Glimpses of the Past Part 50

After the cessation of hostilities, the violent temper manifested by the victorious Americans caused the officers of the Loyalist regiments to lay their case before Sir Guy Carleton in a letter dated March 14, 1783. They state, "That from the purest principles of loyalty and attachment to the British government they took up arms in his Majesty's service, and, relying on the justice of their cause and the support of their Sovereign and the British nation, they have persevered with unabated zeal through all the vicissitudes of a calamitous and unfortunate war.... That whatever stipulations may be made at the peace for the restoration of the property of the Loyalists and permission for them to return home, yet, should the American Provinces be severed from the British Empire, it will be impossible for those who have served his Majesty in arms in this war to remain in the country. The personal animosities that arose from civil dissensions have been so heightened by the blood that has been shed in the contest that the parties can never be reconciled." The letter goes on to speak of sacrifices of property and lucrative professions; of the anxiety felt for the future of wives and children; of the fidelity of the troops, who in the course of the contest had shown a degree of patience, fort.i.tude and bravery almost without example; and of the great number of men incapacitated by wounds, many having helpless families who had seen better days. In conclusion they make the following request:--

"That grants of land may be made to them in some of his Majesty's American Provinces and that they may be a.s.sisted in making settlements, in order that they and their children may enjoy the benefit of British government.

"That some permanent provision may be made for such of the non-commissioned officers and privates as have been disabled by wounds, and for the widows and orphans of deceased officers and soldiers.

"That as a reward for their services the rank of the officers be made permanent in America, and that they be ent.i.tled to half pay upon the reduction of their regiments."

The letter was signed by the commanders of fourteen Loyalist regiments.

The application of these officers received due recognition, and on the arrival of his Majesty's orders and instructions to Sir Guy Carleton, dated the 9th of June, it was decided that the Kings American Regiment, Queens Rangers, British Legion, New York Volunteers, Loyal American Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, De Lancey's Brigade, Prince of Wales American Regiment, Pennsylvania Loyalists, Maryland Loyalists, Loyal American Legion, King's American Dragoons and one or two other corps, should hold themselves in readiness to embark for Nova Scotia, where on their arrival they were to be disbanded, unless any should chose to be discharged at New York.

Before the royal orders and instructions arrived in America the King's American Dragoons had been sent to the mouth of the St. John river, under command of Major Daniel Murray. They encamped at Manawagonish, a little to the west of Carleton heights, with the intention of making a settlement in the old township of Conway. On the 6th of July, Col. Edward Winslow wrote to Major Joshua Upham, who had remained at New York as Aide-de-Camp to Sir Guy Carleton: "I am gratified excessively at the situation and behaviour of your regiment. I never saw more cheerfulness and good humor than appears among the men. They are encamped on one of the pleasantest spots I ever beheld, and they are enjoying a great variety of what you (New) Yorkers call luxuries--such as partridges, salmon, ba.s.s, trout, pigeons, etc. The whole regiment are this day employed in cutting and clearing a road to the river, and Murray and I intend to ride tomorrow where man never rode before." The following day Winslow wrote Ward Chipman, "I am at present at Murray's head quarters in a township which we shall lay out for the provincials,[142] and we have already cut a road from his camp to the river, about three miles. We cut yesterday, with about 120 men, more than a mile through a forest hitherto deemed impenetrable. When we emerged from it, there opened a prospect superior to anything in the world I believe. A perfect view of the immense Bay of Fundy, on one side, and very extensive view of the river St. John's with the Falls, grand Bay and Islands on the other--in front the Fort, which is a beautiful object on a high hill, and all the settlements about the town, with the ships, boats, etc., in the harbor--'twas positively the most magnificent and romantic scene I ever beheld."

[142] Meaning the Loyalist regiments.

The view from Lancaster Heights, which so delighted Colonel Winslow, proves equally charming to American tourists of the present generation. The stay of the King's American Dragoons at "Camp Manawaugonish," however, was brief, for about the end of August they were sent up the St. John river to what is now the Parish of Prince William, where many of their descendants are to be found at the present day. The commander of the regiment was the celebrated Sir Benjamin Thompson, better known as Count Rumford, who, by the way, never came to New Brunswick; but other officers of the corps were prominent in our local affairs. Major Joshua Upham was a judge of the supreme court. Major Daniel Murray was for some years a member of the House of a.s.sembly for York County. Chaplain Jonathan Odell was for years Provincial Secretary. Surgeon Adino Paddock was a leading physician, and the progenitor of a long line of descendants, who practiced the healing art. Lieutenant John Davidson was a member for York County in the provincial legislature and a leading land surveyor in the early days of the country. Lieutenant Simeon Jones was the ancestor of Simeon Jones, ex-mayor of St. John, and his well known family. Quarter master Edward Sands was a leading merchant of the city of St. John. Cornet Arthur Nicholson was a prominent man on the upper St. John in early times, and for a while commanded the military post at Presquile.

After the articles of peace had been signed, no serious effort was made to restrain the non-commissioned officers and men of the Loyalist regiments from taking "French leave," and a good many of them left the service without the formality of a discharge. Those who did so were of course marked on the roll as deserters; they remained, for the most part, in the States, and eventually returned to their former places of abode. Others of the troops were formally discharged at New York. As a consequence the British American regiments that came to the St. John river were reduced to a fraction of their original strength. The number of those who came to St. John in the Fall fleet, has been commonly stated as about three thousand souls.

The returns of the Commissary general's office in New York show that up to October 12th as many as 3,396 persons connected with the Loyalist regiments had sailed to the River St. John, viz., 1823 men, 563 women, 696 children and 311 servants. The following summer an enumeration was made by Thomas Knox of the disbanded troops settled on the St. John river. His return for the Loyalist regiments gives a total of 3,520 persons, viz., 1877 men, 585 women, 865 children and 193 servants. This does not differ very materially from the other return at New York, the difference being accounted for by the fact that a few of the men of these regiments left New York very late in the season, and consequently were not included in the return of 12th October.

The official correspondence of Sir Guy Carleton contains a pretty full account of the circ.u.mstances that attended the departure of the Loyalist regiments and their subsequent arrival at St. John. During the summer months they had been encamped near Newtown, Long Island, a short distance from Brooklyn Ferry. They embarked on the 3d of September, and Sir Guy Carleton wrote to General Fox, the commander in chief in Nova Scotia, that he hoped they would sail on the 7th of that month; but, as usual, unforseen delays prevented their departure until some days later. The command of the troops devolved on Lieut. Col.

Richard Hewlett, of the 3d battalion of De Lancey's Brigade; Lieut.

Col. Gabriel De Veber, of the Prince of Wales American Regiment, was second in command. Most of the senior officers were at this time in England, where they had gone to present to the British government their claims for compensation for losses consequent upon the war, and to press their claims for half-pay upon the disbanding of their regiments.

Sir Guy Carleton's instructions to Lieut. Col. Hewlett are contained in the following letter.

"New York, Sep. 12, 1783.

"Sir.--You are to take the command of the British American Troops mentioned in the margin,[143] which are to proceed to the River St. John's in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. On your arrival there you will see that the stores intended for them are duly delivered, and you will take such steps as shall be necessary for the several corps proceeding immediately to the places alloted for their settlement, where they are to be disbanded on their arrival, provided it does not exceed the 20th of October, on which day Captain Prevost, deputy inspector of British American Forces, has directions to disband them.... You will give directions to the officer commanding each corps that, in case of separation, they will proceed on their arrival at the River St. John's in forwarding their respective corps to the places of their respective destination.... The debarkation of the troops must not on any account whatever be delayed, as the transports must return to this Port with all possible dispatch. Directions have been given to Mr. Colville, a.s.sistant agent of all small craft at the River St. John, to afford every a.s.sistance in his power to the corps in getting to the places of their destination, and the commanding officers of corps will make application to him for that purpose.

[143] The names of the corps found in the margin of the original letter are, Queens Rangers, Kings American Regiment, Detachment of Garrison Battalion, New York Volunteers, 1st De Lanceys, 2nd De Lanceys, Loyal American Regiment. 2nd Do., 3d Do., Prince of Wales American Regiment, Pennsylvania Loyalists, Maryland Loyalists, American Legion, Guides and Pioneers, Detachment Kings American Dragoons, Detachment North Carolina Volunteers.

I am, etc., etc., GUY CARLETON.

The perils of navigation in the olden time are seen in the experience of the Esther and the Martha, two of the vessels of the Fall fleet.

The ships left Sandy Hook, on or about the 15th of September, and all went well until they arrived near the Seal Islands, off the South-West coast of Nova Scotia. Here the Esther, having on board Colonel Van Buskirk's battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers, got out of her course and narrowly escaped destruction, reaching St. John several days after her sister ships. The Martha, Capt. Willis, was even more unfortunate. She was wrecked on a ledge of rocks off the Seal Islands, afterwards known as "Soldier's Ledge." Her pa.s.sengers numbered 174 persons and including a corps of Maryland Loyalists and part of Col.

Hewlett's battalion of De Lancey's Brigade. Of these 99 perished and 75 were saved by fishing boats.

According to the account of Captain Patrick Kennedy of the Maryland Loyalists, the accident was due to gross neglect. The master reported the previous evening that he had seen land, and everyone imagined he would lay to during the night, the weather being tempestuous. He had left New York with an old suit of sails and had not above twelve men and boys to work his ship. While they were engaged in rigging and setting up a new main topsail, to replace one that had gone to pieces early in the night, the ship struck. Soon after the long boat was smashed by the fall of the mainmast. The cutter had already been launched. The captain now gave orders to launch the jolly boat and, to the surprise of everybody, having repeatedly proclaimed that he would be one of the last to leave the ship, he jumped into her as she went over the side, rowed to the cutter, got into her, and inhumanly pushed off for the sh.o.r.e. The empty Jolly boat was turned adrift in full view of the unhappy people on board, the master turning a deaf ear to the solicitations of Captain Kennedy, who begged him to pull in toward the stern, in order to discuss some means of saving the lives of his pa.s.sengers.

Another account of this tragedy has been preserved in the letter of Lieut. Michael Laffan, of Colonel Hewlett's battalion, to his brother:--

St. Johns, Oct. 11, 1783.

Dear Brother.--Yesterday evening I had the good Fortune to arrive at this Place. On the 25th of September, about 4 o'clock in the morning, the "Martha" struck against a rock off the Tusket river near the Bay of Fundy, and was in the course of a few Hours wrecked in a Thousand Pieces. I had the good Fortune to get upon a Piece of the Wreck with three more officers, viz., Lieut. Henley, Lieut. Sterling, Dr. Stafford and two soldiers (all of the Maryland Loyalists) and floated on it two Days and two nights up to near our Waists in Water, during which time Lieut. Sterling and one of the Soldiers died. On the third Day we drifted to an island where we lived without Fire, Water, Victuals or Clothing, except the Remnants of what we had on, about one Quart of Water per man (which we sipped from the cavities in the Rocks) and a few Rasberries and snails. On the seventh Day we were espied and taken up by a Frenchman, that was out a fowling, who took us to his House and treated us with every kindness. We staid with him six Days and then proceeded to a Place called Cape Pursue, where we met with Captain Kennedy and about fifty of both Regiments, who were saved at Sea by some fishing Boats, about 36 Hours from the time the Vessel was wrecked. Capt. Doughty, Lieut. McFarlane, Mrs.

McFarlane and Ensign Montgomery perished....

Lieut. Col. Hewlett's letter to Sir Guy Carleton, announcing the arrival of the fleet at its destined port, is brief and to the point:

St. Johns, Bay of Fundy, 29th September, 1783.

Sir.--Agreeable to your Excellency's orders I have the honor to inform you that the Troops under my command arrived at the River St. Johns the 27th instant, except the ship "Martha" with the Maryland Loyalists and part of the 2d Batt'n De Lancey's, and the ship "Esther" with part of the Jersey Volunteers, of which ships no certain accounts were received since their sailings.

This day a small party of the Guides and Pioneers are landed, which proceed from the Falls up the River St. Johns tomorrow, if the weather permits.

I have given the necessary orders for the Troops to disembark tomorrow and encamp just above the Falls, from which place they shall be forwarded with all possible expedition to the place of their destination, but am much afraid the want of small craft will greatly prevent their dispatch.

I have the honor to be sir, Your most obedient, humble servant,

RICHARD HEWLETT, Lt. Col.

On the 13th October Col. Hewlett informed Sir Guy Carleton that the troops had all been disbanded by Major Augustin Prevost, and were getting up the river as speedily as the scarcity of small craft for conveying them would admit.

A large number of the officers and men of the disbanded regiments drew lots at Parrtown, and many remained at the mouth of the river during the winter. George Leonard, who was one of the chief directors of the settlement of the town, says that the lots at first laid out were divided and subdivided, on the arrival of almost every fleet, to accommodate the Loyalists as they came. These proved to be so greatly in excess of what had been antic.i.p.ated, that the lots of those who came at the first were reduced by degrees to one sixteenth part of their original dimensions. It was not until the 17th December that a complete plan of Parrtown was prepared by Paul Bedell. Meanwhile there had been much delay in laying out lands for settlement on the River St. John.

Colonel Morse, of the Royal Engineers, gives a summary of the causes of the delay in placing the disbanded troops upon their lands: "First their arriving very late in the season; Secondly, timely provision not having been made by escheating and laying out lands; Thirdly, a sufficient number of surveyors not having been employed; but Lastly and princ.i.p.ally, the want of foresight and wisdom to make necessary arrangements, and steadiness in carrying them out."

Lieut. Col. Edward Winslow, muster-master-general of the British American regiments, had been sent to Nova Scotia in the month of April to secure lands for the accommodation of the officers and men who wished to settle there. In this task he had the a.s.sistance of Lieut.

Col. Isaac Allen, Lieut. Col. Stephen De Lancey and Major Thomas Barclay. Their instructions were to procure the lands required "in the most eligible and advantageous situation, paying strict regard to the quality of the soil." They decided to make application for the vacant lands on the River St. John, and the Nova Scotia government agreed that the provincial troops might be accommodated "near the source of that river, leaving the lower part to the Refugees." Lieut. Colonel De Lancey was greatly chagrined at this decision, and on the 11th July he wrote to Winslow: "If what I am informed is true, we might better be all of us in New York. It is that Conway, Burton, etc., are to be given to the Refugees, and that the lands to be given to the Provincials are to commence at Sunbury (or St. Anne) and go northwest to Canada or elsewhere.... This is so notorious a forfeiture of the faith of Government that it appears to me almost incredible, and yet I fear it is not to be doubted. Could we have known this a little earlier it would have saved you the trouble of exploring the country for the benefit of a people you are not connected with. In short it is a subject too disagreeable to say more upon."

The decision to settle the Loyalist regiment some distance up the river obliged the Kings American Dragoons to remove from Lancaster, where they had at first pitched their tents. The intimation to move on came in the shape of a letter from Gen'l Fox's secretary, to Major Murray, their commanding officer. An extract follows:

"It having been represented to Brig'r. General Fox that the King's American Dragoons under your command cannot be enhutted at the place where they are at present encamped, without inconvenience to the great number of Loyalists who are forming settlements at the mouth of the River St. John's, and he being also informed that His Excellency the Governor of this Province has a.s.signed a certain tract of land for the accommodation of the Provincial Regiments on the River St. John's, beginning at the eastern boundaries of the Townships of Sunbury and Newtown, and extending up the River, I am directed to acquaint you that you have Brigadier General Fox's permission to remove the King's American Dragoons to that part of the district which has been allotted to the regiment.... Lieut.

Colonel Morse, chief Engineer, will, in consideration that your Regiment may be exposed to peculiar inconveniences from being the first who are ordered to but on the River St. John's, forward to you such articles as he apprehends cannot be procured at that place."

On the 16th September, Gen'l Fox wrote from Annapolis, informing Governor Parr that the Loyalist regiments embarking at New York were, by the Commander in Chief's express order, to be discharged as contiguous as possible to the lands on which they were to settle, and he accordingly asked the Governor to determine the district each regiment was to settle, so that on their arrival they might proceed immediately to their respective destinations. Up to this time no attempt had been made to lay out lands for the troops, save in the district of Prince William for the King's American Dragoons. There was, it is true, an order to reserve for the Provincial Regiments, a tract extending from the townships of Maugerville and Burton on both sides of the river on the route to Canada as far as to accommodate the whole, but no survey had been made.

About this time the Hon. Charles Morris prepared a plan of the river in which the land not yet granted was laid out in blocks. These blocks were numbered and drawn for by the various regiments shortly after their arrival. But as the lines had not been run, nor any lots laid out for settlement the disbanded troops were in great perplexity. They knew not where to turn or what to do. Extracts from the letters of two regimental commanders will show how they regarded the outlook. Lieut.

Col. Gabriel De Veber, of the Prince of Wales American Regiment, writes at Parrtown on the 14th December. "I am still here, where I have built a small house for the present. I have not been up the River yet, indeed the block, No. 11, which our Regiment has drawn, is so far up that I am totally discouraged. The numerous family I have demands some attention to the education of children. At such a distance they never can hope for any, and I should think myself highly culpable, were I not to endeavor to settle nearer to the metropolis, or to some place where I can attend to this necessary duty."

Major Thomas Menzies, of the Loyal American Legion, writes on March 2d, 1784: "I drew Block No 10 for the Corps under my command, which commences 48 miles above St. Anns, so that whatever becomes of me, it would be wildness to think of carrying my family there for the present."

We get a glimpse of the distress and perplexity of the men of the loyal regiments in one of Edward Winslow's letters to Ward Chipman. "I saw all those Provincial Regiments, which we have so frequently mustered, landing in this inhospitable climate, in the month of October, without shelter and without knowing where to find a place to reside. The chagrin of the officers was not to me so truly affecting as the poignant distress of the men. Those respectable sergeants of Robinson's, Ludlow's, Cruger's, Fanning's, etc.,--once hospitable yeomen of the Country--were addressing me in language which almost murdered me as I heard it. 'Sir, we have served all the war, your honor is witness how faithfully. We were promised land; we expected you had obtained it for us. We like the country--only let us have a spot of our own, and give us such kind of regulations as will hinder bad men from injuring us.'"

A great many of the disbanded soldiers drew lots at Parrtown in the Lower Cove district. Some of them spent their first winter in canvas tents on the Barrack square. They thatched their tents with spruce boughs, brought in boats from Partridge Island, and banked them with snow. Owing to the cold weather and the coa.r.s.eness of the provisions, salt meat, etc., the women and children suffered severely and numbers died. They were buried in an old graveyard near the present deep water terminus of the Intercolonial railway.

The last of the transports that sailed from New York to St. John, in addition to her pa.s.sengers--mostly women and children--carried an a.s.sortment of clothing and provisions. The officer in charge was Lieut. John Ward of the Loyal American Regiment, grandfather of Clarence Ward, the well known secretary of the New Brunswick Historical Society. There was not time to build even a hut, and Mr. Ward was obliged to spend his first winter in the country under canvas. His son, John Ward, jr., was born in a tent on the Barrack square, Dec. 18, 1783. The Ward family were a st.u.r.dy stock and were noted for their longevity. The child born on the Barrack square attained the age of 92 years, and a younger son, Charles Ward, died in 1882 at the age of 91 years. The father, Lieut. John Ward, was 92 years of age when he died on the 5th August, 1846. He was known in his later years as "the father of the city." At the semi-centennial of the Landing of the Loyalists he was honored with a seat on the left of the mayor, John M. Wilmot, on whose, right sat Sir Archibald Campbell the Lieut. Governor. On the 18th May, 1843, the sixtieth anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists, the corporation of the city waited on Mr. Ward, then aged 90 years, at his residence, and presented him with an address. The officers of the Artillery also presented an address in which they say: "We claim you with pride as one of the first officers of the corps to which we now have the honor to belong; and we hail you at the same time as one of the few survivors of that gallant band, who--surrendering all save the undying honor of their sacrifice--followed the standard of their Sovereign to these sh.o.r.es, and whose landing we this day commemorate. That health and prosperity may be yours, and that the evening of your days may be as free from a cloud as your past life has been unspotted, is the sincere desire of the corps in whose behalf we have the honor to subscribe ourselves."

The experience of the disbanded soldiers, who wintered with their families at St. Anns, was even more trying than that of those who remained at Parrtown. The month of October was cold and rainy, and those who went up the river in boats had a very miserable time of it.

A few were fortunate enough to be admitted into the houses of the old settlers, but the vast majority were obliged to provide themselves a shelter from the approaching winter by building log and bark huts. At St. Anns, where Fredericton was afterwards built, there were only two English speaking settlers, Benjamin Atherton, who lived on the site of Government House, and Philip Wade whose house stood on the river bank in front of the present Cathedral.

Speaking of the hardships endured by the founders of Fredericton, Peter Fisher observes: "Scarcely had they begun to construct their cabins, when they were surprised by the rigors of an untried climate; their habitations being enveloped in snow before they were tenantable.... The privations and sufferings of some of these people almost exceed belief. Frequently, in the piercing cold of winter, a part of the family had to remain up during the night to keep fire in their huts to prevent the other part from freezing. Some very dest.i.tute families made use of boards to supply the want of bedding; the father or some of the elder children remaining up by turns, and warming two suitable pieces of boards, which they applied alternately to the smaller children to keep them warm; with many similar expedients."

The awfulness of their situation may be readily imagined. Women, delicately reared, cared for their infants beneath canvas tents, rendered habitable only by the banks of snow which lay six feet deep in the open s.p.a.ces of the forest. Men, unaccustomed to toil, looked with dismay at the prospect before them. The non-arrival of supplies expected before the close of navigation, added to their dire forebodings. At one time during the winter, starvation stared them in the face, and one who pa.s.sed through the sorrowful experience of that time says: "Strong proud men wept like children, and, exhausted by cold and famine, lay down in their snow bound tents to die." The poor settlers had to make frequent trips of from fifty to one hundred miles with hand-sleds or toboggans, through the wild woods and on the ice, to procure a precarious supply of food for their famishing families.

Among those who settled at St. Anns at this time was Lodewick Fisher, who had seen nearly seven years service in Col. Van Buskirk's battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers. This brave old Loyalist came to St. John in the Ship "Esther," accompanied by his wife Mary, and three children, Eliza, Henry and Peter, all of whom were born on Staten Island during the war. Peter, the youngest of the trio, was only 16 months old at the time of his arrival and of course had no personal recollection of the experience of the first winter, but in his little history he has given some of the recollections of his elders which are of great interest. (It may be noted, in pa.s.sing, that the eldest son of Peter Fisher, the Hon. Charles Fisher, was attorney general of the province and later a judge of the supreme court; he was one of the fathers of Responsible Government and left his impress in the pages of our history.)

Much that is of great interest concerning the founders of Fredericton has been gleaned from the reminiscences of Mrs. Lodewick Fisher, which she used to relate in the hearing of her grand-children.[144]