DOCSLIB.ORG

The Correspondence of William Tryon and Other Selected Papers

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Correspondence of William Tryon and Other Selected Papers Henly. Darby: 634, 635 n.8 pointed to committee to examine and setUe claims. Henly, John: 634, 635 n.9 241 n.l; partner of George Blair in mercantile busi- Hennen, John: signs petition for debt relief, 256 ness, 251 n.l4; goes to Williamsburg, 348; member Henrietta: Captain Piper bound for Hull, 24, 58 of committee to draw up an address to king, 850; as Henson, Charles: signs Regulator petition, 173 assemblyman, signs letter to Tryon, 858; letter to Henson, John: signs Regulator petition, 173 Samuel Johnston, 862 Henson, Joseph: signs Regulator petition. 111 Heyward. Capt. See Hayward, Thomas Henson, William: signs Regulator petition. 111 Hibemia: Captain Huggett bound for London. 25, 35 Herald's office: rules on Sir Nathaniel Duckenfield's Hickman. William; signs Regulator petition. 173; iden- claim of precedency, 786-787 tified. 174 n.8 Hermitage, The: home of Burgwin family, 884, 885 Hico settlement: 749 Hero: Captain Roberson, bound for Falmouth, 39, 43, Hides: duty on. 48. 51. 53, 68; for shoes for troops, 712 44, 58, 64 Higgan's Bridge: 228 n. 10 Heron: Captain Thomson, bound for Portsmouth, 325; Higgins, James: signs Regulator petition, 174 formerly commanded by Captain Parker, 881 n.l Higgins, John: signs Regulator petition, 174 Heron, Alice Marsden: seeks reimbursement for hus- Higgins, William: signs Regulator petition, 174 band's expenses, 403 n.l, 803-804; identified. 804 High Rock Ford: 729 n.l Highlands (on Hudson River): site of fort, 859 Heron, Benjamin: clerk of the pleas, 1; identified, 2 n.3; Hill, Mary (Mrs. John Campbell): 219 n.3 signs council message to Tryon, 4, 64; sends letter Hill, Thomas: signs Regulator petition, 112 from Cape Fear for Tryon, 25; member of council, Hill, William: 51 32, 249, 262, 263; provincial secretary, 33, 56, 62, Hill, Wills. See Hillsborough, earl of 86. 88. 96. 97, 125, 164, 199, 243, 250. 337. 349, Hillerman. Nicholas: signs Regulator petition. 113 350, 354; pays collected taxes to treasurer, 48, 52; Hillsborough: provincial congress at. 13 n.3, 179 n.3, signs council memorial to king, 83; acts as naval 214 n.3, 467 n.5, 529 n.l, 568 n.5, 639 n.l4, 750 officer in the province, 104; appointed lieutenant n.2; Edmund Fanning moves to, 54 n.6; Richard general, 155; position in army assigned, 156; attends Henderson lives near, 56; Thomas Ltoyd lives in, 82 council of war, 185; named a justice of Duplin n.4; William Hooper in, at time of Regulator trouble, County. 247; signs petition for postal service. 285; 94 n.8; Isaac Edwards takes message from governor letter to Tryon as deputy auditor discussing tax col- to, 101; Edmund Fanning relates recent events in, lection, 295-297; letter to Tryon sending list of land 103; messenger sent to, to consult officers, 116; grants, 336; granted leave of absence for one year, seized property taken to, 117; Regulators to meet 337-338; letter from Tryon to Lord Hillsborough to with officers in. 118. 119; Ralph McNair a merchant be delivered by, 338-339. 340. 344-345 n.l. 346; in. 120 n.l; assault on officials in. 121 n.6; mob goes Hillsborough receives material from. 402; death of. to outskirts of. 135; Tryon arrives in, 139; troops 403 n.l, 518 n.l; his return to North Carolina ex- march to Salisbury. 141 n.l; Tryon in, 144; mob in pected. 423; fails to receive letter from Tryon. 425; vicinity of, 144; Regulators intend to enter, 145; accounts kept as deputy auditor. 435; paid for auditing Regulators unable to march in, 149; Tryon and accounts. 437; receives money for Rev. Robert troops march to, 151, 221. 230. 238, 716. 739; troops on receiver at. Cholmondly, 437 ; agrees to accept vouchers to leave, en route to Salisbury. 159; council of war general's account, 446; says governor's post in North 161 n.l2. 184-185. 200. 552 n.l; proclamation issued Carolina more rewarding than that in New York. 450; in, 165. 199; letter delivered to governor at, 167; former offices of. filled temporarily. 519; widow seeks George Hendry goes to, 179; John Hinton there with to collect money due. 803-804; mentioned. 201 n.3, troops, 186 n.6; violence threatened against court in, 419. 421. 595 207; Tyree Harris to meet Regulators in, 212; supe- Heron. Charles: 518 n.l rior court action in, 213 n.4; biscuits sent to, 219, Heron. Mary: 201 n.3 239; return of troops at. 240. 279; expenses of Herring, Benjamin: 801 expedition to, 241, 259, 266, 267. 270; riot in, 257 Herring, Delany: signs Regulator petition, 173 n.lO; sermon preached before troops at, 260, 314; Herring, Richard: pays quitrents, 443 copy of orders to troops at, sent to Lord Hillsborough. Herritage, William: clerk of council, 54, 262; identified, 276; importance of Tryon 's action at. 277; John Q)llet 56 n.l9; signs petition on behalf of prisoners, 213; to give account of action at. 278; artillery at, 322; signs petition for postal service. 285 James Hunter tried at, 324; record of temperature at, Hermhut Board: places Rev Frederic W. Marshall in 325 n.l, 329-331; proclamation concerning action at. charge of Wachovia. 765 n.4 361; petition for inspection of hemp and tobacco at. Hertford: act concerning towii of, 14 n.l 372; Regulators sentenced to death by court at. 431 Hertford, earl of. See Seymour-Conway, Francis n.l; post goes to. every fortnight. 466; expedition to. Hertford County: secretary'sfeesfor militia commissions in 1768. 472, 644, 648; charter of, 478-479; disturb- in, 232; number of taxables in, 326; parish in, 328; ances in the court described, 505-508, 509-510, 513, John Alexander, minister assigned to, 342. 345. 482; 514. 516. 519; Regulator insurrection in, 512; papers free ferries and bridges authorized. 396; troops to be concerning outrages in, laid before assembly. 532; raised in. 643 n.l; quota of troops, 644; troops to council condemns outrages in. 539; C. J. Sauthier march to Hillsborough, 652; provisions for troops of, maps. 558 n.l; Hermon Husband not an accessory to 663 riots at, 598; militia to be called out to protect, 601; Hervey, Augustus Frederick, eari of Bristol: 805 letter from, read before council, 604; message from, Hewes. Joseph: takes resolve from assembly to Tryon. about march of Regulators to New Bern, 605, 606. 8. 11; identified. 9 n.3, 250 n.5; member of assem- 607; Tryon has no report from, 614; prosecution bly. 45. 249; signature on public accounts. 54; ap- planned of rioters there, 616; inhabitants distressed, 925.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • British Records: Colonial Office (Microfilm)
    MICROFILM Z,5.51 PUBLIC RECO.RD OFFICE Lo don, En land C O. ul.2/u OOIDNIAL OFFICE. Duplicates Acts North Carolina, 1766-1772. Reel no . Z.5.51N 1-2b 1767 Jan )1. Brunswick. Certific tion by William Tryon o 29 acts passed by last session of General Assembly begun and • h ld at New Bern, J November 1766. Incl. title of same. J-74 Th acts r erred to abov. 1767 Jan 31. Certific tion of acts above by B njamin Heron, Secre­ ary. 75 Cover page: "North Carolina. eta p ssed in the Session of he Gener l as mbly held at N vourn 5th DP.c mber 1767 & proro ed the 16th January l 768'1 • 76-184b The acts r ferr d to abov -- 27 in numbe • 1 , .. 86 1768 M::irch 7. Brunswick. Certific ton o acts bov by William Tryon. Incl. t· les of sa e. 187 Cover page: 11 orth Carolina. T nty on Ac s passed in the ssion be n ovemb r 7, 1768 11 • 188 Notation that cts b low were enclosed in Gov. Tryon' s d spatch no. 16 of 10 January 1769. 189-190 1769 Jan 10. Brunswick. ertification of ac s below by illiam Tryon. Incl. titles of s me. 191-245 The acts re erred to abov. Inc • (fol. 2h5) certifica ion by Benja­ min Heron, Seer ary, 9 Ja uary 1769. 1769 ov 27. Brunswick Certification by Willi Tryon of our acts below passed by Gen r ss mbly in session begun 23 October 1769.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Ridgefield: April 27, 1777
    American Revolution & Colonial Life Programs Pre and Post Lesson Plans & Activities The Battle of Ridgefield: April 27, 1777 • The Battle of Ridgefield was the only inland battle fought in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War. • Captain Benedict Arnold was the main commander for the battle as the British marched upon a weak Colonial Army. Arnold's defenses kept the British at bay until the larger army could come later. • Brigadier General Gold Selleck Silliman of Fairfield was also involved in the battle. In the primary source letter below, he sends word to General Wooster that they need reinforcements. • Silliman’s 2nd wife, Mary Silliman, writes to her parents after the battle, relieved that her husband and son were unharmed. Although her parents are only a few towns away, she is unable to travel the distance. • Another primary source is a silhouette of Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Gould of Fairfield, who died during the battle. At the Fairfield Museum: • Students will view a painted portrait of Mary Silliman in the galleries. • Students will see the grave marker for General Gold Selleck Silliman, his first wife, and a few of his children. • Students will also see the grave marker of Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Gould. Fairfield Museum & History Center | Fairfieldhistory.org | American Revolution: The Battle of Ridgefield A brief synopsis – The Battle of Fairfield: General Tryon of the British army thought that he would be warmly received by the people of Ridgefield after taking out a Colonial supply post just days earlier. Tryon, to his dismay, learned that the town was being barricaded by none other than General Benedict Arnold.
    [Show full text]
  • BICENTENNIAL Brunswick County North Carolina
    SOUVENIR BOOKLET BICENTENNIAL Brunswick County North Carolina Published bY IV: Brunswick County Historical Society 975.629 B BnUNSWICK, Duchy of. Quarterly: 1 or, sem() o[ hctrrts gules, a lion rampant azrtre (Luneberg), 2 guies, two lions p:tssant gUardant in pale or (Brunswick), 3 azure, zt lion rirtnll:ttrt itrgent, crowned gules (Everstein), 4 gules, a lion r':rmplnt or within a bordure compony argent and azurc (Homburg), l-r r)t" it lion ramp- ant gU[es, Crowned Azvte,6 gulcs, threc bars itntl ln chitrl a lion passant ot, 7 per fess in chief or, two bcars' paws s:illlc (Iloya), in base per fesse in chief barry of Iour gulos irrrcl itrgcnt (Ncw Bruchhausen), the base gTronny of oight argcn[ ilnd azur:c (Old Bruchhausen), 8 azrtr:e, al caglc displtVcd itrgcnt; artnt:tl gulcs' (Diepholz), 9 barry of four argcnt and gultrs, t ltitlc countcr- changed (Hohnstein), 10 argent, a stag's lttirc gulcrs (llcinstcin), 11 argent, a stag trippant sable (Klcstcnbcrg), l2 trgtttrt, rt stagrs attire sable (Blankenburg). Supportcrg 'l'w11 s:tvtlgos' srpporting a club and wreathed about thc htra<l- :tntl tnitltll<: "ac-h leaves. Motto ttlrJss aspera terrent. " with - PREFACE Brunswick County was founded in 1764. To commemorate this dal,c, l,lrt, Ilrunswicl' County Historical Society held abicentennial celebration at Brunswicli'I'own SL:rlc IIisl.oli<' Site on November 15, 7964. In order to have apermanent memento of this crvtrnt. tlrc Brunswick County Historical Society herewith presents this booklet. The bicentennial program was held in the open near the excavation ol'tlrt' r'uins ol' the first courbhouse used in Brunswick County" The foliowing constitutefl [[1r proglirrrr lirr' the afternoon: 2:00 P.
    [Show full text]
  • Russellborough, the Royal Governors' Mansion at Brunswick Town Stanley South University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected]
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Archaeology and Anthropology, South Carolina Faculty & Staff ubP lications Institute of 5-1967 Russellborough, the Royal Governors' Mansion at Brunswick Town Stanley South University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/sciaa_staffpub Part of the Anthropology Commons Publication Info Published in The Conference on Historic Site Archaeology Papers 1965-1966, Volume 1, 1967, pages 111-122. http://www.cas.sc.edu/sciaa/ © 1967 by The outhS Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology This Article is brought to you by the Archaeology and Anthropology, South Carolina Institute of at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty & Staff ubP lications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 15 Russellborough, t.le Royal Governors I Mansion at Brunswick Town Stanley ~uth Late in September 1748, Spanish ships sailed twelve miles into the Cape Fear River and attacked the little town of Brunswick, taking possession of all the vessels in the harbor and plundering the town for three days before being driven away by townspeople under the leadeDship of William Dry. During the rout of the invaders from the town, the Spanish ship Fortune blew up and sank in the harbor, killing captain Vincent Lopez and all of his officers.l Probably as a result of this dramatic incident at Port Brunswick, His J;.iajestyf s SLoop Scorpion \'las stationed there by 1751 under the command of Captain John Russell. un uctober 31 of that year, William Moore of Orton Plantation, near Brunsw-:lck, sold 55 acres of land adjoining the northern boundary of Brunswick Town to Captain Russell for one ~und per acre.
    [Show full text]
  • The John Allen House and Tryon's Palace: Icons of the North Carolina
    LIBERTY UNIVERSITY The John Allen House and Tryon’s Palace: Icons of the North Carolina Regulator Movement A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History By H. Gilbert Bradshaw LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 2020 Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Chapter 1: “A Well-Documented Picture of North Carolina History” ..................................... 1 Chapter 2: “Valley of Humility Between Two Mountains of Conceit” ................................. 28 Chapter 3: “The Growing Weight of Oppression Which We Lye Under” ............................ 48 Chapter 4: “Great Elegance in Taste and Workmanship” ...................................................... 70 Chapter 5: “We Have Until Very Recently Neglected Our Historical Sites” ....................... 101 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 133 ii “For there are deeds that should not pass away, And names that must not wither.” – Plaque in St. Philip’s Church Brunswick Town, North Carolina iii Abstract A defining feature of North Carolina is her geography. English colonists who founded the first settlements in the east adapted their old lifestyles to their new environs, and as a result, a burgeoning planter and merchant class emerged throughout the Tidewater and coastal regions. This eastern gentry replicated the customs, manners,
    [Show full text]
  • Battle of Ridgefield - Wikipedia
    Battle of Ridgefield - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ridgefield Coordinates: 41°18′19″N 73°30′5″W The Battle of Ridgefield was a battle and a series of Battle of Ridgefield skirmishes between American and British forces during the American Revolutionary War. The main battle was fought in Part of the American Revolutionary War the village of Ridgefield, Connecticut, on April 27, 1777. More skirmishing occurred the next day between Ridgefield and the coastline near Westport, Connecticut. On April 25, 1777, a British force landed between Fairfield and Norwalk (now Westport) under the command of New York's Royal Governor Major General William Tryon. They marched to Danbury, where they destroyed Continental Army supplies after chasing off a small garrison of troops. Word spread concerning the British troop movements, and Connecticut militia leaders sprang into action. Major General David Wooster, Brigadier General Gold Selleck Silliman, and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold raised a combined force of roughly 700 Continental Army regular and irregular local militia forces to oppose the raiders, but they could not reach Danbury in time to prevent the destruction of the supplies. Instead, they set out to harass the British on their return to the coast. The company led by General Wooster twice attacked Tryon's Monument to David Wooster in Danbury, rear guard during their march south on April 27. Wooster was Connecticut mortally wounded in the second encounter, and he died five days later. The main encounter then took place at Ridgefield, Date April 27, 1777 where several hundred militia under Arnold's command Location Ridgefield, Connecticut and confronted the British; they were driven away in a running present-day Westport battle down the town's main street, but not before inflicting casualties on the British.
    [Show full text]
  • TRYON GENEALOGY WILLIAM TRYON of Wethersfield, Connecticut
    TRYON GENEALOGY WILLIAM TRYON of Wethersfield, Connecticut by Joan s . Guilford, Ph . D. TRYON WILLIAM TRYON of Wethersfield, Connecticut by Joan s. Guilford, Ph.D. Compiled in August of 2001 WILLIAM1 TRYON was at Wethersfield, Connecticut, by 1694 when he had lands drawn there (Stiles, 1904/1987, 2:717). According to Barner (unpub. Mss.) he came about 1675 or shortly thereafter from England to America. Stiles' account implies that all his children were by second wife, SAINT (ROBINSON) LATIMER, daughter of Thomas1 and Mary Robinson and widow of Bezaleel Latimer, but most were by his first wife, MARY STEELE, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Boosey) Steele. MARY was born in 1652 and died in 1686. WILLIAM1 was born about 1645 and according to all reports we have found, his father was one WILLIAMa of Bilbury, England, and his mother a REBECCA, maiden name unknown. According to some submitters to the World Family Tree (Broderbud TM), WILLIAMa also had a son Edward who was born 25 September 1634 at Bilbury and died on 4 May 1714 at Stamford, Connecticut although Torrey says he did not marry until about 1684 to his wife Sarah and his surname is given as "Tryhern". There has also been men­ tion of an Ananias who married Abigail Norton, daughter of Thomas1 and Grace (Wells) Norton on 6 August 1667, she born in 1642 at Ockley, Surrey, England, and lived in Killingworth, Connecticut. Furthermore, they are said to have had a son Thomas who was born 6 September 1635 at Bilbury. Whether or not any of these Tryons left progeny is unknown to us nor do we vouch for any.
    [Show full text]
  • The Five Royal Governors of North Carolina, 1729-1775 / by Blackwell P. Robinson
    fig?- Z\ftV% Morth .Carolina Stafe Library (L * Raleigh The Five Royal Governors of North Carolina 17294775 By Blackwell P. Robinson, Ph. D. Professor of History Woman's College of the University of North Carolina A Publication of The Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission Box 1881, Raleigh, North Carolina 1963 The Five Royal Governors of North Carolina 17294775 By Blackwell P. Robinson, Ph. D. Professor of History Woman's College of the University of North Carolina A Publication of The Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission Box 1881, Raleigh, North Carolina 1963 THE CAROLINA CHARTER TERCENTENARY COMMISSION Hon. Francis E. Winslow, Chairman Henry Belk Mrs. Kauno A. Lehto Mrs. Doris Betts James G. W. MacLamroc Dr. Chalmers G. Davidson Mrs. Harry McMullan Mrs. Everett L. Durham Dr. Paul Murray William C. Fields Dan M. Paul William Carrington Gretter, Jr. Dr. Robert H. Spiro, Jr. Grayson Harding David Stick Mrs. James M. Harper, Jr. J. P. Strother Mrs. Ernest L. Ives Mrs. J. O. Tally, Jr. Dr. Henry W. Jordan Rt. Rev. Thomas H. Wright Ex-Officio Dr. Charles F. Carroll, Robert L. Stallings, Superintendent of Director, Department of Public Instruction Conservation and Development Dr. Christopher Crittenden Director, Department of Archives and History, Secretary The Carolina Charter Tercentenary Commission was established by the North Carolina General Assembly to "make plans and develop a program for celebration of the tercentenary of the granting of the ." Carolina Charter of 1663 . As part of this program the Com- mission arranged for the publication of a number of historical pamphlets for use in stimulating interest in the study of North Carolina history during the period 1663-1763.
    [Show full text]
  • Scale in Late Colonial New York
    M AST Trees LIBERTY Poles Wendy Bellion Mast Trees, Liberty Poles, and the Politics of Scale in Late Colonial New York In the years preceding the American Revolution, people in Manhattan politically measured their place by marking their relation to the tallest things in the urban landscape. Between 1766 and 1776, five liberty poles—pine ships’ masts that were refashioned into political symbols— were successively erected by colonial New Yorkers and destroyed by British forces at a green space called the Commons (also known as the Fields, and now occupied by City Hall Park). Initially raised to cele- brate and memorialize the repeal of the Stamp Act, the first parliamen- tary taxation act to excite widespread protest in the American colonies, the poles grew to signify colonial resistance as tensions with Britain escalated during the 1770s. Their inflated meaning was matched by their formal expansion: crowned by topmasts, signs, and flags, and for- tified with iron to deter the soldiers’ attacks, the poles increased in size to the point that William Tryon (1729–1788), the British governor who ordered the demolition of the last pole, could grandiosely critique the offending object as a “monument of insult to the Government, and of licentiousness to the people.”1 Notions of scale informed this cycle of creation, signification, and destruction from beginning to end. The efficacy of the liberty poles as political “monuments” derived in part from their origin as giant John C. McRae, after white pines, majestic trees valued by the British navy for shipbuilding. F. A. Chapman, Raising the Liberty Pole, 1776 Regarded as monarchs of the American forest, white pines exercised (detail, see fig.
    [Show full text]
  • North Carolina General Assembly 1971 Session
    NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1971 SESSION RESOLUTION 47 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 695 A JOINT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE BATTLE OF ALAMANCE. Whereas, on May 16, 1771, more than 2,000 men who called themselves "Regulators", assembled along the banks of Alamance Creek and surrounding area in what is now known as Alamance County, having come together from their homes, farms, stores and various professions to protest and force William Tryon, the King of England's Royal Governor of North Carolina, to listen to their complaints of the dishonesty of his officeholders; and Whereas, Governor Tryon was determined to put down this "Insurrection," and as head of the militia serving the colony, had left his palace at New Bern, and arrived at Hillsborough, in Orange County on May 9, and had on May 11 headed into the country of the Regulators and had set up camp on Alamance Creek on May 14; and Whereas, Governor Tryon refused to soften his surrender terms, but issued an ultimatum to the Regulators to quietly lay down their arms, surrender their leaders and rest on the leniency of Governor Tryon so as to prevent bloodshed; and Whereas, the Regulators sent a reply to Governor Tryon to "Fire and be damned"; and Whereas, the militia opened fire upon the Regulators, and during the ensuing two-hour battle, nine of Tryon's men were killed and sixty-one wounded, and nine of the Regulators were killed and about two hundred wounded; and Whereas, Governor Tryon's militia captured many Regulators and subsequently hanged six of them for refusing to denounce their Regulator activities; and Whereas, the Battle of Alamance was the first battle of the Revolutionary War, occurring four years prior to the Battle at Concord Bridge; and Whereas, during the year 1971, North Carolina is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Alamance; Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring: Section 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Economic Factors in the Military Career of Benedict Arnold
    University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 1995 AN INDELICATE BALANCE; ECONOMIC FACTORS IN THE MILITARY CAREER OF BENEDICT ARNOLD Robert A. Scappini University of Rhode Island Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Scappini, Robert A., "AN INDELICATE BALANCE; ECONOMIC FACTORS IN THE MILITARY CAREER OF BENEDICT ARNOLD" (1995). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1813. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1813 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN INDELICATE BALANCE; ECONOMIC FACTORS IN THE MILITARY CAREER OF BENEDICT ARNOLD BY ROBERT A. SCAPPINI A THESIS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 1995 ABSTRACT This thesis will examine Benedict Arnold's life assessing the mercenary nature of his military career in the larger context of financial gain under the guise of military opera­ tions. Arnold's actions as a Continental officer and as a British general became overshadowed by his act of treason, and as such, there has been no serious examination of his personal and business affai rs from 1779 to 1801. Throughout the war Arnold was the object of several Con­ gressional and military investigations for financial misman- agernent and abuse of power. The accusations against Arnold would become secondar y , as the priorities of the war super­ ceded the need for justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Danbury Raid and the Forgotten General
    Danbury Raid and the Forgotten General “I am dying, but with a strong hope and persuasion that my country will gain her independence.” General David Wooster’s dying words after being mortally wounded by the British at the Battle of Ridgefield on the Danbury Raid, 1777 Start/Finish: Compo Beach / Cedar Point, Westport, Connecticut Distance: 61.5 miles Terrain: In town cycling, country roads and some busier sections Difficulty: Hilly with some steep grades Connecticut supplied more food and cannons to the Continental Army during the American Revolution than any other state, which explains why it was eventually known as the “provision state.” Soldiers cannot survive for long if they must rely on the local population for food, clean water, clothing, tents, blankets and other basics, especially in an environment where more colonists were Loyalists or neutral than most contemporary Americans realize. The Rebels simply had to have an organized, well-protected supply line. Danbury, located just 25 miles from Long Island Sound and between New York and Boston, was ideally situated for a major depot. After American victories at Trenton and Princeton in 1776 and 1777, the British felt an urgent need to go on the offensive. They took advantage of their control of the waterways and moved 26 ships off of Compo Beach in Fairfield as a staging area for an attack on Danbury. Today there’s a fantastic Cannon Revolutionary War Memorial at the spot in Westport where the Redcoats came ashore on April 25, 1777 under the leadership of British New York Governor Tryon. Nearly 2000 British troops moved quickly in a forced march through the farm- covered landscape.
    [Show full text]