. With great judgment and sagacity his expe
dition was planned and conducted. The army, pro
ceeding in two divisions, one from the Mohawk, the
other from Wyoming, formed a junction on the Sus
quehannah, and proceeded, on the twenty-second
of August, towards the lower lake. The Indians,
in connection with two hundred tories, were drawn
up in an advantageous position, and had erected for
tifications to oppose their progress. These were
vigorously assaulted by General Sullivan, and
after a slight resistance, the enemy gave way, arid
disappeared in the woods. The army advanced
into the western part of New York. The Indians
deserted their towns, which had begun to assume
an appearance of civilization, never before found
in the wilds of North America.f The houses were
commodious, the apple and peach trees numerous,
the crops of corn abundant. These were all de-
* Hale, II. t Hale, IL, p. 55.

264 history of new Hampshire.
chap, stroyed. Not a vestige was left of all that gave
_ — -_ beauty to the wilderness, and distinguished the
Senecas from the ruder tribes around them. Hav-
"^CT ing accomplished this work of vengeance, Sullivan
Oct. returned to Easton, in Pennsylvania. Capt. Cloyes
and Lieutenant McAulay had fallen, and with them
he had lost forty men, by sickness and in battle.
In the following year the New Hampshire regi
ments were stationed at West Point. Afterwards
1780. they marched into New Jersey, where Gen. Poor
knap, died. He had accompanied the expedition of Sul-
sept. 8. livan as far as the Genesee, and had defeated the
savage enemy. Afterwards he commanded a brig
ade under Major General La Fayette. The win
ter of this year was passed by the New Hampshire
troops in a hutted cantonment near the Hudson
river, at a place called Soldier's Fortune. At the
close of this year, the three regiments were reduc
ed to two, commanded by the colonels Scammell
and George Reid. The next year a part of them
went to Virginia, and were present at the capture
ofthe second British army, under Earl Cornwallis.
Here the brave and active Colonel Scammell fell.
They were quartered at Saratoga and on the Mo
hawk river, until the decisive battle of Yorktown
drew from the king of England an acknowledg
ment that his revolted colonies in North America
were free and independent states.
In the moment of victory, and while possessing
a boundless influence over the army, the incorrupt
ible Washington returned his sword to his country
and retired to his plantation at Mount Vernon,
where his ashes now repose. Ambition will for
ever be awed and admonished by such an example.

CHAPTER X.
Depreciation of continental money — Efforts of Congress to prevent the
depreciation — Proscription of persons and confiscation of estates — Con
stitution proposed — rejected by the people — Another proposed — Revolt of
sixteen towns — Monetaiy distress — Insurrection — the insurgents made
prisoners — Union of the states — Convention of delegates at Philadel
phia — The Federal Constitution — submitted to the people — Convention
assembles at Exeter to ratify the Federal Constitution — Conflicting opin
ions — Joshua Atherton's speech against the adoption of the Constitution —
It is finally ratified — Washington chosen President of the United States —
John Langdon elected President of New Hampshire — Washington visits
New Hampshire — Progress of settlements — Increase of population — Sup
port of common schools — Education — Establishment of post oifices — State
debts — Revision of the State Constitution — Josiah Bartlett — Formation
of parties— Republicans — Federalists — Depreciation of paper money — The
privateer ship M'Clary — Case of the prize ship Susanna — Remonstrances
against the acts of the general" government — Jay's treaty — Progress
of settlements — Lake Winnipiseogee — A medical school established —
Troubles with France — Laws for the observance of the Sabbath — Death of
Washington — Administration of John Adams — Organization of parties —
Manufactures — Coos county — Scenery around the mountains.
To provide the "sinews of war," congress chap.
was compelled, after finding itself wholly cut off _,___
from every other resource, to issue continental 1776-
bills of credit, based, not on specie, but on distant
and problematical taxation. The patriotism of
the people — the same self-sacrificing spirit that
caused them to shed their blood for the sacred
cause of liberty — for a short period sustained the
credit of these worthless emissions. The colonies
were soon flooded with them : they were the only
currency in circulation. Those who had specie
carefully hoarded it up. As the government, how-
34

266 HISTORY OF
chap, ever, became more settled and stable, and the
_^L_. people withdrew their attention from public affairs
to their own private interests, these bills fell into
gradual but fatal discredit. The authorities, of
the several states attempted to revive public con
fidence. Laws were enacted in New Hampshire
making them legal tender, and if they were refused
by a creditor, that refusal discharged the debt.
Such an enactment, it may be readily supposed,
increased rather than alleviated the general dis
tress. Creditors, by fraud or legal subterfuge,
avoided it. In the meantime increasing effort
was made by congress to stop the depreciation.
1777. Among other things, they issued a circular, which
they ordered to be read to the congregations,
throughout the states, assembled for religious
worship. The circular was an ingenious and elab
orate argument in favor of a paper currency, which
it called " the only kind of money which could not
make to itself wings and fly away."
The distress became so alarming that a conven
tion was held at Springfield, composed of delegates
from the New England states and New York.
The convention memorialized congress, praying
that body, for the relief of the public difficulties,
to establish a system of taxation, and open loan
offices in the several states. Congress, in answer,
recommended a plan of confiscation, which by seve
ral states was followed.
1778. New Hampshire proscribed seventy-six persons,
who had for various causes left the state, and for
bade their return. The property of twenty-eight
of them was confiscated, and all previous attach
ments thereby dissolved. This measure, doubtfully

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 267
justified by extreme necessity, did not result so chap.
beneficially as was anticipated to the treasury of  Y
the state, as the net profit was comparatively un
important. - While these estates were in process of settle
ment, the continental bills continued to fluctuate,
occasionally rising slightly in nominal value, but
always followed by a rapid depreciation, until,
as by common consent, they disappeared, and spe
cie, from the public- mint, took their place.
A large convention of delegates assembled for 1779.
the purpose of framing and recommending to the
people a state constitution ; but it was deficient
in so many respects that it was rejected by the
popular vote almost unanimously. Another con- 1781.
vention was afterwards called, which occupied two
years. The first plan proposed by that body was
rejected, but the second was generally approved
and adopted. The present constitution partakes
of all the general features of that, but has received
such modifications as the growing importance of
the state and increase of population have demanded.
To this convention sixteen towns, on the east- 1782.
ern side of the Connecticut river, refused to send
delegates, on the ground that the war had dis
severed all colonial ties and responsibilities, that
the inhabitants reverted to a " state of nature,"
and that each town had the entire right to govern
itself as an independent municipal community.
The people on the western side of the river, having
adopted the same doctrine, had cut themselves
loose from New York, and formed an independent
state, which was called Vermont. These sixteen
recusant towns immediately desired to be admitted

268 HISTORY OF
chap, into the confederacy, which was granted by the
_Y legislative body of the new state. New Hamp
shire refused to resign its claim, or to acknowl
edge the novel doctrines upon which the secession
was based ; and the consequence was a long and
bitter controversy, which soon involved so many
collateral questions that New York and Mas
sachusetts were brought into the contest. After
much discussion, the controversy was closed by
the decision of congress. Vermont demanded
admission into the Union, and threatened to make
terms with the British government if that admis
sion was withheld. Congress required, as an indis
pensable preliminary, that the revolted towns should
be restored to New Hampshire ; to which Vermont
consented. The assembly of that state, during
the absence of a portion of its members, passed an
act drawing its eastern boundary by the western
bank of the Connecticut, and relinquishing all
claim to jurisdiction without that limit. After
some slight opposition, and a manifestation of dis
content, the people returned to their allegiance to
New Hampshire. Thus happily was settled a
controversy which, at one period, threatened to
renew the bloody scenes of the revolution.
At the close of the war congress found itself
burthened with a heavy debt, and with no imme
diate means of discharging it. But the creditors
of the government were suffering and clamorous,
and must be relieved. The debt might have been
speedily cancelled by the adoption of a system of
imposts ; but the powers of that body were confined
within the narrowest limits, and they had no au
thority to adopt that course. They were, therefore^

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 269
compelled to put a tax on polls and estates. The chap.
result was most disastrous to the people, and to  __
none more than to those of New Hampshire. The
courts of law were thronged with unhappy debtors
and importunate creditors — business stagnated —
and distress was general.
To meet the evil, conventions, composed of the 1785.
discontented, were held, and the assembly urged
to emit large issues of paper money, based on real
estate, and drawing interest. The assembly did
all in their power to relieve the public suffering.
They passed an act to call in all treasury notes
issued by the states, " and give certificates for
the interest and fifteen per cent, of the principal
annually; which certificates were to be received
by the treasurer for taxes, in lieu of, and equal to
silver and gold." But farther than this they re
fused to proceed. They exhorted the people to
industry and economy, as the only sure remedy for
the public evils. They assured them that their
true wealth was in the soil ; that attention to agri
culture would soon alleviate the monetary troubles
of the state ; and that the granting of their petition
would aggravate rather than cure their embar
rassments. Massachusetts, about this period, passed an
act providing that cattle, and other articles enu
merated, should be a legal tender on executions,
and be received at an appraisement of impartial
men under oath. In compliance with a petition
from certain parts of the state, the assembly of
New Hampshire enacted a law somewhat similar.
The import of it was that the debtor might tender
to his creditor, on an execution, real or personal

270 HISTORY OF
chap, estate sufficient, at a fair valuatioii, made by three
.__J_ sworn appraisers, to cancel the debt, and if it were
refused, the body of the debtor was to be ever after
exempted from arrest. The tender, however, if re
fused, did not discharge the debt. The creditor
could keep it alive by taking out an alias within one
year after the return of any former execution, and
might levy on any estate that he could find, the debt
in the meanwhile drawing six per cent, interest.
This act continued in force five years, although it
was justly complained of as unconstitutional and as
a direct violation ofthe obligation of contracts. Its
indirect effect was to secure the insolvent debtor
in the actual, though not always nominal, posses
sion of property which, by right, belonged to his
creditors. But there was another and still more
general result produced by it ; — those who had
specie refused to give it circulation while the
1786. tender-act was in force. And though the legisla
ture, to encourage its importation into the coun
try, exempted from port duties those vessels that
should bring only gold and silver, and one half the
duties where one half the value of the whole cargo
was gold and silver, yet it tended in no manner
to relieve the monetary distress.
The demand for paper money still continued,
and became increasingly clamorous. A large por
tion of the press united with political demagogues
to keep the public excitement upon this subject to
. its highest tension. The most extravagant argu
ments were urged by the zealots of that period.
It was said that the people had a right to require
their representatives to stamp value upon any
thing that was impressible, and that by passing

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 271
an act of outlawry upon any person who should chap
refuse to receive it, depreciation would be forever __
prevented. As the confidence of this party in its
numerical strength increased, a portion of them
extended their demands. They required the abo
lition of the inferior courts, an equal distribution
of property, and a release from all debts.
To test the real sentiments of the people, the
assembly proposed, for the public consideration, a
plan for the emission of paper currency to the
amount of fifty thousand pounds, to be loaned at
four per cent., on real estate, and to be a tender
in payment of taxes ; and desired a return of the
votes of each town at the ensuing session.
The leaders of the excitement were not satisfied
with this proposition. They considered it, or pro
fessed to consider it, merely a manoeuvre to calm
the public ferment. Stirred by the wild and vague
rumors of Shay's rebellion in the sister state of
Massachusetts, which was then at its height,
about two hundred persons, principally from the
western part of Rockingham county, assembled at
Kingston, about six miles from Exeter, the seat of
government. Armed with swords, clubs, scythes,
and muskets, they marched, to the beat of a drum,
into the meeting-house where the assembly were
in session. The president, Gen. John Sullivan,
with great moderation stated the reasons why
their petitions could not be granted, and that the
assembly could accede to nothing while threatened
by an armed body. After some unimportant de
monstrations on the part of the insurgents, they
were struck with panic at the cry, " Bring out the
artillery !" and retired for the night. In the morn-

272 HISTORY OF
chap, ing, a numerous body of militia and a conipany of
__!y. horse entered Exeter, and, when the insurgents
appeared, rushed upon them, took about forty
prisoners, without bloodshed, and dispersed the
others. The assembly deemed mildness the wiser policy,
and therefore dismissed all but six. These were
required to recognise for their appearance at the
next superior court, and their bonds were dis
charged. The firm and prudent course of the government
thus crushed a political movement which in time
might have swept away all law, and introduced a
popular despotism far worse than that which had
been fastened upon the state by a foreign power.
1787. The plan for a paper emission, proposed by the
assembly, was rejected by the popular vote, and
thus the whole question put at rest.
17S8. The commencement of the year 1788 presented
one of the most important periods in our history.
Having passed through the flames of a revolution,
and obtained from Great Britain, at vast expense
of blood and treasure, a recognition of their rights
as an independent people, the next care of our
forefathers was the establishment of a constitu
tion for the common government. Bound together
during the war by a consciousness of the common
danger and the necessity of mutual aid, the states
were enabled, even under the imperfect govern
ment they had formed at the commencement of the
revolution, to act harmoniously together in the
great contest which led to its consummation. But
no sooner had the common enemy relinquished his
foothold on our soil, a treaty of peace been con-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 273
eluded with the power of which we had so recently chap.
been unprivileged subjects, and the necessities of _JL_
war ceased to operate upon our national councils,
than the people began to discover the necessity of
a more perfect system of government. The con
federacy of 1778 was calculated only for a tem
porary existence. It neither defined with sufficient
clearness the rights of the citizen, nor traced with
the necessary precision the dividing line which
separated the powers of the individual states and
the confederacy itself. The necessity of a gov
ernment based upon more fixed and enduring
principles, was admitted by general consent ; and
there was scarcely a dissenting opinion in relation
to the propriety of establishing a permanent union
of the states, secured and protected by a general
government, strong enough to protect our rights
and our territories from the encroachments of for
eign powers, and liberal enough in its provisions
to compensate the people for the hardships and
dangers they had endured in their struggle for
independence. The credit of making the first movement towards
the accomplishment of this object, belongs to Vir
ginia. As early as 1786 that state formally
proposed a convention of commissioners from the
several states, "to take into consideration the
trade and commerce of the United States ; to con
sider how far a uniform system, in their com
mercial intercourse and regulations, might be
necessary to their common interest and permanent
harmony ; and report to the several states such an
act relative to this great object, as, when unani
mously ratified by them, should enable the United
35

274 HISTORY OF
chap. States, in congress assembled, effectually to pro-
_JL_ vide for the same." By subsequent agreement,
this convention was holden at Annapolis, in Mary
land, in September of the same year. Delegates
attended from five states only — Virginia, Pennsyl
vania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York —
and in consequence of the small number of states
represented, deemed it improper to proceed with
the important business with which they had been
intrusted. Sensible, however, ofthe necessity of a
re-organization ofthe government, they drafted an
address to the people, expressing their views on
that subject, detailing the defects of the arti
cles of confederation, and recommending a general
convention of the states, to be holden at Phila
delphia, on the second Monday of May, 1787.
Congress, having seconded this recommendation,
* delegates from all the states, except Rhode Island,
assembled at the appointed time in Philadelphia,
and on the seventeenth day of the following Sep
tember, agreed upon a Federal Constitution. This
instrument was soon after, by the votes of eleven
states, in congress assembled, submitted to the
several states for their ratification.
However unanimous the people might have been
in the sentiment, that a national government, rest
ing upon some more substantial basis than the old
articles of confederation, was essential to the pub
lic welfare, the convention of the states was
divided by many conflicting opinions in relation
to the principles upon which that government
should be founded, A small portion of its mem
bers, permitting their partiality for a strong gov
ernment to lead them beyond those restraints

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 275
which a regard for the great principle of equal chap.
rights would seem to have dictated, favored as a __-!^_
matter of sound policy the establishment of a
president and senate, to hold office during life, as
the only means of protecting the government from
those ruinous fluctuations of sentiment, which
they contended would be the effect of a more re
publican form. On the other hand, a portion of
its members were unwilling to invest the govern
ment which was to be the result of their delibera
tions, with the powers which are now universally
conceded to be indispensably necessary to the
common welfare in peace and the common de
fence in war. A vast variety of questions, all of
them important, and some of them involving the
peculiar interests of large sections of the country,
successively claimed the attention of the conven
tion. At times almost despairing of being able to
effect the purposes for which they were assembled,
it was only by mutual concessions that its mem
bers were able to agree upon a constitution, which
with slight amendments, now forms the connect
ing bond of twenty-six independent and prosperous
states — a constitution which is at once venerated
by our citizens and regarded with admiration by
the world.
When the question of ratification was submitted
to the states, the same objections which had
embarrassed the deliberations of the convention
which framed the constitution, were urged to pre
vent its adoption. The result was doubtful, and
the whole community watched the deliberations of
the state conventions with intense anxiety. The
convention for the state of New Hampshire,

276 HISTORY OF
chap, assembled at Exeter, on the second Wednesday
_JL_ of February, 1788. Eight states, some of them
by small majorities, had given their assent to the
constitution. The ninth only was necessary to
its ratification. At this crisis, therefore, all eyes
were directed to New Hampshire, as the state
upon whose decision the fate of the constitution
seemed in a great measure to depend. Its assent,
on the one hand, would settle the question in its
favor ; • and its dissent, on the other, in the then
divided state of public opinion, might create a
popular impulse against it, fatal to its final success.
The convention was composed, to a great extent,
of men of the first talents and respectability ; men
whose services, during the trying times of the rev
olution, had afforded them the advantages of expe
rience, and gained them the respect and confidence
of the people. General John Sullivan was chosen
its President, and such men as John Langdon,
Josiah Bartlett, John Taylor Gilman, John Pick
ering, Samuel Livermore, Joshua Atherton and
Joseph Badger were numbered among its members.
In the disputes which followed the organization of
the convention, Sullivan, Langdon, Pickering and
Livermore took the lead in favor of the ratifica
tion, and Joshua Atherton, of Amherst, was the
principal speaker against it. Among other objec
tions raised against, the constitution, and urged
with great earnestness, was that clause permitting
the abolition of the slave trade after 1S08,* and
prohibiting any action on the subject, beyond a
trifling tax on their importation, before that time.
* Journal of the Convention which adopted the federal constitution, 178S,
and which revised the constitution of New Hampshire, 1799.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 277
Mr. Atherton opposed this clause with great chap.
warmth; and the following extracts from his re- _i_
marks are believed to be the only relic of the
debates of the convention, which has descended
to the present time.
" The idea that strikes those who oppose this
clause, so disagreeably and forcibly, is that if we
ratify the constitution, we become consenters to
and partakers in the sin and guilt of this abom
inable traffic in slaves, at least for a certain period,
without any positive stipulation that it shall even
then be brought to an end. We do not behold in
it any assurance that ' an end is then to be put to
slavery.' Congress may be as much puzzled to
put a stop to it then as we are now. This clause
has not secured its abolition.
" We do not think we are under any obligation
to perform works of supererogation in the refor
mation of mankind ; we do not esteem ourselves
under any necessity to go to Spain or Italy to
suppress the Inquisition of those countries ; or
of making a journey to the Carolinas to abolish
the detestable custom of enslaving the Africans ;
but, sir, we will not lend the aid of our ratifica
tion to this cruel and inhuman merchandise, not
even for a day. There is a great distinction
between refusing to take any part in a barbarous
violation of the laws of God and humanity, and
guarantying its existence for a term of years.
Yes, sir, it is our full purpose to wash our hands
clear of it ; and however unconcernedly we may
remain spectators of such predatory infractions of
the laws of our nation— however unfeelingly we
may subscribe to the ratification of man-stealing,

278 HISTORY OF
chap, with all its baneful consequences ; yet I cannot but
^J_ believe, in justice to human nature, that if we
reverse the consideration, and bring the effects of
this claimed power somewhat nearer to our own
doors, we shall form a more equitable opinion of
its claim to ratification.
" Let us figure to ourselves a company of these
man-stealers, well equipped for the enterprise,
arriving on our coast. They seize and carry off
the whole or a part of the town of Exeter ; parents
are taken and children left ; or, possibly, they
may be so fortunate as to have a whole family
taken and carried off together by these relentless
robbers. What must be their feelings in the
hands of their new and arbitrary masters ! Drag
ged at once from everything dear to them ; stripped
of every comfort of life, like beasts of prey, they
are hurried on a loathsome and distressing voyage
to the coast of Africa, or some other quarter of
the globe, where the greatest price may waft them ;
and here, if anything can be added to their mis
eries, comes on the heart-breaking scene ! a
parent is sold to one — a son to another, and a
daughter to a third. Brother is cleft from brother
— sister Trom sister — and parents from their dar
ling offspring. Broken down with every distress
that human nature can feel, and bedewed with
tears of anguish, they are dragged into the last
stage of depression and slavery, never, never to
behold the faces of one another again."
As the discussion of the provisions of the con
stitution progressed in the convention, the result
became so doubtful that its friends were unwilling
to hazard an immediate decision. At their request,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 279
the convention adjourned, to re-assemble at Con- chap.
cord in the month of June following.* In the .J^Y-
meantime the subject was fully discussed among
the people. Objections which had existed to a
few features of the constitution, were, in many
instances, gradually overcome by a candid con
sideration of the benefits which would result from
its adoption ; in many cases, instructions adverse
to the constitution were withdrawn ; and when the
convention again assembled, it was with a brighter
prospect, and a greater harmony of sentiment
among its members. . A session of four days was
found sufficient to complete the deliberations of
that body. On the last day of its session, the
opponents of the constitution having in turn
become anxious for the result, and made an unsuc
cessful attempt to procure a second adjournment,
the main question was taken. The result was the
ratification of the constitution, fifty-seven mem
bers voting in its favor and forty-six against it.f
The convention, however, proposed a series of
amendments to the constitution, providing, among
other things, that no standing army should be kept
up in time of peace without the consent of three
fourths of the members of both houses — that the
general government should make no laws touching
religion, or infringing the rights of conscience —
nor disarm any citizen, on any other ground than
actual rebellion.
The convention excited an interest, with which
the proceedings of no other deliberative body in
this state, have ever been regarded, The galleries
of the church, where it assembled, were -thronged
* Journal of the Convention, t lDid'

280 HISTORY OF
chap, with spectators, and its members were surrounded,
.^-..Y. not only by large numbers of their own constitu
ents, but by individuals from distant states —
engaged, some of them, in watching their deliber
ations, and some of them, no doubt, in efforts to
influence the result. Even at this early period,
purified as the moral atmosphere of the country
had been by the storms of a revolution, the most
opposite motives might very probably have influ
enced our citizens to labor for the same result.
Ofthe multitudes who thronged around the meet
ings of the convention, many, doubtless, supported
the constitution from a selfish regard to private
interests of their own ; while many opposed it
from sentiments of the purest patriotism. Specu
lators, who had bought, at a ruinous discount,
from the officers and soldiers of the revolution, a
large amount of continental certificates, natu
rally looked to the establishment of an energetic
general government as the only chance for their
redemption. This class of men, therefore, regarded
the constitution with favor, rather as the sun which
was to bring their own golden harvests to matu
rity, than the means of dispensing the blessings
of equal- rights and free institutions upon a great
nation. So true it is, that the best and wisest
measures are sometimes sustained from venal and
unworthy motives, while the most discreet and vir
tuous men in the community, from mistaken views,
may be found temporarily arrayed in the support
of erroneous principles.
The result of the convention was received with
general satisfaction by our citizens. Even where
the constitution had met with the strongest oppo-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 281
sition, public opinion seemed gradually to have chap.
inclined in its favor, and, in many sections of the ^J^,
state, the news of its adoption was received with
demonstrations of joy, second only to those with
which the people received the Declaration of Inde
pendence itself.
In 1788, John Langdon succeeded General
Sullivan in the presidency of the state. During
the same year, in anticipation of the organization
of the general government, John Langdon and
Paine Wingate were elected members of the
United States senate by the legislature, and
Samuel Livermore, Abiel Foster and Nicholas
Gilman were elected representatives to congress,
by the people.
George Washington having been called to the
presidency by the unanimous vote of the electoral
colleges throughout the Union, the first congress,
on the fourth of March, 1789, assembled at the
city of New York. The wheels of the general
government having now been put in motion, the
credit of the country revived ; commerce received
a new impulse from its legislation, and a perma
nent revenue was provided, sufficient not only to
defray the expenses of the government itself, but
also gradually to extinguish the national debt
which the war had imposed upon the country.
Such, indeed, was the favorable change, produced
by the early action of the government, in the
affairs of the country and the people, as gradually
to reconcile most of those persons to the constitu
tion who had been the most honest and zealous in
opposing it. The excitement which had at one
time prevailed in relation to it, subsided almost
36

282 HISTORY OF
chap, immediately upon its adoption, and a difference of
^J^, opinion as to the construction of the constitution
took the place of that which had prevailed upon
the question of its ratification. Those persons
who had opposed the constitution, on the ground
of its impairing in too great a degree the power of
the states, naturally favored a rigid construction
of the powers conferred upon the general govern
ment. Those, on the other hand, who desired a
strong government, favored a liberal construction
ofthe constitution, and sought to gain from it, by
implication, powers for the general government
which had not been 'conferred by its letter. To
these causes may be traced, to a great extent, the
party divisions which have so long existed in this
country. In 1789 John Sullivan was again elected to the
presidency of the state. During the year he had
the^ pleasure of welcoming to the state the illustri
ous Washington, who, having visited New Eng
land on a tour of observation, extended his visit to
New Hampshire. His approach was hailed with
demonstrations of joy, both from the state authori
ties and the people. He arrived at Portsmouth
on the thirtieth of October, having been met at the
state line by the principal state officers, a regi
ment of cavalry, and a large number of citizens...
His entrance into town was announced by the
ringing of bells and the roar of cannon, and during
his stay he received all those tokens of respect
which are due from a free and grateful people
to a distinguished public benefactor. His visit
gathered new interest from the fact, that scarcely
seven years had then elapsed since the closing

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 283
scenes of the revolution. His companions in arms chap.
were, most of them, still in active life. Hundreds ,_J_Y,
of 'patriots, who with him had relinquished the
comforts of their quiet firesides, and hazarded their
lives to secure, by a long and arduous contest, the
blessings of an independent government and a free
constitution, gathered eagerly around the man,
whose paternal affection for his troops, and inesti
mable services to the public, had entitled him to
be deemed at once the father of the country he
had saved and the armies he had commanded.
From the close of the revolution, an increased
regard for schools and institutions of learning
began to be cherished among our citizens. During
the present year, an academy was incorporated at
New Ipswich, being the second institution of the
kind in the state. The burthens occasioned by
the war having been in some measure removed
from the people, their attention was more generally
directed to the importance of common schools, and
more liberal provision was made for their support.
Towards the close of the year, printing was first
introduced, on rather a limited sjcale, at Concord.
George Hough, who was during his life engaged
more than fifty years in the typographic art, came to
Concord from Windsor, VermonqPwhere he had
been. engaged, in company with Alden Spooner, in
the publication of the Vermont Journal. His
printing-press, the first established in this state
north of Exeter, was set up in a small building in
front of the ground now occupied by the state-
house ; and the first work issued from it was
"Doddsley's Christian Economy," which was pub
lished in October. On the 5th of January, of the

284 HISTORY OF
chap, following year, he commenced the publication of
__ a weekly paper, called the " Concord Herald,"
which, with several changes in its title, was con
tinued till 1805. Such was the first small begin
ning of printing in Concord, where it has since
increased to such an extent, as to entitle that place
to a high rank among the principal publishing
towns in the country.
1790. The election of president, in 1790, was warmly
contested, though upon personal and local grounds,
rather than the prevalence of any divisions of polit
ical sentiment among the people. No choice
having been made by the people, the duty of elect
ing a chief magistrate devolved upon the legisla
ture; and Josiah Bartlett was elected, though two
of his competitors, John Pickering and Joshua
Wentworth, had each received a larger number of
popular votes than himself. The election, how
ever, was approved by the people, and President
Bartlett was, for nearly four years, the chief mag
istrate of the state. Having been honored, a short
time previous, by an appointment to the office of
chief justice of the superior court, — an appoint
ment doubly complimentary to him, as the only
instance in our-Jiistory in which a member of the
medical profession had been elevated to a station
requiring such high legal attainments, — that office
became vacant upon his election to the presidency
ofthe state. At the commencement of his admin
istration, John Pickering, who had been his com
petitor for the chief magistracy, received, at his
hands, an appointment to that important station,
which he filled, with honor to himself and advan
tage to the state, for several years.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 285
From the census which was taken this year, it chap.
appeared that the population of the United States __L
had increased, since the commencement of the rev
olution, from less than three to nearly four mil
lions. New Hampshire had more than kept pace,
in the growth of her population, with the country
at large. At this period she had one hundred and
forty-two thousand inhabitants ; having increased,
notwithstanding the dangers and discouragements
incident to a seven years' war, nearly sixty thou
sand in the fifteen preceding years. Not only
were her towns on the seaboard and in the inte
rior strengthened by the natural growth of their
population, but multitudes of adventurers from the
northern section of Massachusetts, invited by the
cheapness of her lands and the extent and fertility
of her unoccupied domains, had found their way
along the valley of the Connecticut, nearly to its
sources, and, after occupying its intervales, grad
ually extended their settlements among the hills
and valleys of the back country. Points, at an
earlier period apparently inaccessible, were reach
ed by the advancing tide of emigration; and neither
the want of roads, the absence of schools and reli
gious privileges, or the other innumerable priva
tions incident to a settlement in the wilderness,
were sufficient obstacles to stay its progress.
Even the recesses of the White Mountains, whose
snow-clad summits the Indians looked upon, during
their early conflicts with the white men, as an
eternal barrier against their intrusion, were reach
ed at this early period.
During the session of the legislature in 1791, a 1791.
law was passed, requiring the assessment of a tax

286 HISTORY OF
chap, of seven thousand five hundred pounds -sterling
_Y— upon the several towns in the state, in proportion
to their taxable property, for the support of com
mon schools. Hitherto the measures taken by the
state, for the establishment of schools and institu
tions of learning, while they proved that its citi
zens were not unmindful of the advantages of
education, had possessed too little energy for the
general diffusion of those advantages through
the community. A law had passed, as early as
1693, requiring each town to "provide a school
master." In this act Dover was expressly ex
cepted, being at that time too much impoverished,
by the frequent incursions of Indian enemies, to
sustain any considerable burthen for any other
purpose than its own defence. In 1719, towns
with fifty or more freeholders were required to be
" constantly provided with a schoolmaster to teach
reading and writing;" and towns containing one
hundred or more freeholders were also enjoined
to maintain a grammar-school, under the instruc
tion of "some discrete person, of good conversa
tion, well instructed in the tongues." Considerable
advantage resulted from these laws, though the
poverty and scanty population of some of the
towns rendered them entirely inoperative, and the
want of proper books and competent instructors
everywhere united with the insecurity of the times
in retarding the progress of popular education.
Reading and writing were, in those early days,
the only branches of instruction in our common
schools. The Bible and Psalter, and the New
England Primer, were the only reading books; and
those who aspired to the more liberal art of chirog-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 287
raphy, instead of white paper, very generally made chap.
use of white birch bark. The first spelling-book Y^_
generally used was not introduced till 1770, and
though very humble in its merits, when compared
with those of the present day, it was considered,
even then, a perfect epitome of all that was essen
tial to a common education.
Some idea of the scientific attainments of our
ancient rulers may be formed from the .circum
stance, that, in a proclamation for a fast in 1681,
they assign as a reason for it, "that awful porten
tous blazing star, usually foreboding sore calam
ity to the beholders thereof." And some idea of
the acquirements of the people, at about the same
period, may be gathered from the fact, that, on a
petition for protection against the Indians, ad
dressed to the general court of Massachusetts in
1690, signed by three hundred and seventy-four
inhabitants of New Hampshire, about one fourth
part of the whole number made their marks. The
signatures of a large portion of the remainder, to
use a favorite expression of Governor Andros,
resembled " the scratch of a bear's paw," rather
than the neat ' chirography of the present age.
Very few of our leading men wrote a, tolerable
hand, and scarcely a schoolboy in the country, at
the present day, would suffer by a comparison of
the performances of his pen with those of our early
secretaries of state.
The schools which had grown up in our princi
pal towns prior to the revolution, under the influ
ence of the early laws for their encouragement, to
'^ which I have referred, and which had been attend
ed with considerable advantages, had been almost

288 HISTORY OF
chap, universally prostrated by the turmoils and dangers
JL, of the war. The act of this year was the begin
ning of a series of decided measures, which have
established the common school system, in New
Hampshire, upon a firm and imperishable basis,
and extended its advantages to the rich and the
poor — the citizens of its most populous and flour
ishing towns, and the scattered dwellers among its
mountains. Under the influences of a reviving
interest in the cause of education, academies and
public schools, generously endowed and liberally
supported, sprung up at short intervals, and within
a brief period of time, in the principal towns and
villages of the state. During the year 1791,
academies were incorporated at Atkinson and
Amherst. The establishment of these invaluable
institutions in different sections of the state, and
in sufficient numbers to extend the advantages of
an excellent elementary education in all direc
tions, and furnish an ample supply of well qualified
instructors for our common schools, produced at
once a decided and favorable change in the schools
and the literary characteristics of the people. A
taste for learning was suddenly diffused through
every part ofthe community; habits of reading and
investigation became general; schools revived; the
patronage of the higher institutions of learning
swelled with the rising tide of intellectual improve
ment, and the means of at least a tolerable edu
cation were gradually extended, not only to every
town, but nearly to every family in the state.
While the legislature of 1791 was attending to
the interests of education^ it was not unmindful of
the importance of facilitating the means of com-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 289
munication. At this time, nothing like an efficient chap.
post-office establishment existed in the country.  J_,
Two or three weeks were generally necessary for
the transmission of letters from Philadelphia to
the borders of this state ; and all organised means
of spreading intelligence stopped within a few
miles of the sea-coast, leaving the inhabitants
of the interior almost entirely dependent upon
chance for those facilities for communication,
which the present well organised post-office estab
lishment has since extended to every corner of our
broad country. Even an ordinary stage-coach
was an accommodation, which, at that time, was
scarcely to be seen in our principal cities ; and a
humble post-rider, journeying leisurely along the
seaboard, and occasionally diverging a few miles
into the country, for a considerable time performed
the whole mail service of this state. To remedy
these evils, the legislature of 1791 passed a law,
establishing " four routes for posts, to be there
after appointed to ride in and through the interior
ofthe state."
By the provisions of this salutary law, each post-
rider was to perform his route once in two weeks,
reversing his course of travel once a fortnight.
For the encouragement of this humble mail es
tablishment, and in consideration of an express
provision that all public letters, and other matters
belonging to the state, should be carried free of
postage, the legislature granted twelve pounds per
annum to the post-riders on the first, second and
fourth routes, and nine pounds to the post-rider
on the third. The postage, which on single letters
was fixed at sixpence for every forty miles, and
37

290 history of
chap, fourpence for any number of miles under forty,
 Y was granted exclusively to the post-riders. Post-
offices were established at Portsmouth, Exeter,
Concord, Amherst, Dover, Keene, Charlestown,
Hanover, Haverhill and Plymouth; and the several
postmasters were allowed to charge a compensation
of two pence on every letter and package which
should pass through their respective offices.
While the legislature was discharging the duties
of the post-office department for its own constit
uency, the business of the patent-office as yet
remained in its hands. The same legislature,
accordingly, passed an act, " giving to John
Young the exclusive right to build chimneys,
agreeably to an invention of said Young — accord
ing to a description of said invention lodged with
the secretary of state."
The legislation of this, as well as a few pre
ceding and subsequent years, evinces at once
great economy in the legislature and great finan
cial distress among the people. In 1791, the
salary of the governor was fixed at two hundred
pounds, of the chief justice at one hundred and
seventy pounds, and the secretary of state at fifty
pounds per annum. Laws, granting relief to
towns — directing the treasurer not to issue extents
for outstanding taxes — providing for the receipt of
specie in payment of public dues, at the rate of one
pound for two in state notes — granting reviews
and staying, for a limited time, all proceedings
against bondsmen, were of frequent occurrence,
and indicated, in characters not to be mistaken,
the severity of those financial embarrassments,
which the expenses of the war had imposed upon

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 291
the people of New Hampshire, and which neither chap.
the unrivalled industry nor the reviving enterprise ^J_,
of its citizens had yet been able to remove.
In the financial' struggle which these embarrass
ments forced upon them, our legislature frequently
assumed powers,- which no similar bodies have
recently exercised ; while the general government
having been but recently, and as yet but partially
organised, the exercise of many of its functions
devolved upon the states. The legislation of
1791 was, in many respects, a matter of curious
interest to those who have regarded the legisla
tion of our states in those narrower channels only
within which it is at present confined. The legis
lature of this state, at that time, exercised not only
the proper powers of the legislature, and to some
extent those of the judiciary also, but also, as we
have seen, discharged on a humble scale, suited to "> \
the depression of its financial affairs, the important
duties now confided to the patent-office and post-
office department of the general government. Its
exercised powers were more extensive than those
which any legislative body in the country has
assumed for the last forty years ; and if the una
nimity of the people, in the elections of that period,
is to be taken as an indication of the public feel
ing, it exercised them in such a manner as to pro
mote the public welfare and gain the general
confidence ofthe community.
During this year, with a view to elevate the
character of the medical profession, to discourage
quackery, and prevent unqualified pretenders to
medical skill from imposing themselves upon the
community, the legislature incorporated the New

292 HISTORY OF
chap. Hampshire Medical Society, josiah Bartlett, the
.  _ worthy chief magistrate of the state, was elected
its first president.
Some proceedings of the legislature of this year,
in relation to the " assumption ofthe state debts,"
render it necessary briefly to refer to the measures
of the general government upon that subject. On
the 19th of January, 1790, soon after the meet
ing of the first congress, Alexander Hamilton
introduced his celebrated scheme for the assump
tion of the state debts. In compliance with his
recommendation, and after a spirited opposition in
both branches of congress, a bill, assuming the
debts of the several states, to the amount of
$21,500,000, became a law on the 4th of August,
1790. By the provisions of this law, the debts of
New Hampshire, which had contributed $375,055
more than her equitable share to the means of
conducting the war, were assumed only to the
amount of $300,000; while, on the other hand, the
debts of New York, which had expended $874,846
less than her proportion of the expenses of the
same war, were included to four times that
amount. This law met with a serious opposition
from all parts of the Union — in some instances
founded upon the injustice of its details, and, in
others, upon the broad ground of its unconstitu
tionality. In November, 1790, the house of delegates, in
Virginia, passed a series of resolutions, declaring
the assumption of the state debts to be a violation
of the constitution, and a flagrant invasion of the
plainest principles of justice. In June, 1791, the
legislature of New Hampshire, surpassed by no

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 293
body of men in the country in their general chap.
attachment to the administration, adopted, by a _JL_
unanimous vote, a spirited memorial to congress
on the same subject. In this memorial they set
forth, that this state had contributed, to its utmost
ability, both men and money for the successful
prosecution of the late war, and thereby accumu
lated a heavy debt ; and that, considering this state
alone responsible for that debt, by " burthensome
taxes" upon themselves, its citizens "had suc
ceeded in paying not only the interest of its debt,
but likewise a great part of its principal," — that
having, by these means and by the " most rigor
ous economy, extinguished a large part of their
debt, they had received, with general disappro
bation and uneasiness, that part of the late act of
congress, in which it is proposed to assume
$21,500,000 ofthe debts ofthe several states, and
make provisions for funding the same." They
complained that, by this measure, an increased
debt was brought upon the general government,
involving the necessity of an increased revenue;
and that, " what was still more objectionable and
disgusting to the citizens of New Hampshire,"
while that state had contributed one twenty-eighth
part ofthe expenses of the war, the sum proposed
to be assumed of the debts of the state was less
than one seventieth part of the whole; thereby
throwing $600,000 of the debts of other states
upon the state of New Hampshire. In conclusion,
they solemnly " remonstrated against the said act,
so far* as it relates to the assumption of the state
debts," and requested that, " if the assumption
must be carried into effect, New Hampshire might

294 HISTORY OF
chap, be placed on an equal footing with other states."
_JL~ Opposed as they then were in their political
attachments, it is a singular circumstance, that, at
this early period, Virginia and New Hampshire
occupied the same ground upon this important
question. Though generally belonging in name
to that federal party, which was by many deemed
to favor a concentration of all political power in
the general government, the people of New Hamp
shire showed, on more occasions than one, a firm
attachment to democratic principles, and a patri
otic zeal for their rights as citizens of a sovereign
state. In consequence of the demands of a rapidly
increasing commerce, a bank was, in 1792, estab
lished at Portsmouth, with a capital of $160,000,
to continue fifty years.
A period of seven years having expired from
the first adoption of the state constitution, a con
vention of delegates assembled, near the close of
the year 1791, for the purpose of undertaking its
revision. The Hon. Samuel Livermore, who had
been a distinguished member of the previous con
vention, was elected its president. A variety of
amendments, many of them important, were
attempted at this time. Among them were, the
erasure of the sixth article of the bill of rights,
the total abolition of religious tests, and the exclu
sion of attorneys at law from seats in the legis
lature. None of these amendments were adopted.
The fact that they were proposed, however, indi
cates, at once, something of the spirit of the
times and the condition of the people. Embar
rassed with those debts, which the total depre-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 295
ciation of tlie currency of the revolution had im- chap.
posed upon them, their jealousy of lawyers may Y^_
be considered a fearful indication of the pecuniary
distresses with which they were afflicted ; while the
proposition to expunge all religious tests from the
constitution, shows that the spirit of religious
toleration had already begun to shed its ennobling
influences upon a people, who, in after times, have
become so distinguished for its exercise.
It was not till its third session, holden in May, 1792.
1792, that the business of the convention was
completed. The constitution, as revised, was
marked by very few important changes. The title
of the chief magistrate was changed from presi
dent to governor, the more readily to distinguish
that officer from the head of the general govern
ment. The senate, under the old constitution, had
consisted of twelve members, elected by the several
counties — five for the county of Rockingham, two
for Strafford, two for Hillsborough, two for
Cheshire, and one for Grafton. Under the new
constitution the number of senators remained the
same, but a provision was made for the division
of the state into twelve equal districts, upon the -
basis of taxation, for their election. The basis of
representation in the house of representatives and
all the main features of the constitution remained
unchanged. As the constitution of 1784, thus modified, has
remained unchanged for a period of nearly fifty
years, and is now the basis of our legislation and v
the corner-stone of our government, a brief synop
sis of its most striking features can neither be
unprofitable nor misplaced.

296 history of
chap. The executive power of the state is vested in a
 L_ governor and five councillors, elected annually by
the people. All judicial officers are appointed by
the governor and council, and removable upon
impeachment, originating in the house of repre
sentatives, and heard and determined by the sen
ate. Both branches of the legislature are judges
of the elections, returns and qualification of their
own members. The power of pardoning offences
against the criminal laws of the state is vested in
the governor who is to exercise it only with the
consent of the council. Every bill or resolve
must, before it becomes a law, be presented to the
governor; who, if he approves, is to sign it, and if
he disapproves, is to return it to the house where
it originated, with his objections. Two thirds of
both branches of the legislature, however, concur
ring in the passage of any bill or resolve returned
and objected to by the governor, it becomes a law
without his assent. All money bills must, by the
constitution, originate in the house of representa
tives, though the senate may propose amendments.
No member of the legislature can be arrested or
held to bail, on any mesne process, during his
attendance upon its business, or on his way to or
from its sessions. Every male citizen ofthe state,
excepting persons convicted of infamous crimes
or supported at the public expense, was allowed
the privileges of a freeman.
The convention which assembled soon after the
close of the revolution, proposed to limit the num
ber of representatives, to fifty, to be duly appor
tioned among the several counties. This pro
position was rejected by a large majority of the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 297
popular vote. With a large share of the population chap.
thinly scattered over a wide expanse of territory-— .  1__
with a large number of new settlements springing
up in the midst of the wilderness, sprinkling the
valley of the Connecticut, from the southern line
of the state to its source, and gradually finding
their way among the hills and mountains of the
northern counties — the people wisely judged that
a representation so limited, would be altogether
inadequate to the purposes for which it was de- -*
signed. It would have placed the legislature at
too great a distance from a large portion of the
people, to understand their wishes, to judge with
accuracy of their interests, or act with any degree
of certainty in accordance with their will. These
considerations doubtless suggested the excellent
system established by the present constitution,
under which every town, having one hundred and
fifty rateable polls, has its representative, while
the larger towns are allowed an additional repre
sentative for every three hundred polls in addition
to the above number, and the smaller towns are
classed in such a manner as to extend the privi
lege of direct annual representation to every citizen
in the state.
During the year 1792, Elder Jesse Lee came
from Virginia to the New England states, and,
after remaining some time in Massachusetts, vis
ited NeW" Hampshire, and prepared the foundation
for the establishment of the first Methodist socie
ties which existed within its limits.
The legislation of this period partook of the
simple and economical spirit which characterized
the citizens. Our revenue then, as it has been
38

298 HISTORY OF
chap, at all times, was small when compared with our
_^_ resources ; and the expenditures of the state were
regarded with a watchful eye and managed with a
prudent hand. By the rules of the house for this
session, it was provided that no member should be
absent, without leave, more than a quarter of an
hour at a time, on pain of forfeiting his travel and
incurring the censure of the house. Every day's
absence of a member, even upon leave, was scru
pulously noted by the clerk, in a roll kept for that
purpose, and made the foundation for a corre
sponding reduction in his pay. In a legislature
governed by such primitive views of economy, it
may be safely inferred that few laws were enacted,
and those plain in their provisions and suggested
by the wants of the people.
1793. In June, 1793, the legislature assembled at
Concord. Josiah Bartlett had been re-elected
governor, with great unanimity; being the first
person who had discharged the duties of chief mag
istrate under the new constitution. The smallness
of the popular vote at this and the preceding elec
tion, as well as its unanimity, affords us some clue
to the political characteristics of the time. The
people, at this period, seem hardly to have enter
tained any strongly marked diversity of political
opinions. Their elections turned rather upon the
merits of the candidates for public favor, than the
importance of particular and conflicting senti
ments in relation to public affairs. The high
places of the government were generally filled by
men who had, in one way or another, evinced an
honest devotion to the cause of liberty in the days
of the revolution ; and the opinions of these men,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 299
even when on some points they differed from those chap.
of their fellow-citizens, were lost sight of in a  L_.
universal attachment, which existed in the minds
of all classes of the people, for the soldiers and
statesmen, who had proved faithful to their coun
try in the most eventful crisis of its history. Of
this class of men, Josiah Bartlett was among the
most distinguished. With an imperfect education,
he had commenced the practice of medicine, at
Kingston, as early as 1750. During the preva
lence of a malignant distemper, in 1754, he pur
sued a course of practice so universally successful
as to give him at once a high rank in his pro
fession. Promoted to several offices, at different
times, by Governor Wentworth, he was, in Febru
ary, 1775, deprived of all his commissions, as a
zealous whig, whom the frowns of the royal gov
ernor could not intimidate, or his favor secure.
In 1776 he was a delegate to congress, and was
among the first to give his vote and his signature
to the Declaration of Independence. For several
years he was a judge of one or the other of the
state courts, and, in 1790, was raised to the chief
thagistracy of the state. Honest and unimpeach
able in his private character, simple and yet dig
nified in his manners, deservedly popular in the
community in which he lived, and firm and inflex
ible in support of the principles of that Declaration
of Independence to which he gave the sanction of
his name, he passed the noonday of his existence
amid the storms and clouds of a revolution ; and
the unclouded light of popular favor, shining upon
him in the evening of his life, was his just and
appropriate reward.

300 HISTORY OF
chap. Towards the close of the year, Governor Bart-
_JL. lett was induced, by declining health, to resign the
high and responsible station in which the people
had placed him ; and his retirement to private life
was followed not long afterwards by his death.
The ocean of political discussion, which has
since been agitated by so many successive and
almost perpetual storms, had hitherto rested in
unruffled repose. The popularity of Washington,
and the mildness and impartiality with which he
had administered the government, had united those
parties, which circumstances had already created,
in support of his measures and of his re-election.
The effects of the revolution, however, which had
recently occurred in France, soon reached our
own shores, and disturbed the harmony of our
citizens. The sympathies of a portion ofthe peo
ple were naturally enlisted in favor of the people
of France, whose struggles for liberty reminded
them of their own. Another portion, influenced
by the exaggerated accounts of the excesses of
their former allies, which continually reached them,
regarded them with horror, and sympathized with
Great Britain in her hostile operations against
them. The former class, embracing most of the
more ardent friends of state sovereignty and demo
cratic principles, assumed the name of republi
cans. The latter class, including most of those
who had favored an imitation of the aristocratic
qualities of the British government in the estab
lishment of our own, were called federalists. The
first class, many of them, maintained that we were
bound by the generous aid which France had af
forded us in our contest with Great Britain, to

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 301
make common cause with her, in defending her chap.
rights against the aggressions of the same arbi-  :__.
trary power. Many of the people, of both parties,
were in favor of the strict neutrality of position
which was maintained by General Washington
and his administration. On the other hand, a
portion of the federal party, more violent than the
rest, seemed ready at any moment to form an open
alliance with Great Britain, and aid her in her
attacks upon a people, who had been so recently
the benefactors and faithful allies of this country.
The excitement generated by this state of things
extended to New Hampshire, in common with other
states ; and opposing parties sprung into existence,
as the immediate and necessary consequence. The
federalists, however, for a long time maintained an
indisputable majority. John Taylor Gilman, a
gentleman of great personal influence and un
spotted private character, who was for a long time
the acknowledged head of the federal party in
New Hampshire, was, in 1794, elected governor.
He retained this position for a period of no less
than eleven years, and for the same period his
party remained in the ascendency.
The history of this state, under the adminis
tration of Governor Gilman, was marked by few
public events of importance. Our legislation re
lated principally to the ordinary municipal regula
tion of the little communities into which we were
divided ; and our political conflicts, though such
occasionally existed among us, sprung rather from
a diversity of opinion in relation to national affairs,
than any general dissatisfaction with, the manner
in which the concerns of the state itself were con-

302 HISTORY OF
chap, ducted. To the popular manners of Mr. Gilman,
Jc^. and the general fairness with which he managed
our affairs, rather than any deep-rooted attach
ment to federal views of government, must be
attributed the repeated re-elections of that gen
tleman, and the long ascendency of his party in
this state.
The legislature of 1794 held its June session
in the meeting-house at Amherst. During that
session, a law' was enacted, providing for the
redemption of " certain evidences of debts due
from the state, and making compensation for the
same." This law provided for the redemption of
the state notes and state orders, at the rate of fif
teen shillings to the pound ; of the bills ofthe "new
emission," so called, at five shillings to the pound;
and ofthe " copper-plate notes," and every other
species of bills "not before enumerated," at the
rate of five shillings for every hundred dollars !
All outstanding taxes, and the stock of the state
in the United States' funds, were pledged for that
purpose, and the treasurer was authorized to bor
row twenty-five thousand pounds for two years, at
six per cent, interest, for the same object. All
notes, of a less denomination than three dollars,
were to be redeemed at the above rates in specie,
and one half of the residue to be paid in specie,
and the other half in state notes, payable in
eighteen months, and bearing interest at the rate
of six per cent.
The entire prostration of the credit of the states,
during the revolution, and the almost incalculable
losses it imposed upon the community, were never
better illustrated, than by the passage of this law.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 303
Immediately after the commencement of hos- chap.
tilities in 1775, this state issued paper bills for the „___
payment of the troops it furnished for the common
defence, and for the support of the government,
promising to redeem them in gold and silver.
These bills, based upon nothing but the faith of
the state, were, for the purpose of giving them
greater currency, made a legal tender for the pay
ment of debts. In spite, however, of all the
efforts of the legislature, their value constantly
depreciated. In 1780, the general government
issued a new paper currency, called the "new
emission," declaring one dollar of that emission to
be worth forty dollars of the old ; and sent to each
state its proportion, guarantying its redemption.
That proportion of this first national paper cur
rency which fell to this state, was finally redeemed,
as I have before related, while large sums of its
other bills and evidences of indebtedness were
bought up by the treasurer, at the rate of one
hundred dollars for one.
The notes and bills of this state were greatly
increased in their nominal amount, by the . large
sums issued to its officers and soldiers, to com
pensate them, from time to time, for the rapid
depreciation of its paper already in their hands.
Thus? by a fruitless attempt to remedy the evils
of a depreciated currency of this state, its debts
were immensely increased, and its securities
plunged still lower in the scale of worthlessness
and depreciation.
When these facts are known, the law of 1794,
for the payment of the state debt, may be more
readily reconciled with the principles of justice. If

304 history of
chap, a mere fraction only of the nominal amount of
.JL_ the currency of which that debt consisted, was ten
dered for its redemption, it should be remembered
that it was issued from necessity, passed dis
credited and depreciated from the treasury, and
circulated among the people only for an incon
siderable percentage on its apparent value. One
lesson, however, stands out in bold relief from the
history of these transactions. It is that neither a
noble excuse for issuing a currency which consists
in the mere evidence of debt, nor arbitrary laws to
sustain its credit with the people, can give it either
stability or value, without the existence of a proper
and certain fund for its redemption.
The second session of the legislature was this
year convened at a period somewhat earlier than
usual, in consequence of a controversy arising
between this state and the general government, in
relation to a seizure made by an armed privateer
ship, belonging to citizens of this state, during the
earlier period of the revolutionary contest.
Soon after the commencement of the war,
several patriotic citizens of Portsmouth had fitted
out a privateer ship, called the McClary, under the
sanction of the legislature of the state. The
McClary having captured an American merchant
ship, called the Susanna, bound to an enemy's
port, and laden with supplies, the vessel and cargo
were regularly condemned in the courts of this
state, and adjudged to the captors as their lawful
prize. From this decision, the laws of this .feen
sovereign state permitted no appeal. Elisha
Doane and others, the owners of the vessel, sub
sequently entered a complaint before a committee

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 305
of congress, and the whole matter was referred to chap.
the court of appeals who reversed the judgment of  !__
the state court. After the adoption of the federal
constitution, the district court of the United States
confirmed the decision ofthe court of appeals, and
ordered the value of the Susanna and cargo, with
interest, amounting to $32,721 36 in the whole,
to be refunded to the original owners of that ves
sel. The legislature having already remonstrated
against any interference of the general government
in this case, as a " violation of the dignity, sove
reignty and independence of the state," and the
late owners of the McClary having petitioned for
the " aid and advisement of the legislature in the
premises," the governor declared that the council
had concurred with him in requesting a meeting
ofthe legislature before the time to which it stood
adjourned. The legislature, having taken the whole contro
versy into consideration, again prepared a spirited f
remonstrance against the interference of the courts
of the general government in this affair, as a
" violation of state independence, and an unwar
rantable encroachment in courts of the United
States." After stating, at considerable length, the
facts above recapitulated, the remonstrance pro
ceeds in the following spirited language :
" This state had a right to oppose the British
usurpations in the way it thought best ; could make
laws as it chose with respect to every transaction,
where it had not explicitly granted the power to
congress ; that the formation of courts for carry
ing these laws into execution, belonged only to the
several states ; that congress might advise and
39

306 HISTORY OF
chap, recommend, but the states only could enact and
__Y_ carry into execution ; and that the attempts, repeat
edly made, to render the laws of this state in this
respect null and void, is a flagrant insult to the
principles of the revolution.
"Can the rage for annihilating all the power of
the states, and reducing this extensive and flour
ishing country to one domination, make the admin
istrators blind to the danger of violating all the
principles o'f our former governments, to the hazard
of convulsions in endeavoring to eradicate every
trace of state power, except in the resentment of
the people 1 Can the constitutional power of
congress, in future, be no other way established,
than by the belief that the former congress always
possessed the same 1 Can the remembrance of the
manner of our opposition to tyranny and the grad
ual adoption of federal ideas be so painful as fo
exclude, (unless forced into view,) the knowledge
that congress in its origin was merely an advisory
body ;. that it entirely depended upon the several
legislatures to enforce any measures it might
recommend ?"
This remonstrance, strong and spirited as it was
in language, and founded, as it was believed to
be, upon an invasion of the rights of this state,
seems to have produced no effect. But it demon
strated that this state, however federal it might
have been in name, and however faithful it may -at
all times have shown itself to the constitution, was,
from the beginning, jealous ofthe exercise of doubt
ful powers by the general government, and among
the first to protest against every invasion of the
reserved rights ofthe states.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 307
In 1794, an extensive bridge was constructed chap.
over the Piscataqua river, in the vicinity of Ports- .J^Y.
mouth, which, in its cost and difficulty of construc
tion, exceeded every enterprise of the kind which
had been attempted in the country. It consisted
of three sections, two of them horizontal and the
third arched, extending from Newington to Dur
ham, and presenting a surface of planking nearly
half a mile in length. Its construction required
five thousand tons of timber, eighty thousand feet
of plank, twenty tons of iron, and eight thousand
tons of stone, and cost the large sum of sixty-two
thousand dollars. The work excited general ad
miration at the time, and had a favorable influence
upon the commerce of Portsmouth, by diverting
to it a portion of the country trade which had long
been engrossed by the larger commercial towns of
Massachusetts. During the following year, (1795,) an academy
was incorporated in Gilmanton^ endowed with a
fund consisting of six thousand dollars in money
and seven thousand acres of land. A similar in
stitution had been, the preceding year, established
at Haverhill. Both institutions have remained in
existence to the present time ; both have received
a steady and liberal support ; and both have been
eminently useful in the great work of disseminat
ing useful knowledge in the community. Among
the earliest literary establishments in the state,
their patronage has since been divided with numer
ous seminaries of a similar character. But yet,
as the landmarks of the early origin of a general
interest in the cause of education in this state,
these institutions, and the few ofthe same charac- 1795.

308 HISTORY OF
chap, ter which preceded them, deserve a particular
_JL. notice in our history. They were not only honor
able indications of that rising taste for education
to which they owed their establishment, but active
agents in its cultivation. Our early academies,
by calling the public attention to the great benefits
of a general system of instruction, and preparing
a multitude of competent instructors, gave new
life to our common school system, and diffused its
advantages through every part ofthe state.
During the year 1795, the question of the rati
fication of Jay's treaty agitated this state, in com
mon with the rest of the Union. Great Britain,
while a controversy with France was pending, had
adopted a series of arbitrary restrictions, almost
entirely destructive of the American commerce
with the'French republic. At the same time, she
had retained possession of several military posts
in the western portions of our country, under color
of a variety of unfounded pretences, and in, open
violation of the treaty entered into at the clpse of
the revolution. For the purpose of arranging
these difficulties, which had at one time threatened
to result in open war, John Jay had been appointed
an envoy extraordinary to the court of St. James.
Mr. Jay having succeeded in negotiating a treaty,
the senate was called upon, in 1795, to enter into
a consideration of its merits. A long and angry
discussion ensued. A senator from Virginia vio
lated the injunction of secrecy which rested upon
the senate during the debate, and procured its
general publication in the newspapers of the day.
It was at once denounced by many for its sup
posed partiality to Great Britain and injustice to

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 309
France. Some of its provisions were assailed in chap.
the most intemperate manner, and a general ex-  1__
citement prevailed throughout the country. At
Portsmouth, in this state, a town meeting, was
holden, and voted an address to the president
against the adoption of the treaty. A counter
address having been prepared- and signed by a
large number of respectable citizens, a mob
assembled in the streets, insulted many of- the
signers, broke their fences and windows, injured
their ornamental trees, and attempted, by threats
and violence,, to gain possession of the counter
address, and prevent its transmission to the presi
dent. The disturbance was, however, of short
duration, and was succeeded by a more candid
consideration of the merits of the treaty in ques
tion. The senate at length ratified it, by a vote
of twenty to ten ; the Honorable John Langdon,
one of the senators from this state, voting against
it. The president, after duly examining its merits,
gave it his assent, and the result proved that,
whatever objectionable features it might have con
tained, it was calculated to be highly beneficial in
its influence upon the commerce and general inter
ests ofthe country.
Considering the excitement which this subject
created, it is a singular fact that the legislature of
this state, at its session in November, 1795, passed,
by an unanimous vote, an answer to the address
of Governor Gilman, approving, in the strongest
terms, of the treaty. In that document, they ex
pressed an undiminished " confidence in the virtue
and ability of the minister who negotiated the
treaty ; the senate who advised its ratification, and

310 HISTORY OF
chap, in the president, the distinguished friend and father
_J_ of his country, who complied with this advice."
Tuftonborough, lying in that portion of the
ancient county of Strafford, which is now known
as Carrol* county, and Danbury, in the county
of Grafton, were this year incorporated. The
former town stretches along the northeast shore of
the Winnipiseogee lake, whose arms, extending far
into the town, present, from the neighboring hills,
some of the most delightful landscapes to be
found in the country. It is diversified with an
agreeable interchange of " rough and pleasant
grounds," and presents a great variety of soil. It
is washed on one side by a broad expanse of water,
and divided between level grounds and abrupt ele
vations on the other. The scenery on the shores
of lake Winnipiseogee has been delineated both
with pen and pencil, and is destined hereafter to
become celebrated in song, and to afford the rich
est subjects to the painter. The lake itself more
than realises the impassioned description of Loch
Katrine.f True, it has no barren wastes, of heath
and rock, environing its shores ; but it has a broad
expanse of blue and limpid waters, sprinkled with
cultivated islands, and surrounded with a belt of
as luxuriant and productive soil as New England
can boast. Its broad arms, extending in every
direction, diversifying with mimic " promontory,
creek and bay" the country upon its borders,
and, ever and anon, flowing in a broad and unruf
fled current far into the interior, present, in a fine
summer's day, some of the most agreeable pros-
* Laws of New Hampshire, November session, 1840, p. 455.
t As described by Sir Walter Scott, in the "Lady of the Lake."

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 311
pects that ever delighted the eyes of the traveller, chap.
" Now here, now there," the beautiful congrega- Y5l__
tion of waters breaks upon his view — one moment
partially lost sight of, as the r6*ad deviates from
its banks — the next, bursting upon him in all
its splendor. Something of the romantic charac
ter of this lake and the surrounding region has,
doubtless, been sacrificed to the progress of agri
cultural improvement. When the verdant fields
around it were the forest home of savage tribes—
when the Indian's canoe sprung unmolested over
its bosom, and the smoke of his camping fires
curled above its beautiful islands, it was a scene
which his untutored imagination might readily
have looked upon as the chosen residence of the ,
Great Spirit. Not less agreeable must the pros-
peet it presents at the present day appear to the
eye of civilized man, who at once delights in the
charms of nature, and rejoices in the progress of
civilization and improvement in the neighborhood
of her loveliest works.
On one side of the water rises Red Hill, which
affords a prospect of the lake and all the surround
ing country. Scarcely a stone's throw from the
summit is the little lake Squam, its waters clear as
crystal and sprinkled with green islands — some
of them no wider than a small grass-plot — some
spreading out into fields and pastures, with hills
that send forth many a rivulet into the bosom of
the lake. Ascending towards the summit, of the
mountain, the trees, unlike those on the White
Mountains, which are gnarled and stinted, appear
slender and graceful, and seem to stand for orna
ment amidst the blueberry and sweet-fern, which

312 history of
chap, bear their fruit and fragrance almost to the moun-
_JL, tain's top. For weeks the traveller may daily and
hourly discover some new attraction in these sweet
abodes of nature. To-day, a clear atmosphere
presents everything in the brightest hues, and
charms the mind with the distinctness of every
object. To-morrow, a change of atmosphere lends
to everything a change of hue, and flings over all
a new enchantment. Nothing can exceed the
splendor of sunrise on this mountain, in a calm
summer's morning. The stillness of the place-^-
the placid serenity of the waters — the varying
positions of objects, as the morning mists rise, and
change, and pass away before the sun, now brood
ing low on the waters, now sailing slowly over the
islands, and wreathed in ever-varied forms around
their green promontories ; these and other features
present to the mind a landscape abounding in that
wild beauty which exists where art has not usurp
ed dominion over nature. Here some bright basin
is seen to gleam — and anon, the eye catches some
islet, half veiled in mist and reddening with the first
blush of morning. Sometimes, by a pleasing delu
sion, the clouds become stationary, and the island
itself appears to move, and to be slowly receding
from the veil of mist. The eye dwells with delight
on the villages of the wide country, and the hun
dreds of farms and orchards which adorn the whole
extent of the landscape. The fertile islands of
the lake are scattered, as if to delight the eye ;
and when clothed in the deep green of summer, or
waving with luxuriant harvests, they seem like
floating gardens mirrored in the waters. The hills
and woods, the shores and eddies, the coves and

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 313
green recesses — the farms and houses — sometimes chap.
retiring from the waters — sometimes approaching ___
to the margin of the lake — all form a picture
fitted for the lover of nature to linger and dwell
upon with varied and ever new delight. The
course of the lake winds at last and is lost among
¦the distant mountains.
One solitary family are the tenants of Red Hill —
the lone sentinels of these romantic scenes. It is
composed of a mother, a son and daughter. They
gain a scanty subsistence by cultivating a few
acres of land near the summit, which seem aliens
among the rugged features of the mountain. The
mother and daughter have descended from the
mountain but a few times during their whole lives,
and are unconscious of most ofthe important events
ofthe world.
Such is a faint sketch of the scenery around lake
Winnipiseogee, where are exhibited, in fine con
trast and bright association, the wild and rude with
the beautiful — the austere with the lovely — widely
extended fields, hills and mountains, embosoming
a placid lake and islands. It may be doubted
whether anything in Italian, Alpine, or Highland
scenery exceeds the magnificence of the landscape
which is here spread out. Yet the lake reposes,
the mountain stands against the sky, the. woods
and fields bloom, and exhale and breathe their fra
grance through year after year of the silent lapse
of time, scarcely tempting a traveller's foot, or
wooing an admiring eye, of the thousands that seek
novelty and repose amidst the beauties of nature.
The political discussions of the preceding year,
were not entirely without their influence upon the
40

314 HISTORY OF
chap, election of 1796. Though there was no regularly
YY. organized opposition to the re-election of Gov-
1796. ernor Gilman, a considerable strength was arrayed
against him at the polls, and his majority was re
duced to less than five thousand votes.
In 1796, the charter ofthe first New Hampshire
turnpike, extending from Concord to the Piscat
aqua bridge, in the immediate vicinity of Ports
mouth, was granted by the legislature. It was
promptly commenced and completed, and was but
the first of a long series of thoroughfares, of the
same character, established by the enterprise of a
few public spirited individuals, and branching into
every section of the state. Sometimes lucrative,
sometimes a heavy charge upon their proprietors,
these early enterprises were conducted with a de
gree of vigor and economy seldom witnessed in
such undertakings, when prosecuted at the public
charge.
1798. During the year 1798, chiefly through the exer
tions of Dr. Nathan Smith, of Cornish, a medical
department was connected with Dartmouth col
lege. Without the benefits of early education, and
yet possessed of distinguished skill, his talents and
industry had given him a rank in his profession,
which others, possessed of much greater advan
tages, have striven for in vain. For some years
he was the only medical professor connected with
the institution ; and yet, difficult as the task must
have been, unaided and with very limited pecu
niary resources, he gave it a highly respectable
character. The medical college, thus established
and recommended to the public favor, has since
maintained a permanent and useful existence. In

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 315
1810, by the aid of the legislature of the state, a chap.
neat medical college building was erected; and  1_
the medical school, furnished with an extensive
cabinet, and a valuable chemical laboratory, and
placed under the guidance of medical skill of the
highest order, soon took rank with the most respec-
taBle institutions for medical instruction in the
country. The act passed at the December session of the
legislature for 1798, regulating the apportionment
•of public taxes, taken in connection with similar
acts of a more recent period, shows some singular
changes in the relative wealth of our towns. Ports
mouth, our only commercial town of any impor
tance, stood then, as now, at the head of the list,
paying $26,33 in the thousand, of all public assess
ments. Next, and in the following order, stood
the fine agricultural towns of Gilmanton, London
derry, Weare, and Barrington; the first paying
$19,58, and the last $13,35, in the thousand. By
the apportionment act passed in 1840, twelve
towns pay more than ten dollars each, m every
thousand of the state taxes. Weare, Barrington,
and Londonderry are excluded from this list alto
gether, and eight towns now pay a larger pro
portion of the public expenses than Gilmanton.
Dover now ranks second on the list, and Nashua,
Concord and Claremont follow in their order.
These changes, however, are far from indicating
any reduction in the property of our agricultural
towns. Towns, which in 1798 were either thinly
settled or not settled at all, have advanced with 1798.
rapid strides. in wealth and population, and now
sustain a large share in the burthen of taxation,

316 HISTORY OF
chap, which formerly rested on the agricultural sec-
Y^l— tions of our southern counties. Our trade has in
creased, and large manufacturing establishments
have sprung up among us ; doubling, and, in some
instances, more than quadrupling the wealth and
population of our principal towns, and bringing
upon them, with their increasing prosperity, «n
increased participation in the public burthens.
The insolent bearing of the French government
towards our own, encouraging as it did constant
aggressions upon our commerce, and manifesting
the most hostile views, by peremptorily ordering
its minister to demand his despatches and leave our
country, had at this time produced a general ex
citement throughout the Union. Three American
envoys having reached Paris, charged with the
management of a pacific negotiation, had been met
with a demand for money, as a prerequisite to its
commencement. This insult roused the whole
country. With scarcely a distinction of party,
"Millions for defence, but not one cent for trib
ute," was the prevailing sentiment of the day.
1799. jn this state of things, the legislature of 1799
adopted an address to President Adams, express
ing the warmest resentment at the arbitrary course
pursued by the French government. In the sen
ate it passed unanimously. In the house, four
individuals voted against it — not because they saw
any palliation for the conduct of France, but be
cause the prevailing party in the legislature had
introduced into the address laudatory expressions,
extending to all the acts of an administration, whose
policy in many respects they could npt approve.
In December, 1799, an act passed, providing for

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 317
the better observance ofthe Sabbath. It provided chap.
for the appointment of tything-men, and armed YY_
them with power to stop all persons travelling on
the Sabbath, and interrogate them in relation to
their business, names, and place of residence.
Persons giving false answers were subjected to
severe penalties. This law, exceptionable in itself,
was rendered still more so by the officious inso
lence of many of the officers entrusted with its
execution. Proud of a little brief authority, they
seized upon the reins of the traveller's horse with
an air of authority which sometimes approached
nearer to the ungracious rudeness of highwaymen,
than the mild deportment of conservators of reli
gious observances and civil order. Scenes of
arbitrary violence on the one hand, and of boister
ous resistance or criminal evasion on the other,
were of constant occurrence ; and it soon became a
matter of doubt, whether the law tended more to the
proper observance of the Sabbath, or its shameless
violation. Like many other laws, passed'by pious
and well-meaning- men, whose zeal in the cause of
virtue has for a moment blinded their judgment in
relation to the proper means for its advancement ;
the law in question,1 though unquestionably es
tablished from pure* motives, produced most unfor
tunate results. It became at first unpopular, then
a nullity, and was soon stricken from the pages of
the statute book by the general consent, of the com
munity. Such has been the general fate of laws,
which have attempted, by fines and punishments
and vexatious prosecutions, the correction of evils
which are more properly left for correction to the
untrammelled force of public opinion.

318 HISTORY OF
chap. So closed the eighteenth century-— a period full
,JL_ of interesting events — an era which must take
precedence over all others in the future history of
our country. At its commencement, New Hamp
shire was a humble settlement, with a population
thinly scattered along a narrow extent of seaboard,
harassed by the attacks of a savage enemy, and
dependent upon the will of a foreign government.
At its termination, it had become a wealthy and
populous state, extending from the ocean to the
Canadian frontier, favored with peace and pros
perity, and governed by the free suffrages of its
own citizens. At its commencement, it was hardly
able to defend itself against a few wretched Indian
tribes ; though " every fourth man fit to march, in
the province," was at times in the field ; and
judges ofthe courts were often " exposed as com
mon sentinels, and sent out upon the scout, in
small numbers, after the enemy."* At its -close,
its citizens, in common with their brethren in other
states, were ready to wage war with one of the
most powerful nations on the globe, for the pro
tection of their national rights and the vindication
of their national honor.
The death of George Washington had occurred
on the 14th of December, 1799 ; and in this state,
as well as every part of the Union, the twenty-
second day of the succeeding February, the anni
versary of his birth, was devoted to expressions of
public sorrow for the decease of a man, who was
emphatically " first in war, first in peace, and first
in the hearts of his countrymen."
1S00. The commencement of a new century brought
* MS. "Minuitts of Governor and Council]," for 1703.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 319
with it the commencement of a new era in the chap
political history ofthe state. Hitherto its political ,J?L,
conflicts had been few, and far from severe. The
federal party had maintained its ascendency by a
majority which had discouraged opposition, ,and
administered our affairs with- a moderation little
calculated to excite it. Indeed, the position
assumed by our legislature, on many occasions,
had been in strict accordance with the views and
sympathies of the democratic party itself. The
people, as a mass, had been zealous in the defence
of their rights, hostile to every new asumption of
- power by the general government, and unyielding
in their attachment to an economical administra
tion of public affairs.
But the measures of the administration of John
Adams had been of a character too little popular
to enable him, revered as he was for his revolu
tionary services, to secure in any part of the Union
that united support which had been accorded to
his predecessor. Jealous and sensitive in the
extreme, his distrust of foreigners and his nervous
ness under the criticisms of the press, led to the
most fatal errors of his political career. These
errors — the passage ofthe alien and sedition laws,
and the outrages perpetrated under the sanction
of their provisions — brought the democratic party,
with a distinct and general organization, into the
field in every state in the Union. The discussions
thus excited', extended to New Hampshire, and for
the first time the whole mass of its citizens were
divided into those permanent political parties,
whose frequent and exciting contests for the
supremacy, scattered through the broad range of

320 HISTORY OF
chap, more than forty years, constitute so important a
 Y part of its history.
The contest of 1800 was conducted with great
warmth and acrimony. Charges were promul
gated, against both of the rival candidates for the
presidency, which have been condemned, by the
more candid judgment of later times, as the mere
offspring of party violence. Charges of cow-
1S00. ardice, immorality and infidelity, were everywhere
circulated against the illustrious Jefferson. All
the powers of eloquence, all the influence of the
press, and all the blandishments of melody, were
resorted to, to blacken his character and tarnish
the unsullied brightness of his fame. Even a
party badge was resorted to, to distinguish his
enemies from those of their fellow-citizens who
gave him their support. In some instances, and
in some sections of this state, the "black cock
ade" was generally worn, as a mark of devotion
to Mr. Adams, or a security against the violence
of his friends.
On the other hand, allegations, of the same
unjustifiable nature, were doubtless promulgated
against Mr. Adams ; a man, who, whatever might
have been the errors of his administration, was
entitled, by his patriotism through the whole
course of our difficulties with Great Britain, to be
ranked among the noblest benefactors of the land.
Important questions of principle, however, were
at issue in the contest, involving the future pros
perity ofthe country, and the success of its repub
lican institutions. The dominant party had con
fided to the national executive full power to banish,
at pleasure and on mere suspicion, every alien who

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 321
should land on our shores. It had empowered him chap.
to drag American citizens before partisan courts, ^_J_
and punish them with ruinous fines and ignomin
ious imprisonments, for exercising the sacred rights
of speech and the press in a manner personally
obnoxious to himself or offensive to his supporters.
The friends of a strict construction of the constir
tution, uniting themselves under the name of
republicans, protested against these extensions of
the executive power, as an infringement upon the
principles of the constitution, dangerous alike
to the rights of the states and the liberties of the
people. The result of the exciting discussions of the
time soon appeared in the annual elections in New
Hampshire. The opposition, hitherto so power
less, rallied under the influence of the prevailing
excitement, and presented Timothy Walker, of
Concord, as their candidate for governor. That
gentleman, having been distinguished for his devo
tion to the cause of liberty, and his able services
as a member of the revolutionary committee of
safety, had been called by the people to a variety
of important stations, and, among others, to that of
chief justice of the court of common pleas. With
a private character equally unimpeached with that
of Governor Gilman himself, and a life, like his,
endeared to the people, the contest was removed
from the beaten ground of personal preferences by
his nomination, and became almost purely a ques
tion between the principles acted upon by the
administration of Mr. Adams, and those avowed
by the friends of Mr. Jefferson. With all their
original partialities and sectional feelings in favor
41

322 HISTORY OF
chap, of the former individual, it was not to have been
_J_ expected that a revolution would take place among
the citizens, sufficiently sudden, to transfer 'the
vote of the state to the latter. At the March elec
tion, however, Judge Walker had six thousand
and thirty-nine out of the sixteen thousand seven
hundred and sixty-two cast, and Governor Gil-
man's majority was reduced to less than four
thousand. The legislature of 1800, not caring to submit
the presidential election to the people at a time
when so much excitement prevailed against the
candidate it favored, passed a law by which the
choice of electors devolved upon itself. The result
1800, was the election of Oliver Peabody, John Pren-
18°1- tice, Ebenezer Thompson, Timothy Farrar, Ben
jamin Bellows and Arthur Livermore, who cast
their votes for John Adams, for president, and
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina,
for vice president.
1801. At the election of governor, in 1S01, the same
candidates were in the field. The republicans
having relaxed their exertions, however, the result
was the re-election of Governor Gilman, by an
increased majority. But as soon, however, as the
administration of Jefferson had been established,
and begun to develop its policy, it gradually and
continually gained favor with our citizens, till,
within the short space of four years, an <jntire
political revolution had taken place.
The New Hampshire Missionary Society, the
earliest charitable society of a religious character
1801, in the state, was incorporated in 1801. Its object
1802. was to extend the advantages of religious instruc-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 323
tion to the scattered inhabitants of the new settle- chap.
ments, and to churches whose limited means were _JL_
inadequate to its regular support.
John Langdon, a man whose benevolence and
patriotism, no less than his unspotted reputation,
have endeared him to the citizens of this state, was
the present year elected one of the representatives
from Portsmouth, and was supported, unsuccess
fully however, as the republican candidate for
speaker. In the spring of 1802, he was, for the first time,
presented by the same party as a candidate for
the office of governor. He received eight thou
sand seven hundred and fifty-three votes for that
office ; but Governor Gilman was re-elected, and
it required a three years' struggle, during which
the same gentlemen were candidates, to revolu
tionize the state.
On the 26th day of December, a destructive fire 1802.
occurred at Portsmouth. It commenced, early
in the morning, in the building occupied by the
New Hampshire Bank, and before the alarm was
communicated to any considerable number of citi
zens, it had burst through its sides, and already
extended to some ofthe adjoining buildings. The
flames spread with great rapidity, and, before their
progress could be arrested, a large part of the
town, including more than one hundred buildings,
was reduced to ashes. Property to the amount of
more than two hundred thousand dollars was
destroyed by this unfortunate conflagration. And
it is a circumstance which does no little honor to
the liberal feelings of the time, that more than
forty-five thousand dollars were raised by volun-

324 HISTORY OF
chap, tary contributions, mainly by citizens of this state,
 L_ as a partial reparation of the loss.
The manufactures of this country were at this
period in their infancy. Rhode Island had led the
way, by the introduction of Arkwright's machinery
for spinning cotton, as early as 1790. In 18Q3,
the first cotton factory in New Hampshire was
erected at New Ipswich. It was in a few years fol
lowed by similar establishments in Peterborough,
Pembroke, Hillsborough and Jeffrey. The early
adventures, however, in this branch of industry,
were not destined to be attended with very bril
liant success. The constant introduction of useful
but expensive improvements in machinery, .im
posed a tax upon those who engaged in them, to
which their capital, in many instances, proved
wholly inadequate. Manufacturing enterprise,
however, having once been excited in the country,
gradually overcame all obstacles, and brought to
its aid, in this state as well as elsewhere, an
amount of capital equal to every emergency. In
Dover, Somersworth, Nashua, Amoskeag, New
market, Claremont and Manchester, it has more
recently planted itself with a foothold too firm to
admit of its being shaken by any ordinary causes
of embarrassment.
The increasing population of the state had long
since reached to its extreme line on the north.
From the southern extremity of its fertile inter
vales on the Connecticut, the tide of emigration
had already reached the head waters of that beau
tiful and fertilizing stream. The gradual exten
sion of the new settlements in the northern part of
the state, and their great distance from the shire

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 325
towns of Grafton, led to the organization of Coos chap.
county, in December, 1803. Bounded on the _JL„
north by Canada, and stretching laterally from
Maine to Vermont, it possesses an extent of ter
ritory superior to that of any other county in the
state. Its soil, however, is broken and divided
between fertile valleys, productive swells of excel
lent soil, abrupt hills and gigantic mountains.
This region has been appropriately styled the
Switzerland of America. From the summits of
the White Mountains, which, standing in the south
ern part of Coos county, present at a glance a
view of the whole county, to the highlands of Can
ada on the north and the Green Mountains on
tfie west, the prospect is one ofthe grandest in na
ture. Far as the eye can reach, it is met by a con
stant succession of hills and mountains — sometimes
swelling gently in the distance and sprinkled with
settlements to their summits — sometimes breaking
into wild peaks, in summer crowned with bald
ledges of granite and striped by the pathway of
the avalanche, and in winter covered with an un
broken mantle of snow, and rising, like mounds of
white and spotless marble, above the surrounding
woods. A scattered population had begun at an early
period to diffuse itself among these mountains, upon
the banks of the Connecticut, and along the bor
ders of its tributary streams. Twelve years before
the commencement ofthe revolution, a little settle
ment was commenced at Lancaster, and soon fol
lowed by others, of the same humble character, at
Northumberland, Stratford and Dalton. In 1775,
the population of the present county of Coos had

326. HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap, increased to the moderate number of two hundred
^J__ and twenty-seven persons, divided among six town
ships, of which Lancaster, with its sixty-one inhab
itants, was the most populous. In 1803, the whole
population was a little more than three thousand,
divided among ten incorporated towns.
At the same session of the Legislature, which
granted the people in the northern part of the state
a separate county organization, a turnpike road
was established for their accommodation, begin
ning at the west line of Bartlett, and traversing
the well known White Mountain Notch. It ex
tended twenty miles in length, and was constructed
at an expense of about $40,000.
This road, winding as it does through one of
the most sublime and romantic mountain passes in
the universe, presents to the eye of the traveller
scenes of natural majesty and beauty, unrivalled
by any other mountain region in America.

CHAPTER XI.
Samuel Livekmoke — Matthey Thornton — Amendment of the- federal con
stitution — Ascendency of the republican party — Laws — District schools —
Iron mines — Franconia mountain scenery — The notch — Mount Lafay-
' ette — The basin — The flume — The Old Man of the mountain, or Profile
rock — Ascent of mount Lafayette — Execution of Eurnham at Haver
hill — Removal of the seat of government to Concord — Commerce of
Portsmouth — The effect ofthe embargo, the war of 1812, and other causes-
Right of search — Orders in council — French decrees — The embargo — it
is unpopular — The federal party again in the ascendeney — George Sul
livan — Aggressions of Great Britain — War becomes a probable event —
Message of Governor Langdon — Debates in the senate and house — Speech
of Gilman — Speech of Parrott — Lotteries — Banks — Election of William
Plummer — his war message — Preparations for war — Madison calls an
extra session of congress — Increase of the army and navy — The militia
called out— Campaign of 1812— Daniel Webster— Progress of the war —
Campaign of 1813— Change in the judiciary— Great fire at Portsmouth-
Campaign of 1811 — Battle of Chippewa — Battle of Bridgwater — Miller —
M'Niel— Weeks— Machinations of the federal party— Battle of New Or
leans— Peace— Debates in the legislature — Speech of Mr. Handerson—
Speech of Mr. Parrott— Gov. Flummer's message— Change in the judi
ciary—Richardson — Bell— Woodbury— Pierce— Release of the poor pris
oners — Project of a canal — Western emigration.
In May, 1803, the Hon. Samuel Livermore, chap
long a distinguished actor in the political affairs
of the state, died at his residence in Holderness,
at the advanced age of seventy-one years. He
was born at Waltham, Massachusetts, about the
the year 1732, and, twenty years afterwards, grad
uated at Princeton college. Having studied law,
and risen at an early period to a respectable rank
in his profession, he was for some time before the
revolution, judge advocate of the court of admi
ralty in this state. In 1782, he was appointed

XI.
lioa

328 HISTORY OF
chap, judge of the superior court, which office he held
_^__ for a period of eight years. For the same length
of time, commencing in 1793, he was a member
of the United States senate, and was associated
in that body with many of the most distinguished
patriots of the revolution.
Matthew Thornton, another of the most distin
guished citizens of this state, also died during the
same year. He was a native of Ireland, where he
was born about the year 1714, and consequently
was sixty-one years old at the commencement of
that great and successful struggle for indepen
dence, in which he was a distinguished actor. Mr.
Thornton first settled in New Hampshire, as a
physician, at Londonderry. He accompanied Sir
William Pepperell in his expedition against Lou
isburg, in 1745, and was president of the first
provincial convention in this state, thirty years
afterwards. He first took his seat in the conti
nental congress in November, 1776, and, though
too late to vote for the Declaration of Indepen
dence, he had the imperishable honor of subscrib
ing that important document, together with Dr.
Benjamin Rush, and several others, similarly cir
cumstanced with himself. He was afterwards ap
pointed a judge of the superior court, which office
he retained till 1782. It was his fortune, in com
mon with many of his compatriots of 1776, who,
like him, staked their lives and property in the
cause of independence, to go down to the grave
covered with honors and full of years, leaving
behind him an unspotted reputation, and the mem
ory of a long line of services to his country, des
tined to be as enduring as its history.

Jour nals.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 329
The history of 1804 opens with an animated chap. YT
contest between the two rival parties for the ^J_
ascendency in the state. Governor Gilman was 1804>
again, and for the eleventh time, elected, by a ma
jority however of only one hundred and fifty votes,
over John Langdon. It is a fact, which speaks j^:
volumes in favor of the personal popularity of both ^
candidates, that all the votes, of more than twenty-
four thousand cast at this election, were divided
between them. There was not a scattering ballot
thrown in the state. But while the federal party
barely succeeded in the election of governor, the
republicans secured a decided majority in both
branches of the legislature. Governor Langdon, ^jgj^
having been returned as a representative from
Portsmouth, was elected speaker of the house,
and Nicholas Gilman, afterwards a senator in con
gress, was chosen president ofthe senate.
The legislature of this year passed, by a major
ity of forty-seven in the house and two in the
senate, a bill ratifying an amendment to the federal
constitution, providing that the candidates for pres
ident and vice president, should be separately and
specifically voted for. Under the original provi
sions of the constitution, each elector balloted for
two persons ; and that person who received the
largest number of votes was to be president, and
the person who received the next largest number
was to be vice president. Under this provision,
John Adams had been elected vice president in ^°ur-
1789, and Thomas Jefferson in 1797, neither hav- nals
ing received a majority of the electoral votes.
Under this provision, also, in 1801, Thomas Jeffer
son arid Aaron Burr having each received seventy-
42

Con- grtes-
sional

330 HISTORY OF
chap, three votes and a majority of the whole number —
.___.Y. though the former had everywhere been deemed
the candidate of his party for the presidency and
the latter for the vice presidency alone — the fed
eral party, uniting with a few personal friends of
Burr, supported him for the presidency through
thirty-five successive ballotings, occupying no
less than six days. On the thirty-sixth ballot,
Thomas Jefferson was elected, by a revulsion of
feeling in a portion of his opponents, against an
attempt of so glaring a character to defeat the
well-known wishes ofthe people.
To prevent the recurrence of such contests in
future, the amendment above referred to was pro
posed and ratified by a sufficient number of states
to secure its adoption. In New Hampshire, Gov
ernor Gilman interposed his veto and prevented its
ratification ; acting in accordance with the views
of the federal party generally, who, having once
availed themselves of the former state of things, in
a strenuous effort to defeat the election of Jeffer
son, were naturally opposed to the change. The
governor objected to the adoption of the amend-
^aet?Te" ment, mainly on the ground that, " if the altera-
nai_! tions proposed should take place, the office of the
vice president, who in certain events is to be
placed at the head of the nation, may be deemed
less respectable than heretofore."
c™- Though, at the congressional election in August
jouT-1 or* ^is year, the federal ticket was elected by a
nals- small majority, the republicans gained a complete
triumph, a few weeks afterwards, in the choice of
seven electors, who gave their votes for Thomas
Jefferson for president, and George Clinton for

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 331
vice-president. This was the first choice of chap.
¦ • "5TT
presidential electors, by the people of this state ; .  Y-
every former election having been made by the
legislature. The republicans of 1804, having the
control of the legislative power, passed, with sin
gular magnanimity, a general law referring the
presidential election directly to the people. They
risked, upon the issue of an uncertain contest, a
political triumph, which, in strict accordance with
former precedent, they might have secured at once,
to give a permanent privilege to the people, which
had already been denied them too long. The
result, which they could not with any certainty
have foreseen, happily illustrated the maxim, that
"honesty is the best policy," as well in the ope- .„..
rations of governments as in the management of
private affairs.
In 1805, after an exciting contest, the republi- jff0^-
can party, for the first time, gained an entire kn-e
ascendency in the state. More votes were thrown ^^N:
than at any former election, and John Langdon jl^'
was elected governor by nearly four thousand ww-
majority. The prevailing party at the same time H^to-
carried every branch of the government, elect
ing Levi Bartlett, Joseph Badger and Benjamin
Pierce to the council, and securing decided ma
jorities in the house and senate. When the legis
lature assembled in June, Robert Alcock, one of
the most inflexible patriots and ardent republicans
in the state, was elected president of the senate.
He declined accepting the office, however, and the
Honorable Clement Storer was chosen in his place.
At the same time, Samuel Bell was chosen speak
er of the house, and changes were made in all the

332 HISTORY OF
chap, executive departments of the government. Phillip
J[L_ Carrigain was elected secretary of state, in place
of Joseph Pearson, who had enjoyed that office
for nineteen years in succession; and Nathaniel
Gilman succeeded Oliver Peabody in the office
of treasurer. Another change, yet more impor
tant, resulted from this political revolution in the
state. The death of the Honorable Simeon Olcott,
one of its senators in congress, created a vacancy,
which was filled by the election of the Honorable
Nicholas Gilman. Mr. Gilman was the first rep
resentative chosen to either branch of congress by
the republican party, after its first distinct organ
ization in the state. Indeed, the whole represen
tation in congress from New England, with
scarcely an exception, was composed of members
of the federal party. The election, therefore, of
a republican to the highest legislative body in
1805. the nation, was deemed a political triumph of
Le?is- no ordinary magnitude. The legislature, in the
jour- meantime, in their reply to Governor Langdon's
address, adopted by a large majority in both
branches, expressed "their utmost confidence in
the virtuous and magnanimous administration"
of President Jefferson, and condemned, in strong
terms, "that spirit of malignant abuse" with
which he had been assailed.
stat- Among the laws passed by the legislature of this
utesof i • i , -ii n .
n. h. year, which have stood the test of time, and still
remain among the statutes ofthe land, are the acts
prohibiting the issue of private notes as a circular
tion, and limiting all actions for the recovery of
real estate, to twenty years. The last law pro
vides, "that when any action shall be brought

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 333
against any person, for the recovery of any lands chap.
or tenements which such person holds by a sup- J^Y-
posed legal title under a-ftona fide purchase,"
and has peaceably occupied more than six years
before the commencement of the action, a jury
shall appraise the value of the improvements,
which must be paid by the plaintiff before he re
covers possession. Laws were also passed, regur
lating the manufacture and sale of bread, the
inspection of beef, the taxation of costs before
justices, the collection of damages done by the
floating of lumber, and the appointment of guar
dians over persons who, " by excessive drinking,
gaming, idleness, or vicious habits of any kind,"
should so squander their time and estates as to
become exposed to suffering and want. Another
law of this year provided for the division of towns
into school-districts, and thereby established our
common schools upon such a basis, as to extend
their advantages to every citizen. No law of the
state has done more for the diffusion of useful
knowledge or the advancement of the general wel
fare. Under its provisions, school-houses have
sprung up in every neighborhood in our most
thinly settled towns, affording at once, in many
instances, houses of worship for the scattered
dwellers around them, and comfortable places of
instruction for their children.
Jn such humble seats of learning as these, thou
sands of the young men of New Hampshire have
laid the foundation for that business knowledge,
or those extended acquirements, by which they
have made themselves the leaders in honest enter
prise, the authors of useful inventions, the masters

334 HISTORY OF
chap, of difficult arts, and the ornaments of the pulpit,
J!^ the bar, the judicial seats and legislative halls of the
country. There have been sown the seeds of pru
dent industry. There have been planted the germs
of honorable enterprise. There has been first ex
cited that noble thirst for distinction, which has
taken the sons of our poorest citizens from the farm
and the workshop, and sent them into the wide
world, with no other capital than untiring energy
and unspotted reputation, to carve out their own
way to distinguished fortunes and exalted honors.
The New Hampshire Iron Factory Company,
Le?is- incorporated at Franconia by the legislature of
Jour- 1805, soon after established the extensive works at
Jack- that place, to which it has been so greatly indebt-

son's

Geoio- ed for its prosperity. At first, these works con
Report, sisted only of a forge, where bar-iron was made.
In 1811 a blast furnace was erected, which has
been kept in operation ever since. It produces
from two hundred and fifty to five hundred tons of
excellent iron per annum, of which from one hun
dred to one hundred and fifty per year is manufac
tured into bar-iron, while the remainder is sold in
the form of castings. So lately as 1838, iron was
produced to the amount of twenty-one thousand
dollars per annum, of which sum at least twelve
thousand dollars were paid for the labor of,men
engaged in mining, burning and drawing coal, and
conducting the various operations at the furnace.
The ore, which is obtained from a mountain in
Lisbon, at a distance of three miles only from the
furnace, yields from fifty-six to sixty-three per
cent, of pure iron, and was long considered the
richest in the United States. The mine is appa-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 335
rently inexhaustible. A single vein, of from three chap.
and a half to four feet in width, has been wrought J2l_
forty. rods in length and one hundred and forty- ®&-
four feet in depth, and this vein has been found to Rep"rst.
extend along the hill-side into the valley below.
The labors of the miners, often fruitlessly expend
ed in unskilful searchings after additional veins of
ore, have formed many curious caverns in the
rocky sides of the hill. In one instance, a gallery
of this character, one hundred and twenty feet in
length, has been cut through the solid granite.
These labors, however useless they may have
been to the proprietors of the mines, have brought
to light an abundance of interesting minerals, and
the neighborhood has long been knowrn as the
richest mineral region in New Hampshire.
Nor are the attractions of this region confined
to the searcher after curious mineral specimens
alone. The sublimity of its mountain scenery
has been admired by travellers from every part
of the country. It is approached from the south
through a mountain pass, second only to the White
Mountain Notch in grandeur, and thronged with
objects of curiosity and interest. As the traveller
threads his way through the entrance of this soli
tary defile, his vision is limited by a long range of
dark hills on one side, and a huge and almost per
pendicular cliff of bare and shelving granite
extends a long distance on the other. Suddenly,
after a series of devious windings, in which the
prospect is ever and anon obscured by the forest
trees that skirt the way, he finds himself in the
midst of a vast amphitheatre of mountains, their
sides clothed with dark evergreen, broken here

336 history of
chap, and there by rough ledges and shattered piles of
^!_ granite, that rise above the surrounding woods
and threaten the valley below. On the right, and
considerably in advance, stands mount Lafayette,
its gloomy sides retreating in the distance, and its
high cone-shaped and rocky summit rising above
the region of clouds and storms, and looking down,
like a presiding genius, upon the convocation of
giant hills beneath. On the left sleeps a little
lake, from whose surface the white mist curls
gracefully to the mountain-tops around it. Be
hind him, upon the frowning termination of the
giant wall of granite he has gazed upon so long,
the traveller sees the Profile Rock,* " an abrupt
crag, hung from the mountain's brow," and pre
senting, in a mass of granite, the perfect lineaments
of a human face.
" And full and fair those features are displayed,
Thus profiled forth against the clear blue sky,
As though some sculptor's chisel here had made
Poem This fragment of colossal imagery,
ry Hib -^e comPass of his plastic art to try ;
bard. From 'Adam's Apple' to the shaggy hair
That shoots in pine trees from the head on high —
All, all is perfect — no illusion 's there
To cheat the expecting eye with fancied forms of air."
The Old Man is seen casting a bold look upward
towards the east, with his head partially inclined
towards the little lake which lies below him em
bosomed in the surrounding mountains, and sweeps
with its limpid waters the base of the throne on
which the Old Man seems to repose. To the north
of the notch road, lies another crystal lake, its
* From its exact resemblance to the human face, it is called "The Old
Man of the Mountain."

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 337
margin tracked by the wild deer, from the middle chap.
of which, in a boat, the voyager may catch a __5y
glimpse of the summit of mount Lafayette,
standing aloft between two contiguous mountains,
resting against the clear blue sky, or sublime
amidst the storm, with clouds piled upon its top
and hanging in black and heavy masses down its
sides. Passing below the Old Man, the eye no
longer distinguishes a profile ; and mount Jackson,
with its bold front of bare rock, frowns over the
silent lake, and affords a picture of ruggedness
and sublimity. In the ascent up mount Lafay
ette, the traveller enters a dense forest opposite the
Old Man; and passing upward in a winding path,
is afforded a glimpse of mount Jackson. As he
advances, his ears are saluted with. the noise of
Lafayette brook, which rolls through the woods
below with a solemn roar. After proceeding three
miles, over cliff and crag, he emerges suddenly
upon mount Pleasant, which is a small plain, cut
as it were in the mountain side, from which is
afforded a view of the surrounding heights, the
villages far below, and the valley of the wild Am-
monoosuck. At his feet, southward, lies Pleasant
pond, the hillocks around it partly covered with
stinted firs, partly bare and partly clothed with a
thick moss of the brightest green. Full before
him, to the east, is the summit of Lafayette ; the
clouds slowly sweeping along it sides, or curling
around the top, as they sail majestically upon the
air, or rush upon the wings of the blast. From
Pleasant pond, whose waters are sweet, and spot
ted by the yellow lily, the path upward leads first
through a grove of dwarf firs, which have been
43

338 ¦ history of
chap, blasted by fire, and, having bleached white, they
^Y_ stand with craggy arms, like a group of skeletons ;
but when seen from the summit of the mountain,
present the appearance of a field covered with
bones. Upward, the traveller proceeds over a
stairway of stone, stepping from rock to rock, as
they lay scattered over the mountain. Even on
the summit he has not passed beyond the hum of
the bee, the only insect of this vast height. Veg
etation has long since disappeared, save the small
white blossom springing up amongst the moss —
the solitary flower of the mountain. Below, to
the east, stretch interminable ranges of mountains.
To the north, the White Hills bound his view.
South, is the valley of the Pemigewasset ; south-
westward, mount Jackson, Black pond and Fi-
field's pond ; and northwest, the valley of the
Amraonoosuck. The rocks, which at mount
Pleasant were white, have now changed to dark
gray, spotted with black and dull yellow, inter
mingled with specs of green moss, which adheres
to them in scales. Descending from the moun
tain, not the least interesting object to the weary
traveller is the Franconia Notch Hotel, which
stands completely wedged in between the heights.
There is hardly room around it for a garden and
narrow fields, which are bordered and environed
by mountains. The cold breezes preserve here,
through the summer months, a refreshing coolness,
like the atmosphere of May, or September ; and
the fierce heat of summer is unknown. To the
north, immediately in the rear of the hotel, rises a
high peak, in the form of a sugar loaf, and it takes
that name. A ride of four miles southward,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 339
through a shaded road running along the Pemige- chap.
wasset, brings the traveller to the Basin; and three J.L.
miles farther, to the Flume. Yet in this space of
seven miles there is not a house or a human habi
tation. Northward, the nearest dwelling stands at
the distance of three miles ; and thus, in the space
of ten miles, the cheerful mansion where the trav
eller rests, stands alone, embosomed amidst the
lofty mountains which are the object of his pil
grimage. The Basin and Flume are among the objects in
this vicinity, which invite the attention of the trav
eller. The first is a broad, round, deep cavity,
scooped out in the solid rock by the road-side, by
the revolving waves of the mountain stream, which
supplies the head waters of the Pemigewasset.
The second lies at some distance to the right of
the road, through the mountains, as it enters the
defile from the south. It is a long, deep and
yawning fissure in the rock, presenting a general
appearance sufficiently indicated by its name.
During the freshets of spring, the little rill, which
ripples through it in summer, swells to a mountain
torrent, which, tumbling over loose rocks and
broken crags, grows white with foam, and dashes
through the giant channel, flinging its spray upon
its massive walls, and thundering in the hollow
caverns it has worn below.
On the 25th of December, 1805, the Honorable p?pj«
Russell Freeman, once speaker of the house, and day-
five years a member of the state council, having
been imprisoned in the jail at Haverhill, was mur
dered, with a companion in misfortune, by Josiah
Burnham. Burnham was their fellow-prisoner, an

340 HISTORY OF
chap, occupant of the same cell. Debt was the com-
^L_ mon offence, both of the murderer and the men
he slaughtered; and the complaints of his victims,
who had suffered great inconvenience from his
gross manners and ravenous appetite, were the sole
incentives to his crime. Near the close of the
following year the murderer expiated his crime
on the gallows, at Haverhill ; and the law, under
the rigorous provisions of which this tragedy
occurred, was afterwards — unfortunately long af
terwards — expunged from the statute books of the
state. The decisive result of the election of 1805,
established the political character of the state for
several years. In the meantime, Governor Lang
don, favored with legislatures whose viewrs were
in accordance with his own, discharged his execu
tive duties with firmness and moderation, respected.
even by his opponents, and escaping much of that
violence of attack, with which so many of his suc
cessors have been assailed.
At the spring election of 1806, there was scarce-
1806. 1 , n „
Legis- ly the appearance ot a contest ; and in August ot
jour- the same year, five republican representatives , to
congress were elected, while, a few months after
wards, the Honorable Nahum Parker, a republi
can also, was chosen to fill the remaining seat in
the senate.
1806. , On the 16th of June, in the same year, the sub
lime spectacle of a total eclipse of the sun was
witnessed by the citizens of New Hampshire, in
common with millions of others, For a time, the
obscuration was complete, the stars were visible,
and the darkness of night shadowed the earth at

Whiton.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 341
mid-day. The return of light Was instantaneous ; chap.
one side of the sun suddenly presenting a lumin- ^J_,
ous thread, of incomparable brilliancy. A scene
so sublime and unusual, which, a century before,
would have been regarded as the sure presage of
wars and calamities, even at this time excited sua
interest which has maefe it un era in the lives/ of
many Who witnessed it, and who, if still liymg,
refer to the " great eclipse" as the date Ifrom
which all their recollections of that period are
-reckoned. f
For a period of nearly ninety-five years, extend- 1807.
ing from 1680 to 1775, and from the admiriistra^-
tion of John Cutts to that of Meshech Weare^ne
seat of government had been permanently fixed at w__-
Portsmouth. From the beginning of th&qgevolu-
tion to the year 1807, the legislature had adjourned
from town to town, holding several sessions in
Portsmouth, Exeter, Concord and Hopkinton,
and one each in the towns of Dover, Amherst,
Charlestown and Hanover. As a compliment to
Governor Langdon, the December session of the
legislature for 1805 was holden at Portsmouth.
In 1806 and 1807 the June sessions were holden at
Hopkinton. At the close of the first session for
1807 the legislature adjourned to Concord, in
which town, though it has never been established
by law as the seat of government, its sessions have
ever since been uniformly holden.
The year 1807 may be regarded as the close 1807.
of the brightest season of commercial prosperity LMtfer
which Portsmouth, the only considerable maritime 0^eerx-
town in New Hampshire, has ever enjoyed. Its ££¦
exports during that year amounted to $680,022 ;

342 history of
chap, and, during the five preceding years, sometimes

XI
_^L_ rising above and sometimes sinking below that
™pSeS sum, had maintained an average not far from it.
FcesaY Its imports, during the same period, had probably
exceeded $800,000 per annu,m. On the 31st of
t)ecember, 1S06, its tonnage7 amounted 'to twenty-
fwo thousand sevenjruijdre^ and ninety-eight tons,
while, during the same year, one hundred and
three vessels cleared from its harbor for the West
Indies alone, and its total exports were valued at
$795,263. In tHis connection, a somewhat extended view
ofthe commercial operations of this ancient town,
ma^not be entirely out of place. Before the com-
'. me^ement of the revolution, the commerce of
Portsmouth consisted principally in the trade to
GreatvBritain and the West Indies, and a small
coasting trade to the southern states. The same
abundance of/ lumber in our forests and of fish on
our coasts, which invited the first settlement ofthe
state, together with live stock, still constituted the
great staples of its trade. Ship-building was
extensively carried on upon the banks of the Pis
cataqua, and the large number of vessels annually
fitted out at Portsmouth were laden with these
simple, but exceedingly useful staples ofthe coun
try, and despatched to the British West Indies.
There an exchange was effected for sugars and
other articles suited to the markets of the mother
country, where both vessels and cargoes were very
commonly sold, and the returns made in British
manufactured goods and such productions of other
foreign countries as we were forbidden to import
1807. by a direct trade. The smaller vessels, after sell-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 343
ing their cargoes in the West Indies, usually chap.
returned with the produce of those islands to ^^Y,
Portsmouth. .
At that period, the commerce of Portsmouth,
compared with that of other commercial towns,
was of much greater relative importance than at
the present time. But, whatever its extent, it was
.annihilated hy the revolution, and at its close, in
1783, it had not a single square-rigged vessel in
a seaworthy condition.
The recovery of its commerce from the general
ruin was gradual. It was impeded at first by the
loss of a foreign market for ships built on the Pis
cataqua, and the imposition of restrictions. by Great
Britain on its West India trade. In a short time,
however, its commercial enterprise, partially exclu
ded from its accustomed channels, sought out new
ones for its employment. Its fisheries were prose
cuted with greater vigor, its tonnage increased, and
its foreign trade rose to a more respectable stan
dard. The breaking out of a general war in Eu
rope gave to American trade the advantages of
neutrality. Business again quickened into life, and
Portsmouth shared largely in the general pros
perity. Her exports, as entered upon the books
of her custom-house, swelled to the respectable
amount already stated ; and a large portion of her
business, conducted through other ports, added
greatly to the real, though nothing to the nominal
amount of her trade. The experiment of the
employment of a regular packet-ship in the trade
with Liverpool, was commenced in 1806, with
every prospect of success, but, in December, 1807, 1807.
the embargo set the seal of death upon this, in
common with every other commercial enterprise.

344 HISTORY: OF
chap. The repeal of the embargo, in 1809, was followed
_Y_ by a brief season of prosperity. In spite of Brit
ish orders and French decrees, our ships once
more unfurled their sails in every sea, and bore the
American flag to every quarter of the globe.
This momentary sunshine was but the prelude
of the storm. The war of 1812 again swept, our
commerce from the ocean.
The return of peace brought with it the general
pacification of Europe. We enjoyed the advan
tages" of neutrality no longer. The direct foreign
trade of Portsmouth has never again recovered
its former vigor. The forests in its vicinity no
longer yield those stores of lumber, once deemed
inexhaustible. Its commerce with the British
West Indies has given way, under the active
competition of the government of which they are
dependencies, and the restrictions which that gov
ernment has imposed.
Reduced as the foreign trade of Portsmouth has
been, its coasting trade has increased in nearly the
same proportion. A large number of manufac*
turing establishments have sprung up around the
tide waters of the Piscataqua. The consequent
demand for flour, grain, coal and cotton, has fur
nished a profitable employment for a very con
siderable tonnage. At a port where, thirty years
ago, two hundred bales of cotton would have been
an ample supply for a year, there is now an aver
age demand for eleven thousand bales per annum.
Its trade, from this and other favoring impulses, is
regularly increasing, and its business streets are
again beginning to exhibit tokens of reviving
prosperity.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 345
The year 1808, as we have already seen, com- chap.
menced a period of severe commercial restrictions _____
and great national excitements. The conflicting 18°8-
powers of Europe had long regarded the advan
tages of- our neutral position with jealousy. Sail
ing under the only flag which was not arrayed
among belligerant powers, our ships gathered a
golden harvest in every sear Carrying the pro
ducts of England and her dependencies to the
ports of France on one hand, they returned,
freighted with French goods, to the marts of
Great Britain on the other.
The British cruisers, however, had long claimed
the right to board our ships and impress our sea
men. The arbitrary enforcement of this claim
Was soon followed by other aggressions. By a
series of orders in council, Great Britain inter
dicted our trade with France. France, in retali
ation, prohibited our trade with Great Britain.
Our commerce was subjected to the common
plunder of both nations, and hundreds of our Ves
sels, engaged in a lawful trade, were captured by
their cruisers and-condemned by their courts. At
length, our harbors were blockaded by British
fleets, and one of our national vessels, reposing on
our own waters, was fired upon by a British ship
of war, of superior' force. From these causes
resulted the embargo. Its" object was, by detain
ing our ships in our own ports, to protect them
from the piratical aggressions of Great Britain
and France, and, at the same time, to compel
those nations to respect our rights, by depriving
thorn of the advantages'of our trade.
However patriotic were the motives which 1808.
44

346 history of
chap, induced the adoption of this measure, it was
_Y_ unsparingly assailed. It added to the feeling of
discontent by which the federal party had long
been pervaded, that excitement which is so easily
and sometimes so unjustly created by the loss of
trade, the derangement of business, and the tem
porary decline of the internal prosperity of the
country. Motives of patriotism alone sustained
the embargo. The clamors of interest were every
where raised against it.
Nor were these clamors without effect. Though
in the spring election in New Hampshire there
was scarcely a contest ; though a legislature was
elected which concurred with President Jefferson
in sentiment, and adopted an address, approving
his measures and sustaining the embargo ; the
federalists rallied at the subsequent elections,
made use of all the means of agitation which for
tune had placed in their hands, and again recov
ered, by a small majority, and after a hard contest,
their ascendency in the state. A federal delega
tion in congress was once more elected from New
Hampshire, and its electoral votes were secured
to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the unsuccessful
rival of James Madison in the presidential contest.
1809. These triumphs gave new courage to the federal
party. In the spring of 1809 it again entered the
field in full force. It was opposed with a vigor
corresponding to the attack. The republicans of
that time, ever ready to sustain any measure, how
ever burdensome, which they deemed necessary for
IS09. the vindication of American rights and American
honor, never sunk desponding and discouraged
under the pressure of defeat. Nearly thirty-one

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 347
thousand votes were cast for governor, and Jere- chap.
mi ah Smith, the federal candidate, was chosen by _fi___
little mOre than two hundred majority. The coun
cil still remained in the hands of the republican
party. The federalists carried both branches of
the legislature. Upon its meeting, in June, the
work of political revolution was prosecuted still
further. Moses P. Payson was elected president
of the senate, and George B. Upham, speaker of
the house. Nathaniel Parker ^ of Exeter, was
chosen secretary of state, in place of Philip Carri-
gain, and Thomas W- Thompson, afterwards
senator in congress, succeeded Mr. Gilman in
the office of treasurer. The federal party was
once more in full power in New Hampshire.
But while that party was enjoying the rewards
of victory, there were causes already in operation
which were destined to secure its defeat. The
continued aggressions of England, the perfidy with
which she had repudiated an amicable arrange
ment concluded with one minister, and the insults
offered to our government by another, had roused
a feeling of patriotism in the country, like that
which preceded the revolution. A modification of
the non-intercourse policy of the administration
had removed, to a great extent, the foundation for
the clamors which had been raised against it; and
a feeling of indignation against the movements of
the British government rallied thousands of its
former opponents around our own. If it was
assailed with unbridled license on the one hand, it
was supported with warm enthusiasm on the other.
If an appeal to selfish interests was sometimes,
for a moment, successfully used against it, the time

348 HISTORY OF
chap, was never far distant, when the people, inspired
_?!l. with patriotism and burning to avenge the insults
1809. oflfere(} to our national honor, rallied again to its
support.
1810. The revolution of a single year found the repub
lican party of New Hampshire again in power.
In March, 1810, John Langdon was again chosen
governor, by more than one thousand majority in
an increased vote. The republicans, at the same
time, carried every branch of the government.
William Plummer, once a member of the federal
party, but then become distinguished for his ser
vices in the republican cause, was elected presi
dent of the senate, and Charles Cutts, of Ports
mouth, was chosen speaker ofthe house, and after
wards elected, during the same year, a member of
the United States' senate.
The same party triumphed in the congressional
election, in August. Four ofthe candidates ofthe
republican party were elected. The remaining
seat was filled by the election of George Sullivan —
a federalist it is true, but still a pure-hearted and
patriotic man, whose opposition to the administra
tion in power, never led him to participate in
factious attempts to embarrass its measures. He
opposed the declaration of war ; but when the war
was begun, when a foreign' enemy threatened our
coast and invaded our frontiers, he uniformly gave
his vote in support of every measure essential to
the public defence. It was his distinguished
honor so to conduct at that important crisis, as to
excite the approbation of his political opponents,
without forfeiting the respect of his political
friends.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 34<>
These elections exerted an important influence chap.
upon the country. Had Lh,e federal party retained ___
its ascendency in the state, the election of a sena- 181°-
tor and members of congress opposed to the
administration, would have embarrassed many of
its measures, and defeated, very probably, the
declaration of war itself.
Upon the result, therefore, of the elections of
1810, among the hardy and independent yeomanry
of New Hampshire, the success of that great mea
sure 'in a good degree depended — a measure which
vindicated our h,onor, and asserted our rights, by
the thunders of our cannon upon the sea and the
valor of our soldiers upon the land — a measure
which has given to so many of our military and
naval commanders a deathless name in history, and
secured to our national flag the respect of every
nation on the globe.
Party excitement noAV glowed too fiercely to
subside under the influence either of victory or
defeat. No sooner had one political campaign
beep concluded in this state, than another was
commenced. Governor Langdon, a man whose
spotless character had hitherto preserved him,
amid the furnace of party rage, unscathed by its
flames, became, in these exciting times, the. object
of unfounded calumny and unsparing abuse.
Benevolent, irreproachable in his morals, and thus
far universally respected for his services in the
revolution, he was now publicly burned in effigy
and loaded with execrations. It was from a par
tisan feeling, of a kindred character, that a leading
journal in New Hampshire, at the same period,
declared that " if Thomas Jefferson had a thou-

tus," in
>T. H
Pat riot,
1811

350 HISTORY OF
chap, sand lives, he deserved to be hung a thousand
_„_, different times, as high as Haman."
1811. Tnft contest between the rival parties had now
become a question of peace and war. On one side
it was said that the administration was hostile to
commerce, unjust to Great Britain, and criminally
subservient to France. On the other, it was
asserted that the opponents of war, in their zeal
against France, seemed to have entirely overlooked
Bra™ the outrages of Great Britain. " They could see,"
n! h. said an able republican writer of the day, " the
riot, detention of a few seamen in France, engaged in
illicit commerce; but they could not discern the
detention of thousands by England. They could
see the millions of property seized by France ; but
to the seizures and captures of England, their eyes
were shut. They could see the disavowal, by the
English government, of the murderous attack on
the Chesapeake ; but they could not see the pro
motion of the admiral who ordered the attack.
They could see the treachery of France, in not
abiding by her contract to rescind her decrees;
but they were blind to the perfidy of England in
the arrangement with Erskine."
While the federal party imputed the most honor
able intentions to Great Britain, and declared that
she had done us "no essential injury," the repub
licans pointed to the impressment of our seamen,
the plunder of our commerce, and the insult to our
flag, by which the career of that haughty power
had long been distinguished. By one party she
was pointed to with reverence, as the "bulwark of
our holy religion ;" by the other, denounced as the
ruthless invader of our rights. As war became a

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 351
probable event, its opponents arrayed all its fright- chap.
ful consequences before the people — our armies __Y,
slaughtered — our people famishing — the ashes of
our cities stained with blood, and trampled be
neath the feet of victorious invaders. On the
other hand, it was urged, that, with a righteous
cause summoning us to arms, and stout hearts to
defend it, we dishonored the fair fame our fathers
had won in the conflicts of one war, by shrinking
with these craven forebodings from another.
Upon such issues as these, the election of 1811 1811.
depended. A spirit of jealous resistance to British
aggression still burned among the hardy agricul
turists of New» Hampshire. The glorious scenes
of Bunker's hill and Bennington still dwelt in
their remembrance. They dreaded not the foe
they once had conquered. The republican party
triumphed once more, and triumphed as the party
of resistance — resistance unto blood, if necessary
— to the arbitrary assumptions of Great Britain.
Governor Langdon, re-elected by a majority of
nearly three thousand votes, was again favored by kegis-
the election of majorities of his political associates ^lb5;
to every branch of the government. His message
upon the meeting of the legislature, though writ
ten in -plain style and moderate language, exhibited
something of that warmth of feeling which was
then universal. He complained that at that
"eventful moment," when the "difficulties and
perplexities the general government had to con
tend with would seem to demand the assistance
*
and support of every patriotic citizen," there were
so many who seemed ready to oppose and indulge
a Spirit of resistance against it.

Patriot.

352 HISTORY OF
3HAP. The legislature adopted a reply, still more spir-r
_Y_ ited in its tone, denouncing that " defiance to our
laws and government," "that call to resistance,"
which it declared to be " the more alarming, as it
was manifested at a time when the nation ought
unitedly to afford sanction to its laws and energy
to its government."
This expression of opinion did not pass without
of'dT- opposition. An exciting debate preceded its adop-
bNew° tion in the house. Governor Gilman, then a
^hire" member of that body, threw the weight of his
influence against it. " There are men," said that
gentleman, " who do not believe that this govern
ment — if by government is meant the present and
past administrations — is the best that ever existed.
Look at the nation. What is its character? It
is not respected abroad. It does not stand on that
high ground that it did in the time of Washington
federalism. We have no navy, except a few gun
boats, in dry docks, covered with boards, which
are of no use. We are despised by foreign
nations." Mr. John F. Parrott, of Portsmouth, afterwards
senator in congress, replied. " In respect to the
various administrations, he did not mark the differ
ence in the same light with the gentleman from
Exeter. Our nation and flag had never been re
spected by the British. Great Britain had agreed*
by a solemn treaty, to deliver up to the American
government the western posts, and had retained
those posts for eleven years. She had insulted
our flag, robbed us of our property, and impressed
our seamen. These things^ she did during the
administration of Washington ; and all would agree

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 353
that no blame attached to him. In one instance, chap.
forty men had been impressed from one ship, dur- .  _L
ing the administration of Adams. He respected
Washington, he respected Adams, and he might
be allowed to respect Jefferson and Madison.
There was one point in which he presumed the
house would agree. All would condemn the con
duct of France — all would detest her outrages on
our rights. But when we come to the injustice of
Great Britain, the sensibilities of a party were
touched. Do we not find men, who, if they do
not always justify, at least palliate all the wrongs
of Great Britain? Do we not find men who say
she has done us no injury? And is not this a dis
grace to our country, whose authors merit the
frowns of its every friend? Is it not an encour
agement to that nation to persevere in its injus
tice?" George B. Upham, David L. Morrill, and Eze-
kiel Webster, participated in the discussion, and
the address was carried in the house by a majority
of twenty-six, and passed by a decided vote in the
senate. It appears by a report spread upon the legisla
tive journals of this year, that the drawing of a
lottery, formerly granted for the construction of a
road in Dixville, in the extreme northern part of
the state, had at. length been completed. Tickets
had been issued to the amount of more than two
hundred and forty thousand dollars, exceeding the
amount of prizes paid by the large sum of thirty-
two thousand one hundred and four dollars.
Nearly six thousand dollars of this sum were lost
by the failure of venders in Boston ; and adding to
45

354 HISTORY OF
chap, this the expenses and the loss on tickets retained
^Y by the lottery, less than fifteen hundred dollars
remained, as a net profit, to be applied to the
road. From this time, the system of defraying
public burthens by lotteries was abandoned by
the state, as alike injurious to the people and per
plexing to the government. The road was nearly
completed, however, by the aid of such funds as
had been realized from this unprofitable enterprise.
The failure of three of our banks had at this
time created a general excitement ; and a consid
erable portion of our legislative sessions was
occupied in an investigation of their affairs. The
Hillsborough, Cheshire, and Coos Banks, having
issued a much larger amount of bills than their
charters warranted, had become embarrassed, and
stopped payment very nearly at the same time.
The former bank had refused to submit its books
for examination. The two latter, having, as was
generally supposed, redeemed a large share of
their circulation, through the intervention of bro
kers and at a heavy discount, had still an outstand
ing circulation of about one hundred and twenty
thousand dollars. The great public loss upon the
depreciated paper of these banks, severely as it
was felt at the time, has induced a more cautious
legislation in relation to this class of institutions.
1811. During this year a law passed changing the
compensation of judges of the court of common
pleas from an uncertain amount, depending upon
fees, to a stated salary; a change which was after
wards so extended as to embrace nearly every
important office in the state. By this means it
was wisely judged that the temptation to unrea-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 355
sonable exactions would be entirely removed ; and chap.
that, while the compensation of public officers _5___
would be fixed upon a just and permanent basis,
the cost of the government would be greatly di
minished to the people.
With the commencement of 1812, terminated a 1812.
period of peace, which had existed, with little
intermission, for nearly twenty-nine years. That
period, though marked with frequent fluctuations
in our commerce and depressions in our currency,
though it found a heavy burthen of debt resting
upon the people at its commencement, had wit
nessed a gradual but constant increase, in this
state, in wealth, business, and institutions of learn
ing; in its means of communication, and the num
ber of its inhabitants. Flourishing manufacturing
establishments had arisen upon the banks of our
principal streams. Academies had been establish
ed in places which, at the close of the revolution,
had scarcely the means to maintain a respectable
common school. More than five hundred miles of
turnpike roads had been constructed, at an expense
of six hundred thousand dollars. Upon these
great thoroughfares, uniting upon the centre of
the state, and thence spreading in every direction,
and extending to its extremities, the people found
a direct communication with every market. A
code of laws, simple in their form, and generally
adapted to the wants of the people, had grown up
with the exigencies of the times. Justice was
promptly administered in the courts. The civil
and political rights of man were carefully guarded.
Wrong sometimes won its way to the attainment
of its ends, it is true; but yet crime seldom stalkeH

356 HISTORY OF
chap, among us unpunished, and honest worth had little
J!i__ to fear from oppression in the laws or corruption in
the courts. Such was the general condition of New
Hampshire, when, in common with the country at
large, it was subjected to the burthens and uncer
tain chances of war.
The same political discussions were agitated
before the election of March, 1812, which had
decided that of the previous year. John Langdon
having declined a re-election to the office of gov
ernor, the republican party presented a new candi
date, in the person of William Plummer. He was
a member ofthe bar; and, intimately connected as
he then was with the republican party, had, at a
period not very remote, been a supporter of the
administration of John Adams, and a champion of
federal principles. A knowledge of his former
sentiments alienated some members of the repub
lican party from his support ; and the unpopular
points of his profession were eagerly seized upon
by his political enemies to excite a popular preju
dice against him. A close contest was the result.
The federalists once more brought John Taylor
Gilman, the most popular man of their party, into
the field as a candidate, and he received a small
plurality ofthe votes, though not a majority ofthe
whole number. The republicans, however, car
ried every other branch of the government, and
elected William Plummer in the legislative conven-
Jour tion. Strong as the opposition to his election had
^une6' been, his opinions seem to have had great weight
jj^jj;' with the legislature. In no less than three in-
Not. stances, during the current year, he deemed it
P?454T' necessary to veto measures which had passed tri-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 357
umphantly through both houses. In each instance, chap.
upon a consideration ofthe reasons which induced _2y
this course, it was sanctioned by a unanimous
vote.- In his message to the legislature, the governor
communicated his views upon the subject of cor
porations : —
"Acts of incorporation of various kinds," said he,
" have within a few years greatly increased in this
state ; and many of them, being in the nature of
grants, cannot with propriety be revoked without the
previous consent of the grantees. Such laws ought,
therefore, to be passed with great caution ; many
of them should be limited to a certain period, and
contain a reservation authorizing the legislature to
repeal them, whenever they cease to answer the
"end for which they were made, or prove injurious
to the public interest."
The message of the governor recapitulated, with
much spirit, the wrongs our country had sustained
from the aggressions of Great Britain, and urged
upon the consideration of the state the importance
of a firm and united support of the policy of the
general government. In a reply, adopted by a
very decided majority, the legislature used the
following spirited language : — " Is our indepen- jour-
dence now assailed?" they asked. "Are our
maritime rights denied, our national privileges in
fringed, our commerce obstructed, and our citizens v
impressed? And are we called upon to decide the
painful alternative, submission or manly defence ?
Permit us, sir, to aver for ourselves and the good
citizens of New Hampshire, that we are all Amer
icans ; that we will cordially unite in maintaining

ton.

358 HISTORY OF
chap, our rights, in supporting the constitutional meas-
^___ ures of our government, and in* repelling the ag
gressions of every invading foe."
The State Prison at Concord, a large granite
building, was this year constructed, at an expense
whi- of thirty-seven thousand dollars. It was placed
under the immediate supervision of the governor
and council, and ranked, at an early period, among
the best regulated prisons in the country. An
entire revision of the criminal code of the state
followed its erection. Those laws which imposed
whipping and the pillory upon persons guilty of
minor offences — laws always revolting to every
sentiment of humanity — were abolished ; and of
eight capital offences, six were made punishable
by imprisonment only. Henceforth, murder and
treason alone were deemed crimes of sufficient
turpitude to be visited with the severest retribu
tion which human laws can inflict.
Meanwhile, events tending to hasten the decla-
u"s.° ration of war were in constant progress. The
American frigate President, while cruising off the
coast of Virginia, had been wantonly fired upon
by the Little Belt, a British sloop of eighteen
guns. This outrage, which gives no unfair idea
of the general insolence of the British cruisers at
1812- that time, met with that prompt and severe retri
bution it merited. Every effort of our government
to obtain a satisfactory arrangement upon the sub
ject of impressments had been unavailing. The
British orders in council were still wantonly en
forced ; and upon the restoration of our commerce
with France, large numbers of our vessels, bound
with rich cargoes, were seized by Great Britain.

Hale's

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 359
During a period of nine years only, nine , hun- chap.
dred American vessels had been captured by her J2_-
cruisers and condemned in her courts.
At an extra session of congress, summoned by
President Madison in November, 1811, laws were
passed, authorizing an augmentation of the navy
and an increase of the regular army to thirty-five
thousand men, and otherwise providing for the pub
lic defence.
Congress was employed in preparations for war,
until late in the month of May, 1812. Informa
tion having been obtained from London, which
convinced the American government that they
could no longer entertain any reasonable hopes
of redress, on the 18th day of June, an act passed
declaring war against Great Britain.
When the legislature of New Hampshire as
sembled, in November, active hostilities had already
been commenced. In the meantime, hundreds of
her sons had already rallied round the standard of
their country, and five companies of her militia,
had been detached for service within Jier own lim
its. Of these, four were stationed at Portsmouth
under the command of Major Bassett, to aid in G°™*-
the defence of that harbor ; while the fifth, under Mes"
v ' _ 7 sage,
the command of Captain Mahurin, was posted at |*°£
Stewartstown, to protect the frontier from preda
tory excursions from Canada, and check a con
traband trade, there too common, which at once
defrauded the revenue of the country and furnished
its enemies with supplies.
The operations of the American army, during
the campaign of 1812, were attended with little
success. The disgraceful surrender of Hull, and

360 HISTORY OF
chap, the failure of our operations upon the Cana-
J.L. dian frontier, were sources of mortification to
the friends of the war and new objects of attack
to its enemies. The exploits of the American
navy, however, even at the commencement of the
war, softened the disappointment occasioned by
Our reverses upon land, and taught the vaunted
mistress of the ocean, that she was no longer
invincible on that element, where her naval heroes
had gained her so many laurels.
Papers Upon the eve of the autumn elections of this
d»y- year, the Hon. John Goddard, one of the candi
dates ofthe republican party, suddenly renounced
its principles, declared himself to be strongly op
posed to the war, and suffered his name to be
instantly placed upon the federal electoral ticket.
Such an event could not fail to paralyze, to some
extent, the movements of that party which he had
so suddenly abandoned, and, at the same time, to
give new courage to its enemies. After a warm
contest, the federal tickets for electors of president
and members of congress were elected, by.an aver
age majority of not far from fifteen hundred votes.
Daniel Webster was one of the congressional dele
gation at this time chosen ; a man who, though then
young, soon ranked among the ablest opponents
ofthe administration and the war, and gained that
high reputation as a cool, powerful and eloquent
debater, which he has maintained, during a service
of twenty-five years, in one branch or other of the
American congress. Thirty years before this time,
he was born by the side of the Merrimac — the
son of a farmer. At school and in college he
sometimes composed poetry, and displayed in his

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 361
prose compositions a gorgeous fancy ; but his chap
first efforts at the bar were marked by a close, __!L,
vigorous and mature style, which indicated a pre
ponderance of the reasoning powers over the
imagination, and determined his character as a
powerful logician, kindling but occasionally with
the fires of imagination. He rose with a rapid
flight — dazzling and astonishing — convincing and
conquering. The bar acknowledged him as its
head — the rival leaders of his own party made way
for him in the race for distinction, and he was
ushered forward at once to the first stations of
responsibility and honor which they had in their
power to bestow. Most of his mature years have
been passed in the halls of legislation. He has
discussed, either for the purpose of opposition or
support, most of the important measures of gov
ernment ; and though his views have often failed
to gain the popular support, and the correctness of
them has been questioned by the ablest minds in
the nation, yet he has left impressed on the mem
ory of man, and stamped upon the records of public
affairs, so many of those touches of genius, which,
in an age of intelligence, will be preserved from
oblivion, that the name of Webster, though he be
consigned to the grave, cannot fall into forgetful-
ness. Amidst all the vicissitudes of human affairs,
the traces which genius leaves behind.it will sur
vive, and will rise above the conflict of interests
and the shock of opinions, to be admired, when
time shall have corrected the errors of human
belief, and the transitory prejudices of the day
shall be forgotten.
• The federal party, after a strenuous contest,
46

362 HISTORY OF
chap, maintained in the spring of 1813 the ascendency
^-1_ which they had gained at the election of the pre
ceding autumn. John Taylor Gilman, after a
retirement of eight years, was again elected gover
nor of New Hampshire by a majority something
less than five hundred votes. The federal party
gained the control of both branches of the legisla
ture, and upon its meeting in June, elected Thomas
W. Thompson speaker of the house and Oliver
Peabody president ofthe senate. The ascendency
thus gained, they succeeded in preserving through
the sharp and doubtful contests of the two suc
ceeding years.
Still, these facts show no instability of opinion
in the freemen of New Hampshire. True, it fa
vored the declaration of war, and, after it com
menced, elected a delegation to congress and a
state government opposed to that war. But were
its elections, during this period, a fair indication
of the views of a majority of its freemen ? It
should be remembered, that at the very commence
ment of the conflict, hundreds of the people aban
doned their peaceful pursuits, and gave up their
right of influencing the result of our elections by
their votes, to sustain the cause of their country,
in many a hard-fought battle both by land and sea.
The people of New Hampshire contributed no
less to the success of the war than they did to its
commencement. Its hardy citizens were to be
found in every hard-fought field. Its seaboard
contributed its weather-beaten seamen to man our
navy, and sent whole companies to mingle in the
conflict which raged on our frontiers. Recruits
swarmed to the seat of war from every part of the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 363
state. Every village furnished its squad. Every chap.
scattered settlement among the mountains contrib- ^L,
uted its man. In some instances whole families
came forward at the call of their country; and
father and son left their little homestead in the
wilderness and marched to the post of danger to
gether. Had these brave men remained quietly
by their own firesides, and left to others the noble
task of defending their country, far different would
have been the result of the elections at home ; and
far different, too, there is reason to believe, the
result of some of those fierce conflicts on the fron
tier, in which the American flag floated in triumph
over bloody fields and vanquished enemies.
In 1814, Gilman's actual majority was less
than six hundred votes, and, in 1815, it sunk
to five hundred and fourteen.* Had the brave
New Hampshire men, who battled under Perry
in the glorious conflict on lake Erie, and with
the equally brave Macdonough on lake Cham
plain — who marched, fearless, up to the can
non's mouth under the command of Miller and
McNeil — the crews of our gallant privateer ships,
and our hardy seamen serving in nearly every
vessel in the American navy, mustering as they
did more than two thousand brave men and stout
hearts — been present at these elections, the re
publican party would have controlled the desti
nies of the state from the beginning to the end of
the war.
At the June session ofthe legislature of 1813, a
nominal change was made in the judiciary system
ofthe state, which resulted in an annihilation of
* This statement includes a few votes rejected for informality in the returns.

364 HISTORY OF
chap, the offices of the existing judges, and gave to the
Jli_, dominant party an opportunity to appoint their
successors upon the bench. The name of the
highest court in the state, which had been styled
the " superior court of judicature," was "by the
new law changed to the " supreme judicial court."
Arthur Livermore, chief justice of the former
court, was retained as an associate justice in the
new one. Jeremiah Smith, of Exeter, who had
resigned his seat on the bench to accept the office
of governor, was again appointed chief justice*
The remaining seat was filled by Caleb Ellis of
Claremont, a young but distinguished member of
the bar.
The republican party strenuously denied the
constitutionality of this measure, contending that
judges commissioned to hold office "during good
behavior," could be removed only by impeach
ment, or upon an address to the governor by both
branches of the legislature. The federalists, on
the other hand, insisted, that the legislature had an
undoubted right to abolish any office which it had
created. The controversy upon this subject pro
duced a very general excitement. Upon the first
meeting of the court in Rockingham county, the
sheriff took his seat as usual, but refused to obey
the orders of the new court ; while Richard Evans
and Clifton Clagget, the two judges whom the
Gov- new system had displaced, appeared, and "di-
man's rected the person whom they called their clerk,
October to administer the oath to the grand jurors — they,
session, the jurors, no otherwise regarding than with aston
ishment." In Hillsborough county, the sheriff
sent some of his deputies to attend upon the new

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 365
court, and escorted, in person, the two former chap.
judges to the court-house; so that, deprived of J_L_
the use of that building, the new court "per- ?00"rs.e
formed the business of the session in a school- p"^.
house." Upon this court, however, the members
ofthe bar, as well as parties, jurors and witnesses
generally attended.
In consequence of the confusion resulting from 1813.
this unsettled state of things, Governor Gilman
convened the legislature on the twenty-seventh
day of October, several weeks earlier than the day
to which it had adjourned. At an early period of
this session, Josiah Butler, sheriff of the county of
Rockingham, and Benjamin Pierce, sheriff of
Hillsborough, were removed by address ; the meas
ure having been adopted by a strictly party vote.
The legislature of this year incorporated the
Kimball Union Academy, at Plainfield. It had
been endowed with a permanent fund of forty
thousand dollars, by the munificent bequest of the
Honorable Daniel Kimball, and has ever since its
establishment remained in a flourishing condition,
fully accomplishing the benevolent designs of its
founder. An extensive fire, near the close of the year Adams'
1813, added to the embarrassments under which "of s
Ports -
Portsmouth already labored from the destruction mouth,
of its fisheries and foreign trade. It broke out on
the evening of the twenty-second of December,
and spreading rapidly in every direction, raged
with 'great violence till three o'clock in the morn
ing. One hundred and eighty dwelling-houses,
and sixty-four other buildings, occupying a space
of fifteen acres, were entirely destroyed. Prop-

p. 355.

366 HISTORY OF
chap, erty to the amount of nearly three hundred thou-
J_?Y sand dollars was lost by pillage and the flames.
The public, on this occasion, as it had done on a
former one, came forward with generous contribu
tions in aid of the sufferers, amounting to more
than seventy-seven thousand dollars.
In the meantime, the war had been conducted
with various fortune. During the campaign of
1813, Gen. Winchester had been taken, with five
hundred American troops, at Frenchtown, and
Gen. Wilkinson defeated in an unsuccessful at
tempt to penetrate to Montreal. On the other
hand, York, in Upper Canada, had been captured
by General Brown; the British repulsed with
great loss in their attempts on Sackett's Harbor
and Craney Island ; Proctor routed, and Tecum-
seh killed on the Thames, and the American stan
dard once more planted upon the ramparts of
Detroit. During this year, also, on the 10th of
September, the illustrious Perry achieved his vic
tory over the British squadron on lake Erie, and
gained an undisputed possession of its waters.
1814. The events of 1814 shed still greater lustre
upon the American arms. On the 5th of July, the
American troops, under the command of Gen.
Brown, attacked a strong British force, com
manded by General Riall and stationed at Chip
pewa. The two armies met in the open field, and
after a long and bloody conflict, in which at some
periods the troops fought man to man, contesting
every foot of ground with the bayonet, the Ameri
cans were victorious, and the enemy were driven
behind their intrenchments, with a loss of five
hundred men. In the battle of Chippewa the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 367
British and Indians fought with the courage of chap.
desperation. They were formed in order of battle J^_
on the banks of the Niagara, their left resting on
the river, their right on a wood. The American
position was the reverse of this. Their right
rested on the river, their left on the wood. Early
in the morning the light horse of the enemy were
seen hovering round, and scouting parties appeared
in the distance. The battle commenced by the
firing of small arms. This increased, and the
artillery began to play with effect, until at length
the forces on both sides were closely engaged. A
dense cloud of smoke now hung between the two
armies. Suddenly the British fire slackened, and
the Americans immediately ceased their fire. As
the veil of smoke slowly rose from before them, a
trampling was heard, and as the Americans bent
forward. to look under the smoke, the feet of the
British soldiers could be distinctly seen advancing.
It was apparent that they were charging. But
as their left was closing to charge the American
right, the terrible fire which the Americans were
enabled to pour upon their flank threw them into
disorder and drove them from the field. They
retreated, and were closely pursued to Chippewa
creek, which they crossed, taking up the bridge
after them.
In this battle, General John McNeil, then a ma
jor, was second officer of the eleventh regiment ;
but before it had taken its place in the line he had
succeeded to the command by the fall of Colonel
Campbell. He was attached to the forlorn hope,*
* Scott's brigade, composed of Leavensworth's, Jessup's, and Campbell's
regiments, the 9th, 11th, and 25th.

Me
moirs.

368 HISTORY OF
chap, a single brigade, which was obliged to pass the
_^-L_ bridge over Street's creek under the fire of a
?!"; British battery. General McNeil was observed
letMr, to wield his force at this point with the greatest
wlu coolness and self-possession. Under the galling
^on's fire which poured death amidst his ranks, his line
was formed with the accuracy of parade ; and the
loud word of command which he gave, rising
above the din of battle, and going forth so dis
tinctly as to be heard by those far beyond his com
mand, inspired resolution in all, and seemed to
declare, in its deep tones, that the field of deadly
combat arouses the energies of mind and body to
a level with the dangers and appalling difficul
ties of the occasion. For his distinguished and
gallant conduct in this battle he was breveted a
lieutenant-colonel . *
From the field of Chippewa the American army
passed down the Niagara, and took a position
opposite the cataract.
Soon after this event, General Riall abandoned
his defences and retired to the heights of Burlington.
Here General Drummond joined him with a large
reinforcement, and assuming the command, the
combined troops again advanced towards the
American camp. On the twenty-fifth, was fought
the battle of Niagara,! which, commencing a little
before sunset, continued till midnight. This bat
tle was fought hard by the cataract of Niagara,
whose thunders were heard at intervals amid the
roar of cannon and the clash of arms ; the moon
* Report of a committee of the senate, made Jan. 20, 1841. See. Con
gressional Journals for 1841.
t Sometimes called the battle of Bridgwater or Lundy's Lane.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 3Q9
ever and anon shining brightly upon thex combat- chap.
ants, and then, obscured by clouds and smoke, _J^_,
leaving them to pursue the work of death in dark
ness. It was in the dusk ofthe evening, while the gal
lant brigade of Scott was sustaining nearly the
whole force of the enemy's attack, and waiting
while General Ripley marched three miles to their
assistance, that they were cut to pieces, and nearly
all the officers killed or wounded. At this critical
juncture McNeil rode forward to reconnoitre the
enemy's position. He had but just returned, and
was cheering his men on to the fight, when he
received a shot * in his knee from a carronade.
He, however, clung to his horse and his com
mand, urging his men on to the conflict. He
remained on the field until he became weak from
the loss of blood, which some of the men ob
serving, offered to assist him to withdraw ; which
he rejected, and remained clinging to the mane of
his horse, until he several times fainted, and finally
was reluctantly compelled to be led from the field.
The British artillery, posted on a commanding
height, had annoyed our troops during the earlier
part ofthe battle. " Can you storm that battery?"
said General Ripley to Miller. "I'll try, sir,"
replied the warrior ; then turned to his men, and,
in a deep tone, issued a few brief words of com
mand. " Twenty-first, attention ! Form into
column. You will advance up the hill to the
storm of the battery. At the word, 'Halt,' you
will deliver your fire at the port-light of the artil-
* Report of a committee of the senate, Jan. 20, 1841. Congressional
Journals, 1841. Wilkinson's Memoirs. Jessup's letter, Ms.
47 '

370 HISTORY OF
chap, lerymen, and immediately carry their guns at. the
J_i~ point of the bayonet. Support arms— forward-
march!" Machinery could not have moved with
more compactness than that gallant regiment.
Followed by the twenty-third, the dark mass
moved up the hill like one body— the lurid light
De- flickering on their bayonets, as the combined fire
STn of the enemy's artillery and infantry opened mur-
Ameri'- derously upon them. They flinched not — falter-
isTi'. ed not. The stern, deep voice of the officers,
as the deadly cannon-shot cut yawning chasms
through them, alone was heard — " Close up —
steady, men — steady." Within a hundred yards
of the summit, the loud "Halt" was followed by
a volley, sharp and instantaneous as a clap of
thunder. Another moment, rushing under the
white smoke, a short, furious struggle with the
-bayonet, and the battle was won. The enemy's
line was driven down the hill, and their own can
non mowed them down by platoons. This bril
liant success decided the fate of the conflict, and
the American flag waved in triumph on that hill,
scorched and blackened as it was by the flame of
artillery, purpled with, human gore and encum
bered by the bodies of the slain.
The contest now shifted to fort Erie, where,
in an unsuccessful assault and a brave sortie of
the American troops, the British commander lost
nearly two thousand men. In these fierce conflicts
the New Hampshire troops were present in large
numbers and gained imperishable honor. While
McNeil and Miller gained, as they deserved, un
fading laurels in these battles, scarcely less honor

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 371
was due to Weeks,* who, like them, was a son of chap.
New Hampshire. The services of these three J^__,
men present a bright page in the history of the
war, and give them solid claims to the lasting
gratitude of their country.
During this season the British gained posses
sion of Washington city, burning the capital and
destroying public property to an immense amount.
The mortification occasioned by this calamitous
event, however, was more than removed by the
gallant reception which our brave troops gave the
enemy at Baltimore and Plattsburg, by the victory
of Macdonough on lake Champlain, and the chiv
alrous exploits of Porter on the ocean.
Late in the summer, a powerful British naval
force entered Penobscot Bay, and gained posses
sion, with scarcely a show of opposition, of several
towns upon its borders. The dangerous proximity
of this force created no little apprehension for the
fate of our own seaboard. The governor of this
state, therefore, partly on his own authority, and
partly in obedience to directions received from the
general government, detached large bodies of mili
tia from the several divisions in this state to Ports
mouth, to assist in the public defence. So great
was the number of volunteers, that compulsory
service was rendered almost entirely unneces
sary. " Whole companies, from various parts of Go_e
the state," volunteered their services and marched ™^s
to the seat of danger together. The enemy, how- }^>
ever, finding our harbor too well defended, pru
dently declined venturing upon an attack.
The embarrassments and privations naturally
* Major John W. Weeks, of Lancaster.

1815

372 HISTORY OF
chap, attendant upon the war, had stimulated its oppo-
J!^__, nents to an opposition, of a character so violent
as hardly to admit of palliation, and much less
of defence. They urged that the administration
had employed all its resources upon idle schemes
of conquest, and left the New England seaboard
almost entirely destitute of the means pf defence,
thereby forfeiting all claim to the confidence of its
citizens. Many even went to the bold length of
maintaining that the militia of the eastern states
and the revenue accruing in their ports, should be
retained, in defiance ofthe general government, to
provide for their separate defence. A separate
peace with the enemy and a separate union of the
1814. northern states, were general and public subjects
of discussion ; and this, too, in the midst of the
war, when the ashes of our frontier towns, the
ruins of our capitol, and the butchery of our
soldiers under Winchester, after their surrender,
demanded an exertion of the united resources of
the whole country to visit a proper retribution
upon the enemy. At this time, in the midst of
such exciting discussions as I have mentioned,
a convention of delegates, chosen by the federal
legislatures of Massachusetts,, Rhode Island and
Connecticut, assembled in secret conclave at
Dec.is. Hartford. Mills Olcott and Benjamin West ap
peared in that body from New Hampshire, not
like their associates, as the accredited agents of a
state, but in the less imposing capacity of dele
gates, chosen by informal meetings of their party
in the counties of Grafton and Cheshire. Gover
nor Gilman was desirous of summoning a special
session of the legislature, for the purpose of secur-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 373
ing a more formal representation ; but a majority chap.
of the council, belonging to the republican party, J_i_
disapproved of and defeated the design. The
origin of this convention — the fierce declamations
of those who favored it, against the government —
the seditious tone of many of the federal presses
at the time of its meeting, and the secrecy which
attended its deliberations, have thrown a sus
picion upon its character, which time seems un
likely to remove.
For years after the convention, annually, on its
return, the public journals continued to notice its
anniversary, and to describe it as a day of dark
design and conspiracy against republican institu
tions, and to proclaim that, on Thursday, Dec. 15,
1814, a convention was holden at Hartford to
organize resistance to the government — to dis
solve the Union — to array different sections of the
Union in hostile arms against each other — and to
place the New England states finally under the
protection of the kingdom with which we were
then at war. The names of all the members were
printed in staring capitals, and held up to public ex
ecration — so that whoever should dare to meditate
disunion and the destruction of the constitution —
whoever should act publicly and openly with a
foreign enemy against his own native land — who
ever should meditate treason against the govern
ment, against, the people, and against liberty,
might be constantly reminded of the Hartford
convention, and the fate of the politicians by
whom the convention was advocated and coun
tenanced. The voice of a large majority of the
people soon condemned its motives, and a general

374 HISTORY OF
chap, unpopularity and odium have, in most parts of the
J^L. country, rested upon the names and memory ofthe
members. On the other hand, in some parts ofthe country,
particularly in Massachusetts, the state which
'ford^s originated and recommended the convention, it
mSs. has been defended warmly, and its advocates and
p'408' even its members continued in public favor, and
raised to high offices. They have contended that
the design of the convention was not fully under
stood, or not candidly and fairly represented —
^- that it was composed of men who deemed the war
p. 409. not a War for defence, but for the conquest of
Canada — that the people of Massachusetts and
other states on the coast had suffered extremely
from the war, and that the Hartford convention
assembled to devise means of protection and re
lief — that it never plotted treason, nor conspired
against liberty, nor contrived a dissolution of the
Union. Such are the apologies for the Hartford
convention. They have been repeated and urged
by the ablest advocates. But the people seldom
fail to render a righteous verdict, when the means
of judging are fully before them. The Hartford
foX convention has been condemned by a large portion
p-408- of the people throughout the United States. It
was composed, without exception, of members
of that party who took their name originally as
defenders of the constitution, but were violent
opponents of the war.
They maintained that it was in vain to contend
against so powerful a nation as Great Britain—

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 375
that she never would yield what we fought for— chap.
that the Americans were weak — destitute of re- ^L
sources — that they could not raise an army — and,
if one were raised, that it could not subsist. They
appeared at the recruiting stations and about the
military encampments of volunteers, and endea
vored to dissuade the men from enlisting. When
other means failed, they purchased demands against
soldiers, and brought suits and thrust them into
jail. This was done at Concord and Haverhill,
and many other places. They denounced the war
as " unjust," " unnatural," " abominable," and
" wicked." They were, in some cases, detected
in a treacherous intercourse with the enemy; as
also were some professed advocates for the war.
They addressed the people in public meetings, and
told them that Britain was clement and merciful —
" the protector of the Protestant religion" — " the
bulwark of the faith we profess." In some in
stances they openly rejoiced in the defeat of Amer
ican arms, and justified or palliated the brutalities
of the British soldiery. To deter the people from
the contest, they arrayed before them the vast
expenses of the war, and brought it home to each
locality and every citizen, by an exact compu
tation of the cost to each town and to every
individual. Their policy seemed to be to oppose everything
calculated to give energy to the war, or to lead
to the negotiation of an honorable peace. By
an organized opposition they dissuaded capital
ists from loaning money to the government, and
sowed distrust everywhere.
If the war yvith England was "unnatural,"

376 HISTORY OF
chap, the conduct of the federalists was still more so.
¦V-Y
_^Y. American patriots were filled with sorrow, and
foreign nations were struck with astonishment, to
see " the Yankee states," covered with the glo
ries of revolutionary valor, yet now seemingly
ready to kneel to a nation whom they had once
vanquished, and sacrifice on the altar of avarice
the honors of Bunker hill and Lexington, and all
the fame of that revolution which had rendered
them illustrious throughout the world.
The momentary shock which the war gave to
the people at its commencement — the burdens of
taxation and the terrors it occasioned, had given
the federal party in many states a sudden ascen
dency. But deep reflection awoke the people to
see the necessity and duty of sustaining the gov
ernment, and so rapid was the republican gain
everywhere that it promised to consign the oppo
nents ofthe war, in every state, to inevitable defeat,
The tillers and owners of the soil rallied fast to
its defence. Many of the federalists began to
look back and to see with regret the folly and
madness of their course. They saw that they had
aided the enemy ; for a mere refusal to carry on the
war, after it is begun, tends inevitably to that
result. When the question of war is pending, and
the contest is not yet resolved upon, an honest
opposition to it is but freedom of opinion and
action, and it is the right of every freeman. But
when the war is actually begun, every act of oppo
sition to it is an act of treachery to the govern
ment and the country; for it aids indirectly the
country's invaders.
Such was the view which the federalists had he-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 377
gun to take ofthe subject, when, on the 8th of Jan- chap.
uary, 1815, occurred the battle of New Orleans, ~^Y
resulting in a victory to American arms, which 1815'
will be remembered so long as the Mississippi
bears the tribute of its waters to the ocean. Gen
eral Packenham led the attack, at the head of an
army of veteran troops, inspiring them with the
promise of "beauty and booty." * General Jack
son, the American commander, with a force in
ferior in numbers and composed in part of militia,
calmly awaited the event. No sooner had the
enemy, marching in solid columns, approached
within a few rods, and attempted to deploy into
line, than one continuous sheet of fire, pouring
from every part of the American works, arrested
their movements, and drove their shattered ranks,
confused and panic-stricken, from the field. Again
the bold attempt was made, in the face ofthe same
destructive fire', and with the same fatal results to
the enemy. Packenham, with two distinguished Life"'
officers, fell. When, at length, the invaders hurried s™."
defeated to their ships, from a conflict in which the
Americans had lost scarcely a dozen men, they left
two thousand of their best troops, either killed or
desperately wounded, on that field, which they
had entered with so many bright visions of un
bounded triumphs, unrestrained riot, and profitable
plunder. The news of this brilliant victory was soon suc-
* McAfee's History of the Late War, p. 524 ; Waldo's Life of Jackson, p.
231- Claiborne's Notes on the War in the South, p. 73; Life of General
Jackson, by a Freeman, p. 82 ; Russell's History of the War, p. 340, Note ;
Allison's History of Europe, vol. i, p. 185, (Harper's edition;) Cobbett's Life
of Jackson (London edition of 1834 ;) Letter of General Jackson, dated Feb
ruary 19, 1844, MSS. ; Armstrong's History of the War.
48

378 ¦ HISTORY OF
chap, ceeded by the intelligence of an honorable peace,
.  L_ concluded between this country and Great Brit
ain. It was everywhere received with joy, and
spread through the country with the speed of the
wind. The great body of our troops, disbanded
at once, returned to their quiet homes, to ex
change the fatigues and dangers of the war, for
the peaceful employments they had abandoned at
its commencement. Our (merchant ships, spread
ing their white sails to the breeze, again rode
securely upon the ocean, and bore unmolested, to
every port on the globe, our flag, now rendered
respectable in the eyes of all nations by the splen
dor of those naval conflicts over which it had so
often floated in triumph.
Thus the war closed— leaving to the republican
party the cheering conviction that they had fought
well, and to the federalists the mortifying reflec
tion that their ill-timed opposition to the govern
ment had materially assisted the enemies of their
country. In some parts of the country the war
had received the most enthusiastic support. Many
a father, fired with more than Spartan patriotism,
viewed the fall of a son as scarcely a calamity ;
and, forgetting his grief in his patriotism, deemed
it no sacrifice, so that he fell for his country.
Speech - J
of "When we connect our naval deeds," said an
Lang- , -iii
don orator in congress, "with the other events of the
Cbee- , °
ves- war, who will say this has been an inglorious
war? — An inglorious war! Insult not the gal
lant men who have fought and bled in your bat
tles, and yet live with high claims to your applause.
Tread not so rudely on the ashes of the heroic
dead. Could the soul of Lawrence speak from

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 379
the cerements which confine his mouldering body, chap.
in what appalling language would he rebuke the ._?-_.
man who should assert that the contest in which
he so nobly died was an inglorious war ?* Will
you tell that worthy manf who fills, with so much
fidelity and usefulness, a station in your service on
this floor, that this is an inglorious war ? He has
beheld one son triumph J over his country's foe,
and live to hear and receive the applause and
gratitude of his country. He has seen another §
fall in the arms of victory, heroically aiding in an
achievement which, if it be not unparalleled, is
certainly not exceeded in the annals of history.
Happy father! — yet I would call him a miserable
and hopeless man, were this an inglorious war.
But I must call him a happy father, for God and
nature have implanted in our bosom a principle
which elevates us above the love of life and friends,
and makes us think their loss a blessing, when
-they are yielded up in the cause of a beloved
country, on the altar and in the spirit of patriot
ism. It is this principle which makes that excel
lent father reflect, not merely with composure, but
with pleasure, on the child of his- love giving up
his life in battle — his blood mingling with the
wave, and his body entombed in the bosom of Erie.
Yes, he would rather feel the consciousness that
his gallant boy fought with Perry, and died in the
glorious battle of the tenth of September, than
* Capt. Lawrence, commander of the Chesapeake, who fell in action with
the Shannon, near Boston harbor.
t Mr. Claxton one of the officers of the house."
% Lieutenant Claxton, who was on board the Wasp when she captured the
Frolic. $ Midshipman Claxton, killed in the battle on lake Erie.

380 HISTORY OF
chap, now embrace him in his arms — again animated
J_L- with the strong pulse of life— again pouring into
the parental bosom his filial duty, and lighting up
a father's pride and joy."
Upon the meeting of the legislature in June,
Governor Gilman, still hostile to that policy which
originated the war, after congratulating the people
upon the return of peace, introduced the following
language in his message: "The calamities of
war," he said, " have been severely felt ; the loss
of the lives of multitudes of our countrymen;
the expense of treasure ; depreciation of national
credit, a large debt and multiplied taxes. What
have we gained ? "
Qn the other hand, at an early period of the
session, Mr. John F. Parrott, of Portsmouth, in
troduced a series of spirited resolutions in the
house, eulogizing the various military and naval
commanders who had distinguished themselves
during the war.
Mr. Phinehas Handerson warmly opposed the
adoption of the resolutions, and moved their com
mitment. " He should never approve," he said,
" of the preamble and resolutions as they were.
They carried on their face approbation of the late
unnecessary and foolish war. They would say to
the world, what a majority of the house would
never concede, that the war was a politic and just
measure, and that it was -wisely and prudently
managed. What have we acquired by the' war ?
What have we gained by the treaty of peace ?
We have gained nothing." * * * He was willing
to compliment the men who had fought, but he
was unwilling to acknowledge that the country
had gained anything by their fighting.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 381
Mr. Parrott opposed the commitment. " Gen- chap.
tlemen," he said, "who wish for commitment, _Z1Y
say die language is too strong; admitting, how
ever, at the same time, that the officers and men
in the army and navy have deserved the highest
commendations of their- countrymen! What do
gentlemen wish? Will they 'damn with faint
praise,' in the fear of committing themselves in
favor of the war ? Will they deny that these men
have done much — nay, everything for their coun
try ? WilMhey deny that the victories of 1814,
on lake Champlain, at Plattsburg, at Bridgewater
and Chippewa, have been the salvation of the
nation? Will. they deny that 'veteran skill has
yielded to the rugged powers of intrepid free
men ? ' Will they deny that these brave men
have given to the Americans ' a name and a praise
among the nations ?' "
After an extended debate, the resolutions were
committed by a majority of six votes only. They
wer§, however, reported and adopted in a new
form, so modified as better to suit the taste of the
majority, and yet convey a high compliment to the
brave men who had participated in the hardships,
dangers and triumphs of the war. They declared isis.
that " the legislature, in common with their fel
low-citizens, duly appreciated the important ser
vices rendered to their country, upon the ocean,
upon the lakes, and upon the land, by officers,
seamen and soldiers ofthe United States, in many
brilliant achievements and decisive victories, which J™^
will go down to posterity as an indubitable memo- House,
rial that the sons of those fathers who fought the w*l
battles of the revolution, have imbibed from the

382 HISTORY OF
chap, same fountain that exalted and unconquerable
^J^_ spirit which insures victory, while it stimulates
the exercise of humanity and courtesy to the
vanquished."
1816. Governor Gilman having declined the support
of his friends for a re-election, and taken a final
leave of public life, the federal party, upon the
approach of the spring election of 1816, presented
James Sheafe, of Portsmouth, as a candidate for
the office of governor. He was a man of exten
sive property and respectable abilities, and had
already been elevated, by the favor of his party, to
a seat in the United States senate. The republi
cans still adhered to William Plummer, who had
received their zealous but unsuccessful support
throughout the whole period of the war. The
contest was waged with great violence, and re
sulted in the election of the republican candidate
for governor, by a very decisive majority. The
republicans at the same time gained an entire
ascendency in the state ; an ascendency which the
federalists, in that name, were destined never to
regain. Upon the meeting of the legislature, William
Badger was elected president of the senate, and
David L. Morrill speaker of the house. In his
message, Governor Plummer recommended legis
lative action in the affairs of Dartmouth college, a
repeal of the judiciary law of 1813, and a general
reduction in the expenses of the state.
1816. "Our public offices were made," said the gov
ernor, "not for the emolument pf the officer, but
to promote the public interest; and by the con
stitution frugality is considered as indispensably

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 383
necessary, and economy an essential virtue to the chap.
state. The great mass of our citizens are agricul- J^_
turalists and mechanics, and live on the products
of manual labor; and from this class of people is
collected the principal portion of taxes paid into
the public treasury. Under such a gbvernment
and. from such a people, justice and sound policy
equally require that the salaries of their public
officers should be moderate, not exceeding an
adequate compensation for the actual services they
perform." * * " Whenever the salaries in a repub
lic are raised so high as to excite the spirit of
avarice, and induce men to seek office from sordid
motives, it has a direct tendency to extinguish
public spirit, and to destroy the laudable ambition
pf holding office for the noble purpose of promot
ing the public good. It tends to multiply the
number of office-seekers, increase intrigue and
corruption, produce extravagance and luxury in
the officers; and their influence insensibly leads
others to imitate their pernicious example. It was
the observation of a man, not less eminenf for his
talents as a statesman than his knowledge as a
historian, that high salaries are evidences of the
decline of republicanism in a state."
The law of the federal legislature of 1813, estab
lishing the supreme judicial court, was promptly
repealed, and the former superior court of judica
ture was again revived. The judges who owed
their places to the party innovations of the period
referred to, were sent into retirement. William
Merchant Richardson, of Chester, was appointed
chief justice, and Samuel Bell and Levi Wood
bury were associated with him on the bench— ¦

384 history of

chap, three gentlemen of talents and high legal attain-
J?i»_ ments, of whom the former retained his respon
sible station till his death, a period of twenty-two
years, while the others resigned only to accept
of still higher honors.
Mr. Woodbury was at this time but twenty-six
years of age ; but he had distinguished himself in
college as a scholar, and was already a leading
member of the bar. He was also still more dis
tinguished as an ardent and powerful advocate for
the war of 1812, and a firm supporter of the govr
eminent. So responsible an office conferred upon
one so young, drew general attention to the man
ner in which his duties were discharged. But his
reach of thought, his research, and ready appre
hension, seemed to supply the place of experience,
and rendered his services on the bench of the
highest value, and his legal opinions of undoubted
authority. Seven years from this time he Avas
elected governor of the state, and afterwards
passed into the senate of the United States, and
finally he became successively secretary of the
navy and of the treasury. But whether on the
bench or at the bar — in the senate or the cab
inet — he has displayed that integrity, diligence,
and weight of talent, by which not a few of the
young men of America have risen from obscurity
to distinction, and won immortal honors for them
selves and their country. Untiring effort and judi
cious method — the great secret of success — both in
his private studies and official duties, have enabled
him to rise step by step to all the high stations of
honor and public trust which he, has been called
upon to fill. During the intervals between the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 3§5
sessions of congress he has continued to practise chap.
at the bar, and has moved, not without honor to .J^L,
himself, amidst that bright constellation of lawyers
for which New Hampshire was at this period cele
brated throughout the United States. Webster,
unanswerable in argument — Mason, Smith, Bell
and Fletcher, all famous for legal acuteness —
Sullivan, unequalled in the music of his voice and
the charms of his persuasive address — Bartlett,
master of all ,the graces of action, speech and
thought, yet strong in argument — these were the
associates and competitors of Mr. Woodbury.
Disciplined in such a school, he became strong
amongst the strong men by whom he was sur
rounded ; and by his characteristic industry, zeal
and habits of systematic arrangement, made him
self felt as a man of distinguished ability at the
bar, and in all the various and high public stations
which he occupied.
Benjamin Peirce, who had been removed from
office, for his sturdy refusal to recognise the new
court, only to be elected four years in succession
to the council, was ultimately again appointed
sheriff of Hillsborough county.
The enormous abuses of the power of creditor
over debtor were exciting the attention of the peo
ple, and calling forth execrations from the phi
lanthropic and liberal everywhere. In some in
stances, the father of a poor family was fop years
immured in a dungeon for the amount of the
prison charges, and his family, meanwhile, were
reduced to pauperism and beggary. No age, no
condition, was exempt. The poor and decayed
veteran, whose best years had been spent in the
49

386 HISTORY OF
chap, service of his country, was often confined with
J!i_ felons, and year rolled on after year, leaving him in
hopeless confinement. In Amherst jail were three
aged prisoners, one of whom had groaned in con
finement almost four years. A way was now open
for their deliverance. General Benjamin Peirce had
been appointed sheriff of the county by Governor
Plummer. In his character were united the gen
erosity of the soldier with the liberal sentiments of
enlightened philanthropy. He had fought for lib
erty and had enjoyed it. He was a man who lived
not for himself alone; and he could not endure
that three old men, for no crime but honest pov
erty, (which, though not a crime, was punished as
such,) should be shut out from the air, and close
their days in a dungeon. When he found every
other means for their release ineffectual, he at
once resolved to pay their debts himself. He
gave them notice to this effect, and appointed the
day for their deliverance. The inhabitants thought
the occasion worthy of public demonstrations, and
assembled to witness the release. On liberating
the prisoners the veteran general thus addressed
them : —
" Moses Brewer, Isaac Lawrence, and George
Lancy. By the return made me by Israel W.
Kelly, Esq., my predecessor in the office of sheriff
for the county of Hillsborough, it appears that you,
Moses Brewer, was committed Dec. 13, 1814; and
you, Isaac Lawrence, was committed Dec. 21,
1815; and you, George Lancy, July 2, 1817.
" My unfortunate fellow-citizens : the feelings
excited by a view of your situation, are inexpressi
ble. That those heads, silvered by age and hard-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 387
ship, and those hearts, throbbing with kindly emo- chap
tions, should be held for this long period of time, __^___
by their fellow-citizens, without the imputation of 1S08.
a crime, in a captivity unparalleled even in the
annals of the French Bastile, or Algerine slavery,
always viewed by us with sentiments of inexpress
ible horror, is more than my nature is able to
endure. To be immerged in a dungeon, standing
on the very soil of liberty and in the midst of men
boasting its high privileges, is in my mind, with
which the ideas and the value of freedom are
closely interwoven, infinitely worse than to be en
slaved in a foreign land, by enemies and barbarians,
from whom nothing better could be expected. But,
as an officer of the county, I have a duty to per- ^®"
form. I must either be governed by the law, and 20-
suffer you still to remain, the devoted victims of
unavoidable misfortune and honest poverty, shut
out from the genial light of heaven and the vital
air, God's equal gift to all ; to endure, perhaps
perish under, the privations incident to your situa
tion and the stern ravages of approaching winter;
forlorn and destitute, with no friend to comfort, no
society to cheer, no companion to console you —
or, I must be directed by the powerful impulse of
humanity; pay the debt myself, and bid you leave
this dreary and gloomy abode.
"My unfortunate fellow-citizens, ; — my duty to
myself will not suffer longer to remain here an old
companion in arms, who fought for the liberty
of which he is deprived, for no crime but that
of being poor. My duty to my country, whose
honor is deeply implicated by your sufferings— and
it is one of my first wishes it should be untar-

388 HISTORY OF
chap, nished — and my duty to my God, who has put it
_^-L_ into my power to relieve, irresistibly urge me to
the latter course. This, I am sensible, takes from
me a large sum of money, however the liberal and
generous people, among whom it is my happy lot
to reside, may participate; if not, none but my
children will have any right to reproach me ; and I
am confident they will do no more than say their
father was generous to a fault. In this view, go ;
receive the uncontaminated air, which is diffused
abroad for the comfort of man ; go to your fami
lies and friends, if you have any. Be correct in
your habits. Be industrious — and if your totter
ing and emaciated frames are so far exhausted as to
prevent your getting a comfortable support, apply
to the good people for relief- — and may the best of
heaven's blessings accompany you the remainder
of your days."
This liberation took place -on the 20th of No
vember, the more grateful to the prisoners that it
happened at the coming on of winter.
Sixty-one years before this time General Peirce
was born at Chelmsford in Massachusetts, and
was the son of a farmer. On the memorable nine
teenth of April, 1775, while he was ploughing in
the field, a horseman rode up to the door, and
having delivered a brief message, hastened onward
to alarm the country. It was the news of the
battle of Lexington which the stranger was com
missioned to proclaim. Leaving the plough, Peirce
immediately set out on foot for Lexington. He
, found, on his arrival, that the British troops had
fallen back upon Boston, and he proceeded to
Cambridge. It was here that young Peirce, then

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 389
but eighteen years of age, enlisted as a private in chap.
the army of the revolution, and attached himself to .J_3y
the regiment of Colonel Brooks- He was in the J^°b
midst ofthe battle of Bunker's hill; and from that ^™r^
time to the close ofthe revolution ^ he followed ^*5£>
the fortune of his regiment, fought whenever it *$&£
was called into action, and was invariably distin- ~^
guished and commended, by his superior officers,
for his gallantry and good conduct. He rose from
the ranks to the command of a company, which
he held at the disbanding of the army, in 1794.
He returned to his native village and found that
his eight years' pay, in, continental money, had so
much depreciated that it would not suffice for the
purchase of a farm. He was, therefore, obliged to
go into the wilderness, where lands were cheap,
and begin the cultivation of wild land. Here he
made a clearing and erected a rude habitation, •
felling the trees with his axe, and procuring food
for sustenance with his gun. In the autumn of
1786, President Sullivan, having resolved to form
the militia of the county of Hillsborough into a
brigade, sought out the veteran soldier, then far
in the woods, and commissioned him as a brigade
major. He immediately took the necessary steps o
for the perfect organization and discipline of the
several regiments. He had already served more Moore's
° . , Life of
than eight years in the regular army, and he con- Peirce,
tinued to serve in Massachusetts and New Hamp- Biogra-
shire for twenty-one years in the militia ; leaving Annual,
it finally in the capacity of brigadier general.
The regiment which furnished a Miller and a
McNeil was for many years commanded by him;
and many other valuable officers, who have distin-

390 HISTORY OF
chap, guished themselves in the public service, have
^_. been proud to say that they received' the first les
sons of military discipline from the veteran Gene
ral Peirce, in the militia of Hillsborough.
It was from principle that General Peirce was
attached to the institution of a citizen soldiery.
He distrusted standing armies, and regarded the
militia as the right arm of the nation's defence;
and not liable to become an instrument in the
hands of executive power to overawe the people
and destroy liberty.
From 1789 to 1802, he was a representative to
the general court, and in 1803 was first elected to
the council, where he continued six years ; five
of which were passed in the council of Governor
Langdon. It was not till 1827, that he was
elected governor of the state; , and was re-elected
in 1829, having been omitted one year on account
of his opposition to John Q,uincy Adams. At the
commencement of the last war with Great Britain,
his spirit entered into the contest; but the infirm
ities of age admonished him that he could hasten
no more to the battle-field. Two of his sons, with
his consent and advice, entered the public service.
Endowed by nature with a strong mind, Governor
Peirce had overcome the obstacles springing from
a Want of education, and by practice and perseve
rance had acquired a knowledge of business and a
skill in the conduct of public affairs. It was not
from his high public station that he obtained a
commanding influence, but from his integrity of
character, his benevolence, hospitality, and love
of justice. Cheerful in his disposition, and de
lighting to contribute to the happiness, of all

NEW HAJYI.P SHIRE. 39J^
around him, youthful vivacity found in him a con- chap.
genial spirit, while sedate manhood and sober age J^i,
disscovered in his conduct nothing to reproach, fe"
When he was removed by death, the public felt ^Su,1'
the loss of a man who had sincerely loved and p'99*
faithfully served his fellow-men and his country,
Clifton Claggett, one of the proscribed judges,
and, Josiah Butler, one ofthe refractory sheriffs Not.,6.
of 1813; were nominated by the republican party
for seats in the ensuing congress. If Evans, the 1818.
fourth and not the least deserving of those individ
uals,- whom, in an evil hour, party violence had
attempted to degrade in the public estimation,
received in this, new state of things, no distin
guished marks of public favor, it was because, un
der the influence of a hopeless disease, engendered
by the laborious application of a studious life, he
was fast going down to an untimely grave.
The feasibility of a canal, connecting the waters
of the Merrimac and Connecticut rivers, had long
been a matter of discussion. It had been sup
posed that such a work, starting at the Merrimac,
at the junction of the_ Contoocook, might be ex
tended to the waters of lake Sunnapee, and thence
along the valley of Sugar river, to the Connecti
cut. During the year 1816, a committee of the
Massachusetts legislature, with which the Honor
able Henry B. Chase, of Warner, was associated by
our own, made a thorough survey of the contem
plated route. The lake was found to be 'eleva
ted more than eight hundred feet above the level
of the two rivers whose waters it had been pro
posed to connect, and the enterprise was aban
doned as wholly impracticable, excepting by such

392 HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap, an expenditure as its advantages could never re-
JL pay. During the year, David L. Morrill and Clement
Storer were elected to the United States senate,
in place of Jeremiah Mason and Thomas W.
Thompson ; six republicans were elected to the
lower branch of congress, and the electoral vote of
the state was given to James Monroe.
This year was marked by an unusual prevalence
of cold weather during the summer and autumn,
and has ever since continued to be referred to as
the cold season. Snow fell in the southern part
of the state on the 9th of June. August was the
only month ofthe year entirely exempt from frost.
A scanty harvest and a general scarcity of bread,
the natural results of a season of such unusual
rigors, gave a new impulse to western emigra
tion. Hundreds of farmers, discouraged by the
scanty reward of their toil at this unfortunate pe
riod, gave up their farms, and sought, in the fertile
wilds of a distant land, for that bright sunshine of
prosperity, which, in most cases, would have smiled
far more surely upon them on their own native
hills.

CHAPTER XII.
Controversy with" Dartmouth College — Message of Governor Plummer —
The state assumes jurisdiction — The trustees refuse to submit to the
law — they are summoned to meet at Hanover — A quorum do not obey
the summons — they declare the law unconstitutional — Second message of
Governor Plummer — Wheelock reappointed president — Charges against
the professors — their address to the public — Death of President Wheel
ock — Trial of the Dartmouth college case — Arguments of counsel —
Opinion of Chief Justice Richardson — overruled by the supreme coprt of
the U. S. — President Monroe — The toleration act — Toleration in Connec-
ticut — Bill of rights — Act of 1791 — Vexatious lawsuits brought against
- dissenters — Toleration in Maryland and Vermont, Pennsylvania and
Maine— Speech of Dr. Whipple — Bill of rights — Speech of Dr. Whipple —
n . Speech of Henry Hubbard — Dr. Whipple in reply to Mr. Parker — Speech
' of Ichabod Bartlett — The toleration act is assailed — it passes — is again as
sailed violently — finally becomes popular — The Methodists — The Bap
tists — TheUniversalists — Scenery of New Hampshire — Ascent up Moose
hillock mountain — Owl's" Head — Scenes in the valley of the Connecti
cut — View from Moosehillock — from Catamount hill — from Haverhill
corner — from mount Pulaski — Appearance of an American forest in Au
tumn — Route to the White Hills from Haverhill through Bethlehem and
Franconia — from Lancaster — The Notch — Valley of the Saco — Scenery
about Indian Stream and the country near the Magalloway— Dixville
' Notch. ^
The trustees of Dartmouth college, (so called chap.
from the name of its founder and patron, the Earl . — ~L_
of Dartmouth,) had for a considerable time pur
sued a course calculated to render them unpopular
with a majority of the people. Possessing, under
their charter from George III., the power of re
moving members of their board and appointing
their'own successors, they had confided the exclu
sive control of an institution, designed for the com
mon benefit, to members of a single religious sect
and a single political party. Funds, bequeathed to
the college for the establishment of a professorship,
had been applied to purposes partaking of a secta
rian character. John Wheelock, himself a liberal
50

394 history of
chap, benefactor of the college, and the son of its illustri-
 ;_ ous patron, had been removed by a summary exer
cise of the power of the trustees, and a man more
subservient to their views appointed in his place.
Entrusted with the eare of a great public semina
ry, designed to promote the general good, the trus
tees were accused of using the influence it gave
them for ambitious and selfish purposes. Con
trolling an institution established by -the bounty
of all sects and all parties, they were believed by
many to have perverted it from its true purposes,
and made it a powerful instrument, in the hands of
a particular class, for the diffusion of its own pecu
liar opinions. Patronised by people of every shade
of opinion, and favored at times with liberal grants
from the legislature of New Hampshire, the people
could see no reason to justify the sectarian posi
tion which it had assumed.
It was from such views as these, that the legis
lature of 1816, believing that, the trustees had
adopted a policy in direct conflict with the charter
from which they derived their powers, determined
to claim jurisdiction over this institution, in behalf
of the state, for whose "benefit" only it had been
created. They accordingly passed two laws upon
this subject, increasing the number of trustees
from twelve to twenty-one ; empowering the gov
ernor and council to appoint the nine additional
trustees, and fill all vacancies which should occur
in the board, previous to its next annual meeting,
and changing the name of the institution from
Dartmouth college to Dartmouth university.
In executing the duties devolving upon him
under this law, the governor conducted with great
moderation, appointing- several of his political op-

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 395
ponents among the new members of the board of chap
trustees. It had been neither his design, nor that .___!__,
of his party, to make the college subservient to
any particular interest. On the contrary, it was
the wish of the legislature of 1816, by introducing
men of different religious and political opinions in
to its government, to secure an impartial extension
of its advantages to every sect and party. They
believed it to be no part of the proper business
of such an institution to inculcate the favorite dog
mas of any one class in that community for whose
common benefit it had been established. They
wished, rather, to place the only college in the
state in such a position — a position that it should
be regarded not as an engine to stamp a peculiar
creed upon the minds of its citizens, but as the
fountain of that correct knowledge which enables
men to reason for themselves — in such a position,
in short, that it should deserve the equal favor and
equal patronage of the whole community.
At the opening of the June session of the legis- 1816.
lature, June 6, 1816, Governor William Plummer
thus called the attention of the legislature to the
subject of Dartmouth college :
"'There is no system of government where the j0_r-
general diffusion of knowledge is so necessary as The0
in a republic. It is, therefore, not less the duty i8i6,'
than the interest of the state to patronise and sup
port the cause of literature and the sciences. So*
sensible were our ancestors of this, that they early
made provision for schools, academies, and a col- naTo.
lege, the good effects of which we daily experi- senlte,
ence. But all literary establishments, like every- sSn,
thing human, if not duly attended to, are subject p81__.
to decay.

396 history of
chap. " Permit me, therefore, to invite your consider-
J_!_L. ation to the state and condition of Dartmouth
college, the head of our learned institutions. As
the state has contributed liberally to the establish
ment of its funds, and as our constituents have a
deep interest in its prosperity, it has a strong claim
to our attention. The charter of that college was
granted Dec. 30th, 1769, by John Wentworth,
who was then governor of New Hampshire, under
the authority of the British king. As it ema
nated from royalty, it contained, as was natural it
should, principles congenial to monarchy. Among
others, it established trustees, made seven a quo
rum, and authorized a majority of those present
to remove any of its members, which they might
consider unfit or incapable ; and the survivors
to perpetuate the board, by themselves electing
others to supply vacancies. This, last principle is
hostile to the spirit and genius of a free govern
ment. Sound policy, therefore, requires that the
mode of election should be changed, and that trus
tees, in future, should be elected by some other
body of men. To increase the number of trus
tees, would not only increase the security of the
college, but be a means of interesting more men in
its prosperity. If it should be made, in future, the
duty of the president, annually in May, to report
to the governor a full and particular account, of
the state of the funds; their receipts and expendi
tures ; the number of students and their progress ;
and generally the state and condition of the col-*
lege ; and the governor to communicate this state
ment to the legislature, in their June session ;
this would form a check upon the proceedings of

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 397
the trustees, excite a spirit of attention in the offi- chap
cers and students of the college, and give to the ___!___
legislature such information as would enable them
to act with greater propriety upon whatever may
relate to that institution.
" The college was formed for the public good ;
not for the emolument of its trustees ; and the
right to amend and improve acts of incorporation
of this nature has been exercised by all gov
ernments, both monarchial and republican. Sir
Thomas Gresham established a fund to support-
lecturers in Gresham college, in London, upon the
express condition that the lecturers should be
unmarried men,, and upon their being married,
their interest in the fund should absolutely cease;
but the British parliament, in the year 1 768, passed
a law removing the college to another place, and
explicitly enacted that if the lecturers were mar
ried, or should marry, they should receive their
fees and stipend out of the fund, any restriction or
limitation in the will of the said Gresham to the
contrary notwithstanding. In this country, a
' number of the states have passed laws that made
material changes in the charters of their colleges ;
and in this state, acts of incorporation, of a similar
nature, have frequently been amended and changed
by the legislature. By the several acts incorpo
rating towns their limits were established ; but
whenever the legislature judged that the public
good required a town to be made into two, they
have made the division, and in some instances
against the remonstrance of a majority of its in
habitants. In the charter of Dartmouth college
it is expressly provided that the president, trug-

398 HISTORY OF
chap, tees, professors, tutors, and other officers, shall
^L take the oath of allegiance to the British king ;
but if the laws of the United States, as well as
those of New Hampshire, abolished by implica
tion that part of the charter, much more might
they have done it directly and by express words.
These facts show the authority of the legislature
to interfere upon the subject ; and I trust you will
make such further provisions as will render this
important institution more useful to mankind."
These views of Governor Plummer met the ap
probation of a majority of both senate and house.
Accordingly, on the twenty-seventh of June, 1816,
a law was passed assuming to the state of New
Hampshire complete jurisdiction over the college,
and changing its name to Dartmouth university,
To this law the trustees refused to submit.
In obedience to the law the governor summoned
the trustees and overseers of Dartmouth university
to meet at Hanover on the twenty-sixth of Au
gust, 1816. But a quorum did not obey, nor did
they answer the governor's request. Two days
after, they declared that the law of the state, to
amend the charter and enlarge the corporation. of
nafTf Dartmouth college, was, in point of precedent
senate anc' Prmciple> dangerous to the best interests of
seSoii s°ciety ' that it subjected the college to the arbi-
™^> trary will and pleasure of the legislature ; that it
contained palpable violations of their rights ; was
unconstitutional ; and that they would not recog-
n_dof nise or act under its authority.
senate, At the opening of the November session their
seSon, proceedings were laid before the legislature, and
p81i3. upon them Governor Plummer thus remarked : —

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 399

t(

It is an important question, and merits your chap
serious consideration, whether a law, passed and _SI_,
approved by all the constituted authorities of the
state, shall be carried into effect ; or whether a
few individuals, not vested with any judicial au
thority, shall be permitted to declare your statutes
¦ dangerous and arbitrary, unconstitutional and void.
Whether a minority of the trustees of a literary
institution, formed for the education of your chil
dren, shall be encouraged to inculcate the doctrine
of resistance to the law, and their example toler-
« ated in disseminating principles of insubordination
and rebellion against government.
" Believing you cannot doubt the course proper
to be adopted on this occasion, permit me to re
commend the passage of a bill to amend the law
respecting Dartmouth university. Give authority
to some person to call a new meeting of the trus
tees and overseers ; reduce the number necessary
to form a quorum in each board ; authorize those
who may hereafter meet to adjourn from time to
time till a quorum shall assemble ; give each of
"the boards the same authority to transact busi
ness at their first, as they have at their annual meet
ings ; and,#to remove all doubts, give power to the
executive to fill up vacancies that have or hereafter
may happen in the board of trustees ; and such
mother provisions as will enable the boards to carry
the law into effect and render the institution use
ful to the public."
During the year, two of the original board of
trustees, together with the nine who had received
their appointments from the executive of the state,
constituting a majority of the whole number, as-

400 HISTORY OF
chap, sembled at Hanover. They reappointed John
___, Wheelock to the presidency, and elected William
H. Woodward, Esq., treasurer of the university.
Thus Dr. Wheelock was finally restored to the
presidency of the Dartmouth university, to the
great joy of the friends of science and liberal
principles. Thus did -the veteran president after
years of persecution, springing from the intoler
ance of a religious sect, return again to his post
in the field of literature. His friends hailed his
return as "a triumph of liberty and justice over
intolerance and oppression." To the use of the
university the trustees committed the use of all the
college buildings ; and entrusted the records, books
of account, and other property of the institution to
the treasurer they had appointed. In the mean
time, three fourths of the old board of trustees,
claiming the exclusive and absolute control of the
college property under their charter, and declaring
the law to be an invasion of their constitutional
rights,' refused to accept of its provisions. Under
their direction, the officers of the old college,, re
taining a large majority of the students, continued
their usual course of instruction, in apartments
procured for the purpose. .
Thus we had two conflicting institutions in the
same town, a university and a college, each claim
ing the control of the same property and each
coming in active competition with the other.
The old trustees and professors busied them
selves in writing volumes of abuse against the
state government and Governor Plummer. Pre
vious to the March election of 1817, they pub
lished the most inflammatory and treasonable

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 404
appeals to the people, with the hope of influ- chap.
encing the popular vote. The natural effect of J_^!__
this was to give the republicans a great* gain,
especially in the vicinity of Hanover.
.When the committee, appointed by the legisla
ture to take possession of the buildings and appa
ratus of the university, applied to President Brown,
he refused to surrender the keys, and the commit
tee were obliged to break open the buildings.
Byrownand the professors then withdrew to other
buildings, taking with them such of the students
as chose to follow them, and then organized
classes and continued to instruct them during the
existence of the university.
•.. The. trustees of the university, early in Febru
ary, 1817, assembled at; Concord and preferred
charges against President Brown and Professors
Shurtleff and Adams ; the substance of which,was>
a refusal to yield obedience to the late act of the
legislature ; and cited them to appear before them;
on the twenty-second of February, to show cause Feb.22.
why they should not be removed. On the twenti
eth of February, they sent to the board an answer,
refusing to comply with the citation, but couched
in courteous terms, and setting forth their resolve
to, appeal to the highest judicial tribunals. On
the twenty-eighth of February, they published an
address to the public, in the same tone, declaring
the votes»of the university, trustees, removing them
from office, as wholly unauthorized and destitute
of any legal ;effeet ; and affirming that they were,
still, as they had uniformly claimed to be, officers
of Dartmouth college, under the charter qf 1769—
51

402 HISTORY OF
chap, and that they had resolved to^^sert their corpo-
_____ rate rights. They frankly stated that they had
taken into consideration the act of June, and had
voted "not to accept its provisions." They re
fused to take the oath of allegiance to- the United
States and to the state of New Hampshire. Their
charter required them to take an oath of allegiance
to the British crown ; but this they had omitted
to do since the American revolution.
They disclaimed any intention to offer forcible
resistance to the laws, but intimated plainly in
their address that their rights of conscience had
been invaded, and oppression practised upon them
to such an extreme degree as to greatly endanger
or defeat the great ends of civil government — that
in the act of June the legislative branch of govern
ment had transcended its legitimate power, and
had assumed to perform certain acts which the
constitution had assigned to the province of the
judicial branch. This address and answer was
signed by Francis Brown, Ebenezer Adams, and
Roswell Shurtleff. The people read it and were
greatly exasperated. It seemed to them that the
professors — entrenched behind a British charter,
and actuated by a preference for monarchy —
were impudently defying the constituted author
ities of the state, and trampling upon the consti
tution and the laws. Denunciation was showered
upon the professors from all quarters. The pa
pers of the day attacked them with violence, and
denounced them as an "Orthodox junto."
The professors in return poured forth volleys of
epithets upon the state government and upon Gov-

NEW HAMPSHIRE

ernor Plummer; stigmatizing them as " agrari- chap.
ans," "infidels," "democrats," "French jaco- J2L
bins," "villains," and " sans-cullotes."
The papers in the interest of the college de
scribed the committee sent by the legislature to
take possession of the college, as a gang of unprin
cipled villains, who had risen up in defiance of law
and had wantonly brokeiuopen and taken posses
sion of the college buildings.
The papers of the people promptly returned the
attack ; and compared the charter professors to
the infuriated bigots of popery" in the dark ages —
as "a set of abominable intolerants," "aspiring
not only to the sole directipn of our literature,
but to the management of our government. " — as
" the gangrened persecutors of President Wheel
ock," "like the Jews who had sworn not to eat
until they had killed Paul " — as " hunting up evi
dence against -Wheelock," and having the expense
"clubbed against them," and when they had
failed of procuring evidence, "hurling him from
his station, without the sanction ofthe usual cere
mony." Such was the tone of public discussion:
The popular voice was loud against the profes
sors ; and they, in their turn, poured forth, if pos
sible, louder execrations and more bitter vials of
wrath upon the people.
In the heat ofthe contest, in April 1817, Presi
dent Wheelock died, at the age of sixty-three, la
mented even by his persecutors': — a ripe scholar —
a liberal Christian — an ornament to literature — an
unrivalled instructer— a '' good man— vigorous in
intellect— assiduous in toil. The most industrious
of his pupils, in the vigor of youth and inspired by

404 H.ISTORY OF
chap, emulation, vainly strove to outwatch the midnight
_5!L lamp of their instructer. All admitted that his
virtues demanded a durable monument.
Meanwhile the contest continued. The leading
members of the legislature, who advocated the
state authority and approved of the course pur
sued by the legislature, were denounced by the
college papers as "vipers," "slanderers," and
" executioners." The professors having failed to
affect the people, next sought to intimidate the
superior court by proclaiming that the act of the
legislature could be regarded in no other light
than as a war against religion ; and if the judges
should sustain it, "the execrations of this age and
posterity awaited them." In this movement th#
professors were equally unsuccessful.
The old board of trustees brought an action of
trover against the treasurer of the university, for,
the recovery of " books of record, charter, com
mon seal and books of account," which they.
alleged to be their property. The defendant set,
up as a defence, the laws of 1816, and his appoint
ment ; by virtue of which laws and appointment he,
claimed a legal right to hold the property in con?
troversy in his possession. The general question
was, whether the acts referred to were binding on
the plaintiffs without their assent.
When the case came on for final adjudication
in the superior court of New Hampshire, the Hon
orable Jeremiah Mason, as counsel for the plain,-.
tiffs, maintained that these acts were not binding;
1. ESecause they were not within the scope of t\\$,
legislative power. 2. Because they violated cer
tain provisions of the constitution of New Hamp

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 405
shire. 3. Because they violated the constitution chap.
of the United States. J_!L
In June, the case Was argued in Grafton coun- J817.
ty, by Smith and Mason for the college, and by June-
Sullivan and Bartlett for the people ; but was -
continued for a further hearing in Rockingham
county in the following September. It was finally sept.
decided in the superior court of the state, at Ply
mouth, in Grafton county, on the sixth of No
vember. Chief Justice Richardson gave the opin- Nov. e.
ion of the court, drawn up in' that 'lucid and cogent
style for which he was distinguished, and which
made the opinion celebrated for its elegance as
well as for its learning, and for its harmony with
the popular opinion.
In delivering his opinion, Chief Justice Rich
ardson commenced by adverting to the distinction
between public and private corporations ; the lat
ter constituted for the immediate benefit of indi
viduals — the former for the advantage of the whole
community. Dartmouth college, in the language
of its1 "charter, was established "to encourage the
laudable and charitable design of spreading Chris
tian knowledge among the savages of our Ameri
can wilderness, and also that the best means of
education be established in the province of New
Hampshire for the benefit of said province." The
trustees had no greater interests in these objects
than any other individuals in the community.
They had no interest in the institution which they
could sell or transfer. Should all its property be
lost, there would, be no private loss to them. The
franchises of the college were exercised for the
public benefit ; and for the public benefit its char-

406 HISTORY OF
chap, ter was granted. It must be regarded, tnerefore,
^__ as a public corporation.
" In order to determine the question submitted
to us," said he, "it seems necessary, in the first
place, to ascertain the nature of corporations. —
A corporation aggregate is a collection of many
individuals united into one body under a special
name, having perpetual succession under an arti
ficial form, and vested by the policy of the law
with the capacity of acting in several respects as
an individual, and having collectively certain fac
ulties, which the individuals have not. A cor
poration considered as a faculty, is an artificial,
invisible body, existing only in contemplation of
law : and can neither employ its franchises nor
hold its property, for its own benefit. In another
view, a corporation may be considered as a body
of individuals having collectively particular facul
ties and capacities, which they can employ for their
own benefit, or for the benefit of others, according
to the purposes for which their particular faculties
and capacities were bestowed. In either view it
is apparent that all beneficial interests both in the
franchises and the property of corporations, must
be considered as vested in natural persons, either
in the people at large, or in individuals ; and that
with respect to this interest, corporations may be
divided into public and private.
"Private corporations are those which are cre
ated for the immediate benefit and advantage of
individuals, and their franchises may be consid
ered as privileges conferred on a number of indi
viduals, to be exercised and enjoyed by them in
the form of a corporation. These privileges may

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 4Q7
be given to the corporators for their own benefit, chap.
or for the benefit of other individuals. In either J!_-Y
case the corporation must be viewed in relation to
the franchises as a trustee, and each of those, who
are beneficially interested in them, as. a cestui 'que
trust. The property of this kind of corporations,
and the profits arising from the employment of
their property and the, exercise, of their franchises,
in fact belongs to individuals. To this class be
long all the companies incorporated in this state,
for the purpose of making canals, turnpike roads
and bridges ; also banking, insurance and manu
facturing companies, and many others, Both the
franchises and the property of these corporations
exist collectively in all the individuals of whom
they are composed ; not however as natural .per
sons, but as a body politic, while the beneficial in
terest in both is vested severally in the several mem
bers,, according to their respective shares. , This
interest of each individual is a part of his property.
It may be sold and transferred, may, in many cases,
be seized- and sold upon a. fieri facias, and is assets
in the hands of his administrator. :. This is by no
means a new view of this subject. The supreme
court of Massachusetts, in the case of Gray vs.
the Portland Bank,* most evidently viewed corpo
rations Of this kind in the same light. In the
case ofthe Bank ofthe United States vs. Devaux,f
the supreme court of the United States decided,
that in determining a question of jurisdiction de
pending upon the citizenship of the parties, and a
corporation being a party, they could look to the
citizenship of the individual corporators as of the
* 3 Mass. Rep. 379 . * t 5 Cranch, 61.

408 HISTORY OF
chap, real litigants. The, rejection of a corporator as a
^L witness, in cases where the corporation is a party>,
on the ground of private interest, is a matter of
familiar practice in all our courts.
"Public corporations are those which are cre
ated for public purposes, and whose property is
devoted to the objects for which they are created.
The corporators have no private beneficial inter
est, either in their franchises or their property.
The only private right which individuals can have
in them, is the right of being, and of acting as
members. Every other right and interest attached
to them can only be enjoyed by individuals like
the common privileges of free citizens, and the
common interest, which all have in the property
belonging to the state. Counties, towns, parishes,
&c, considered as corporations, clearly fall within
this description. A corporation, all of whose fran
chises are exercised for public purposes, is a pub
lic corporation. Thus if the legislature should
incorporate a number of individuals, for the pur
pose of making a canal, and ;should reserve all the
profits arising from it to the state, though all the
funds might be given to the corporation by indi
viduals, it would in fact be a public corporation.
So if the state should purchase all the shares in
one of our banking companies, it would immedi
ately become a public corporation. Because in
both cases all the property and franchises of the
corporation would in fact be public property. A
gift to a corporation created for public purposes
is in reality a gift to the public. On the other
hand, if the legislature should incorporate a bank
ing company for the benefit of the corporators,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 409
and should give the corporation all the necessary chap.
funds, it Would be a private corporation. Because _S__
a gift td such a corporation would be only a gift
to the corporators. So, should the state purchase
a part of the shares in one of our banks, it would
still remain a private corporation so far as individ
uals retained a private interest in it. Thus it
seems, that whether a corporation is to be eon-
_#dered as public or private, depends upon the
objects for which its franchises are to be exer
cised ; and that as a corporation possesses fran
chises and property only to enable it to answer the
purposes of its creation — a gift to a corporation is
in truth a gift to those who are interested in those
purposes. "Whether an incorporated college, founded and
endowed by an individual, who had reserved to
himself a Control over its affairs as a private visi
tor, must be viewed as a public or as a "private
corporation, it is not necessary now to decide, be
cause it 'does not appear that Dartmouth college
was subject to any private visitation whatever.
"Upon looking into the charter of Dartmouth
college we find that the king ' being willing to
encourage the laudable and charitable design of
spreading Christian knowledge among the savages
of our American wilderness, and also that the
best means of education be established in the prov
ince of New Hampshire, for the benefit of said
'province,' ordained that there should be a col
lege created in said province by the name of Dart
mouth college, '.for the education and instruction
of youth ofthe Indian tribes, in this land, in read
ing, writing and all parts of learning, which should
52

410 HISTORY OF
chap, appear necessary and expedient for civilizing and
___!L christianizing children of Pagans, as well as in all
liberal arts and sciences, and also of English
youth and any others;" and that there should be
in the said Dartmouth college, from thenceforth
and forever, a body politic, consisting of trustees
of Dartmouth college. He then 'made, ordained,
constituted and appointed' twelve individuals to
be trustees of the college, and declared that. they
and their successors, should forever thereafter ;be
a body corporate, by the name of the trustees of
Dartmouth college ; and that said corporation
should be ' able, and in law capable for the use
of said college, to have, get, acquire, purchase,
receive, hold, possess and enjoy tenements, here
ditaments, jurisdictions and franchises, for them
selves and their successors, in fee simple or other
wise ;' — and ' to receive and dispose of any lands,
goods, chattels and other things, of what nature
soever, for the use aforesaid ; and also to have,
accept and receive any rents, profits, annuities,
gifts, legacies, donations or bequests of any kind
whatsoever, for the use aforesaid? Such are the
objects, and such the nature of this corporation,
appearing upon the face of the charter. It was
created for the purpose of holding and managing
property for the use of the college ; and the col
lege was founded for the purpose of ,' spreading
the knowledge ofthe great Redeemer' among the
savages, and of furnishing ' the best means of
education' to the province of New Hampshire.
These great purposes are surely, if anything can
be, matters of public concern. Who has any pri
vate interest either in the objects or the property

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 411
of this institution ? The trustees themselves have chap.
no greater interest in the spreading of Christian _S-1_
knowledge among the Indians, and in providing
the best means of education, than any other indi
viduals in the community. Nor have they any
private interest in the property of this institution,-—
nothing that can be sold or transferred, that can
descend to their heirs, or can be assets in the
hands of their administrators. If all the property
of the institution were destroyed, the loss would
be exclusively public, and no private loss /to them.
So entirely free are they from any private inter
est in this respect, that they are competent wit
nesses in causes where the corporation is a party,
and the property of the corporation in contest.
There is in Peake's cases at Nisi Prius, 154, an
authority direct to this point. It is the case of
Weller against the governors of the Foundling
Hospital, and was assumpsit for work and labor.
Most of the witnesses called on behalf of the de
fendants, were governors and members of the cor
poration. Lord Kenyon was of opinion that they
were nevertheless good witnesses, because they
were mere trustees of a public charity, and had
not the least personal interest. The office of trustee
of Dartmouth, college is, in fact, a public trust, as
much so as the office of governor, or of judge of this
court ; and for any breach of trust, the state has
an unquestionable right, through its courts of jus
tice to call them to an account. The trustees
have the same interest in the corporate property,
which the governor has in the property of the
state and which we have in the fines we impose
upon the criminals convicted before this court.

412 HISTORY OF
chap. Nor is it any private concern of theirs, whether
__^__, their powers, as corporators, shall be extended or
lessened, any more than it is our private concern
whether the jurisdiction of this court shall be
enlarged or diminished. They have no private
right in the institution, except the right of office —
the right of being trustees, and of acting as such.
It therefore seems to us, that if such a corporation
is not to be considered as a public corporation, it
would be difficult to find one that eould be so
considered." The acts in question could affect only public
and private rights. No clause, in the constitu
tion either of the state or United States, pro
tected the public interest in the institution from
legislative interference. All private rights con
nected with it, belonged to those who founded or
endowed it ; to the officers and students ; or to the
trustees. The trustees were the only parties to
the action, and upon their rights alone, the eourt
were called to decide.
Did then these acts unconstitutionally impair
any private rights of the trustees ? The addition
of new members to a corporation did not destroy
it. It still retained the title to the common prop
erty. The old members in this instance had no
personal title to be infringed upon. The new
members acquired none. If new members could
not be added to a corporation, no new duties
could be imposed upon it, and the people must
be denied the right of legislating for these institu
tions at all without their consent.
The plaintiff contended that the acts of 1816
had impaired their right to manage the affairs of

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 413
this institution, in violation of that clause of the chap.
bill of rights which declares that "no subject J^i_
shall be despoiled or deprived of his immunities or
privileges, but by the judgment of his peers or the
law of the land." That the right to manage the
affairs of the college, was a privilege within the
meaning of this clause was certain. But how a
privilege could be protected from the operation of
a " law of the land," by a clause in the constitu
tion declaring that it should not be taken away but
by the " law of the land," was not very easily
understood. It had been urged that the charter of 1769 was
a contract, the validity of which was impaired by
these acts, in violation of a clause in the constitu
tion of the United States, which declares that
"no state shall pass any law impairing the obli
gations of contracts." This clause was obviously
intended to protect private rights of property only.
It could not be construed to embrace contracts in
the mere nature of civil institutions nor giants of
a state to individuals for public purposes. The
charter of Dartmouth college was not such a con
tract as this language ofthe constitution referred to.
But admitting the charter to have been such a
contract — what was that contract ? Could the
king have intended, when he chartered this insti
tution, to, bind himself to the corporators and their
successors forever, that they alone should control
it, free from all legislative restraints, however
strongly such restraints might be required by the
public interest ? Such a contract would have
been repugnant to all the principles of just govern
ment. Neither the king nor the legislature pos
sessed the power to make it.

414 HISTORY OF
chap. Having thus glanced at the points of the case,
 L in an argument of which the above is but an imper
fect outline, in concluding, Judge Richardson used
the following language : —
"I have looked into this case with all the atten
tion of which I am capable, and with a most pain
ful anxiety to discover the true principles upon
which it ought to be decided. No man prizes
more highly than I do, the literary institutions of
our country, or would go farther to maintain their
just rights and privileges. But I cannot bring
myself to believe, that it would be consistent with
sound policy, or ultimately with the true interests
of literature itself, to place the great public insti
tutions, in which all the young men, destined for
the liberal professions, are to be educated, within
the absolute control of a few individuals, and out
ofthe control ofthe sovereign power — not con7
sistent with sound policy, because it is a matter
of too great moment, too intimately connected
with the public welfare and prosperity, to be thus
intrusted in the hands of a few. The education
of the rising generation is a matter of the highest
public concern, and is worthy of the best atten
tion of e\ery legislature. The immediate care of
these institutions must be committed to individu
als, and the trust will be faithfully executed so
long as it is recollected to be a mere public trust,
and that there is a superintending power, that can
and will correct every abuse of it. But make the
trustees independent, and they will ultimately for
get that their office is a public trust — will at
length consider these institutions as their own —
will overlook the great purposes for which their

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 415
powers were originally given, and will exercise chap
them only to gratify their own private views and J2L
wishes, or to promote the narrow purposes of a
sect or party. It is idle to suppose that courts
of law can correct every abuse of such a trust.
Courts of law cannot legislate. There may be
many abuses, which can be corrected by the sov
ereign power alone. Nor would such exemption
from legislative control be consistent with the true
interests of literature itself, because these institu
tions must stand in constant need of the aid and
patronage of the legislature and the public ; and
without such aid and patronage, they can never
flourish. Their prosperity depends entirely upon
the public estimation in which they are held. It is
of the highest importance that they should be fond
ly cherished by the best affections of the people;
that every citizen should feel that he has an inter
est in them, and that they constitute a part of that
inestimable inheritance which he is to transmit to
his posterity in the institutions of hjs country.
But these institutions, if placed in a situation to
dispute the public will, would eventually fall into
the hands of men, who would be disposed to dis
pute it ; and contests would inevitably arise, in
which the great interests of literature would be
forgotten. Those who resisted that will would
become at once the object of popular jealousy
and distrust; their motives, however pure, would
be called in question, and their resistance would
be Relieved to have originated in private and in
terested views, and not in regard to the public
welfare. It would avail these institutions nothing-
that the public will was wrong, and that their right

416 HISTORY OF
chap, could be maintained in opposition to it, in a court
_^i_ of law. A triumph there might be infinitely more
ruinous than defeat. Whoever knows the nature
of a popular government, knows that such aeon-
test could not be thus settled by one engagemeht.
Such a triumph would only protract the destruc
tive contest. The last misfortune which can befal
one of these institutions, is to become the subject
of popular contention.
"I am aware that this power, in the hands
of the legislature, may, like every other, at times
be unwisely exercised ; but where can it be more
securely lodged ? If those, whom the people an
nually elect to manage their public affairs, cannot
be trusted, who can ? The people have most
emphatically enjoined it in the constitution, as a
duty upon ' the legislators and magistrates, in all
future periods of the government, to cherish the
interests of literature and the sciences, and all
seminaries and public schools.' And those inter
ests will be cherished, both by the legislature and
the people, so long as there is virtue enough left to
maintain the rest of our institutions. Whenever
the people and their rulers shall become corrupt
enough to wage war with the sciences and liberal
arts, we may be assured that the time will have
arrived, when all our institutions, our laws, our
liberties must pass away — when all that can be
dear to freemen, or that can make their country
dear to them, must be lost, and when a govern
ment and institutions must be established, of a
very different character from those under which it
is our pride and happiness to live.
" In forming my opinion in this case, however, I

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 4JH7
have given no weight to any considerations of expe- chap.
diency. I think the legislature had a clear con- _f^_
stitutional right to pass the laws in question. My
opinion may be incorreet, and our judgment erro
neous, but. it is the best opinion, which, upon the
most mature consideration, I have been able to
form. It is certainly, to me, a subject of much
consolation, to know that if we have erred, our
mistakes can be corrected, and be prevented from
working any ultimate injustice. If the plaintiffs
think themselves aggrieved by our decision, they
cas carry the cause to another tribunal, where it
can be re-examined, and our judgment be reversed,
or affirmed, as the law of the case may seem to
that tribunal to require."
Judgment was rendered for the defendant. The
case was then carried up to the supreme court of
the United States, where, in 1819, judgment was
pronounced in favor of the trustees, reversing the
decisions of the courts below. This judgment was
based upon the opinion that the college charter
was a contract within the meaning of the con
stitution; an opinion, which, had it remained un
questioned, would have given to our chartered
corporations a supremacy over the laws of the
land, which nothing short of revolution could ex
tinguish. Such, however, was not the result.
Our federal courts have gradually adopted dif
ferent rules of construction, under which char
tered rights have sometimes yielded to the public
welfare. The decision of Chief Justice Richardson was
sustained generally by public opinion in New
Hampshire and throughout the United States.
53

418 HISTORY OF
chap. The farmers, merchants, and mechanics, adopt-
J_!L ing common sense views without much reflection
or research, could not perceive that when their
fathers threw off the British yoke and established
a republican government, there yet remained within
their territory a vestige of that other government
which they had rejected — the offspring of royalty —
with power to perpetuate itself forever — yet pro
tected from all responsibility and control ; that
while every town and every citizen in his individ
ual capacity, and every other corporation, was
obliged to submit to the state laws, yet that a col
lege might set those laws at defiance and stand
aloof froni accountability; and that the revolu
tion, -which changed the relations and rights ofthe
citizen, yet wrought no change in the rights of
a college chartered before the revolution ; that
while the revolution swept every vestige of royalty
away, yet that a college remained as a fortress of
royal rights — and, while deriving its authority from
the crown, might be seeking to destroy liberty,
or might, in any other respect, pursue a course
of ever so great wickedness and unlawfulness,
without being subjected to either punishment or
restraint. They thought there was a manifest
difference between a corporation granted for the
private advantage of its members and one in
stituted and continued in existence solely for the
public good ; that though, in the former case, the
corporators may have vested rights, because they
have an interest in the income of the corporation,
yet, in the latter, as there is no such interest, so no
such rights exist ; that, in the one case, the mem
bers may justly seek their own emolument — in the

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 419
other, the public welfare should be their sole chap.
object; that the trustees of Dartmouth college, J_fi_
•therefore, conld justly have no private interest in
their offices, but were the mere servants of the
public, to carry into effect the objects of the legis
lature and the people, in patronising that institu
tion; that public sentiment is greatly influenced,
if not entirely regulated, by the liberally educat
ed ; that the liberally educated imbibe their sen
timents from their instructors and the books stud
ied in the course *>f their education ; that it is,
therefore, a matter of the highest public concern
that these instructors and books should teach sen
timents congenial with republican institutions ;
and that the certain attainment of this object re
quires that colleges and public seminaries should
be directly or indirectly within the control of the
legislature. Whoever should consult the newspapers of the
college, the Dartmouth Gazette and the Ports
mouth Oracle, and adopt their opinions, would
deem the legislators and the people the most abso
lute agrarians and assassins. Whoever should
consult tbe New Hampshire Patriot and other
papers of the people, would infer that the charter
'professors and their abettors were little better than
" Spanish inquisitors." Both sides were partially
wrong. The people were not assassins, nor were
the charter professors with strict justice compared
to Spanish inquisitors; but a question had arisen,
of great public concern on the one side, and of
private interest and ambition on the other. It
was but natural that the people should be irritated
by what they deemed a factious opposition to con-

420 HISTORY OF
chap, stitutional laws, and that the college should cling
.  L, tenaciously to its long enjoyed interests and pow
ers. • It was but natural that bitter animosity
should be engendered by dispute, and that passion
1816. and prejudice should rule the hour.
The decision of the superior court of New
Hampshire was finally overruled and reversed by
the supreme court of the United States ; and thus
the laws of the state were -crushed under the
wheels of the general government. When it was
known at Hanover that the decision of the state
court had been reversed at Washington, the stu
dents of the old college riotously entered the uni
versity and seized the books by force. The pro
fessors of the university were assailed with clubs
and threatened with death ; and when they at
tempted to defend themselves, they were com
plained of as criminals. The students of the old
college found a magistrate of the village subser
vient to their purpose ; and the university profes
sors, for attempting a feeble defence against over
whelming numbers, were arrested and carried
before him for trial and punishment. They were
then burnt in effigy.
While such were the proceedings of the stu
dents, the people received the decision of' the
United States court, although they believed it to
be wrong, with the utmost dignity and moderation
of conduct. Indeed, it afforded a new and con
vincing proof of their patriotism and love of or-
1816. der that they submitted to a decision which -they
deemed to be manifestly at variance with the con
stitution and the laws, and an arbitrary encroach
ment of the general government upon the rights

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 4gg§
of the state. The doctrines of the court in this chap.
case have met with a growing disapprobation in all J_2l
parts of the country, and are now regarded as of
nery doubtful authority. But it is not to be de
nied that the people acted wisely in yielding to the
established tribunals of the country, and awaiting
the slow operation of time to correct the errors of
human judgment. It is believed by many that the
day is not far distant when the Dartmouth col
lege case will be subjected to an entire revision,
and the institution be placed, under the control of
the legislature. -<>
During the summer of 1817, James Monroe,
having been elected to the presidency by a large
majority, made a tour to the northern states. He
Bsited Portsmouth, Dover, Concord, and Han
over in this state, and here, as everywhere else,
was received with distinguished tokens of respect.
Both parties united, with equal zeal, in the gen
erous preparations which were everywhere made
for his reception. And, indeed, a suspension of
that political warfare which had so long agitated
the country, commencing amid the festivities which
everywhere attended the progress of the chief mag
istrate of the Union, and favored by the pacific
policy of his administration, continued with little
interruption to its close.
The state-house at Concord was this year
erected — a neat, spacious and beautiful building
of hammered granite, from the extensive quarries
of the same town. Its expense was more than
eighty thousand dollars, a considerable portion
of which was sustained by the citizens of Con
cord. During the same year the Atheneeum was 1817.

422 history of
chap, established at Portsmouth; an institution which
__ now possesses a valuable cabinet of minerals,
an extensive collection of antiquities, and one of
the largest and most valuable libraries in the
state.
1819. Governor Plummer having declined a re-elec
tion, the Hon. Samuel Bell was, in March, 1819,
elected his successor in the chief magistracy.
The Hon. William Hale, of Dover, received the
votes ofthe federal party, which, on this occasion,
made only a very feeble opposition. The seat on
the bench of the superior court, which Mr. Bell
had resigned to enter upon his duties of governor,
was filled by the appointment of Samuel Green,
Esq., of Concord.
The passage of the toleration law, in 1819, was
by far the most important measure of this admin
istration. It for the first time placed all religious
sects in the state upon equal ground, and made
them dependent upon the free contributions of the
people for their support.
From the first establishment of a few infant set
tlements in this state, the peopje had been dis
posed to resist the imposition of all restraints upon
their religious opinions, and all unnecessary bur
thens upon their property. The first settlers were
men who sought to better their condition by the
use of such humble resources as our woods and
waters afforded. These were soon followed by
religious non-conformists, flying from the persecu
tions of the puritans. The former class thought
more of their fisheries, their searchings after mines,
and their trade, and the latter of secluded homes
and religious liberty, than of the doubtful advan-

NEW. HAMPSHIRE. 4£3
tages tobe derived from the, exclusive establish- chap.
ment of a particular sect. Here Quakers and J_!___
non-conformists were safe. Religious distinctions*
were unknown in public affairs. And as a natural
consequence, when our little settlements were an
nexed to Massachusetts, the religious tests .which
the rigid rulers of that colony had established,
were entirely dispensed with, so far as related to
citizens of New Hampshire. They were author
ized to vote, and their deputies were allowed to
sit in the general court, even when they did not
claim to be members of that church,, to which, in
Massachusetts, all such privileges were confined.
Descending from such a stock, and representing
ancestors of every possible creed, there was never
any general feeling among the people averse to the
religious rights of any portion of the community.
From a regard, however, for religion in the aggre
gate, rather than the interests of any particular
sect, the early legislators of this state had enact
ed a law, empowering the several towns to raise
money, by taxation, to build churches and support
a Christian ministry.
The progress pf new sects, gradually springing
up in the state, soon produced a great diversity of
religious sentiment among its people. Over these
new and feeble divisions of the religious commu
nity, a single denomination held the supremacy in
nearly every town. The dissenters from this pre
vailing sect, divided among themselves, were sel
dom strong enough to support a ministry of their
own In this event, they were liable to be pur
sued with all the rigors of the law, if they failed
to pay the established clergy a full share of the

424 HISTORY OF
chap, expenses incurred in their support. Thus many
J!il_, of the people were compelled to pay for the erec
tion of churches they never entered, for. teachings
they never heard, and clerical labors which they
conscientiously regarded as tending only to perpet
uate the dominion of religious errors over the pub
lic mind. A law, undoubtedly established in tbe
first instance from pure motives and for the public
benefit, had thus become converted into an engine
of oppression.
Its repeal, however, met with a very decided
opposition. It was declared that it would at once
be destructive of religion and the public morals..
Such objections have ever been raised against
measures designed to extend the liberties of man
kind. But when the toleration bill had once gone
into operation, equalising the privileges of the dif
ferent sects, and promoting harmony of feeling
among their members, it gained additional respect
for the sentiments of all religious denominations,
and operated injuriously upon the interests of none.
Churches have grown up under its provisions in
every neighborhood, and a numerous ministry, de
pendent upon the voluntary contributions of the
people, have been sustained with the most honor
able liberality. The people have given twice as
much, of their own free will, as could be wrung
from them under the old law, and it seems long
since to have been conceded that the true inters
ests of every sect have been promoted by its
repeal. Before the passage of the toleration act, the
people had borne, with astonishing patience, the
support of the congregational order by law. Year

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 425
after year had the honest Quaker* - the Baptist, chap
the Universalist, been taxed for the support of a j^L
religion in which-he-did not believe ; and when he
refused payment, was sent to a dungeon, or ru
ined by a never-ending lawsuit. The courts were
tinctured with orthodoxy, and corruption ap
peared upon the bench. The jury were secretly
"culled" — dissenters were taken off, and their
places supplied with those whose well known or
thodoxy afforded a guaranty that the law, right
or wrong, would be enforced.
While such was the state of things at home, the
people of New Hampshire had seen a revolution
progressing in Connecticut, similar to that which
was now beginning among themselves. Ever since
the first settlement of Connecticut, the people had
groaned under an oppressive system of religious
intolerance. It was a complete and most odious
union of church and state. None but the standing
order of clergy could there obtain a legal support;
and the laws for the support of that order were
such a direct violation of the right of every man to
worship God according to the dictates of his own
conscience, that by many they were deemed "dis
graceful to humanity." Often was the parish, col
lector seen robbing the humble dwelling of honest
poverty of its table, chairs and andirons, or selling
at vendue the cow of the poor laborer, on which
the subsistence of his family depended, in order to
load with luxuries the table of an indolent priest,
or clothe in purple those who partook with him of
the spoils of the poor. All ministers not of the
standing order were viewed as thieves and rob
bers — as wolves in sheep's clothing — who had
54

426 HISTORY OF
chap, gained a dishonest entrance into the fold, and
 L, whom it was the duty of the standing order to
drive out. In 1818, a bill was reported to the
convention of that state, confirming freedom of
conscience to all. Every man possessed of real
independence and enlightened views, rejoiced at a
revolution which sundered so monstrous a union of
the church and the state in Connecticut. The cler
gy of the standing order deprecated — mourned —
threatened, and exclaimed, "Alas! for that great
city!" But the vast concourse of the people
joined in thanksgiving for its destruction. Such
was the change which the people of New Hamp
shire had witnessed in a neighboring state. They
themselves were bound by a system less odious in
the degree of practical evil which i£ inflicted, but
in principle essentially the same. The act of the
13th of Anne, empowered towns to hire and settle
ministers, and to pay them a stipulated salary
from the town taxes. This was not directly a
union of church and state ; but it operated most
oppressively. Each town could select a minister
of a particular persuasion, and every citizen was
compelled to contribute toward the support of the
clergyman and to build the church, unless he
could prove that he belonged to a different persua
sion and regularly attended public worship else
where on the Lord's day.
gjujf The bill of rights declares, " that no person of
An. e.' any one particular religious sect, or denomination,
shall ever be compelled to pay towards the sup
port of the teacher or teachers of another persua
sion, sect, or denomination, and that no subordi
nation of any one sect or denomination, to another,

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 427
shall ever be established by law." Notwithstand- CHAr.
ing these clear provisions, the statute of Anne J__L
continued substantially to prevail. The act of
1791 changed the fornr but not the nature of Hhe
oppression. It vested in the selectmen of the
towns the powers (essentially) which had before
been vested in the, body of the citizens. The
selectmen dould still settle a minister and tax the
people for his support. They could build a church,
and search the pockets of dissenters for the funds.
They could prefer whatever persuasion they
pleased, and thus compel the people to bow to
whatever image man might set up. How could
a dissenter avoid paying the tax ? Only by prov
ing that he belonged to another sect. The proof
was often difficult to obtain, sometimes impossible.
When a suit was instituted against him for the
tax, and he was brought into court, he was met
by able counsel, employed by the selectmen, well
versed in law, and ready to quibble at the slight
est lack of proof, and vex him by nice legal distinc
tions. Mr. Smith and Mr. Mason, in one case,
contended that the defendant, whose defence was
that he was a Baptist, could not avoid the pay
ment, because he had not proved that he had been
dipped. Neither is he a Congregationalist, re
plied Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Bartlett, because he
has not proved that he has been sprinkled.
Such was the vexatious nature of the suits fo
dissenters themselves. But if they could not avoid
the tax, how must it be with those who belonged
to no religious sect? For them there was no
escape. They were compelled to pay, notwith
standing the plain declaration of the constitution
of the United States.

428 HISTORY OF
chap. Were it not for the general intolerance of that
J_!L day, it might be a subject of wonder that the peo^
pie should submit to a law thus unconstitutional
and void, as well as oppressive, for the space of
twenty-eight years. Yet such was the period of
their submission and such the provisions of the
law. But they manifested an- increasing dissatiss
faction. They had seen the poor man cast into
prison, and the obstinate man after spending his
fortune in a fruitless resistance to the claims of the
selectmen, overpowered at last, when perhaps the
destitute wife and children needed the little for
tune he had thus squandered in an unsuccessful
contest. The New Hampshire Patriot,* a popular
paper at the seat of government, had spokeu
warmly against the oppressive exactions of the old
law. Many of the most enlightened minds in the
state were known to be its opponents.
Besides the revolution in Connecticut, they had
seen the representatives of France vote down a
proposition to enforce respect to the established
religion ofthe French empire and to punish out
rage against it. They had read of those move
ments in Maryland, in which the name of Breck
enridge had become famous for a speech which
he had made on the Jew bill, and in which he
brought out, and set in lucid and beautiful order,
the great doctrines of civil and religious liberty,
The state of Vermont had commenced, in 1791,
the same system established in New Hampshire.
In 1803, it was relaxed, and any person declaring to
or writing to the selectmen, that he was not of the
same religious sect with the majority of the town,
* Then conducted by Isaac Hill.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 429
was exempt from taxation. In 1807, the compul- chap.
sory law was whtjly abolished. Yet the state of J^_
Vermont was not ruined by the change, as had
been predicted by the advocates fbr compulsion.
In Connecticut the -laws had been abolished which
compelled uniformity of religion, by obliging every
town to support a clergyman, and allowed to no
man the right of suffrage, unless he was in full
communion with the church. All this was swept
away, to give place to complete toleration and
equality — yet neither vice nor crime increased.
The state _ of Pennsylvania never compelled the
support of religion ; yet the people were not want
ing in piety, and they had little of the clamor of
rehgious faction.
The constitution of Maine, formed about this 1819.
time, seemed to embody the liberal sentiments ^ST
which began everywhere to prevail. Her bill of M-f_e.
rights, modelled after that of New Hampshire,
declared that there should be no religious test
as a qualification for any office — that no person BiUof
should be hurt, molested or restrained in his per- Rlghts-
son, liberty or estate for worshipping God in the
manner and season most agreeable to the dictates
of his own conscience. Such was the progress of
Opinions abroad, when the toleration act of New
Hampshire came up on its final passage in the es'of"
house of representatives. It was a favorite maxim bard',
With the anti-tolerationists, that " every man ought and"'
, - ,. . Parker.
to be compelled to pay for the support of religion
somewhere;"* and they contended that this was eTof
-w-i 1 ¦ • whip-
implied by the constitution. The tolerationists ^
denied both the constitutionality and the expedi- lett,
ency of the doctrine, and contended for absolute Butter,.
* Hubbard's Speech.

430 HISTORY OF
chap, freedom and voluntary contribution. The oppo-
— ~L. nents of toleration maintained that it was the design
of the framers of the constitution that every citi-
bwUdb'"s zen should be compelled to contribute his just and
S-une,' equal proportion for the maintenance and support
ofthe ministry. They also gravely contended, and
with much sincerity- argued, that the passage of
this law would produce the dire effect to "make
young people walk in the fields and associate and
visit much together on the Sabbath " — that it
would introduce confusion — that it would dis
courage preachers of the gospel, by making them
too dependent.
On the other hand, the advocates for toleration
maintained that the law of 1791 was an attempt
to compel uniformity of religious faith, and that
such attempts were destructive to liberty and dis
astrous to religion. They endeavored to prove
that by the constitution neither the selectmen nor
the courts had any right to require evidence of a
man's religious faith, beyond his own declaration —
that his own deliberate avowal of his belief should
be the highest evidence required, and should ex-
speech cuse him from paying the tax. " Have we," said
whip- Whipple, " any tribunal to which, as a standard
ple" of faith, men's consciences can be referred for de
cision and regulation ? Has our constitution pro
vided any such? How then, sir, is this question
to be settled, but by the individual's declaration,
concerning his own religious belief? And, sir,
do not your existing laws in effect establish such
an inquisitorial tribunal ? They authorize the
selectmen to assess monies voted by towns for
the support of ministers, and for building and re
pairing meeting-houses. In this assessment they

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 431
necessarily exercise their judgments, and assess chap.
those whom they deem liable; your collectors ___!__
are armed with strong powers; no barrier is in
terposed hetween the delinquent's property and
their grasp; property is taken, exposed to pub
lic sale and the tax satisfied. The only remedy ™£>f
left the oppressed citizen is an appeal to his sf_„*'
peers — under the direction of judicial officers, 1819"
where his conscience is submitted to the arbit
rament of jurors, and of jurors too, perhaps,
under the influence of strong religious preju
dices! After struggling for years against the
combined influence of the town, the prejudices
of the jurors, the corruption of witnesses, the
ingenuity of counsel, disposed to perpetuate the
oppression, and the 'glorious uncertainty' of the
law ; after spending the means on which his family .
depend for support, ruining his fortune and re
ducing himself to beggary ; he may recover the
amount of tax and cost. For, sir, let it bo
remembered that unless he shows corruption hi.
the selectmen, or assessors, or a design to tax
wrongfully, he can recover no exemplary damages.
Biit even this pitiful redress is not certain. In
stances have frequently occurred when jurors could
not agree, and the man wrongfully assessed has
been dismissed from the tribunal, where ' drowsy
justice still nodded upon her rotten seat, intoxica
ted by the poisonous draught of bigotry prepared
for her cup.'"
It was not enough for a man to declare to the
selectmen that he was not of the established reli
gion. This denial, far from pacifying, rather
served to inflame the agents ofthe dominant creed,

432 HISTORY OF
chap, who were never satisfied until the dissenter was
xii .
____, arrested and committed to prison.
Bin of The fifth ' article of the bill of rights declares,
Rights, — .
Art. v. that "every individual has a natural right to wor
ship God according to the dictates of his own con
science and reason ; and no subject shall be hurt,
molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or
estate, for worshipping God in the manner and
season most agreeable to the dictates of his own
conscience, or for his religious profession, senti
ments or persuasion ; provided he doth not dis
turb the public peace, or disturb others in their
religious worship."
Notwithstanding this plain declaration of the
bill of rights, no Christians but Congregationalists
were recognised as a religious sect. There was
but one sect known to the law of 1791. Univer-
salists, Methodists, Baptists, were indiscriminately
classed with the Orthodox, and when they plead
ed their difference of sentiment as a reason why
they should not be taxed, they were told that they
were not acknowledged by the laws as religious
denominations, and that the assessors therefore
might assess them with Congregationalists. The
courts even sanctioned this doctrine ; and, for the
first time, perhaps, the confidence ofthe people in
the judiciary was shaken. After having been
"molested" by the most oppressive taxes, con
trary to the express language and plain meaning
cords °f the biU °f rights for thirteen years, the Freewill
Det?1?; Baptists procured an act of the legislature to be
juneU, passed in 1804, recognising them as a religious
'and' denomination ! The Universalists did the same in
*^5' 1805, and the Methodists in 1807.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 433
In the course of the discussions which arose chap.
upon this vitally important question, the opponents Jj^L.
of toleration strenuously contended that it was the
duty of the state government to establish and en
force uniformity of religion. This position was as
sailed in a most powerful manner by Dr. Whipple.
"This attempt at uniformity," said he, "has Speech,
in all governments and countries produced that whip.
very state of public depravity and moral desola- P*'
tion so much deprecated by the opponents of this
amendment. The requirement in a foreign gov<-
ernment,* that any individual shall have partaken
of the sacrament, before the exercise of any civil
trust, is directly calculated to produce hypocrisy
and irreligion. For this reason you see men arisr
ing from the the sacred emblems of the blood and
body of our Lord, to drunkenness, lewdness and
profanity. It was this spirit which kindled the
fires of the Inquisition — collected the fagots, and
emboldened the horrid inquisitor to chant ' ex-
purgat Deus,'. around the consuming corse of the
human victim. This was the spirit, sir, which,
under the mask of Christianity,
'.With Heaven's own thunders shook the world below,.
And played the God an engine on his foe.'
" It was the indulgence of this spirit which fixed
a stain on the character of Calvin, which not all
his excellent virtues, nor time, nor oblivion can
wash out. To this idol, Servetus was sacrificed as
a burnt offering. To glut this monster, the blood
of Balzec flowed; and to slake his thirst for re
venge, the amiable, learned and industrious Cas-
* Connecticut. *
55

434 HISTORY OF
chap, talio was slandered, traduced and exposed to
_HL suffering. It was this, sir, which caused the
bloody Mary to sacrifice her hecatombs of human
victims in the sight of Heaven, in the sight of that
God who has declared himself the common Father
of us all.
" This spirit, sir, caused our forefathers, who
themselves fled from persecution, to banish Qua
kers, whip dissenting females, persecute Baptists*
and to do other enormities which have stained the
pages of our history. And is none of this spirit
left among us ? Is it extinct 1 No, sir — this
spirit now operates. It is this which causes those
who advocate the cause of religious freedom to be
stigmatized with the opprobrious epithets of deist,
atheist, and men of no religion."
After this speech was delivered, the antagonists
of Dr. Whipple sharpened their weapons anew,
and prepared to make another and stronger ap
peal to the prejudices and fears ofthe legislature.
bard's " Pass the bill now on the table," said Mr.
1819.' Hubbard, "and the temples now consecrated to
the worship of the Saviour of the world will soon
be deserted and forsaken."
k"s The opponents of the bill carried the minds of
£5u!y, ' their hearers back to the epoch of the French rev
olution, and informed the house that the bloody
scenes of that drama commenced by treating with
contempt the institutions of religion.
Yet so rapid was the change of public sentiment
in favor of the bill, and so poorly did the objec
tions raised against it bear the test of examination,
that even some ofthe ablest opponents* ofthe bill,
* \
* Among these was Mr. Hubbard.

1817.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.
while it was under discussion, voted in the affirm- chap
alive on the question of its finaLpassage. J^_
The remaining opponents of the law, however, Jour-
endeavored to convince the house that some ofthe House,
most bloody scenes in history had been caused by *££_-,
a want of respect for the clergy. It was for Dr. 18'9-
Whipple to reply to arguments like these, by illus
trations drawn from the same sources. "Has
the gentleman," (Mr. Parker,) said he, "forgot
ten the day of St. Bartholomew, at Paris, when, wJp-
in one fatal night, sixty thousand dissenters were "i*"*-
murdered in cold blood, under the direction ofthe
officers of the established church ? Has he forgot
ten the revocation of the edict of Nantz, in the
reign of Louis XIV., by which measure fifty thou
sand dissenting families went into exile and num
bers perished ? Or can it be said, that those
scenes, so shocking to humanity, so repugnant to
the pure principles of the Christian religion, hap
pened from any want of respect for the clergy of
that day ? No, sir ; the church was then abun
dant in her revenues, splendid and imposing in her
worship, and the clergy- dictated the government
itself. These outrages originated, sir, not in a
want of respect for the clergy, nor in sectarian
influence ; but in that desire for uniformity, that
itch for splendid external worship, which in all
ages and in every country has produced domina
tion and cruelty in the clergy and stupidity and
slavery in the people. We neither ridicule nor
oppress the clergy. We commend their virtues
and value tfieir lahors, while directed to the great
and important purposes of teaching that religion
which is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be en-

436 HISTORY OF
chap, treated, full of good works, without partiality and
___!__, without hypocrisy. But, sir, when we see them
anxious to amass power, wealth, worldly honor,
rather than that which cometh from above; when
we see them endeavoring to establish ' the splen
dor of the church upon the misery of the citi
zen ' — heady, high minded, lovers of pleasure
more than lovers of truth, justice, mercy and
charity; when, like Thomas A. Becket, they are
aiming at the civil authority — then shall we have
'reason to exclaim, in the language of the litany,
from such men 'good Lord deliver us! '"
This speech was replied to at great length, and
ably, by the advocates for intolerance, who lost no
opportunity to show that the law was unconstitu
tional and subversive of religion. Their argu
ments were met by Ichabod Bartlett, a young but
distinguished advocate, of Portsmouth.
oK " It is objected," said he, " that the bill before
Bbart the house permits every person to settle the ques-
j-iy, tion for himself, what denomination he is of— that
1819' his consent is necessary, to be subjected to any
denomination, and his dissent frees him. Praised
be God, that the wisdom of our fathers has so
consti- ordained — for thus I undertake to say it is decreed
tution . . . . .
of New m our constitution. This is apparent, in the first
shire, place, from the nature of the evils intended to be
guarded against by the provisions of that consti-
RigMs, tution. Their object was not only to secure the
An. v. perfectly free exercise of religious opinions, but to
remove all pretence for disturbing or annoying
any in the enjoyment of it. The intention was not
merely to authorize a defence against oppressors,
but to disarm bigotry and fanaticism — not only to

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 437
interpose the shield of charity and toleration, but chap.
to wrest from the hand of persecution the sword J_!L
that would be used to perforate it. The framers
of that instrument had learned, by fatal expe
rience, the truth of Lord Mansfield's declaration
before the house of peers, that ' conscience is not
controllable by human laws; nor amenable to
human tribunals. Persecution or attempts to, force
conscience can never produce conviction, and are
only calculated to make hypocrites or martyrs.'
They had learned the outrages of religious infatu-,
ation when countenanced by law. History had
told them of the horrors of the civil power, under
the pretence of pious purposes, which were prac
tised upon the followers of our Saviour. They
had seen, with the cruelty, the inefficacy too of
the civil government upon this subject. They had
seen an army of seven hundred thousand men, for
religious purposes, making prisoners and victims,
but never converts or Christians. They had seen
its absurdity in ' solemn convocations ' upon the
most frivolous pretences. They had not only seen
the effect of the stake and fagot in the reign of
Mary; they had not only looked upon the con
dition of the sufferer, but had themselves passed
through the fires of persecution. They had en
countered the savage beasts and savage men of
the wilderness, to escape the more savage fury of
religious intolerance. And, such is the effect of
fanaticism, they had seen those yet bleeding with
the stripes and wounds of persecution, themselves
become persecutors ; and even the legislative re-
Cords of a neighboring colony stained with an act
authorizing the putting to death, without even the

438 HISTORY OF
chap, form of a trial, ' any Quaker, Adamite, or here-
XII
 L tic' Disgusted with the follies and absurdities,
shocked at the horrors, and bleeding with the
wounds, which religious' bigotry, armed with civil
power, had inflicted, the framers of our constitu
tion determined to guard against the repetition of
such scenes. They had become convinced, too,
that the pure religion of the gospel would ever
flourish best unencumbered with legal pains and
penalties; that every effort of compulsion and
force reacted upon the movers ; and that even
should an external observance of any particular
creed be enforced by the civil authority, it could
at best command but a hypocritical service ; that
tenets, enforced by an officer of the law, or the
point of the bayonet, could produce no salutary
influence upon the mind. And while experience
had taught them the inefficacy of such attempts,
revelation proclaimed that the principles of the
gospel were their own best support ; and that the
work, ' if it were of God, would prevail.' With
such convictions, they determined to remove every
pretence for violence — and that the arm of civil
power should in no case interfere where the peace
of civil society was undisturbed.
" Those evils, sir, are not guarded against ; the
views of those who framed our constitution are
not accomplished upon any other construction of
that instrument than the one adopted by this bill.
Say to the majority of any town that they may tax,
not only their own sect, but all, who, they may
please to say, do not belong to some other sect;
and deprive the person so assessed from deciding
that question ; and what is the consequence ? Do

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 43J9..
we want new evidence of the propensity of any cha?.
dominant sect to assume to itself all elaim to cor- _2L
rectness — to dispense indiscriminately the title of
inftdel and heretic to all who differ? Do we not
know that the privileges and powers of the consti
tution, thus interpreted —
' Like saving faith, by each would be applied
To one small sect, and all are damned beside ? '
"Did those who sought the blood of our fore
fathers believe they were sending to the scaffold'
and stake persons of any religion ? Never. Take
from the dissenter the power of determining his
faith for himself, and the sect in power, while
they levy their contributions upon himv will claim
the merit of seizing the goods of infidels for the
support of religion ; as the executioners of our
ancestors did the praise of destroying their bodies
to save their souls from heresy.
" It may perhaps be thought that in the present
age there can be no danger in putting a construc
tion upon this provision of the constitution, which
shall give the majority a right to decide upon and
control the religious opinions of the minority.
Has human nature changed ? Has it ceased to be
true that like causes produce like effects ? Give
to 'religious bigotry the power, and you shall again
hear the thunders of the Vatican denouncing all
dissenters. You shall soon see a second edition
of the famous unam sanctam, declaring a univer
sal assent to the exercise of omnipotence by some
particular sect, in matters of faith, essential to sal
vation. They may not perhaps again clothe those
they condemn as heretics in garments of pitch for

440 HISTORY OF
chap, a conflagration, or in the skins of wild beasts to
 L, be devoured by dogs ! but they will enrol them in
their tax lists, to support doctrines which may be
thought of a pernicious tendency, and set. upon
them a no less ravenous race of blood-hounds.
' Fanaticism,' said Sir James MTntosh, ' is the
most incurable of all mental diseases, because, in
all its forms, it is distinguished by a mad contempt
for experience.' Not the enemies, but the friends
of religion have too much reason, with regard to
the leaders of different denominations, without dis
tinction, to describe each in the language of an
eloquent divine of the present day, as ' arrogating
all excellence to his own sect, and all saving
power to his own creed ; sheltering, under the name
of pious zeal, the love of domination, the conceit
of infallibility, and the spirit of intolerance; and
trampling on men's rights under pretence of sav
ing their souls.' "
These and similar speeches went forth to the
people — were eagerly read and loudly applauded
by all but the Congregational order. The sound
ness of their arguments produced great effect.
Indeed, so evident are most of their positions, and
so apparent, that at the present day the only won
der is that they should ever have been doubted,
or should ever have found opponents. These
opponents constantly sought for historical proofs
ofthe danger of multiplying sects. But hadjhey
sought to find illustrations of the danger of swal
lowing up all minor sects in one predominant order,
they would have been much more successful in
their researches.
Against the toleration act fanaticism fought

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 441
with its usual ferocity. By the enlightened por- chap.
tion of the people it was hailed with joy. By the J^i_
orthodox it was loaded with anathemas. The
clergy feared tbat their tithes would be diminished
when the people were no longer compelled to pay
them. The ignorant and bigoted mourned over
the change with well-meant, sorrows. "Alack!
Alack!" said they, "religion! we have none
of it. Our general court at Concord have put
away our religion. The godly folk there fought
hard and long for religion, but the wicked ones
outnumbered them, and religion is clean gone."
The clergy had instilled into the minds of the igno
rant that the wicked ones (who composed a major
ity of the legislature) had destroyed a law with
out which religion could not exist.
After the passage ofthe toleration act, a clamor
was raised throughout the state, with the hope of
producing a reaction against the bill and thus in
fluencing the elections. Some declared it to be
"a repeal of the Christian religion;" others said
that "the Bible is abolished ;" others that "the
wicked bear rule." The truth perhaps was that
the dominant sect could no longer support their
system by extortion and oppression, that all sects
were placed upon a level — so that it was not reli
gion which was abolished, but the power of the
Congregational order.
In the passage of this law the friends of reli
gious liberty found cause for rejoicing. They
regarded it as an auspicious era in the history
of New Hampshire, and believed that it would
be viewed with peculiar interest throughout the
country, and with pride and pleasure by their
56

442 HISTORY OF
chap, posterity. They rejoiced that _t law, which they
^~^ regarded as a stain upon the statute book, had at
length been wiped away — and that every citizen
might now worship in the manner and season most
agreeable to him, without being driven to a con
fession of faith before a jury, or to the necessity of
expending hundreds of dollars in a court of law
to recover back an illegal assessment of a few
shillings. Notwithstanding all the clamors raised against
the toleration act, no sooner had it gone into oper
ation than religion began to be supported more
liberally by voluntary contribution than it had be
fore been by compulsion. When this fact was
apparent, and stood clearly revealed by the light
of experience, the bitter censures which had been
passed upon the friends of the law, began to be
withdrawn, and the severest strictures were dealt
out freely to its opponents. Thus it happened
that the men, who, at the outset, while the law was
unpopular, put their political character and suc
cess at stake by their fearless and decided con
duct, gained finally their reward, while the honest
dupes of fanaticism, and the timid and time-serv
ing politicians who stooped to gain popularity by
compromising principle, met with the odium which
was their due, and with the distrust which their
conduct inspired— thus illustrating the wise say-
4e9.f ing of Governor Bell, that " the statesman who
,££ takes the constitutfon for his guide, and faithfully
adheres to its spirit, may confidently indulge the
assurance that he cannot materially err; and
though prejudice or self-interest may misrep
resent and censure his official acts, time, with

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 443
that candid and dispassionate consideration which chap
it never fails to bring, will eventually do justice to J~Y-
his motives and his conduct."
During the toleration contest, the Congrega
tional order levelled their sharpest weapons against
the Methodists ; a sect then comparatively feeble
and possessed of but limited means to make their
real doctrines known. The Orthodox denounced
them as "antichrist" and immoral; and affirmed
that their church government was a monarchy.
Time has shown that whatever may be the faults
of their system of church government, no denomi
nation of Christians has done more to improve the
morals of society. Their distinguishing charac
teristic is humility — the substance without the
show of godliness. They seem to take no pride in
collecting large funds, erecting costly churches,
and passing in splendid pageantry before the world.
Their preachers receive but a scanty livelihood,
and expect no more. Is a Methodist clergyman
rich ? it is in the treasures of another world. In
cessant in labor, plain in his garb, and meek in his
deportment, he moves through the humble sphere
of his labors, visiting the abodes of the poor as
well as the mansions of the rich, imparting com
fort to the dying and the destitute, encouraging
the disconsolate, rebuking the proud, and holding'
out a free salvation, without partiality and with
out hypocrisy, to the whole family of man. When
these humble Christians first appeared with their
doctrines, they were described as "disturbers of
the peace"— "brawlers"— "disorderly persons,"
and "enemies to learning;" and their arduous
and honest labors were treated by the Congrega-

444 HISTORY OF
chap, tional order with proud contumely and vaunting
XII
__ reproach. Nothing intimidated by this undeserved censure,
they continued their labors, which at first began
with the poor, but gradually spread through the
wealthier portions of society. If they have not
disarmed the hostility of opposing sects, they have
commanded respect by their increasing numbers
intelligence, and power. They have commended
themselves to all men by their ardent love for
humanity, by the genuine simplicity of their faith,
and by their attachment to liberty and the rights of
man. The coldest skeptic can hardly deny that
they have been successful imitators of Christ ; and
it would be difficult for the most jealous republican
to discover that their system of church government
has thus far had any practical tendency to monarchy.
The hostility which had been displayed towards
the Methodists, was directed with equal severity
against the Baptists, and was equally undeserved.
The Universalists, a sect then much weaker
than either of the others, and distinguished by
essential differences of opinion from both, did not
escape the general attack.
The doctrine of Universalism was first preached
in New Hampshire, in 1773, by Mr. Murray.
In 1802, Christopher Erskine, of Claremont, hav
ing been sued for parish taxes, by the Congrega
tionalist society in that town, asked advice of the
general convention of Universalists. The judges
of the supreme court had decided that Congrega
tionalists and Universalists were the same sect in
the eye of the law ; and thus Erskine was called
upon to comply with the demand of the parish, in

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 445
which he lived, If this decision was to abide, chap.
suits without number might be brought against J_!L
Universalists. The convention appointed Rev.
George Richards to present a memorial to the
judges on the subject. In 1803, the profession
of belief and plan of the convention was declared.
A special address was also sent out from the con
vention to the Universalists of New Hampshire,
"occasioned by the decision of the judges of the
supreme court of said state, adjudging the pay
ment of ministerial taxes to Congregationalist min
isters." " They complain that by this decision a
whole body of professing Christians in that state,
are blotted from the volume of legal existence."
The points of faith in which Universalists and
Congregationalists differ are pointed out, by which
it is shown that they cannot be one and the same
denomination. The sufferers are persuaded to
submit peaceably as good citizens, until redress
should be had of the legislature. The profession
of belief was drawn up to show that Universalists
differed from all others, and were necessarily a
distinct sect.*
The "profession of belief" declared by the con
vention in 1803, is as follows. It has never been
altered, and is satisfactory to the denomination.
"Art. I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures
of the Old and New Testaments contain a revela
tion of the character of God, and of the duty,
interest and final destination of mankind.
"Art. II. We believe that there is one God,
whose nature is love ; revealed in one Lord Jesus
Christ, by one Holy Spirit of grace; who will
» Whittemore's Modern History of Universalism.

446 HISTORY OF
chap, finally restore the whole family of mankind to holi-
^_^_ ness and happiness.
"Art. III. We believe that holiness and true
happiness are inseparably connected; and that
believers ought to be careful to maintain order,
and practise good works; for these things are
good and profitable unto men."
The Universalists were recognised as a distinct
sect, June 13, 1805.
Rev. Hosea Ballou, a leading and distinguished
minister of this denomination, was born in Rich
mond, in this state. He has in his day acquired
great distinction as a minister and theological con
troversialist. The denomination of Universalists has gradu
ally increased in New Hampshire, as in other
states of the Union. There are now in the state
one convention, six associations, eighty-two soci
eties, besides churches, sixty-six meeting-houses,
owned wholly or in part by Universalists, and
thirty-five ministers.
The doctrine which they preach is sometimes
called "universal restoration," but more
commonly Universalism ; and places in a most
attractive light the paternal character ofthe Deity.
It is a doctrine of extended charity, infinite benev
olence and boundless love. It teaches that the
sorrows of man cease with his mortal career * —
that pain may die and every wo may find an ob
livion — but that joy and hope (in which fear is not
mingled,) that life and love are immortal; that
infinite goodness watches over the life and the des-
* Some of the Universalists, called " Restorationists," believe in a limited
punishment after death.

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 447
tiny of man ; and that when the trials of a brief chap.
existence are past, the Deity will finally bring all _5!L
men to a state of felicity, sublime in its nature,
infinite in duration.
Such is the doctrine of Universalism. When
first taught, it was violently assailed by many of
the best men of every faith. By some it was not
understood, and by others it was deemed hostile to
morality and dangerous to the good order of so
ciety. Yet, in its progress and development, it
does not appear to be distinguished by any of
those practical evils which were apprehended from
the efforts of the few followers by whom it was
first propagated.
It was at this period that the scenery of New
Hampshire began to attract increased attention,
and travellers came in greater numbers to view
those features which are peculiar to the mountains
and lakes of this state.
" Proceeding northward from Orford, where the
intervals are narrow, the traveller enters a broad
and fertile valley at Haverhill, which is spotted by
villages, watered by abundant streams, and sur
rounded by picturesque hills, swelling into moun
tains along the eastern horizon, and rising to
lofty heights at the south and west. The route
to Moosehillock from Haverhill leads by Owl's
Head, an abrupt mountain, which presents its bald
and rugged face at the road side which winds
along the Oliverian. The sombre green foliage
of the black alder fringes this wild stream, min
gled with the sprightlier leaves of the birch, maple
and white ash, with here and there a willow or a
slender mountain ash. From this stream a rude

448 HISTORY OF
chap, foot path has been cleared, which winds up the
^_Y_ mountain's side. Your approach to the summit
becomes visible by the diminished size of the trees,
and by their naked, dead and gnarled aspect.
They are pine, spruce and fir — the only one that
retains its greenness is the mountain ash, which
seems to flourish at an elevation where all others
die. The mountain sorrel, which adorns the path
with its delicate white bell, striped with red, ap
pears to be the attendant of the trees, and ceases
where they disappear. At last they sink to craggy
dwarfs, and are destitute of foliage. "Approach
ing the summit, the moss becomes "thicker and
thicker, until near where the trees disappear it
covers the ground with a carpet of the brightest
green. Emerging at last from a forest of small
firs, the summit of the mountain rises before you,
bearing no forest tree, but bare and seemingly
composed of ledges and loose blocks of granite.
The blueberry and harebell lie hid amid the cran
nies of the rocks, and the low and knotted vines
of the mountain cranberry run over them, even
upon the extreme summit; where also the same
small and solitary white flower, which flourishes
on mount Lafayette, springs up amidst the thick
beds of moss. From the summit of this mountain,
which is elevated four thousand six hundred and
thirty-six feet above the level ofthe sea, far to the
eastward a vast expanse of forest stretches away
over hills thickly covered with hemlock and spruce,
to the purple islands of lake Winnipiseogee,
which is distinctly visible. Westward, the pros
pect is bounded by the rolling ranges of the Green
mountains. Southward hills rise o'er hills, far as

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 449
tbe eye can see; and to the north, the Franconia chap.
mountains and the more majestic peaks of the J*L
White Hills rise and lose themselves in the clouds.
The broad valley of the Connecticut is the charm
of this landscape. Its numerous villages, its hun^
dreds of farms and orchards, and all the tributary
streams that swell the river, may be traced in their
devious windings by the naked eye.
Another and more charming view of this valley
may be seen from Catamount Hill, which is a more
moderate elevation one mile from Haverhill Cor
ner. This view commands twenty miles of the
valley, bounded by the green hills of Vermont and
the parallel range of New Hampshire mountains,
which seem to form the outer walls of this fine
amphitheatre of nature.
A nearer view of the valley, and by many
deemed more delightful, is afforded from the tops
and the upper windows of the hotels at Haverhill
Corner. This village is-built on a noble swell or
broad table of land, in the midst of the valley.
The houses are neatly arranged on the four sides
of the public square, which is a fine level green,
ornamented with trees. The houses on the west
ern side are built, on the ridge of a declivity which
leads quite down to the meadows which border
the river. The height of this declivity, together
with the height of the houses, raises the traveller
to an elevation which enables him to overlook
twelve miles of the valley, which lies immediately
below him, and to view the meanders of the river
throughout its whole extent. Nowhere else are
the intervals so broad, nor is there any other
spot where the river sweeps from side to side of
57

450 HISTORY OF
chap, the valley with such varied and graceful curves.
__^_, Towards the north it is divided into two streams,
which having encircled the Oxbow peninsula unite
again below it. Passing southward with a gently
« deviating course, now eastward, then westward,
it receives the waters of the Oliverian and Wait's
river, and having almost encircled the Piermont
meadows, at the south point of which it turns
and seems to run back upon its course, it returns
and passes southward through Orford and Hano
ver. When the freshets of spring have swelled
the river to a flood, it overflows the banks, and
what was a valley now seems a lake; but when
mantled in summer green or covered with a golden
harvest, everything growing with rank luxuriance,
the meadows present the appearance of a vast
plantation shaded here and there by majestic trees
and waving with the richest crops. When the
frosts of autumn have given to the woods those
varied hues which constitute the peculiar charm
of American forest scenery, this valley presents
a picture, of many miles in extent, where, in the
many-colored woods, the red, yellow and russet
brown are interspersed and blended in those rich
and diverse shades, which, as they are never seen
in Europe, are the wonder of European trav
ellers. Another and different view is afforded
from the summit, of mount Pulaski, which rises
on the Vermont side of the river, immediately be
hind the village of Newbury, and not far from the
Sulphur springs, which make that town the frequent
and delightful resort of travellers. The ascent up
this little mountain is by a winding path of half a

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 461
mile, leading through, rough pastures, which, in chap
August, are fragrant with the sweet fern and 3"-'.
adorned by the flowers of the beauteous harebell.
Pursuing it upward, you enter the woods, from
which you emerge suddenly upon the edge of a
precipice, rising almost perpendicularly from the
plain, on which stands the village of Newbury.
The Oxbow,a green peninsula, lies immediately be
fore you, and in the distance Moosehillock, sur
rounded by a group of smaller mountains. A
number of villages of the valley appear at intervals,
and the course of the Connecticut is seen for seve
ral miles pursuing its devious channel, and occa
sionally washing the bases of the hills on either
side. Leaving the Connecticut at Haverhill, the trav
eller passes the wild rapids of the Ammonoosuck,
and begins to leave behind him the abrupt cliffs on
its banks. It. is not, however, till he has ascended
far up the eminences which divide the two rivers
that the roar of that impetuous torrent ceases to
be heard. But he has now arrived where the
lands recede towards Lancaster, when, turning his
face towards the south, he is presented with one
of the most magnificent views of mountain scenery
in the world. Westward stands Moosehillock, its
dark brown rocks wound in a sheet of snow, which
shrouds it from the base upward, and seems to
blend with the clouds which float along or hang
lodged upon the summit. Farther eastward are
the Franconia mountains. Except their tops, they
present, from their iron foundations upward, only
the dark outline of an impenetrable evergreen for
est. Further south extends a long range of moun-

4&2 HISTORY OF
chap, tains in Lincoln, but growing loftier in their pro-
__._Y gress, their dazzling heights at last overtop the
lower Franconia mountains, and exhibit their bald
peaks, brown with the hues of the rocks, and slop
ing downwards into a deep wilderness. Eastward
is the great Haystack mountain, and still farther
is the grand Teature of these regions, the White
Hills, which seem to prop the heavens, and strike
the beholder with emotions of awe. In winter
they appear like vast mounds of snow, drifted on
high, peak over peak, to the skies. Westward a
dense forest spreads itself, and lends the charm of
its various coloring to the picture of grandeur
which springs from the sublime structure of the
mountains around. In winter these cold summits
afford no variety, except in the shadows of the
clouds, which throw fantastic figures moving in
groups over the snows of the mountains. Some
times, at night, the outline of these towering cliffs
is dimly discernible by the light of the moon and
stars ; but they never present a more magnificent
view than when the first rays of morning flash
upon them, or the rays of the sun gild them at
its setting. Descending from the heights of Beth
lehem, a short ride, which completes the distance
of forty-five miles from Haverhill, brings him to
the hotel at the Notch.
Another route to the mountains is from Lancas
ter. Leaving Dalton, intervening hills hide them
from the traveller, until he emerges upon the mead
ows around the village of Lancaster, at the mouth
of Israel's river. This stream is fed by springs
which ooze from beneath the White Hills. He
approaches the mountains by ascending the river

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 4S3
through an avenue fenced in by hills of the wild- chap.
est structure. Boughs of the tamarac and spruce __f!L
overhang the road. Pondicherry mountain stands
on the right, and Pliny mountain walls up the left ;
both clad in deep green foliage to their utmost
heights. Sometimes the heat of the sun in this
region causes an evaporation, which gives them the
appearance of being veiled in soft azure. This
route, from Lancaster is twenty-five miles, in a
southeastern direction, and ends at "the Gothic
battlements ofthe White Hills." Before arriving
there, the traveller comes again upon the meadows
ofthe wild Ammonoosuck, which winds westward.
Over these level lands he passes to the Notch, and
comes upon the source of the Saco, which first
appears a gentle rill, that sends its current east
ward down through that immense gap which seems
to have been rent in the mountains by some dread
convulsion of nature. At the entrance of this ter
rific chasm, a huge fragment, which has started
from the precipice, impends towards the road, and
seems ready to fall. Descending the river, the '
mountains in some places seem to close before
you, and meet together. In other places their bare
sides, scarred with avalanches, rise perpendicularly
at first, then, receding, swell into rugged pinnacles,
with projecting crags on either side, which nod
over the bleak ridges beneath, threatening to burst
from their gigantic mounds and crush the lower
walls that surround them. The Saco has now
swelled to a maddening torrent, and thunders
down the chasm with a fierce roar and a wild
echo. Over a cliff on one of the highest points of
elevation, distinctly seen, bursts a cataract. In

454 HISTORY OF
chap, summer it is a beautiful cascade. But in spring
_~^_ it comes, apparently gushing from the rocks, leaps
down, foaming, whiter than the snow which swells
it into fury, and, crossing the road under a light
bridge, tumbles headlong into the Saco. After
struggling throug"h the mountains, the river issues,
with a calm flow, upon the plain below ; and
scarcely can the country furnish a more pleasant
vale than that which borders the slow-winding
current of the Saco in the towns of Conway and
Fryeburg. Brilliant crystals of quartz, of fine
prismatic forms and a pure transparency, some
times slightly tinged with purple, are washed into
the tributary' torrents, and are found amongst the
rocks that border their banks.
Previous to the survey of Dr. Jackson, the
scenery at the extreme north of the state was little
known. Its striking features were observed by
him, and are known, to a few persons who have
since visited them, to be among the grandest ex
hibitions of nature in North America. Indian
Stream is a small settlement near the falls at the
outlet of Connecticut lake. It is the most north
erly inhabited place in New Hampshire, and com
prises, in the whole, a colony of three hundred and
fifteen persons, scattered on the undulating shores
of the lake. They are far removed from any other
settlement, and for many years refused obedience
to the laws of the state. Desiring none of the
benefits of civil government, they claimed exemp
tion from its burdens ; and under a simple govern
ment of their own, they resisted the officers of
the law, until they were visited by a military force
and reduced to subjection. Their country borders

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 455
on the table-lands of Canada, and exhibits striking chap.
and peculiar features. In 1841, Dr. Jackson ex- ___!__!
plored Camel's Rump mountain, at some distance
from the village. It is supposed that none but the
Indians had ever ascended it before. It was in the
midst of a violent storm, and having pitched' his
tent, he remained there two days. The last being
clear, and the barometer having risen apparently to
its usual height, he found tlie proximate height of
the mountain to be three thousand six hundred and
fifteen feet above the level of the sea ; which deter
mined it to be one of the highest mountains in thev
state, next to the White mountain range. Its geo
logical character he describes as peculiar. The J^-
specimens of rock which he found consisted of £"%t/
amorphous masses of hornstone, of various hues of §f8864;
color, from a light apple green to almost black.
He found it covered with a low and tangled un
dergrowth, with stunted fir-balsams and spruce.
The view from its summit is one of surpassing in
terest arid grandeur. Northward stretches the
lofty range of hills which divide the waters flow
ing into the St. Lawrence from those of the Ma-
galloway and Connecticut ; and beyond these the
broad prairies or table-lands of Canada. South
ward are seen Umbagog lake and the Diamond
hills, with the numerous waters in their vicinity,
and far beyond them the lofty heights of the White
mountains. Westward are the lakes and tribu
tary streams of the Connecticut, and along the
horizon's verge, the Green mountains. Eastward
the view is bounded by the granite peaks of
Maine, mount Bigelow and mount Abraham.
Through the mountains in the town of Dixville

456 HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
chap, there is a narrow defile, which may be regarded as
_ — L one of the most remarkable exhibitions of nature
in the state, and is described by Dr. Jackson, as
Jack- 1 _*
son's " perhaps surpassing even the famous Notch of
p. 87.' the White mountains in picturesque grandeur."
Angular and precipitous rocks, rising hundreds of
feet almost perpendicularly on either side, present
in their rugged appearance a stronger resemblance
to the rocks of the Alps than is found elsewhere
in New England. Such are the natural features
of this remote and but partially explored section
ofthe state. A region so interesting cannot 1' •
remain unnoticed by those who visit the stat
view its peculiar and sublime, features ; and it
not improbable that the time will soon come whei.
the traveller, from the shores of Lake Winnipiseo
gee and the peaks of the White mountains, not
content with the wonders of nature already seen,
will pass Dixville Notch, and view the magnificent
scenery ofthe Magalloway.

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