Transcript N.H. and the Revolutionary War

New Hampshire and
The Revolutionary War
1774 – 1781
European
Colonization
During much of the 1600s
and 1700s, European
countries struggled to
control North America.
The thirteen original
colonies were part of the
British Empire.
England and France at Odds
After fighting costly wars with the
French in both Europe and
America, the British finally
emerged victorious.
In this engraving, an Englishman
offers a Bible and a bolt of cloth; a
Frenchman offers a tomahawk
and a purse of money
—both competing to win the
friendship of a Native American.
England and America at Odds
Once they were secure from
French and Indian raids,
Americans no longer felt as
dependent on their mother
country…
…and they resented the new
taxes that England imposed
on them to help pay for the
costs of the wars.
Patriotic Homespun
English laws also restricted
American manufacturing and
required colonists to buy goods
from Britain or other British
colonies.
Some resentful patriots refused
to buy imported goods, wearing
only homespun, like the family
shown here.
American
Grievances: An
Example
The American colonies were
not allowed to make their
own paper—
even though cotton and flax,
the raw materials from which
paper was made, were
available in America.
Instead…
American cotton was first
shipped to England to be
made into paper.
Paper could then be shipped
back for sale in America.
Adding Insult to Injury…
This process
…Parliament made matters
even worse.
made paper
very expensive
for the colonists.
It imposed a TAX on
Americans for anything that
used paper.
Loyalists
Not everyone was unhappy
with England.
Wealthy merchants, like John
Moffatt of Portsmouth,
prospered.
A friend of the royal governor,
Moffatt owned stores for
outfitting ships and making
sails. He also owned trading
sloops.
Patriots
Increasingly, however, patriots
called for action in their
meetings…
…And took action in the streets.
Here, a mob of patriots punishes
a tax official by forcing him to
drink a large pot of tea to the
“health of the King of England
and his children.”
By the 1770s, New Hampshire people
were divided…
…1/3 were loyalists, who were
content to remain part of Britain…
…and 1/3 were non-committal.
…1/3 were firm patriots, who wanted
independence from Britain…
Paul Revere’s Warning
Tensions mounted as both
sides prepared for a likely war.
In December, 1774, Paul
Revere rode to warn New
Hampshire people that the
British were coming to protect
military stores at Fort William
and Mary in New Castle.
This occurred five months
before the more famous ride
of Paul Revere that signaled
the beginning of the war.
The Fort William and Mary Raid
“Sons of Liberty” raided Fort
William and Mary and captured
fifteen cannon and more than
five tons of gunpowder.
They hid the arms and stores in
the nearby countryside.
A day later, British warships
appeared in Portsmouth
Harbor—just as Paul Revere
had warned.
A New Hampshire Patriot
John Sullivan of Durham led
the “Sons of Liberty” in the
raid on Fort William and
Mary.
Later, he served in the War
for Independence as a major
general.
The Last Royal Governor
John Wentworth, a native
of New Hampshire, was
the last of the province’s
royal governors.
Wentworth remained a
loyalist and was forced to
flee the province.
He would never return.
Portsmouth in Danger
Portsmouth, the provincial
capital, was New Hampshire’s
major seaport and center of
trade.
But because of its location
and importance, the port was
under threat from British
warships once the Revolution
began.
Portsmouth in Danger
To protect its revolutionary
government, colonists moved
the capital a few miles inland
to Exeter.
A One-time Hero
Robert Rogers achieved fame
as an Indian fighter during the
French and Indian War. He
created a unit known as
Rogers’ Rangers…
— but Major Rogers sided with
the British during the
Revolution.
A Hero for the Time
One of the Rangers had been a
young John Stark, who learned
from Robert Rogers as a young
man.
Fortunately for America, this
former Ranger was a patriot…
And his experiences prepared
him for important roles at the
Battles of Bunker Hill and
Bennington.
The Battle of Bunker Hill
The British ultimately won this
early battle (actually fought on
Breed’s Hill), but only because
the colonists ran out of
ammunition.
To patriots, the outcome was
a victory because the British
paid dearly.
They lost over 1,000 men to
death and injury while Americans lost fewer than 400.
The Battle of Bennington
General Stark’s decisive
victory over Hessians—
Germans fighting for the
British—is considered a
turning point in the war.
Not only did the victory
improve American morale,
but also it saved important
American supplies at
Bennington.
Souvenirs of Battle
Recognizing that his victory at Bennington was important,
John Stark retrieved these Hessian items from the field after
the battle and brought them back to New Hampshire.
They are now part of the museum’s New Hampshire through
Many Eyes exhibit.
The Woman Behind John Stark
John Stark’s wife Elizabeth—better
known as Molly—acted as both
doctor and nurse to her husband’s
soldiers throughout the
Revolutionary War.
General Stark immortalized Molly
when he urged his troops at
Bennington:
“Boys, yonder are the Red Coats.
Before night they are ours or Molly
Stark sleeps a widow.”
The Molly Stark Trail
John Stark called his path to Bennington the “Molly Stark Trail.”
Today, that path is Vermont’s State Route 9.
And the main part, from Brattleboro to Bennington, is still called
the “Molly Stark Trail.”
Cornwallis Surrenders
Officially, hostilities ended
between England and
America when Lord
Cornwallis surrendered at
the Battle of Yorktown,
Virginia.
It was October, 1781,
almost seven years after
New Hampshire patriots had
raided Fort William and
Mary.
New Hampshire’s Contribution
No battles were fought on
New Hampshire soil during the
Revolutionary War…
…but New Hampshire men and
women contributed greatly in
the struggle for independence.
This marker for Jonathan
Wheelock stands in Concord’s
Old North Cemetery. It reveals
that at Bunker Hill, the soldier
could have been no more than
16 years old!
© 2008–2010 Christopher MacLeod for
the New Hampshire Historical Society