SOME PARTICIPANTS IN THE RAIDS ON FORT WILLIAM AND MARY

By Thomas F. Kehr

(Revised ed. © June, 2012 Thomas F. Kehr; All rights reserved to the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the author. This article updates, revises, corrects and supersedes the original and revised versions © Thomas F. Kehr, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007)

What were the raids on Fort William and Mary? (complete essay)

I. Sources of Names of Participants

The list appearing in Section III below is a list of documented participants in the FortWilliam and Mary affair. Individuals whose participation is primarily a matter of tradition are not generally contained on this list. The list contains both patriot/rebel and loyalist participants. The main source of information used to compile this list was Paul Wilderson, “ The Raids on Fort William and Mary: Some New Evidence,” Historical New Hampshire (the magazine of the New Hampshire Historical Society, hereinafter “HNH”) vol. 30, no. 3 (Fall, 1975), pp. 178 - 202. That article sets forth the “depositions” (statements) of participants in the events taken by order of the Royal Governor. These extraordinary documents were not generally available until the mid 1970’s. Historical treatments of the attacks on FortWilliam and Mary written before that time (and most written after that time) can be misleading and certainly do not capture the full story. The original depositions are held by the Public Records Office of the British National Archives in London as document CO5, 939 (Records of the Colonial Office, Board of Trade and Secretaries of State of America and the West Indies Series, Original Correspondence 1606 - 1822, New Hampshire Subseries - Original Correspondence of Secretary of State, 1774 - 1775). In 1977, Paul Wilderson added to the available body of information on the raids by identifying and publishing a description of the events attributed to Governor John Wentworth. See “John Wentworth’s Narrative of the Raids on Fort William and Mary,” HNH, vol. 32, no. 4 (Winter, 1977), pp. 228 - 236.

In addition to the depositions and Wentworth’s narrative, post-war writings of General John Sullivan and the recollections of 101 year-old millworker Eleazer Bennett identify participants from Durham who engaged in Sullivan’s raid of December 15. See Theodore Crackel and Martin Andresen, “ Fort William and Mary: A Case Study in Crowd Behavior,” HNH, vol. 29, no. 4 (Winter, 1974), footnote 66, p. 225. Crackel and Andresen’s list of Durham men stems primarily from the following sources:

(1) The list of individuals contained in John Sullivan’s letter to Ebenezer Thompson published in the New Hampshire Spy of March 17, 1789 [reprinted in Charles L. Parsons, The Capture of Fort William and Mary, December 14 and 15, 1774, reprint of a paper delivered at the 77th Annual Meeting of the New Hampshire Historical Society (Proceedings of the New Hampshire Historical Society, vol. 4 [June, 1905], pp. 18 – 47), published by the William and Mary Committee of the New Hampshire American Revolution Bicentennial Commission (1974), p. 21; See also Parsons’ discussion of participants, id., pp. 22 – 25];

(2) Verifiable conclusions drawn from Sullivan’s 1785 account of his raid found in Nathaniel Bouton, et. al, eds. New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers (40 vol.s, 1867 - 1943), printed by the State (hereinafter “NHPSP”), vol. 18, pp. 748 – 750 (referencing the involvement of Sullivan's three law clerks); and

(3) An obituary of Eleazer Bennett appearing in the (Concord, NH) Congregational Journal of February 18, 1852. Another Bennett account appears in Thomas Coffin Amory’s The Military Services and Public Life of Major General John Sullivan of the American Revolution Army, Wiggin and Lunt, Boston, MA (1868), p. 295.

Only a small number of the participants in the raids can be identified from readily available 18th century documents. Undiscovered sources of information might exist which note other individuals’ involvement in the raids. The following list is by no means an exhaustive compilation of the names of the hundreds (probably more than 1,000) individuals involved in the actions of December, 1774. It should be noted that a fertile ground for potential identification of additional raiders would be local records in the former Eastern District of Massachusetts (Maine), particularly the towns of Kittery and Berwick. Maine records have not been reviewed in compiling this list. Readers who are aware of other documents containing first-hand information about the raids or participants are encouraged to contact the author .

Of the names on the list in Section III, a number are clearly loyalist sympathizers. Two are men who presumably assisted in the defense of the fort on December 14 (men whose actual sympathies remain unclear). At least 10 are probably, but not certainly, duplicate names. Some, such as Sheriff Parker, helped defend the Wentworth administration but were not loyalists by conviction. Other named individuals, such as the men who arrived from Exeter to guard the passage of the booty up the Piscataqua, probably did not engage in the actual raiding of the fort but were active participants in the important final phase of the operation. Readers who are interested in documenting revolutionary war participation of particular individuals will find on this the list the names of about 100 persons who served in the patriot cause during New Hampshire’s early insurrection.

A separate, related list appears at Section V below. That item identifies men who are known to have been responsible for storing most of the gunpowder seized in the raids.

II. Use of the Participant List and Source Citations

The list at Section III provides:

(A) The name of the individual, usually spelled as it appears in the source material cited;

(B) The individual’s town of origin, if noted in the source material or if determined with reasonable accuracy from other sources. Due to border adjustments or generalization of locale, references to Durham may in some cases include areas now in other nearby towns, such as Newmarket or Madbury;

(C) Notes on the person’s role in the attack and, in some cases, additional verifiable information of interest concerning the individual; and

(D) The source in which reference to the actions of the individual may be found (some individuals may also be listed in sources in addition to those noted).

Uncertain items are noted with a question mark "(?)"

Twelve depositions concerning the events at the fort are known to have been taken by order of the Royal Governor. They are cited as:

"Cochran Dep. I.": The deposition of Captain John Cochran, officer in command of the fort, concerning the incident of December 14, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 188 – 192.

"Cochran Dep. II.": The deposition of Captain John Cochran, officer in command of the fort, concerning the incident of December 15, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 192 – 194.

"Griffiths Dep.": The deposition of John Griffiths, soldier of the fort, concerning the incidents of both December 14 and 15, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 202.

"Hall Dep. I.": The deposition of Ephraim Hall, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 14, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 199 – 200.

"Hall Dep. II.": The deposition of Ephraim Hall, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 15, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 200 - 202.

"Parker Dep.": The deposition of John Parker, the Rockingham County, NH, Sheriff. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 187 – 188.

"B. Rowell Dep. I.": The deposition of Benjamin Rowell, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 14, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, p. 197.

"B. Rowell Dep. II.": The deposition of Benjamin Rowell, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 15, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, p. 198.

"S. Rowell Dep.": The deposition of Samuel Rowell, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 14, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 198 – 199.

"Seveay Dep. I.": The deposition of Isaac Seveay, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 14, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, p. 195.

"Seveay Dep. II.": The deposition of Isaac Seveay, soldier of the fort, concerning the incident of December 15, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 196 - 197.

"Torrey Dep.": The deposition of William Torrey, the individual who spoke to Paul Revere on December 13, 1774. HNH, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 186 – 187.

The depositions can be used for intriguing research in addition to the identification of participants. They also identify which of the soldiers knew which of the raiders well enough to identify them by sight. Some raiders were known to (or seen by) only one or two of the defenders. Others were known to (or seen by) only certain soldiers and still others were known (or seen) by most of the men. Inspection of the list from that perspective sheds light on particular soldiers’ sphere of associates.

Other source abbreviations cited on the list in Section III are:

"Amory's Life of Sullivan"

In the 1840’s and very early 1850’s, Eleazer Bennet or Bennett, a Durham mill worker whose life spanned from 1750 to December of 1851, gave a number of oral accounts of his involvement in the raids. There are serious difficulties with Bennett’s accounts but portions of his recollections comport with fact. Moreover, it is not certain whether some of the discrepancies in accounts attributed to Bennett are due to Bennett’s own failing (or enhanced) memory or whether instead his accounts were simply misinterpreted and embellished by those who recorded them. All of Bennett’s accounts appear to combine the events of December 14 and 15 into one single raid. Durham men like Bennett actually participated in the raid of the 15th. Accordingly, at least a portion of Bennett’s story was based upon second hand inormation, a fact that might not have been clear to listeners who assumed the existence of only one raid. One of Bennett’s accounts which includes a list of Durham men (cited below as “Amory’s Life of Sullivan”) appears in Thomas Coffin Amory’s The Military Services and Public Life of Major General John Sullivan of the American Revolution Army, Wiggin and Lunt, Boston, MA (1868), p. 295.

"Bennett List"

One of Bennett’s accounts, evidently provided to a minister, Rev. Alvan Tobey, was published in Bennett’s obituary in the (Concord, NH) Congregational Journal of February 18, 1852 (p. 1, col.s 3 – 4). This account was the primary source for the “Bennett List” that appears in Crackel and Andresen, “Fort William and Mary: A Case Study in Crowd Behavior,” HNH vol. 29, no. 4 (Winter 1974), pp. 203 – 226. That served as the source of the “Bennett List” which was used here. Three decades after speaking to Bennett, Ballard Smith published a somewhat different version of Bennett’s recollections in “The Gunpowder for Bunker Hill,Harper's New Monthly Magazine, vol. 73, no. 434 (July, 1886), pp. 236 ff. Smith’s account of the raids themselves is fanciful, but it is assumed that there is at least some kernel of truth in his account of Bennett’s statements.

"Bell's History of Exeter"

In the 1880’s, Charles H. Bell identified a handwritten narrative of events from Exeter’s past as the recollections of that town’s elderly Gideon Lamson (1750 – 1827). The original narrative, which does not bear a name, was produced in late 1827. It is currently (2012) on file at the New Hampshire State Archives, Concord, NH, filed under “Exeter Records, Miscellaneous Papers 1659 – 1918,” V52, Box 876161, folder 8. One small portion of the narrative relates to Lamson’s involvement in the Fort William and Mary affair. That excerpt was quoted in in Bell’s History of the Town of Exeter, NH, J. E. Farwell & Co., Boston, MA (1888), pp. 240 – 241. Lamson’s account of his involvement was unnecessarily discounted by Parsons in The Capture, p. 25 (and questioned by Bell himself), likely because these 19th century writers did not have the benefit of Wentworth’s narrative or other more recently discovered items. These items place Lamson’s recollections in perfectly understandable context. Lamson was a member of one of the armed units that kept watch for the arrival of the British as Sullivan made his escape upriver on December 16 and 17, 1774. Lamson’s recollections (as well as certain of the Town of Exeter’s financial records cited by Bell) identify participants in the Fort William and Mary incidents.

Bell’s History of Exeter, p. 242, also identifies a number of individuals who were entrusted with the storage of the stolen gunpowder. Those individuals are listed separately at Section V below.

"Sullivan List"

Years after the events of December 1774, John Sullivan recalled rallying 30 or 40 men from Durham to respond to the call to Portsmouth. Sullivan’s account of his involvement is found, in part, in his letter to the New Hampshire Spy of March 17, 1789 (p. 1, col. 3 – p. 2, col. 2), reprinted in Parsons’ The Capture p. 21. See also id., pp. 22 – 25. Sullivan’s 1789 list of names forms a primary basis for the “Sullivan list” of names found in Crackel and Andresen’s “Fort William and Mary: A Case Study in Crowd Behavior,” HNH, vol. 29, no. 4, footnote 66, p. 225.

"Wentworth Narrative"

This source citation refers to Wilderson’s “John Wentworth's Narrative of the Raids on Fort William and Mary,” HNH, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 228 – 236. It identifies several participants not mentioned elsewhere.

III . PARTICIPANT LIST

A. Name

B. Town of Residence

C. Role in the Attack

D. Source Reference

Adams, John (Rev.)

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15. Note: Rev. Adams was the person who one loyalist writer said was “the Parson of the parish, who having been long accustomed to apply himself more to the cure of the bodies than the souls of his parishioners, had forgotten that the weapons of his warfare ought to be spiritual, and not carnal, and therefore marched down to supply himself with the latter,” Rivington’s NY Gazeteer, 1/19/1775, p. 3

Sullivan List

Adams, Winborn

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15; Note: Adams served as one of the captains in Washington’s (Continental Army) fleet of privateers. In 1777, he was a lieutenant colonel at the first Battle of Saratoga (Freeman's Farm), where he was killed in action

Bennett List

Amozeen ______

Likely New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 . Note: This is likely one of the "Amozeens" (also spelled "Amazeen") named below

B. Rowell Dep. I

Amozeen, Christopher

New Castle

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II

Amozeen, Ephraim

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. II; S. Rowell Dep.

Amozeen, John

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. II; S. Rowell Dep.

Amozeen, Joseph

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. I, II

Atkinson, Theodore (Esq.)

Native of New Castle

Loyalist Chief Justice of NH active on behalf of the administration throughout the affair. Note: Also major general of the Militia; Col. of the First Regiment of Militia; Secretary of the Province; Member of the Council and Gov. Wentworth’s uncle by marriage

Torrey Dep.

Ayres, Joseph (Shoemaker)

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Barkley (Barclay), Andrew, Capt.

Likely Scotland

Captain of frigate HMS Scarborough, which responded to the Piscataqua from Boston in December, 1774. On station at Portsmouth Harbor until late August, 1775. Ranking naval officer on the Piscataqua in this period

See e. g. William B. Clark, ed. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, vol. 1, p. 37 (Letter of Wentworth to Adm. Graves)

Batson, John

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II: Seveay Dep. I

Batson, Nathaniel

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. II; Hall Dep. I

Batson, Nathaniel, Jr.

Likely New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14

Seveay Dep. I

Batson, Stephen

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Breaks open powderhouse with crowbar, Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. I, II; Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. I, II; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I, II; Griffiths Dep.

Bell, Abendego ("Abendigo")

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15; Threatens to knock Soldier Hall's "brains out" on Dec. 14

Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep. I

Bell, Benjamin

New Castle

Disarms Soldier Benjamin Rowell, Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I

Bell, Matthew (Capt., Mariner)

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Enters fort Dec. 14. Note: Bell was the son of the former captain of the fort, Thomas Bell

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I (probably)

Bell, Mesech

Likely New Castle

Enters fort December 14

Griffiths Dep.

Bell, Mesech ("the third"; Cooper)

New Castle

Volunteered to defend fort on Dec. 14; Note: Possibly in sympathy with the rebels

Cochran Dep. I

Bell, Mesech, Jr.

Likely New Castle

Pummels Soldier Seveay, Dec. 14

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I

Bell, Thomas

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Bell was the son of the former captain of the fort of the same name

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.

Belligham, John, Sr.

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Bennett, Eleazer

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15. Note: one of the last survivors, if not the last survivor, of the affair (born 1750, died 1851). Bennett gave a number of oral accounts of the raids

Bennett List

Blunt, John

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Son of the former New Castle town minister; A sea captain.

B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.

Brown, Joseph (?)

Rye

Possible involvement in one or more of the raids. Involvement undocumented, but other evidence may suggest participation of unknown nature. Rye men are known to have participated and Brown, Joseph Parsons and Mark Randall were chosen by Rye in 1770 as "committeemen to stand by the Sons of Liberty"

Langdon Parsons, History of the Town of Rye, NH, Rumford Printing Co., Concord, NH (1905), p. 255, 257 –258

Bryant, Jeremiah (Mr.)

Newmarket

Part of three man committee of Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. II; Hall Dep. II

Chadbourn, Benjamin (Blacksmith)

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Champney, Richard (Shopkeeper)

Portsmouth

Waits at gate as Langdon and White enter, Dec. 14; Enters and guards Cochran Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I

Chase, John

New Castle

Takes cannon, Dec. 15; Note: Son of the New Castle town minister

Hall Dep. II

Chase, Stephen

New Castle

Takes powder Dec. 14; Enters fort on December 15. Note: This is very likely the son of the New Castle town minister of this name, rather than the minister himself

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. II

Chesley, Alpheus

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett List

Chesley, Jonathan

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15. Note: A State of NH roadside historical marker was placed in his honor in the Town of Barnstead in 2006. It notes his participation in the raids

Bennett List

Cilley, Joseph

Nottinhgham

Likely the Sullivan raid of Dec. 15. Note: Cilley participated in a number of major engagements during the Revolution. Appointed colonel of the First New Hampshire Regiment in 1777. Served as general of the NH Militia after the war.

Identified as a participant by Gov. William Plumer, a contemporary of Cilley’s. See Nathaniel Bouton, et. al, eds. New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers, (40 vol.s, 1867 - 1943) (“NHPSP”), vol. 21, p. 791

Clapp, Supply (Capt.)

Portsmouth

Enters fort December 14; Note: Later (and, given his name, appropriately) Commissary General of New Hampshire

Griffiths Dep.

Clark, Andrew (Mariner)

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Clark, Samuel

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Enters fort Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I

Cochran, James

Londonderry, NH (born Northern Ireland)

Loyalist father of the captain of the fort who confronted invaders on December 15

Role described in Wentworth Narrative, p. 236; Name of Cochran's father is found in Lorenzo Sabine, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution, Little, Brown & Co., Boston (1864), vol. 1, p. 320

Cochran, John (Capt.)

Assigned to the fort at New Castle; Originally from Londonderry, NH

Loyalist captain of the fort; Commanded defense of the fort during both assaults; Note: Appointed captain of the fort in 1771; Former sea captain

Throughout depositions and narratives

Cochran, Sarah

Living at the fort at New Castle; Originally from Portsmouth

Wife of Captain of the fort; Handed Cochran his loaded pistols; Loyalist combatant on December 14; Note: Resided with her family at the fort

Cochran Dep. I; Wentworth Narrative p. 231

Colefax, Robert

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

B. Rowell Dep. I, II

Cottwald, John

"from the country"

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

B. Rowell Dep. II

Cutts, Samuel (Esq.)

Portsmouth

Patriot Committee of Correspondence member contacted by Revere on December 13

Torrey Dep.

Dame, George

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Davis, Aaron

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Sullivan List

Davis, Micah

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett List

Demeritt, John

Durham/Madbury

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15; Note: reputedly brought powder to NH troops in MA. Some powder stored at his home

Bennett List

Dennet, John

Portsmouth

Enters and guards Cochran, Dec. 14. Note: The “Association Test” of 1776 shows both a “John Dennet” and a “John Dennent” in Portsmouth at this time. It is uncertain whether the raider John Dennet is the same person as the John Dennet below.

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I

Dennet, John

Portsmouth

Called upon by the Governor to raise the provincial militia in response to the attack of December 14. Note: The “Association Test” of 1776 shows both a “John Dennet” and a “John Dennent” in Portsmouth at this time. It is uncertain whether the militia officer John Dennet is the same person as the raider John Dennet above.

NHPSP vol. 7, p. 421

Dennet, Nathaniel

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. I, II; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. II

Dixen, William

Portsmouth

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II

Drown(e), Samuel (?)

Portsmouth

Uncertain. Drown (the half brother of Thomas Pickering) may have been involved in the December 14 raid and purportedly had some involvement in the care of the powder during or after Dec. 14

Charles W. Brewster, Rambles About Portsmouth (1st Series), [facsimile reproduction of the 1873 edition by New Hampshire Publishing Company, Somersworth, NH, in collaboration with Theatre by the Sea, Portsmouth, NH (1971)], ("Ramble XLV"), pp. 220. Note: Brewster's account of the attack, obtained from Drown’s family, is generally at odds with the facts. See also Parsons' The Capture, p. 25

Durgin, [Eliphalet] (Lt.)

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Sullivan List. Note: First name provided in Crackel and Andresen, HNH, vol. 29, no. 4 (Winter, 1974), footnote 66, p. 225

Eaton, Jonathan

(?)

Enters on December 14; Note: Possibly the same individual identified as Jonathan Yeaton below

S. Rowell Dep.

Fenton, John (Esq.)

Plymouth and Portsmouth, NH; formerly Charlestown, MA

Justice of Peace; Took soldiers’ oaths/depositions regarding raids; Magistrate who attempts to restore order; Note: Loyalist provincial assemblyman; former captain of the regular British Army; Colonel of a Grafton County regiment of provincial militia

Torrey Dep.

Folsom, Nathaniel

(?)

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Although the town of origin of this individual is not given, it seems likely that this was the son of Continental Congressman Nathaniel Folsom of Exeter. The younger Folsom was a resident of Portsmouth (see below)

Seveay Dep. I

Folsom, Nathaniel

Exeter

Arrives in Portsmouth with infantry and cavalry on Dec. 16, acting as a guard for Sullivan’s escape. Note: Continental Congressman and Revolutionary War general

Wentworth Narrative, p. 234

Folsome, Nathaniel (Shopkeeper)

Portsmouth

Waits at gate as Langdon and White enter, Dec. 14. Note: The son of Nathaniel Folsom of Exeter

Cochran Dep. I

Footman, Thomas

Dover

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Sullivan List

Foy, John

Rye (?)

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: A John Foy lived at Frost's Point in Rye, just across Little Harbor from New Castle, in 1805. See Langdon Parsons' History of Rye, supra, pp. 292, 352. Since Rowell's deposition does not identify Foy's town of origin, it is uncertain whether this is the Foy who was a participant

B. Rowell Dep. I

French, Peter

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett account appearing in the Congregational Journal of 2/1/1852. French is also noted in Crackel and Andresen's article, HNH, vol. 29, no. 4, p. 225, as listed by Sullivan. He is apparently identified by virtue of the fact that in NHPSP vol. 18, pp. 748 – 750, Sullivan notes the presence of his three clerks. Those clerks were Peter French, Alexander Scammell and James Underwood. See Parsons' The Capture, p. 25

Frost, George

New Castle

Enters on December 14. Note: This may be either the George Frost who married the daughter of the fort’s former commander, Thomas Bell, or the uncle of this George Frost (also from New Castle and also named George), who later served in the Continental Congress

S. Rowell Dep. See also L. Parsons' The Capture, p. 25

Furnald, John (Coppersmith)

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Furnell, William

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Gains, George

Portsmouth

Enters fort Dec. 14. May also have been present on the 15th

Seveay Dep. I; Hall Dep. I; Griffiths Dep.; Bell's History of Exeter, p. 240

Gilman, Israel (Esq.)

Newmarket

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II

Giddinge, John (Dr.)

Exeter

Captain of armed company called to Portsmouth on December 16/17 as a guard for Sullivan’s escape. Note: Declined election to the First Continental Congress

Bell's History of Exeter, pp. 240 – 241

Gilman, Nicholas

Exeter

Captain of armed company called to Portsmouth on December 16/17 to guard Sullivan’s escape. Note: There was more than one Nicholas Gilman in Exeter. This may be either the Nicholas Gilman who later signed of the United States Constitution (b. 1755) or, more likely, the Nicholas Gilman who served as receiver general of New Hampshire during the Revolution (b. 1731). Both were later colonels

Bell's History of Exeter, p. 240. Identified by Lamson in 1827 as "Col." See id.

Gilmore, James (Capt.)

Durham

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II

Grant (Capt.)

(?)

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Since both "Captain Grant" and "John Grant" are noted in the same deposition, either Seveay inadvertently referred to Grant twice or "John Grant" and "Capt. Grant" are two different people. It is conceivable that the captain is Peter, although Hall Dep. I refers to John as "captain"

Seveay Dep. I

Grant, John (Capt.)

Portsmouth

Enters fort Dec. 14; Disarms Soldier Hall

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I

Grant, Peter, Jr.

(?)

Enters fort Dec. 14

B. Rowell Dep. I

Griffin, John

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett account in Amory's Life of Sullivan, p. 295

Griffiths, John

Assigned to the fort at New Castle

Provincial soldier "on duty" on Dec. 14 and "in the fort" on Dec. 15: Note: Length of service at fort not stated

Griffiths Dep.

Hackett, James

Exeter

Captain of armed infantry company of 50 or 60 men called to Portsmouth on December 16/17 to guard the Piscataqua while Sullivan’s cannon were transported upriver. Note: Hackett, a shipbuilder, built John Paul Jones’ Ranger; the frigate Raleigh (which appears under construction on the NH state seal and flag); the 74-gun ship of the line America; the 1799 Congress and a host of other vessels. See Thomas F. Kehr, “Requiem for James Hackett,” Naval History magazine, December 2011, pp. 58 - 63

Bell's History of Exeter, pp. 240 – 241

Hall, Ephraim

Assigned to the fort at New Castle

Provincial soldier on duty on Dec. 14 and 15; Note: At fort since July 1774

Hall Dep. I, II

Hart, Edward

Portsmouth

Enters fort December 14

Griffiths Dep.

Jackson (Capt.)

Possibly Portsmouth

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: May be the same person as Daniel Jackson. Daniel Jackson was a sea captain

Seveay Dep. I

Jackson, Daniel

Portsmouth

Enters and guards Cochran, Dec. 14; Note: May be the same person as "Capt. Jackson." Daniel Jackson was a sea captain

Cochran Dep. I

Jones _____________

Portsmouth

Forces Soldier Seveay down, Dec. 14

Seveay Dep. I

Kenny, Benjamin

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15; Note: Likely the same person as Benjamin Kinny

B. Rowell Dep. I, II; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I; Seveay Dep. II

Kenny, Richard

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14

B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I

Kenny, Richard, Jr.

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

B. Rowell Dep. I, II

Kinneer, ("Kennier," "Kenneer") John

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I, II; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I, II

Kinny, Benjamin

Probably New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Likely the same person as Benjamin Kenny

Seveay Dep. I

Ladd, Eliphet (?)

Exeter

Uncertain. Captain of infantry company detailed to Portsmouth "to take cannon, etc." Note: Ladd does not appear in Lamson's account but is referred to in a bill cited in Bell's History of Exeter (which also mentions known participants Hackett and Giddinge). Bell suggests that the bill (date not identified) refers to the attack on Fort William and Mary, but (depending upon its date) it is possible, if less likely, that it refers to the May 30/31 1775 raid on Jerry's Point

Bell's History of Exeter, p. 241

Lambert, Benjamin

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; S. Rowell Dep.

Lamson, Gideon

Exeter

Member of cavalry unit (likely Folsom's) detailed to Portsmouth on December 16/17 as Sullivan removed the cannon

Bell's History of Exeter, p. 240 –241

Langdon, John (Merchant)

Portsmouth

Leader of Dec. 14 raid; enters with White for parley with Cochran; Guards Cochran, Dec. 14. Langdon reported to Portsmouth on the progress of Sullivan's raid of the 15th. The version of Bennett's account found in Ballard Smith's generally questionable article in Harper's Monthly indicates that Langdon and Pickering went to New Castle with Sullivan on the 15th. Note: Later a NH Governor, US Senator, signer of the US Constitution, the Continental Congress’ agent for maritime affairs on the Piscataqua and the 1st president pro tempore of the US Senate. Declined appointment as Jefferson’s Secretary of the Navy and declined nomination as Vice President of the United States under Madison. A State of New Hampshire roadside historical marker in Portsmouth honors Langdon

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I; Griffiths Dep.; Bell's History of Exeter, p. 240.

Langmead, Henry

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Enters fort Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I

Libbey, George

Portsmouth

Enters fort Dec. 14

Seveay Dep. I

Locke, Elizah

Rye

Private citizen visiting fort on business, pressed into service by Cochran, Dec. 14. Note: The name is as spelled in the transcription of the deposition. Locke's name was probably "Elijah." He may have been in sympathy with the rebels. See Donald Hayes, "Pressed into Service at Fort William and Mary: Was Eliza Locke of Rye a Patriot, a Tory or Hapless Bystander?" The New Hampshire Minuteman (newsletter of the N. H. Society of the Sons of the American Revolution), vol. 15, no. 2 (May 2003), p. 1

Cochran Dep. I

Long, Pierce ("Pierse")(Capt., Mariner)

Portsmouth

Waits at gate as Langdon and White enter, Dec. 14; Enters and guards Cochran, Dec. 14. Note: Later a Continental Congressman

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I (probably); Griffiths Dep.

MacKay, Benjamin (Sadler)

Portsmouth

Waits at gate as Langdon and White enter, Dec. 14; Enters and guards Cochran, Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I

McClary, Andrew (Capt.)

"from the country" [Epsom]

Part of three man committee of Dec. 15. Note: Killed by a cannon ball at Bunker Hill. McClary was the ranking New Hampshireman killed in that battle. Henry Dearborn (later Jefferson’s Secretary of War) penned an account of McClary’s death. A State of New Hampshire roadside historical marker in Epsom, which notes his participation in the raids on the fort, honors McClary

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. II; Hall Dep. II

McDonogh, Thomas

Native of the British Isles

Loyalist private secretary to Governor Wentworth; Goes into the streets during first phase of insurrection

Torrey Dep.

Mathes, Benjamin

Durham

Supplied gundalow for Sullivan's Durham men to proceed to Portsmouth on Dec. 15 but, being too old, did not accompany them

Bennett account in Amory's Life of Sullivan, p. 295

Mead, Stephen

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Mitchell, David (Capt.)

New Castle

Enters fort, Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. I, II; Hall Dep. II; Griffiths Dep.

Mowat(t) , Henry (Lt.)

Scotland

Captain of armed ship HMS Canceaux that responded to Portsmouth from Boston after raids; Note: In October 1775, Mowat burned Falmouth (Portland) Maine to the ground; In the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, he was instrumental in dealing America its most crushing naval defeat of the Revolutionary War at Castine (Bagaduce) ME

See generally Andrew Wahll, ed. The Voyage of the Canceaux, 1764 - 1776 (abridged logs), Heritage Books, Bowie, MD (2003); John E. Cayford, The Penobscot Expedition, C & H Publishing Co., Orrington, ME (1976)

Neal, William

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14

Seveay Dep. I

Norton, Nathaniel

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Sullivan List

Palmer, John

Portsmouth

Hauls down the King's colors from the fort on December 14, 1774; Takes powder Dec. 14; Takes cannon Dec. 15; Note: presumably the son of Thomas Palmer

Cochran Dep. I, II; Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. I, II; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I, II; Wentworth Narrative, p. 231.

Palmer, Thomas (Capt.)

Portsmouth

Orders Soldier Seveay to his knees and "snaps pistol" at the soldier, Dec. 14; Note: Presumably the father of John Palmer; Cleared Piscataqua Customs for the West Indies on December 16

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I (probably); Wentworth Narrative, p. 231)

Parker (Capt.)

Probably Portsmouth

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Likely Capt. Robert Parker, below

Seveay Dep. I

Parker, John (Esq.)

Portsmouth

Sheriff of Rockingham County, NH; Active on behalf of the administration throughout the affair. Note: Parker continued to serve as sheriff under the revolutionary regime and later became the first federal marshal for the US District of New Hampshire

Parker Dep.

Parker, Robert (Mariner)

Portsmouth

Waits at gate as Langdon and White enter, Dec. 14; Enters and guards Cochran, Dec. 14; Likely "Capt. Parker," above

Cochran Dep. I

Parsons, Joseph (Capt.) (?)

Rye

Possible involvement in one or more of the raids. Involvement undocumented but other evidence may suggest participation of unknown nature. Rye men are known to have participated and Parsons, Joseph Brown and Mark Randall were chosen by Rye in 1770 as "committeemen to stand by the Sons of Liberty"

Langdon Parsons, History of Rye, supra, pp. 255, 257 –258

Penhallow, Samuel, (Esq.)

Portsmouth

Justice of Peace; Took oaths/depositions of civilians regarding raids; Magistrate who attempts to restore order

Torrey Dep.

Pickering, Thomas (Mariner)

Portsmouth

Jumps onto Cochran from wall, Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15; Note: Later captain of the privateer Hampden, on board of which he was killed in action

Cochran Dep. I, II; Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. II; Hall Dep. I, II; Note: The version of Bennett's account found in Ballard Smith's generally questionable article in Harper's Monthly indicates that Langdon and Pickering went to New Castle with Sullivan on the 15th

Pierce, William

Probably New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14

B. Rowell Dep. I

Pillon, Thomas

Portsmouth

Takes powder Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I

Prescott, Henry (Mr.)

New Castle

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Griffiths Dep.

Randal(l), Benjamin

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15. Note: It is uncertain whether this is a reference to Benjamin Sr. or Jr.

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. I

Randall, Benjamin, Jr.

New Castle

Enters on December 14; Note: Randall went on to found the Free Will Baptist denomination

Hall Dep. I

Randall, Mark (?)

Rye

Possible involvement in one or more of the raids. Involvement undocumented but other evidence may suggest participation of unknown nature. Rye men are known to have participated and Randall, Joseph Parsons and Joseph Brown were chosen by Rye in 1770 as "committeemen to stand by the Sons of Liberty"

Langdon Parsons, History of Rye, supra, pp. 255, 257 –258

Reid, ("Reed") John

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. II

Revere, Paul

Boston

Messenger. Note: Later engaged in his famous "midnight ride" to Lexington, Massachusetts

Torrey Dep.

Rowell ____________

(?)

Attacked fort December 14. Note: This rebel was described by a defender of the fort (also named Rowell) as "One Rowell, a soldier"; Conceivably a British deserter

S. Rowell Dep.

Rowell, Benjamin

Assigned to the fort at New Castle

Provincial soldier on duty December 14 and 15; Note: At fort since March 1774

B. Rowell Dep. I, II

Rowell, Samuel

Assigned to the fort at New Castle

Provincial soldier on duty Dec. 14; no deposition suggests that he was present on the 15th. Note: Length of service at fort not stated

S. Rowell Dep.

Scammel(l), Alexander

Durham

Takes cannon, Dec. 15; Note: According to Theodore Chase, “The Attack on Fort William and Mary,” HNH vol. 18, no. 1, p. 31, Scammell hauled down the British flag during the Dec. 15 raid (no source given). Later the Continental Army's Adjutant General. Died of battle wounds in British captivity at the time of the Battle of Yorktown. A State of New Hampshire roadside historical marker in Dover honors Scammell (or, more precisely, the Scammell Bridge)

Cochran Dep. II; Some of Bennett’s early accounts are vague on whether or not Scammell was a participant, but Amory’s Life of Sullivan lists him. The Cochran deposition removes all doubt as to Scammell's presence but says nothing of his striking the flag.

Seveay, Isaac

Assigned to the fort at New Castle

Provincial soldier on duty December 14 and 15; Refuses to kneel; Injured Dec 14; Note: At fort since June 1774; Probably from Rye and resided in Pittsfield, NH after the war

Seveay Dep. I, II

Sheaffe, Sampson

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14 and 15

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I, II

Simpson, John (Capt., Mariner)

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec 14; Cochran's first interviewee; At gate when Langdon and White enter; Later enters fort himself; Note: Cochran's deposition refers to "Captain John Simpson." Seveay, S. Rowell and Hall refer only to "Captain Simpson." Rowell Dep. I notes both a "Captain Simpson" and a "John Simpson." These may be two individuals or an inadvertent duplication. See "John Simpson" and "John Simpson, Jr." below

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I

Simpson, John

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Rowell Dep. I notes both a "Captain Simpson" and a "John Simpson." These may be two individuals or an inadvertent duplication. S. Rowell Dep., Seveay Dep. I and Hall Dep. I mention only a "Captain Simpson." See Capt. John Simpson above and John Simpson, Jr. below

B. Rowell Dep. I

Simpson, John, Jr.

New Castle

Takes cannon, Dec. 15; Note: On December 14 Rowell notes both a "Capt." Simpson and a "John Simpson." He may be referring to both John, Jr. and his older relative. See John Simpson entries above. On December 15, Rowell specifies "John Simpson, Jr."

B. Rowell Dep. II

Small, Benjamin

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett List

Small, Isaac

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett List

Spenser (Spencer), John

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Bennett List

Stevenson, Thomas

Durham

Part of three man committee of Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; Hall Dep. II

Stoodley, James

Portsmouth

Owner of tavern where Revere met Cutts; With Capt. Dennet, purportedly called out the militia to defend the fort on December 15 at the request of the Governor - but got no volunteers

Return of Dennet and Stoodley to Theodore Atkinson, December 15, 1774, NHPSP vol. 7, p. 421

Sullivan, John (Maj.)

Durham

Leader of raid of December 15. Note: Continental Congressman. Later a Continental major general, governor ("president") of NH and a federal judge. A State of New Hampshire roadside historical marker in Durham honors Sullivan

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. II; Hall Dep. II; Griffiths Dep.

Sullivan, Edward (Ebenezer)

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15. Note: Ebenezer Sullivan was the brother of John Sullivan

Bennett List; Crackel and Andresen, apparently referring to the Bennett list in the Congregational Journal list name as "Edward" with the parenthetical "[Ebenezer]". See HNH, vol. 29, no. 4 (Winter, 1974), footnote 66, page 225. Name noted as "Eben" in Bennett account in Amory's Life of Sullivan, p. 295

Talton, John (Jno.)

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I, II; Griffiths Dep.

Tash, Thomas (Maj.)

Newmarket

Commander of first group to enter on Dec. 15; aids in taking cannon

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. II

Thompson, Ebenezer

Durham

Started out with Sullivan on the raid of Dec. 15 but, with others, went home before assaulting the fort; Helped store the powder (some at his home)

Bennett account in Amory's Life of Sullivan, p. 295; Thompson's notice in the March 13, 1789 New Hampshire Spy and Sullivan's March 17 response, reprinted in Parsons' The Capture, p. 21

Torrey, William (Esq.)

Portsmouth

Loyalist acquaintance of Revere with whom Revere shared the contents of his message of Dec. 13

Torrey Dep.

Trunday ("Trundy"), Thomas

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. I, II; Seveay Dep. I, II; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. I

Trunday, ("Trundy") William

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Cochran Dep. II; Seveay Dep. II; B. Rowell Dep. I; Hall Dep. II

Turner (Capt.)

Probably Portsmouth

Enters fort Dec. 14. Note: Probably the same person as "George Turner" below

Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.

Turner, George (Capt., Mariner)

Portsmouth

Waits at gate as Langdon and White enter, Dec. 14; Enters and guards Cochran, Dec. 14; Note: Probably the same person as Captain Turner, above

Cochran Dep. I; Griffiths Dep.

Underwood, James

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Underwood is listed in Ballard Smith’s “The Powder for Bunker Hill,” a suspect account of the raids based on the recollections of Eleazer Bennett, Harpers Weekly, vol. 73 (1886), p. 239 – 240. He is also noted in Crackel and Andresen, HNH, vol. 29, no. 4, p. 225, as being listed by Sullivan, likely identified by virtue of the fact that in NHPSP vol. 18, pp. 748 – 750, Sullivan notes the presence of his three clerks. Those clerks were Peter French, Alexander Scammell and James Underwood. See Parsons' The Capture, p. 25

Vennard (Capt.) [probably William]

Likely New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Although first name is not provided in Rowell's deposition, this is probably William Vennard

B. Rowell Dep. I

Wallace, Samuel

Rye (?)

Enters fort Dec. 14. Note: A Lt. Samuel Wallis of Rye was in Capt. Joseph Parson's company during the Revolution. See Langdon Parsons, History of Rye, supra, pp. 563 – 564

B. Rowell Dep. I

White, Robert (Capt., Mariner)

New Castle

Attempted abduction of Cochran, Dec. 14; Cochran's second interviewee, who states goal of visitors is to seize Cochran; Enters, with Langdon and thereafter, on Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; B. Rowell Dep. I; S. Rowell Dep.; Hall Dep. I. Note: Hall, Seveay, B. Rowell and S. Rowell refer only to "Captain White"

Wigglesworth (Doctor) [Samuel]

Durham

Takes cannon, Dec. 15. Note: Although first name is not provided in Cochran's deposition, this is undoubtedly Dr. Samuel Wigglesworth, originally of Ipswich, MA, then of Durham, Dover and Lee, NH

Cochran Dep. II

Williams, John

(?)

Enters on December 14

S. Rowell Dep.

Woodman, Jonathan

Durham

Sullivan raid of Dec. 15

Sullivan List

Woolcot, William (Capt., Mariner)

Portsmouth

A patriot spokesman on Dec. 14; Enters fort Dec. 14

Cochran Dep. I; Seveay Dep. I; Note: Seveay refers only to "Captain Woolcot"

Yeaton, Andrew

New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Takes cannon, Dec. 15

Seveay Dep. I; Hall Dep. I, II

Yeaton, Benjamin

New Castle

Takes cannon, Dec. 15

B. Rowell Dep. II

Yeaton, Jonathan

Probably New Castle

Enters fort Dec. 14; Note: Possibly the same person as Jonathan Eaton, above

B. Rowell Dep. I

If readers are aware of any first-hand account which identifies an individual or group of individuals as participants in the incidents of December, 1774, or if readers have additional information or comments relating to individuals on the above list, they are encouraged to contact the author, Thomas F. Kehr

IV. Possible Additional Participants

A historical marker on Goodwin Road in Eliot, Maine, identifies the former home of Captain Samuel Leighton. According to local tradition, Leighton was among those Maine men who attacked Fort William and Mary. Local tradition also holds that he transported some of the arms and powder to Frank’s Fort in Eliot (then part of the Town of Kittery). If this tradition is correct, it would mean that some of the powder seized at the fort in New Hampshire was immediately delivered to Massachusetts (Maine was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1774). The author has not attempted to scour the records of Kittery and Berwick, Maine (two towns which responded to the raids) for the names of potential participants.

On the loyalist side, one or more of the Cochran children may have been present during the raids, probably simply as worried observers. Since both of their parents were subdued (and presumably held) by the attackers, any children who were present would probably have been kept under watch by the raiders. The Cochran children known to have been born at the time of the raids were Sarah (Sally) Cochran, (age 9, based upon date of her 3/17/1765 baptism) and Ann (Nancy) Cochran (age 5, based upon date of her 5/14/1769 baptism). John and Sarah Cochran had at least two other children, Mary (Polly) Cochran, born circa 1779, and William Peregrine Cochran. William was baptized 9/17/1775. It is possible that was not a newborn at this time but he was, in any event, quite young. William was still a child in 1782.

On August 18, 1782, when the Cochrans were loyalist refugees, an adult male named John Corlet Cochran (age unknown) was traveling with the family. It is assumed (but not certain) that he would have been at least 16 at this time. Based upon the date of Sally Cochran’s baptism it is conceivable that John Corlet Cochran was a son of John and Sarah Cochran born between December of 1765 and August of 1766, or that he was a son born within a month of the Cochran’s marriage on 5/29/1764, but he might also have been another relative of the Captain, possibly a son from an earlier marriage, a nephew or a cousin. A “John Corlet Cochran” appears on Fort William and Mary’s muster roll for 1772/1773 (performing 1 month and 11 days service at the fort). Some undocumented secondary sources (rightly or wrongly) suggest that there might have been an individual of this name born in New Castle around this time. In short, Canadian and American sources have not to date established John Corlet Cochran’s precise relationship to the family. As noted below, his possession of the Cochran surname does not necessarily mean that a blood relationship exists.

Another individual traveling with the Cochran family in 1782 was Adam Cochran, who has been identified as an 11 year old black servant, indentured to Captain Cochran until the age of 21. The author thanks Halifax author, educator and loyalist historian Stephen Davidson for this information. It is assumed (but not known) that Adam might have joined the family during the British occupation of New York City. Adam Cochran (and not John Corlet Cochran) appears in the “Book of Negroes,” the detailed list of black loyalist refuges created by British authorities at the close of the Revolution. See “Black Loyalists: Our History Our People,” Canada’s Digital Collections: http://blackloyalist.com/canadiandigitalcollection/documents/official/book_of_negroes.htm

John and Sarah Cochran’s youngest daughter, Polly, grew up to marry Charles Hardy of Portsmouth. She returned to that town around the time of her marriage and lived there until her death. Sally and Nancy Cochran lived and died in New Brunswick, Canada. It is assumed (but not known) that William Peregrine Cochran, John Corlet Cochran and Adam Cochran also remained in Canada.

V. Persons Storing the Gunpowder

Bell’s History of Exeter, p. 242, contains a list of persons who were, on April 21, 1775 (just after the actions at Lexington and Concord) “in possession” of 72 barrels of gunpowder taken from the fort. Each barrel probably contained about 100 pounds of powder. The 72 barrels (about 7,200 pounds) were originally taken to Exeter but soon disbursed so as to provide munitions to other towns and so as to keep the hefty supply safe from easy confiscation by royal authorities. Although “possession” of the powder may mean only that the person was responsible for storing it, one assumes that at least some of the individuals stored the powder on their own property.

Approximately 28 of the barrels of powder taken from the fort have not been fully accounted for. At least some was kept in and around Durham, Dover and Madbury. Some portion of this powder was stored at the homes of Ebenezer Thompson of Durham and John Demeritt of Madbury. Tradition holds that some of the powder was also stored at the Durham meeting house, where the local minister, Rev. John Adams, was a participant in Sullivan’s raid. Judging from Exeter’s splitting of its powder; from the fact that Thompson and Demeritt presumably held some quantity; and from a contemporaneous report that some made its way to Dover, if the Durham meeting house was a repository at all, it seems unlikely that all of the unaccounted-for powder was stored there. As historian Elwin Page noted in “The King’s Powder, 1774,” The New England Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 1 (March, 1945), p. 83, the meeting house had no cellar.

The persons who stored the 72 barrels of the King’s stolen powder were not necessarily participants in the actual raids on the fort but nonetheless performed a valuable service for the patriot cause.

NAME

TOWN

QUANTITY OF POWDER

Allison , Samuel [with John Bell]

Londonderry

1 barrel in total

Ayers , Joseph

Portsmouth

4 barrels [delivered to Ayers on or about April 21, 1775 by Col. Nicholas Gilman and Dr. John Giddinge of Exeter]

Bell , John [with Samuel Allison]

Londonderry

1 barrel in total

Brooks , Samuel

Exeter

2 barrels

Cilley , Joseph, Jr. [Major]

Nottingham

8 barrels

Clough , Zachariah

Poplin (Fremont)

4 barrels

Folsom , Nathaniel [Col.]

Exeter

1 barrel

Folsom , Samuel [Col.]

Exeter

2 barrels

Giddinge , John [Dr.] [with Col. (Nicholas) Gilman]

Exeter

4 barrels in total [delivered to Joseph Ayers of Portsmouth on April 21, 1775]

Gilman [Col.] (Nicholas) [with Dr. John Giddinge]

Exeter

4 barrels in total [delivered to Joseph Ayers of Portsmouth on April 21, 1775]

Gilman , Theophilus

Exeter

2 barrels

Gordon , Nathaniel

Exeter

6 barrels

Lawrence , David [with others]

Epping

8 barrels

Long , Ebenezer

Kingston

12 barrels

Marshall [Capt.] [with James Robinson]

Brentwood

6 barrels in total

Odiorne , Thomas

Exeter

2 barrels

Pickering , James

Exeter

4 barrels

Poor [Col.] (Enoch?)

Exeter

2 barrels

Robinson , Ephraim

Exeter

2 barrels

Robinson , James [with Capt. Marshall]

Brentwood

6 barrels in total

Rice , John [Esq.]

Exeter

2 barrels

Row , John

Exeter

4 barrels

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mr. Kehr received his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law (Camden) and his B.A. in History from the University of New Hampshire. He is a former president, historian and member of the New Hampshire Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Through his efforts in 2000, the National Society, Sons of the American Revolution officially recognized participation in the raids on Fort William and Mary as American Revolutionary War service. Mr. Kehr is actively engaged in research, writing and lecturing on New Hampshire during the early Revolution. He is also known for his first person portrayals of Governor/Senator John Langdon, the Continental Congress’ Agent of Marine on the Piscataqua.

All rights reserved to the author, Thomas F. Kehr

Comments or corrections should be addressed to Thomas F. Kehr

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