Part 751

"Louisburg, on which the French had spent much money [see CAPE BRETON ISLAND: A. D. 1720-1745], was by far the strongest fort north of the Gulf of Mexico. But the prisoners of Canso, carried thither, and afterward dismissed on parole, reported the garrison to be weak and the works out of repair. So long as the French held this fortress, it was sure to be a source of annoyance to New England, but to wait for British aid to capture it would be tedious and uncertain, public attention in Great Britain being much engrossed by a threatened invasion. Under these circumstances, Shirley proposed to the General Court of Massachusetts the bold enterprise of a colonial expedition, of which Louisburg should be the object. After six days' deliberation and two additional messages from the governor, this proposal was adopted by a majority of one vote. A circular letter, asking aid and co-operation, was sent to all the colonies as far south as Pennsylvania. In answer to this application, urged by a special messenger from Massachusetts, the Pennsylvania Assembly … voted £4,000 of their currency to purchase provisions. The New Jersey Assembly … furnished … £2,000 toward the Louisburg expedition, but declined to raise any men. The New York Assembly, after a long debate, voted £3,000 of their currency; but this seemed to Clinton a niggardly grant, and he sent, besides, a quantity of provisions purchased by private subscription, and ten eighteen-pounders from the king's magazine. Connecticut voted 500 men, led by Roger Wolcott, afterward governor, and appointed, by stipulation of the Connecticut Assembly, second in command of the expedition. Rhode Island and New Hampshire each raised a regiment of 300 men; but the Rhode Island troops did not arrive till after Louisburg was taken. The chief burden of the enterprise, as was to be expected, fell on Massachusetts. In seven weeks an army of 3,250 men was enlisted, transports were pressed, and bills of credit were profusely issued to pay the expense. Ten armed vessels were provided by Massachusetts, and one by each of the other New England colonies. The command in chief was given to William Pepperell, a native of Maine, a wealthy merchant, who had inherited and augmented a large fortune acquired by his father in the fisheries; a popular, enterprising, sagacious man, noted for his universal good fortune, but unacquainted with military affairs; except as a militia officer. … The enterprise … assumed something of the character of an anti-Catholic crusade. One of the chaplains, a disciple of Whitfield, carried a hatchet, specially provided to hew down the images in the French churches. {2316} Eleven days after embarking at Boston [April, 1745], the Massachusetts armament assembled at Casco, to wait there the arrival of the Connecticut and Rhode Island quotas, and the melting of the ice by which Cape Breton was environed. The New Hampshire troops were already there; those from Connecticut came a few days after. Notice having been sent to England and the West Indies of the intended expedition, Captain Warren presently arrived with four ships of war, and, cruising before Louisburg, captured several vessels bound thither with supplies. Already, before his arrival, the New England cruisers had prevented the entry of a French thirty-gun ship. As soon as the ice permitted, the troops landed and commenced the siege, but not with much skill, for they had no engineers. … Five unsuccessful attacks were made, one after another, upon an island battery which protected the harbor. In that cold, foggy climate, the troops, very imperfectly provided with tents, suffered severely from sickness, and more than a third were unfit for duty. But the French garrison was feeble and mutinous, and when the commander found that his supplies had been captured, he relieved the embarrassment of the besiegers by offering to capitulate. The capitulation [June 17] included 650 regular soldiers, and near 1,300 effective inhabitants of the town, all of whom were to be shipped to France. The island of St. John's presently submitted on the same terms. The loss during the siege was less than 150, but among those reluctantly detained to garrison the conquered fortress ten times as many perished afterward by sickness. In the expedition of Vernon and this against Louisburg perished a large number of the remaining Indians of New England, persuaded to enlist as soldiers in the colonial regiments. Some dispute arose as to the relative merits of the land and naval forces, which had been joined during the siege by additional ships from England. Pepperell, however, was made a baronet, and both he and Shirley were commissioned as colonels in the British army. Warren was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. The capture of this strong fortress, effected in the face of many obstacles, shed, indeed, a momentary luster over one of the most unsuccessful wars in which Britain was ever engaged."

_R. Hildreth, History of the United States, chapter 25 (volume 2)._

"As far as England was concerned, it [the taking of Louisburg] was the great event of the war of the Austrian succession. England had no other success in that war to compare with it. As things turned out, it is not too much to say that this exploit of New England gave peace to Europe."

_J. G. Palfrey, History of New England, book 5, chapter 9 (volume 5)._

"Though it was the most brilliant success the English achieved during the war, English historians scarcely mention it."

_R. Johnson, History of the French War, chapter 9._

ALSO IN: _T. C. Haliburton, Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia, chapter 3 (volume 1)._

_R. Brown, History of Cape Breton, letters 12-14._

_S. A. Drake, The Taking of Louisburg._

_U. Parsons, Life of Sir William Pepperell, chapters 3-5._

_F. Parkman, The Capture of Louisbourg (Atlantic Monthly, March-May, 1891)._

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1745-1748. King George's War: The mortifying end. Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and restoration of Louisburg to France.

"Elated by their success [at Louisburg], the Provincials now offered to undertake the conquest of Canada; but the Duke of Bedford, to whom Governor Shirley's plan had been submitted, disapproved of it, as exhibiting to the colonists too plainly their own strength. … He therefore advised to place the chief dependence on the fleet and army to be sent from England, and to look on the Americans as useful only when joined with others. Finally, the Whigs determined to send a powerful fleet to Quebec, at the same time that an army should attack Montreal, by the route of Lake Champlain; and so late as April, 1746, orders were issued to the several governors to levy troops without limitation, which, when assembled on the frontiers, the king would pay. From some unknown cause, the plan was abandoned as soon as formed. The general appointed to the chief command was ordered not to embark, but the instructions to enlist troops had been transmitted to America, and were acted on with alacrity. Massachusetts raised 3,500 men to co-operate with the fleet, which, however, they were doomed never to see. After being kept a long time in suspense, they were dispersed, in several places, to strengthen garrisons which were supposed to be too weak for the defenses assigned them. Upward of 3,000 men, belonging to other colonies, were assembled at Albany, undisciplined, without a commissariat, and under no control. After the season for active operations was allowed to pass away, they disbanded themselves, some with arms in their hands demanding pay of their governors, and others suing their captains. In addition to this disgraceful affair, the Provincials had the mortification to have a large detachment of their men cut off in Lower Horton, then known as Minas, situated nearly in the centre of Nova Scotia. The Canadian forces, which had traveled thither to co-operate with an immense fleet expected from France, determining to winter in that province, rendered it a subject of continued anxiety and expense to Massachusetts. Governor Shirley resolved, after again reinforcing the garrison at Annapolis, to drive them from the shores of Minas Basin, where they were seated; and in the winter of the year 1746, a body of troops was embarked at Boston for the former place. After the loss of a transport, and the greatest part of the soldiers on board, the troops arrived, and reembarked for Grand Pré in the district of Minas, in the latter end of December. … The issue was, that being cantoned at too great distances from each other, La Corne, a commander of the French, having intelligence of their situation, forced a march from Schiegnieto, through a most tempestuous snow-storm, and surprised them at midnight. After losing 160 of their men, in killed, wounded and prisoners, the party were obliged to capitulate, not, however, on dishonorable terms, and the French, in their turn, abandoned their post. On the 8th of May, 1749, peace was proclaimed at Boston [according to the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, concluded October 7, 1748], much to the mortification of the Provincials; Cape Breton was restored to France; and Louisburg, which had created so much dread, and inflicted such injuries on their commerce, was handed over to their inveterate enemies, to be rendered still stronger by additional fortifications. The French also obtained the islands of St. Pierre and Michelon, on the south coast of Newfoundland, as stations for their fisheries." England reimbursed the colonies to the extent of £183,000 for the expenses of their vain conquest of Louisburg, and £135,000 for their losses in raising troops under the orders that were revoked.

_T. C. Haliburton, Rule and Misrule of the English in America, book 3, chapter 1._

ALSO IN: _J. Hannay, History of Acadia, chapter 19._

_S. G. Drake, Particular History of the Five Years French and Indian War, chapters 6-9._

_J. G. Palfrey, History of New England, book 5, chapter 10 (volume 5)._

See, also, AIX-LA-CHAPELLE: THE CONGRESS.

{2317}

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1750-1753. Dissensions among the colonies at the opening of the great French War.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1750-1753.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1754. The Colonial Congress at Albany. Franklin's Plan of Union.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1754.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1755-1760. The last Intercolonial, or French and Indian War, and English conquest of Canada.

See CANADA: A. D. 1750-1753, to 1760; NOVA SCOTIA: A. D. 1749-1755, 1755; OHIO (VALLEY): A. D. 1748-1754, 1754, 1755; CAPE BRETON ISLAND: A. D. 1758-1760.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1761. Harsh enforcement of revenue laws. The Writs of Assistance and Otis' speech.

See MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1761.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1763-1764. Enforcement of the Sugar (or Molasses) Act.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1763-1764.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1765-1766. The Stamp Act. Its effects and its repeal. The Stamp Act Congress. The Declaratory Act.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1765: and 1766.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1766-1768. The Townshend duties. The Circular Letter of Massachusetts.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1766-1767; and 1767-1768.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1768-1770. The quartering of troops in Boston. The "Massacre," and the removal of the troops.

See BOSTON: A. D. 1768; and 1770.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1769-1785. The ending of Slavery.

See SLAVERY, NEGRO: A. D. 1638-1781; 1769-1785; and 1774.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1770-1773. Repeal of the Townshend duties except on Tea. Committees of Correspondence instituted. The Tea Ships and the Boston Tea-party.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1770, and 1772-1773; and BOSTON: A. D. 1773.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1774. The Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Act, and the Quebec Act. The First Continental Congress.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1774.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1775. The beginning of the War of the American Revolution. Lexington. Concord. The country in arms and Boston under siege. Ticonderoga. Bunker Hill. The Second Continental Congress.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1775.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1775-1783. The War of the Revolution. Independence achieved.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1775 (APRIL), to 1783.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1787-1789. Formation and adoption of the Federal Constitution.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1787; and 1787-1789.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1808. The Embargo and its effects.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1804-1809; and 1808.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1812-1814. Federalist opposition to the war with England.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1812.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1814. The Hartford Convention.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1814 (DECEMBER) THE HARTFORD CONVENTION.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1824-1828. Change of front on the tariff question.

See TARIFF LEGISLATION (UNITED STATES): A. D. 1816-1824; and 1828.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1831-1832. The rise of the Abolitionists.

See SLAVERY, NEGRO: A. D. 1828-1832.

NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1861-1865. The war for the Union.

See, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1861 (APRIL), and after.

NEW ENGLAND: End----------

NEW FOREST.

To create a new royal hunting ground in his English dominion, William the Conqueror ruthlessly demolished villages, manors, chapels, and parish churches throughout thirty miles of country, along the coast side of Hampshire, from the Avon on the west to Southampton Water on the east, and called this wilderness of his making, The New Forest. His son William Rufus was killed in it—which people thought to be a judgment. The New Forest still exists and embraces no less than 66,000 acres, extending over a district twenty miles by fifteen in area, of woodland, heath, bog and rough pasture.

_J. C. Brown, Forests of England, part 1, chapter 2, D._

NEW FRANCE.

See CANADA.

NEW GRANADA.

See COLOMBIAN STATES.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Start--------

NEW HAMPSHIRE: The aboriginal inhabitants. See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ALGONQUIAN FAMILY.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1623-1631. Gorges' and Mason's grant and the division of it. First colonies planted. The naming of the province.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1621-1631.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1641-1679. The claims of Massachusetts asserted and defeated.

According to its terms, the Massachusetts patent embraced a territory extending northward three miles beyond the head-waters of the Merrimack, and covered, therefore, the greater part of Mason's New Hampshire grant, as well as that of Gorges in Maine. In 1641, when this fact had been ascertained, the General Court of Massachusetts "passed an order (with the consent of the settlers at Dover and Strawberry-bank, on the Piscataqua), 'That from thenceforth, the said people inhabiting there are and shall be accepted and reputed under the Government of the Massachusetts,' etc. Mason had died, and confusion ensued, so that the settlers were mostly glad of the transfer. A long controversy ensued between Mason's heirs and Massachusetts as to the right of jurisdiction. The history of New Hampshire and Maine at this period was much the same. In 1660, at the time of the Restoration, the heirs of Mason applied to the Attorney-General in England, who decided that they had a good title to New Hampshire. The Commissioners who came over in 1664 attempted to re-establish them; but as the settlers favored Massachusetts, she resumed her government when they left. Mason's heirs renewed their claim in 1675, and in 1679 it was solemnly decided against the claim of the Massachusetts Colony, although their grant technically included all lands extending to three miles north of the waters of the Merrimack river. John Cutt was the first President in New Hampshire, and thenceforward, to the American Revolution, New Hampshire was treated as a Royal province, the Governors and Lieutenant-Governors being appointed by the King, and the laws made by the people being subject to his revision."

_C. W. Elliott, The New England History, volume 1, chapter 26._

ALSO IN: _G. Barstow, History of New Hampshire, chapters 2-5._

_J. Belknap, History of New Hampshire, volume 1, chapters 2-9._

_N. Adams, Annals of Portsmouth, pages 28-64._

See, also, NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1640-1644.

{2318}

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1675. Outbreak of the Taranteens.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1675.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1744-1748. King George's War and the taking of Louisburg.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1744; 1745; and 1745-1748.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1749-1774. Boundary dispute with New York. The grants in Vermont, and the struggle of the "Green Mountain Boys" to defend them.

See VERMONT: A. D. 1749-1774.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1754. The Colonial Congress at Albany, and Franklin's Plan of Union.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1754.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1755-1760. The French and Indian War, and conquest of Canada.

See CANADA: A. D. 1750-1753, to 1760; NOVA SCOTIA: A. D. 1749-1755, 1755; OHIO (VALLEY): A. D. 1748-1754, 1754, 1755; CAPE BRETON ISLAND: A. D. 1758-1760.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1760-1766. The question of taxation by Parliament. The Sugar Act. The Stamp Act and its repeal. The Declaratory Act. The Stamp Act Congress.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1760-1775; 1763-1764; 1765; and 1766.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1766-1768. The Townshend duties. The Circular Letter of Massachusetts.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1766-1767; and 1767-1768.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1768-1770. The quartering of troops in Boston. The "Massacre" and the removal of the troops.

See BOSTON: A. D. 1768; and 1770.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1770-1773. Repeal of the Townshend duties except on Tea. Committees of Correspondence instituted. The Tea Ships and the Boston Tea-party.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1770, and 1772-1773; and BOSTON: A. D. 1773.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1774. The Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Act, and the Quebec Act. The First Continental Congress.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1774.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1775. The beginning of the War of the American Revolution. Lexington. Concord. The country in arms and Boston beleaguered. Ticonderoga. Bunker Hill. The Second Continental Congress.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1775.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1775-1776. The end of royal government. Adoption of a constitution. Declaration of Independence.

The New Hampshire Assembly, called by Governor Wentworth, came together June 12, 1775, in the midst of the excitements produced by news of Lexington and Ticonderoga. Meantime, a convention of the people had been called and was sitting at Exeter. Acting on a demand from the latter, the assembly proceeded first to expel from its body three members whom the governor had called by the king's writ from three new townships, and who were notorious royalists. "One of the expelled members, having censured this proceeding, was assaulted by the populace, and fled for shelter to the governor's house. The people demanded him, and, being refused, they pointed 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, adjourning 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 95 years. The government of New Hampshire was henceforth to be a government of the people. … The convention which had assembled at Exeter was elected but for six months. Previous to their dissolution in November, they made provisions, pursuant to the recommendations of congress, for calling a new convention, which should be a more full representation of the people. They sent copies of these provisions to the several towns, and dissolved. The elections were forthwith held. The new convention promptly assembled, and drew up a temporary form of government. Having assumed the name of 'House of Representatives,' they adopted a constitution [January, 1776], and proceeded to choose twelve persons to constitute a distinct and a co-ordinate branch of the legislature, by the name of a Council." The constitution provided for no executive. "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 executive committee. … On the 11th of June, 1776, a committee was chosen by the assembly, and another by the council of New Hampshire, 'to make a draught of a declaration of the independence of the united colonies.' On the 15th, the committees of both houses reported a 'Declaration of Independence,' which was adopted unanimously, and a copy sent forthwith to their delegates in congress."

_G. Barstow, History of New Hampshire, chapter 9._

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1776. The ending of Slavery.

See SLAVERY, NEGRO: A. D. 1769-1785.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1776-1783. The War of Independence. Peace with England.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1776, to 1783.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1783. Revision of the State constitution.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1776-1779.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1788. Ratification of the Federal constitution.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1787-1789.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: A. D. 1814. The Hartford Convention.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1814 (DECEMBER) THE HARTFORD CONVENTION.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: End--------

NEW HAVEN: Start--------

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1638. The planting of the Colony and the founding of the City.

See CONNECTICUT: A. D. 1638.

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1639. The Fundamental Agreement.

See CONNECTICUT: A. D. 1639.

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1640-1655. The attempts at colonization on the Delaware.

See NEW JERSEY: A. D. 1640-1655.

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1643. Progress and state of the colony. The New England Confederation.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1643.

{2319}

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1660-1664. The protection of the Regicides.

See CONNECTICUT: A. D. 1660-1664.

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1662-1664. Annexation to Connecticut.

See CONNECTICUT: A. D. 1662-1664.

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1666. The migration to Newark, N.J.

See NEW JERSEY: A. D. 1664-1667.

NEW HAVEN: A. D. 1779. Pillaged by Tryon's marauders.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1778-1779 WASHINGTON GUARDING THE HUDSON.

NEW HAVEN: End--------

NEW HOPE CHURCH, Battle of.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (MAY-SEPTEMBER: GEORGIA).