the hidden foe ; with the valor of Englishmen they went up to
Munjoy hill to what they knew would be certain death to many of
them. From the foot of the hill a narrow lane, fenced in on both
sides, extended up to the Lawrence house, occupying nearly the
present lines of Congress street. The Indians were hid behind
the fences, and in the woods. The force of Lieut. Clark marched
up this lane, but made no discovery until within a short distance
of the place of ambush. "They were fired upon, and before they
could defend themselves, were fallen upon by the French and
Indians, with their swords and tomahawks with so great slaughter
that but few escaped, and they badly wounded." The foregoing is
one account of the affair. I now give Mather's account of this
encounter : '
" Lieut. Clark with near thirty of the stoutest young men, ventured out as far
as the top of an hill in the entrance to the wood, half a mile distant from the
town. The outlet from the town to the wood was then a lane, which had a
certain block-house (Lawrence House), at one end of it ; and the English were
suspicious when they came to enter the lane that the Indians were lying behind
the fence ; because the cattle stood staring that way, and would not pass into
the wood as they used to. This mettlesome company then ran up to the fence
with an huzza! thinking thereby to discourage the enemy if they should be
lurking there ; but the enemy were so well prepared for them that they answered
them with an horrible vengeance that they killed the lieutenant with thirteen
more on the spot, and the rest escaped with much ado into one of the garri-
sons " (Lawrence House).
The French account taken from the Paris Documents,^' is the
following, viz. :
" At noon thirty men issued from the principal fort, and came to the spot
by Lieut. Thaddeus Clark. De la Potherie History de I'Amerique, Sept. Ill,
p. 79, and Williamson, I, p. 620, say thirteen men fell at the first fire, but in a
note on p. 662, he brings the same matter in again as a massacre after the sur-
render. Gov. Bradstreet in a letter to Leisler, May 30, 1690, O. S., makes the
party sallying out twenty-six. O'Callaghan's Doc. Hist., II, p. 146.
' Magnalia, ii, 60-?, 604.
^N. Y. Col. Doc, IX, 472.
72 CAPTURE OF FORT LOYALL.
where our people lay, who having discharged their guns at ten paces distant,
rushed on them sword and hatchet in hand, and pursued them so hotly that only
five of them, all of whom were wounded, entered the fort again. As our men
followed hot foot they were exposed to the fire of one of the forts, in the prox-
imity of which they happened to find themselves. One Frenchman received a
wound in the thigh, and an Indian was killed. At night the principal fort was
summoned to surrender, but an answer was returned ' that they should dcfeitd
themselves to the death.'' "
Thus was the commencement of that struggle which lasted four
days and nights, and which so resounded to the honor and glory
of our ancestors and forefathers.
After this disheartening event, the destruction of Clark and his
party, the few who were left retreated to the protection of the
Lawrence garrison house. This was a wooden block house in its
upper story, with a stone foundation. The inmates defended
themselves during the day, and at night the Indians withdrew.
The defenders knew that the attack would be renewed in the
morning, with an increased force of the enemy, and they being
short of ammunition, withdrew, as did the occupants of the other
garrison houses in the town, during the siege to the prolection of
Fort Loyall. Before leaving the Lawrence garrison, they fired a
slow match leading to a quantity of powder in a cask, hoping that
after they had left, and the enemy entered, an explosion might .
take place, which would destroy their assailants. But the first
Indian who entered, in the gray of the morning, spied the burning
match and extinguished it.
During the night of the i6th of May, all the forces from the
garrison houses were withdrawn into Fort Loyall, and also all the
inhabitants, young and old, the weak and the strong, the mother
and her infant children ; to the number of two hundred or
more, found a hoped for refuge and place of safety, within the
wooden walls of this protected fort. The fighting force was not
above seventy men. The brave Lieut. Clark was no more. Capt.
Davis, Lieuts. Lawrence, Brackett,' and others, encouraged and
* See Anthony Brackett (p. 8i, post).
DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH. 73
cheered the small band of heroes. It was a time of dread sus-
pense. No hope or expectation of assistance from any quarter
could be had. Capt. Willard and his soldiers had, by the weak-
ness of the Massachusetts government, been taken away, and they
had but their own strong hands and their hope in the Almighty
God to defend them against the savage attack to be made in a
few hours. Who can doubt that from the well known religious
character of Capt. Davis and his companions, that in the silent
watches of the night, preceeding the day of the battle, that the
prayers of these brave men ascended to the God of battles for
his support in this hour of their despair.
They hoped, that by the aid of their cannon, they might be able
to repulse and drive away the enemy, — if a breach was made, so
that their foes could enter, there would be no hope for them, that
they would be destroyed by overpowering numbers.
On the next morning, the i6th, the enemy commenced the attack;
with flaming torches, setting on fire the deserted houses in the
immediate vicinity of Fort Loyall, and the skies were illumined
by the conflagration. The houses on Broad (India street), Thames
and Fore streets, were soon in flames. The horrors of the situa-
tion can be imagined at this time ; the distress and anguish of
those in the fort, as they witnessed the destruction of their homes
can be conceived. But in this dark hour of despair did our
fathers show any lack of courage or want of bravery ? No ! When
the fort was surrounded by the bands of French and savage In-
dians, who, amid their terrifiic yells and savage war-whoops, de-
manded its immediate surrender, according to French accounts,
the reply of the commander of the fort was, " That they should
defend themselves to the death /^ Nobly they did it ; and nobly they
died. The first day of the siege passed with no definite results,
the enemy having gained no advantages. The besieged watched
every exposed situation, and whenever a gathering of the besieg-
ers was made, the cannon of the fort sent death and destruction
among them. The next day, May 17th, the French leaders be-
•N. Y. Col. Man., IX, 472.
74 CAPTURE OF FORT LOYALL.
came satisfied, that, notwithstanding their larger force that they
had, they could not capture the fort. Having no cannon to make
a breach in its walls, they could only with their guns pick oif those
of its defenders who exposed themselves. The cannon of the
fort prevented any attempt being made to take it by storm. It
was at length determined to make a breach under the bank to its
foundation. In the deserted garrisons they found tools suitable for
the purpose, and they began a mine within fifty feet of the fort,
under a steep bank, which entirely protected them from its guns.'
At what part of the fort this trench or mine was dug is at this day
a matter of conjecture only. My impression, from a knowledge
of its location, before the changes that have since been made
there, are that the trench was dug from the India street side, in
an easterly direction ; as the rock formation on the other side of
the fort would prevent any such work.
During these days of siege the red-crossed banner of England
floated over the Fort. On both sides the firing was sharp and
heavy. The roar of the cannon echoing in the surrounding forests,
the reports of musketry, the flaming houses of the inhabitants, the
war-whoops and yells of the savages outside the palisades, the
cries and fears of women and children inside the Fort who saw
their husbands and fathers fall before the bullets of the French,
or brought in wounded to die in the arms of their loved o^es,
were scenes of terror that can hardly be described or imagined.
The defenders of the fort were but a small and feeble band ;
but they firmly stood, repelling the assaults of the foe. Whenever
a Frenchman or Indian exposed themselves a musket bullet found
its way to them. The English wasted much ammunition in their
vain efforts to dislodge their besiegers, who, in undermining the
fort, were in such a situation that they were protected from its
cannon. Capt. Davis encouraged his men to renewed exertions,
knowing well that if the fort surrendered to the Indians no quarter
could be expected, and they preferred to meet their deaths defend-
' N. Y. Col. Man., IX, 472.
DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH. 75
ing themselves and families on the walls of the fort, than trust
themselves to the mercies of their savage foes.
It was found that the mine commenced by the enemy under the
walls of the fort was proving a success, that in a day or two the
results expected would be accomplished, and a further defense of
the fort would be useless. The last day of the siege was May
2 0th, of which the anniversary was yesterday. Another terror
was added to the horrors that surrounded this brave band. At
different times during the siege attempts had been made to set
fire to the fort and the buildings therein enclosed ; flaming arrows
and combustibles had been fired by the Indians, but they had
been unsuccessful. The flames they kindled had been extin-
guished. But on the last day of the siege a machine ' (as the
French termed it), had been obtained which was probably an ox-
cart, which was filled with combustible materials, including a bar-
rel of tar (birch bark^). This cart was pushed up the trench that
had been made, close up to the walls of the fort. Those who
were pushing it up were protected by the cart from the fire of
those in the fort. The flames soon began to crackle and take
hold of the logs of which the palisades were constructed. The
inmates of the fort then knew that they were doomed, that no
choice was left to them but to surrender or be destroyed in the
flames. Up to that time the English did not appear to know that
there were any French among their assailants, supposing from the
equipment and dress that they were all Indians. Some order
given by the French leader in French accent reaches the ear of
Capt. Davis, which gave him a ray of hope. If there were any
whites among their foes would they not respect the rights of war
and humanity, and protect them if they surrendered from their
savage associates ? Up went the white flag of surrender ! I here
give Capt. Davis' account of what was done :
" We then demanded," he says, "if there were any French among them, and
' Probably a large ox-cart.
2 Bradstreet to Leisler mentions the use of birch bark to fire the place. (N.
Y. Doc. His., II, 146).
76 CAPTURE OF FORT LOYALL.
if they would give us quarter ? The response came back from the leader in
command that there were Frenchmen, and would give us good quarter. Upon 1.
that we sent out to them again to know from vvhence they came, and if they j
would give us good quarter, both for our men, women and children, both {
wounded and sound, and that we should have liberty to march to the next Eng- :
lish town, and have a guard for our defence and safety unto the next English ]
town, — then we would surrender, — and also that the Governor of the French i
should hold up his hand and swear by the great and everlasting God, that the
several articles should be performed. All of which he did solemnly swear to
perform, but as soon as they had us in their custody, they broke their articles,
suffered our women and children and our men to be made captives in the hands ,
of the heathen ; to be cruelly murdered and destroyed, many of them, especially
the wounded men ; only the French kept myself and 3 or 4 more, and carried j
us over land to Canada."
The French account of the capture, taken from the French
Archives,' is as follows :
" The Count was not to attack any fort for fear of losing too many people, ,
but to attend exclusively to laying waste the country. This order could not ,
be executed, all the surrounding places having been abandoned in consequence !
of notice of the approach of this party having been given by a soldier, who had |
been with M. Hertel, and had been taken prisoner by the English. Under I
these circumstances it was unanimously resolved to attack the large fort in
force, as it was impossible to capture it otherwise. The entire of the enemy ;
had withdrawn into it ; and had abandoned the four smaller ones. Our people . '
lay during the nights of the 26th and 27th (May) on the ocean, within fifty paces ]
of the fort, under cover of a very bold bluff, whence they had no fear of the
enemy's continued cannonadings and heavy fire of musquetry. On the night |
of the 28th, the trench (traverseef was opened. Our Canadians and Indians j
had not much experience in that mode of besieging places. They did not fail .
to work vigorously, and by good fortune found in the forts that had been aban-
doned, some implements wherewith to remove the earth. This work advanced j
with such rapidity that the enemy demanded a parley. In the course of the ;
night of the 28th, they were required to surrender their fort, stores and garri- 1
son. They asked on their side for six days to consider their proposals. They
were allowed only the night to make up their minds, and the work continued. '
Their fire redoubled the next morning. They then threw a quantity of grenades ,
without much effect. On arriving by trenches at the palisades, preparations
were made to set those on fire by means of a barrel of tar, that had also been ',
'N. Y. Col. Doc, IX, 471, 472. i
DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH. 77
discovered, and some combustibles. Seeing this machine approaching very
near them, and not being able to prevent it, those who pushed it along being
sheltered in the trench, they hoisted a while flag in order to capitulate. Their
commander surrendered himself shortly after to Sieur de Portneuf, and the
entire garrison, and those of the fort marched out to the number of 70 men, ex-
clusive of women and children. They were all conducted to the camp. A mo-
ment after four vessels crowded with people made their appearance, but seeing
no English flag flying, they retired.' (This statement I do not find authenti-
cated from any other source.) The fort was fired, the guns spiked, the stores
burnt, and all the inmates made prisoners. The Indians retained a majority of
them. Capt. Davis, the commander, and two daughters of his lieutenant who
had been killed (Thaddcus Clark), were brought hither (Quebec) with some
others. Our people decamped on the first of June, after having set fire to all
the hou.ses they found within a circle of two leagues, all of which were unoccu-
pied. They arrived here (Quebec) on the 23d of the same month, St. John's
eve. One Frenchman had his arm broken by a cannon ball, and an Indian re-
ceived a wound in the thigh."
This French account from which I have quoted, is an extract
of a letter from M, de Monseignat,- to the celebrated M. de.
Maintenon,3 giving an account of the most remarkable occur-
rences in Canada, from November, 1689 to November, 1690.
Both of these accounts agree as to the terms of surrender
granted by the leader of the French, Sieur de Portneuf, to the
brave garrison, and they also agree that the treaty was barbarously
* These vessels were undoubtedly the shallop and other boats which came
from Piscataqua river, of which mention is made (post).
-M. de Monseignat was Comptroller General of the marine and fortifications
of New France. He was a protege of the celebrated M. de Maintcnon, and
was the Secretary of Governor Frontenac. (N. Y. Col. Doc, IX, 491, 663).
^ Maintenon Francoise d' Aubigne, Marchionesse de, second wife of Louis
XIV, of France, was born Nov. 17, 1635, and died April 15, 1719. She, at the
age of si.xteen years, married the deformed poet, Scarron. She was at that
time extremely graceful and witty. Her husband died in October, 1660. She
received from Louis a j^ension of 2,000 francs a year, and in 1669 he made her
governess of his children. She was made a Marchionesse under the name of
Maintcnon. The Queen was much attached to her, and died in her arms,
July 30, 1683. Some time after, Louis XIV, who had vainly solicited her to
become his mistress, was secretly married to her. From that time to his death,
the King was greatly under her influence, though she exercised her power with
prudence and judgment. After the death of the King, she retired to the Con-
vent of St. Cvr, where she si)ent the rest of her life in acts of charity and de-
votional exercises. (Amer. Cyclopedia, XI, 39, 40).
78 CAPTURE OF FORT LOYALL.
and grossly violated. The French account slurs over the mas-
sacre, by saying that " the Indians retained the majority of t/iem,''^
the prisoners, which is, that they being given by the French into
the hands of the Indians were cruelly murdered. The notorious
Indian chief, Hopegood, is said to have been one of the principal
actors in the bloody scene.' At least two hundred persons, men,
women and children, surrendered. Not more than ten or twelve
of them had their lives spared. This savage massacre must al-
ways stand as a foul blot upon the reputation of the French of- ]
ficers who commanded at this siege. To the honor of Frontenac, ^
the Governor of Canada, it may be said that when the expedition !
returned to Canada, and a report was made to him of the murder j
of the prisoners, he was very angry with Portneuf, and denounced j
his cruelty, and took all the means in his power to obtain from i
the Indians the captives they had brought to Canada. |
An attempt has been made to place the barbarity of the French 1
and Indians upon Baron de Castine as being the leader of the
forces. And here Williamson in his history of Maine implicates .
St. Castine in an act of the grossest perfidy. He says : "That by 1
the articles of capitulation it was stipulated that all within the j
garrison should receive kind treatment, and be allowed to go to |
the nearest provincial towns under the protection of a guard ; to . !
the faith and observance of which Castine lifted his hand and ;
swore by the everlasting God. The gates were then opened, when ;
a scene ensued which shocks humanity. The prisoners who were
seventy in number, besides women and children, were called j
heretics, rebels and traitors, the dupes of a Dutch usurper, and 1
treated with every insult and abuse." It does not appear upon j
what authority this statement relative to Castine is made. It can- \
not be correct. Capt. Davis who is the English authority in regard '
to the surrender, says, " it was the governor of the French who |
held up his hand," &c. Baron de Castine was neither the gover- '
* Hopegood. Not long after this, Hopegood ended his cruel career, by being i
slain in Canada by some Indians who took him for an Iroquois. He had once |
been a captive, and served a time in Boston as a slave. (Drake's Indians, III, 1
118). ;
DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH. 79
nor or the commander of the French. Portneuf was the governor.
But Charlevoix, who is one of the French authorities, says : "Port-
neuf told the governor (of the fort) that he must expect no con-
ditions as a prisoner of war with all his garrison." '
There is no evidence that Castine was the leader in this attack.
His former reputation of kind treatment to prisoners would seem
to preclude the idea that his influence was on the side of cruelty
to those defenceless persons.
Another account (History of Acadia, Hannay, p. 230), says :
"This expedition differed from the others by reason of the fact
that the English were not surprised, but the overwhelming number
of the enemy made the result the same." The same author says
that some of the Indians who attacked Casco were from the St.
John.
Charlevoix, Shea Ed., 4, 133, says " Casco Bay (Kaskebe), was
a town on the sea-coast, with a very well built fort. It had eight
pieces of artillery mounted, and lacked neither ammunition or
provisions." A note to this says: "The place called by the
French ' Kaskebe,' their mode of writing Casco Bay, which they
took for the name of the town, was Falmouth, now Portland,
Maine. The fort was Fort Loyal. It stood at the foot of King
street," Me. His. Coll., I, p. 203; N. Y. Col. Doc, IX, 472 ;
Willis Portland, p. 284.
Thus was Fort Loyall captured and destroyed. Thus was the
infant settlement of Falmouth swept out of existence. Thus were
its brave defenders cruelly murdered. It was the Government of
Massachusetts, who were criminally responsible for this severe
disaster to the rising settlements of Maine. They closed their
ears against the piteous appeals for assistance that came from
those whom they should have protected, and left them to die on
their own hearth stones, defending their homes, their families and
their honor.
Massachusetts was for some two years even unmindful of the
rights of sepulture, which these poor victims were entitled to,
'Maine His, Soc. Coll., VII, 60.
8o CAPTURE OF FORT LOYALL.
Her ships were passing to and from Nova Scotia and Canada,
returning with the victors of Annapolis, and the defeated forces
who had made the attempt on Quebec. But the bones of the de-
fenders of Casco lay through the bleaching suns and winter's
snows until 1692, when on one of Church's expeditions from Bos-
ton to Pemaquid to build a fort there. Sir William Phipps accom-
panied them. In the narrative of the expedition it is said:
" Coming to Boston his Excellency having got all things in readiness, embark-
ed on boartl their transports, his Excellency going in person with them bound
to Pemaquid. But in that way they stopped at Casco, and buried the bones of
the dead people there, and took off the great guns that were there, then went to
Pemaquid." A note says : " That is the bones of those who had been destroyed
there by the savages under the Sieur liartel, 17"* May, 1690."'
Probably these remains were placed in one grave, of which no
record exists. It is hoped that the Eastern Cemetery, the ancient
city of our dead, which at that time was the common burial
ground, was the recipient of the bones of those whose place of
sepulchre is unknown, to whom our gratitude and reverence are
due.
The names of but few of those who died on those days are
known. A few names have come down to us from the past. The
Lieut. Thaddeus Clark,^ whose descendants are with us. John
' Churcli expeditions, 2 — .
^Thaddeus Clark came from Ireland. He married Elizabeth, the second
daughter of Michael Mitton. Although a man of standing and enterprise, he
hada limited education, his signature to instruments was made by a mark.
He had granted him by his wife's mother, Elizabeth Mitton, one hundred acres
of land at Clark's point, now where the Gas Works are located. He built a
house on the bank, between the present Tyng and State streets. His elder
daughter married Capt. Edward Tyng, whose desendants in the female line are
now" residents of our city. Another daughter married a Harvey; was a widow
in l^oston in 1719. His son, Isaac, was living in Framingham in 1718. His
widow, and granddaughter of George Cleeve, died in Boston, 1736, aged 92
years (Willis, pp. 139, 292), which would make her eighteen years of age at the
time of her marriage. Thaddeus Clark was a military man of experience ; and
at the time of the attack upon Casco, was in his matured years. He certainly
showed great bravery on that occasion, by leading, as it may be termed, a
" forlorn hope " to attack the savages in their ambush on Munjoy Hill. His
two daughters were carried away captives, but were returned. Mr. Willis'
statement respecting his education must have been a mistake, for a letter of his
in existence, describing the Indian attack on Casco, 1676, shows a great degree
of intelligence, unusual at that time. (N. E. His. & Gen. Reg., 31, 2S9).
DESTRUCTION OF FALMOUTH. 8 1
Parker and his son James.' They were the ancestors of the late
distinguished jurist, Isaac Parker, of Mass. Thomas Cloice,^
Seth Brackett,^ son of Anthony. From Danvers were Alsop
and Edward Crocker, and George Bogwell ; a soldier from Lynn
was named Joseph Ramsdell. Lieut. Lawrence, one of Casco's
active men, was mortally wounded. But of the great majority of
them their names will never be known except on the roll of the