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THE agents of the Continental Congress were very
active in Nova Scotia, hut nowhere more so than on the Saint-John
river and in the Chignecto district. On the St. John river was a
large and fertile territory, peopled by men from New England, who
were nearly all in sympathy with the rebels, and capable of being.
easily defended against any British force that was then available.
The Chignecto district was then justly regarded as the key to the
defence of Nova. Scotia, and it was also a country of great
resources, and peopled largely by New Englanders, who desired the
overthrow of British power. On the St. John the most active
promoters of rebellion were Parson Noble, Jacob Barker, Dr. Nevers
and Israel Perley. Noble wrote a letter to Genera] Washington,
setting forth the great importance of the capture of Western Nova
Scotia,, and offering to assist in that measure in any way that he
could be useful. Washington had no men to spare for this enterprise,
but Noble and his associates were so full of zeal that they thought
they could place the St. John river under the Rebel Government
without outside help. Accordingly a meeting was convened at
Maugerville on the 14th of May, 1776, at which most of the
inhabitants were present. A series of eight resolutions were passed,
condemning the claim of the British Parliament to pass laws binding
on the colonies, and expressing the desire of the people to place
themselves under the government of Massachusetts, and their
readiness, with lives and fortunes, "to share with them the event of
the present struggle for Liberty." It was also resolved to appoint a
committee of twelve, who were authorized to make application to the
Massachusetts Congress for relief, and to conduct all matters, civil
and military, in Sunbury county until further regulations could be
made. Another resolution bound all the inhabitants to obey the
orders of this committee, and to pay whatever sums might be
necessary to carry this project into execution. Thus did the people
of Maugerville and the adjacent townships issue their declaration of
independence and withdraw themselves from under the protection of
the British flag.
These resolutions were draw n up in a paper
addressed to the Massachusetts Assembly and signed by one hundred
and twenty-five of the inhabitants. Only thirteen of the residents
of the river refused to sign it, and of these. Nine resided at the
mouth of the river. The meeting also voted that "we will have no
dealings or connection with any person or persons for the future,
that shall refuse to enter into the foregoing or similar
resolutions." It would aj>pear from this that the system of
"boycotting" was in force in America long before Captain Boycott's
day. Two members of the committee, Asa Perley and Asa Kimball, were
selected to go to Boston, to present the Maugeoille document to the
Assembly at Boston. A resolve was passed by that body ordering the
Commissary General to deliver to them one barrel of gunpowder, three
hundred and fifty flints and two hundred and fifty pounds of lead,
and they were authorized to purchase forty stand of arms. This is
apparently all they got from their brethren in Massachusetts, so
that they seem to have parted with their allegiance at a very cheap
rate.
The previous February Washington had sent a
letter to the Indians of the St. John river and other eastern
tribes, asking their friendship and support in their contest 'with
the British government. The effect of this letter was to set those
red-skinned vagabonds to plundering all persons who were thought to
be favorable to the government, and the Maugerville people were
afraid that when the Indians had done all they could against the
"Tories", the other residents of the river might share the same
fate. Messrs. Perley and Kimball were therefore directed to
represent this to the Massachusetts Assembly, and to ask that some
person of consequence, be sent among the Indians to keep them quiet.
The fact that Washington was tampering with the eastern Indians at
so early a period in the Revolutionary struggle, causes the
fulminations of Lord Chatham and others, against the employment by
the British of Indians in the war, to sound rather absurd. The
Americans employed all the Indians in the war that they could
persuade, to take their side. The trouble was that they had treated
the Indians so badly, but few of them were willing to assist them.
Among the settlers of Chignecto was Jonathan
Eddy, a native of New England, and a person of considerable energy
and courage. He was chosen to represent the township of Cumberland
in the Legislature of Nova Scotia, and seems to have stood well with
the settlers among whom he lived. Eddy was from the first a
sympathizer with the revolutionary party, and he succeeded in
persuading most of his neighbours to adopt his opinions. He formed
the bold design of seizing Fort Cumberland and holding it for the
rebels, and early in the summer of 1770 took his departure for
Massachusetts in company with two of his neighbours, William Howe
and Samuel Rodgers. Eddy declared to the Massachusetts Assembly his
ability to capture Fort Cumberland with but little assistance, and
he obtained from them a commission as Lieutenant Colonel and
authority to raise troops for the Cumberland expedition. Eddy
expected to obtain men at the various settlements, so that wheal he
left Boston he was accompanied only by two men, William Howe and
Zebulon Rowe, both residents of Cumberland. At Machais he obtained
about twenty men and a few more at Passamaquoddv. He then went to
Maugerville where he was joined by a captain, a lieutenant and
twenty-five men, and also by sixteen Indians. This brought his whole
force up to seventy-two men, and, embarking in whale boats and
canoes, Eddy's little army sailed up the Bay towards Fort
Cumberland. At Shepody, Eddy landed and captured Captain Walker and
twelve men of the Fort Cumberland garrison who were stationed there.
Eddy then proceeded to Memram-cook where he induced a number of
French Acadians to join him. From thence they marched to
Sackville, where he met the local rebel
committee who were much disappointed to find Eddy's force so small
and unprovided with artillery. Nevertheless, believing that Eddy
would soon receive a reinforcement under Colonel Shaw, they joined
the invaders to the number of more than one hundred. Eddy's next
exploit was to capture a sloop laden with provisions for the
garrison, and having on board a sergeant and twelve men. The capture
of this vessel by the rebels was not known in Fort Cumberland for
some hours after it was effected, and a number of men, among others
Captain Barron, the engineer of the garrison, and Mr. Eggleston, the
chaplain, were captured when on their way front the fort to the
vessel. Fort Cumberland was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Joseph Gorham of the Loyal Fencible Americans. Its condition was
extremely weak, the garrison, including the sick, numbering only
about 200 men. The artillery consisted of three nine-pounders and
three six-pounders. imperfectly mounted. Ammunition was very scarce,
and the capture of the provision sloop had reduced the supplies of
the garrison to a very low ebb. Gorham was not capable of meeting a
resolute attack from a well trained and well equipped force, but
Eddy's means of attack were wholly insufficient for the task he had
undertaken. His whole force, if we are to believe his own statement,
did not exceed 180 men, and he was without cannon and therefore
forced to rely on an assault. On the 10th November Eddy sent Colonel
Gorham a formal summons to surrender, and on this being declined,
attempted an assault on the fort on the night of the 12th. This
assault failed, and it could not have been very much pressed, for
Eddy states his whole loss to have been only one Indian wounded.
Eddy's men attempted to set fire to the buildings in the fort, by
setting fire to houses outside them, the wind favored their purpose,
but their efforts all failed owing to the vigilance of the garrison.
This warfare was continued for about a fortnight, Colonel Horham in
the meantime making several attempts to communicate with the
authorities at Halifax. At length, after a number of failures owing
to his messengers being intercepted by the enemy, Lieutenant Dixon,
a half pay officer, volunteered for this dangerous service and
succeeded in reaching Windsor in an open sail boat. The result was
that 011 the
27th of November, His Majesty's ship "Vulture'' appeared off the
harbour, and the same day Major Bate and Captain Studholm landed
with Captain Branson and his company of marines. On the following
day Captain Pitcairn landed with the remainder of the force which
came in the "Vulture", numbering ninety officers and men. Early next
morning this force, with a detachment from the garrison attacked,
the rebel camp and completely routed them, pursuing them some four
or five miles up the road to Baie Verte. In the pursuit a number of
houses belonging to the rebels were burned. A detachment of one
hundred men was ordered to proceed to Westcock and Meinramcook to
cut off the retreat of the rebels and destroy their boats, but
before the men could march, a letter w-as received from Mr. Charles
Dixon of Westcock stating that most of the people of that district
who had been in arms were coin inced of their error and desirous of
surrendering to the King's mercy. Upon this Colonel Gorham issued a
proclamation offering a pardon to all rebels who should come In and
surrender their arms within four days. The only persons excepted
from the benefits of this offer were Eddy, Allen, Howe, Roe and
Rodgers, for whose apprehension large rewards were offered. Upwards
of one hundred persons took advantage of this offer of amnesty and
surrendered within the time Limited. They claimed that they had been
coerced into joining Eddy, by fear of the Indians of whom he had
several hundreds with him. This excuse may have been valid with
respect to some of the inhabitants, but there is too much reason to
believe that the majority of them acted voluntarily, and that Eddy's
expedition was brought about by their own intrigues.
Eddy fled from Fort Cumberland to Maugerville by
the old French portage road from Chignecto to the St. John,. the
streams being then frozen over. He was. accompanied by the
Cumberland Rebel Committee of seven and by 17 other inhabitants of
Cumberland. In addition to these, there were his own men from
Machias, the contingent of 27 from the St. John River, sixteen St.
John Indians and thirteen French Acadians under Capt. Boudrot. They
formed a large party and they suffered great hardships in traversing
the forest at that inclement season of the year, for it was
December. Eddy does not tell hew long t took his party to reach
Maugerville, but it is probable that the whole month of December was
thus employed, for he fled from before Fort Cumberland oil the 20th
November, and it was the 3rd January before his
report of his expedition, to the Massachusetts House of
Representatives, was written at Maugerville. The people of that
township who had a few months before dedicated their lives and
fortunes to what they called the cause of liberty, were obliged to
maintain these Cumberland refugees during the whole winter, while
the families of the rebels who had been left in Cumberland were in a
very miserable condition. Eddy's invasion was a ridiculous fiasco,
but it had its tragic side in the ruin and exile of so many persons,
who had no need to take part in a rebellion, and in the suffering of
their families.
The authorities at Halifax were on the alert in
the spring of 1777 to counteract the work of the rebels. The report
of the Attorney General showed, that upwards of two hundred persons
in Cumberland had been in arms against the government, and it was
resolved to tender the oath allegiance to all in that district who
had not taken it. Three justices of the peace were sent to Truro,
Onslow and Londonderry to tender the oath of allegiance to all the
settlers there. Only five persons in these three places were willing
to take the oath, and it was resolved that the others should be
proceeded against. On the St. John River the state of affairs was
still more serious, for the people had been in rebellion for almost
a year, they had sent a detachment to assist in the capture of Fort
Cumberland, and during the winter they had sheltered the Cumberland
rebels and their leader Colonel Eddy. Evidently it was necessary
that the authority of the King should he re-established on the St.
John. To effect this, Colonel Gould, a member of the council, was
sent to the St. John early in May n the ship of war "Vulture". On
his arrival he found a boat there from Machias, on board of winch
were a number of men under the command of William Howe, a Cumberland
refugee, and John Preble. There were also two schooners laden with
supplies for the Indians which were intercepted. Howe and Preble and
their men fled to the woods but their boat was taken. Gould
immediately sent a letter to the inhabitants of St. John offering
them a pardon and the possession of their properties on condition of
their taking the oath of allegiance. This letter was -written on the
9th May and on the 12th a reply was sent by the inhabitants
accepting Gould's terms. In the course of a few days the oath was
taken by all the inhabitants of the St. John, with the exception of
three who tied the country. The Maugerville people excused their
rebellious conduct by the plea that they had been induced by threats
to submit to the government of Massachusetts, and Gould pretended to
believe this too transparent story, and the St. John people, as a
body, gave no more trouble to the government during the war.
John Allan, of whom mention has already been
made, again appears upon the scene at this time. Allan iled from
Cumberland, where he had resided, in August, 177d, and on arriving
at Machias met Eddy, who was on his way to Nova Scotia to make his
attempt on Fort Cumberland. Allan, after vainly trying to induce him
to give up his rash expedition, proceeded to Boston, and before the
end of the year, was at Washington's head quarters on the Delaware.
He laid his plans before the Continental Congress and was appointed
superintendant of the Eastern Indians with the rank of a Colonel of
Infantry. The object of this appointment was to enlist the St. John
and Bassamaquoddy Indians on the side of the rebels, and to obtain
control of the St. John River, which having an interior line of
communication with Maine, could always be reinforced from that
quarter, and held by a sufficient force. This might have been
accomplished if Allan had been more prompt in his movements. If he
had reached St. John before Colonel Could, he might have been able
to confirm the weak-hearted residents of the river in their
rebellious views and obtain their active support. Had this been
done, it would have required a large force to win back the lost
territory. As it turned out Allan reached the St. John after Colonel
Gould had departed, when it was too late to accomplish anything, for
the inhabitants had renewed their allegiance to the King. With three
or four exceptions they kept aloof from him and he did not seek
their company, Allan's whole force, with which he prepared to seize
the St. John River numbered just forty-three men, according to his
own statement, and he expected a reinforcement under Col. Shaw which
when it reached lain, numbered only forty-five soldiers. More than
half of Allan's men were former residents of Cumberland, who had
fled with Eddy the previous Autumn. He waited at Machias until he
heard of the departure of Col. Could and the "Vulture" and then
proceeded to St. John, which he reached on the 2nd June. His journal
written] by his Secretary Lewis F. Delesdenier, is still extant and
contains a very full account of all his movements. Tlis first act on
reaching St. John was to make Messrs. Hazen and White prisoners.
These gentlemen were afterwards released and again taken. On
proceeding up the River, was Mitchell, a man whose active loyalty
was notorious, was captured. A few days later Mitchell contrived to
escape and, hastening to Halifax, gave the alarm to the authorities
wdiich brought a British force at once to the St. John River. While
on the river Allan resided at Aulqiaque, the Indian settlement, and
most of his time was taken up with long winded palavers with the red
men. These wily sons of the forest were much more anxious to
obtain goods from both sides than to fight for either; throughout
the war they acted the part of greedy mercenaries. Most of Allan's
men were kept at the mouth of the River for the purpose of
preventing the British from landing there. The British arrived in
force 011 the
30th of June and immediately drove Allan's men away, killing and
capturing a number of them. The British naval force
on that occasion was under the command of
Capt. Hawker of the "Mermaid," and he had with him the sloops
"Vulture" and "Hope." The Americans fled up the River and were
pursued by the British. Allan was obliged to escape into Maine by
way of Eel River and the St. Croix Lakes, arriving at Machias after
a toilsome journey of more than three weeks. Allan was accompanied
not only by his own men, but by most of the St. John Indians with
their families, the whole numbering about live hundred persons, men,
women, and children. It was Allan's' aim to keep the St. John
Indians under his control, hence this exodus, but the result was
disappointing, for they achieved nothing for him. Soon after Allan
reached Machias, that place was attacked by a small squadron, under
Sir George Hollier, and the mills and magazines there destroyed, but
the place was not captured, owing to the lack of troops, which were
refused by General Massey, 011 the plea that he could not spare them
from the defence of Halifax. This was a serious blunder, for Machias
continued to be a rebel nest for the remainder of the war. If it had
been occupied, as it might easily have been, the boundary line
between New Brunswick and Maine would have been very different from
what it is now.
The outrages committed by American privateers
011 the coast of Nova Scotia, at this time, and throughout the war,
were very discreditable, and partook of the nature of piracy rather
than legitimate war. No settler who lived near the coast -was free
from danger. At any time he was liable to have his house plundered
and burnt, his cattle stolen, and his fields ravaged by these
robbers. Their -depredations extended to every part of the province.
Mr. Davidson's extensive fishery on the Miramichi was broken up by
them, and the same fate befell a! the fishing establishments on the
North Shore. In .the Bay of Fundy they committed great outrages in
spite of the efforts of the fleet to prevent them. The
establishments of Messrs. Simonds, Hazen, and White were plundered
more than once, and Mr. Simonds removed to Maugerville to escape
their visits. All the settlers of the township of Conway suffered
from their depredations and most of them were forced to abandon
their farms. Under the circumstances it became necessary for the
Halifax authorities to take some action for the purpose of enabling
the St. John settlers to live in peace. Accordingly, late in the
Autumn of 1777, Major Studholme was sent to the St. John River with
fifty men, and ordered to establish himself there. He took with him
a frame block-house, and four six-pounders, and took possession of a
high and rocky hill on the east side of the harbor on which he
erected a fortification, which he named Fort Howe, in honor of the
Commander in Chief of the forces in America. Studholme who was an
able man, and full of energy, speedily made his position secure. A
short time before his arrival, a privateer, mounting eight guns,
commanded by one Crabtree, had been at St. John, ami had robbed the
truck house of Messrs. Simonds, Hazen, and White, of everything it
contained, including the pledges given by the Indians. These were
carried to Machias,. and delivered to Col. Allan. Crabtree was again
sent to St. John to complete the destruction of the settlement, but
before he got there Studhohne had arrived. Crabtree fled as soon as
he became aware of Studholme's presence, for robbery was more to his
taste than fighting, and St. John was no more molested. Studholme
remained at Fort Howe, became identified with the new province which
he assisted in establishing, and is buried in Kings County, 'n the
parish which is named after him.
Early in the spring of 1778, Studholme was
reinforced and his post was now regarded as secure from any attack.
His only anxiety now, was in regard to the attitude of the Indians,
who were constantly being stirred up to do mischief, by the agents
of Colonel Allan. During the summer, they sent Studholme a letter
which amounted to a declaration of war, but owing to the efforts of
Colonel Franklin, the Indian agent, and their priest, Father Bourg,
they were kept quiet and induced to make a treaty of peace with the
British, at Fort Howe, in September, 1778. Upwards of $2,000 worth
of presents were given the Indians on that occasion, and a large sum
additional was expended in entertaining them. In this treaty were
included the Micmacs of the Miramichi and other places on the North
Shore, as well as the Malicetes of the St. John. Allan still
continued his efforts to detach the Indians from their alliance with
the British but without success. The Indians remained quiet during
the rest of the war. Allan's presence at Machias was also felt in
one or two insignificant raids that were made on the settlers up
river. In the autumn of 1779, it was reported, that a party of
Indian rebels from Machias had captured a vessel at Maugerville, and
plundered two or three of the inhabitants, after which they made
off. These attacks were to be expected so long as the Indians from
Machias could reach the Upper St. John by way of Eel River. To guard
against them and protect the settlements, a block house was built at
the month of the Cromocto River and a small garrison placed in it.
It was named Fort Hughes, after the Lieutenant Governor of Nova
Scotia, who had succeeded Arbuthnot. It was placed under the command
of Lieutenant Constant Connor.
The St. John River now became an important part
of the line of communication between Halifax and Quebec. The use of
this route was first suggested by Lieutenant Governor Arbuthnot to
General Haldimand, who was in command at Quebec. This route was
utilized until the end of the war, not only for despatches going
from Quebec to Halifax, but for communications between Quebec, and
the British army in New York. The persons chiefly employed in the
arduous work of carrying these despatches, were Lewis Mitchell and
Louis Mercure, a French Acadian. It is worthy of note, that a
message sent bv this route, by Lieutenant Connor from Cromocto, gave
General Haldimand the first information of the surrender of Lord
Cornwallis.
The story of the war of the Revolution is one
which no loyal citizen oi the British Empire can regard with any
pride, and which contains many episodes at which honest Americans
must blush. The bad faith displayed by Congress in refusing to carry
out the terms of the surrender of the British army at Saratoga,
shows that there were not many honest men in that famous body.
Instead of being sent to England as had been promised, they were
marched to Virginia and kept there to camp for several years, to the
great financial benefit of Thomas Jefferson whose plantation was in
the neighborhood. The treatment of the Loyalists by their Whig
neighbors was also another disgraceful feature of the war. These
people were persecuted and harassed in every possible way, driven
from their homes, their property destroyed or confiscated and
subjected to personal violence, and in many cases to imprisonment.
As a result of these persecutions large numbers of loyalists came to
Nova Scotia during the war. When Boston was evacuated in March,
1771, about fifteen hundred Loyalists embarked in the transports and
landed at Halifax. Some of these people returned to the Colonies and
took part in the contest on the side of the King, but many remained
in Nova Scotia. From that time until the end of the war refugees
were constantly arriving in Nova Scotia and most of them took up
their abode in that province. When the
Loyalist emigration at the. close of the
war took place, they sought to make a distinction between themselves
and the Refugees, who had not remained in the thirteen "colonies".
It was almost a matter of reproach to be a refugee and the
descendants of Loyalists and Refugees kept distinction' Whether a
man was a Loyalist or a Refugee depended largely on the colony he
lived in. In Massachusetts, and indeed in most of the New England
States, the loyalists were so much in the minority that they had.
No chance to make head against the
current. There was nothing for them to do but to escape to some
other land where their opinions would not expose them to the danger
of being tarred and feathered or perhaps hanged. In New York, on the
other hand, the Loyalists were numerous, they were protected by the
King's armies and they could remain in the country without danger,
at least on equal terms with their enemies. The fact that they were
loyalists and not Refugees was due to their environment as much as
to their own merits. They were, as men generally are, the creatures
of circumstances, and the men who were exiled from New York, in
1783, are entitled to no more praise for their Loyalty than the men
who fled from Boston seven years before. |
