Noddle's Island, Boston Harbor, Suffolk, MA ************************************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************************************ Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth Subject: Noddle's Island, Boston Harbor - in 1629 and during the Revolutionary War. Source: King's Handbook of Boston by M. F. Sweetser Cambridge, Mass., Moses King, Publisher - Harvard Square, 1878. p.111 Noddle's Island, East Boston. A mile and a half north of South Boston, across the inner harbor, at whose western end rise the wharves and hills of Boston, is the Island Ward of EAst Boston, cover- ing more than a square mile, and connected with the city by three steam-ferries, and with the mainland on the north by several bridges. This locality was for over two centuries known as Noddle's Island, from William Noddle, who was probably sent out by Brereton, and settled upon it in 1629, before Boston was founded. This pioneer was a bachelor, and the name is extinct. Sir William Brereton re- ceived an early grant of it; but the first conspicuous settler was Samuel Maverick, Gentleman, who erected a small fortified mansion, with artillery to defend it, and was in comfortable possession, and authority long before Winthrop's Fleet (of 1630) entered the bay. The Puritans, coming later, allowed Maverick to remain here, on payment yearly of "a fatt weather, a fatt hogg, or XLs in money;" although it is most likely that he was an adherent of the Gorges government, together with Walford, Blackstone, and Morton. He certainly lived under the stigmas of being an Episco- palian and a Royalist, and met with annoying persecutions from the Boston authorities. Maverick was the first New England slaveholder, when Capt. Pierce brought negroes hither from the Tortugas in 1638, and sold them in Boston. In 1645, after LaTour's terrible enemy, D'Aulnay, had stormed the fort at St. John, and sailed away with his plate and treasures, leaving Madame La Tour dead of a broken heart, the unhappy chief- tain came to Maverick's little castle, where he spent the dreary winter. Not long afterwards the godly brethren of Boston made new encroachments on the rights of their prelatical neighbor, and he found himself forced to depart from the fair island-home. Some years later he died at New Amsterdam. During their time of suffering from persecution, about 1660-70, the Baptists of Boston used to meet here, under the title of "The Church of Jesus Christ, worshipping at Noddle's Island in New England." The poor fellows labored under all sorts of dis- advantages in town; but in this insular sanctuary their worship was undisturbed, until the slow liberalization of Massachusetts gave them opportunity to enter Boston as accepted Christian brethren. A century later the comfortable Williams' mansion was the pride of Noddle's Island and Putnam, Knox, Lincoln and the clergy of Boston made fre- quent visits here. The house was graced by six comely daughters, whose harpsichord was the forerunner of musical Boston; and the hills on the island gave pasturage to 43 horses and 223 cattle. After this house was burned in the skirmish of 1775, Washington gave Mr. Williams one of the Continental barracks at Cambridge, which he moved down to the island, and remodelled into a new mansion. During the siege of Boston a score of young ladies left the beleaguered town and took refuge on Noddle's Island, perhaps in this well-known house of Williams. One of these was expecially dear to William Tudor, the judge-advocate-general of the American army; and he used to visit her fre- quently, passing from Cambridge to Chelsea, where he undressed, and tied his clothing in a bundle, fastened upon his head; after which he swam to the island, resuming his garments, and called upon the fair lady. The result of these Hellespontic wooings was a happy marriage, whence came three sons and two daughters, in later days patricians of the good Commonwealth. Passing abruptly from love to war, we find that on this same island was fought the second battle of the Revolution, and the first in which the American artillery was used. On May 27, 1775, General John Stark and 300 men were sent to clear out the livestock on Noddle's Island; and after they had driven 400 sheep inland from Breed's Island, they engaged the British marines on Noddle's but were driven back when large re-enforcements of Regulars crossed from Boston. In the meantime, General Gage sent a schooner armed with sixteen small guns, and eleven barges full of marines up Chelsea Creek, to cut off the raiders; while Putnam came to their relief with 300 men and two guns. The fight lasted all night; but, although fresh troops poured over from Boston, the Americans forced the crew of the schooner to abandon her and flee, and drove back the other vessels. They took the artillery from the captured vessel and then burnt her, and retired to the main- land, having inflicted severe loss on the British forces. Lord Percy was immensely dis- gusted at this affair, and worte home to his father: "The rebels have lately amused them- selves with burning the houses on an island just under the Admiral's nose; and a schooner with four carriage-guns and some swivels, which he sent to drive them off, unfortunately got ashore and the rebels burned her." Philip Freneau, the poet of the Revolution, makes General Gage speak thus, at this time, referring to the partial famine caused by the American raids on the islands: "Three weeks, ye gods! nay, three long years it seems Since roast beef I have touched, exept in dreams. In sleep, choice dishes to my view repair: Waking, I gape, and champ the empty air. (etc) In 1780 there were many sick men on the French fleet in the harbor, and barracks were erected on the island for hospitals. The poor fellows christened their gloomy quarters "L'ile de France'; but small comfort did they find in that, with dead soldiers being borne to the burying-ground every hour. The mortality was serious, and many a good Gaulish veter- and was laid to his eternal rest on the hills of Noddle's Island. After the British forces evacuated Boston the island was strongly fortified. Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth Major Amos Farnsworth - Noddle's Island His Journal of the Revolutionary War. (original journal is now owned by the Mass. Hist. Society.) Subject: FARNSWORTH, Amos Jr. His Journal of the Revolutionary War - Noddle's Island Source: Matthias Farnsworth and His Descendants in America A Monograph by Claudius Buchanan Farnsworth Published privately by the author 1891 Journal of Amos Farnsworth, Jr. April 1775 "We marched and came there (to Concord) where some had been killed. Pulled on and came to Lexington, where much hurt was done to the houses by breaking glass and burning of many houses, but they were forced to retreat though they were more numerous than we. And I saw many dead Regulars by the way. Went into a house where the blood was half over shoes.. Thursday April 20, 1775 Came to Cambridge in the forenoon. There were some men wanted to go to Charlestown. I went, for one, and viewed the Regulars and found they were intrenching on Charlestown Hill. Friday, May ye 26. At night I and about ten of our company marched with a party of men, betwixt two and three hundred, for Noddle's Island, headed by Col. Nixon. We marched through Mystic, Malden and Chelsea. Saturday May ye 27. Went on Hogg Island and brought off six horses, twenty-seven horned cattle and four hundred and eleven sheep. About the middle of the afternoon went from Hog Island to Noddle's Island and set one house and barn on fire. Killed some horses and cattle; brought off two or three cows; one horse. I with five men got off the horse and before we got from Noddle's Island to Hog Island we were fired upon by a privateer schooner; but we crossed the river and about fifteen of us squatted down in a ditch on the marsh and stood our ground; and there came a company of Regulars on the march on the other side of the river and the schooner, and we had a hot fire until the Regulars retreated. But not withstanding the bullets flew very thick not a man of us (was) killed. Surely God has a favor towards us, and he can save in one place as well as another. We left the Island about sunset and came to Chelsea and on Saturday about ten at night marched to Winnisimet ferry where there was a schooner and a sloop afiring with great fury upon us there; but thanks be to God that gave us the victory at this time for through his Providence the schooner that played upon us ran aground and we set fire to her and consumed her there, and the sloop received much damage in this engagement. We had not a man killed; but four wounded and we hope all will recover. One of the four was a Townsend man belonging to our company. The bullet went through his mouth from one cheek to the other. Thursday June ye 1. There were sheep and cattle and horses we hear, to ye amount of four or five hundred sheep, twenty or thirty cattle and a number of horses brought along that our people took from the Regulars off Noddle's Island. Friday, June 16. Col. William Prescott. Nothing done in ye forenoon. In the afternoon we had orders to be ready to march at six. Agreeable to orders our regiment paraded and about sunset we were drawn up and had prayers and about dusk marched for Bunker Hill under command of our own Colonel William Prescott. Just before we turned out of the road to go up Bunker's Hill, Charlestown, we were halted, and about sixty men were taken out of our battalion to go into Charlestown, I being one of them. Capt. Nutting (probably Capt. John Nutting of Pepperell, captain of a company of "minute men" from that place) headed us down to the town house. We set our sentin- els by the water side. The most of us got in the town house but had orders not to shut our eyes. Our men marched to Bunker Hill and begun the entrenchments and carried it on with the utmost vigor all night. Early in the morning I joined them. Saturday June ye 17. The enemy appeared to be much alarmed on Saturday morning when they discovered our operations and immediately began a heavy cannonading from a battery on Copp's Hill, Boston and from the ships in ye harbor. We with little loss continued to carry on our work till ten o'clock when we discovered a large body of the enemy crossing Charles River from Boston. They landed on a point of land about a mile east- ward of our entrenchment and immediately disposed their army for an attack, previous to which they set fire to the town of Charlestown. It is supposed that the enemy intended to attack us under the cover of the smoke from the burning houses: the wind favoring them in such a design; while on the other side their army was extending northward towards Mystic river with an apparent design of surrounding our men in the works and of cutting off any assistance intended for our relief. They were, however, in some measure counteracted in this design, and drew their army into closer order. As the enemy approached our men were not only exposed to the attack of a very numerous muquetry but to a heavy fire from the battery on Copp's Hill, 4 or 5 men of war, several armed boats or floating batteries in Mystic River, and a numb- er of field pieces. Notwithstanding we within the entrenchment and at a breastwork within sustained the enemy's attacks with real bravery and resolution. Killed and wounded great numbers, and repulsed them several times; and after bearing for about two hours as severe and heavy a fire as perhaps ever was known, and many having fired away all their amunition, and having no reinforcement although there was a great body of men nie by, we were overpowered by numbers and obliged to leave the intrenchment, retreating about sunset to a small distance until the enemy had got in. I then retreated about ten or fifteen rods. Then I received a wound in my right arm, the ball going through a little below the elbow, breaking the little shell bone. Another ball struck my back, taking off a piece of skin about as big as a penny; but I got to Cambridge that night. The town of Charlestown I supposed to contain about 300 dwelling houses a great number of which were large and elegant, besides 150 or 200 other buildings (these) are almost laid in ashes by the barbarity and wanton cruelty of that infernal villain Thomas Gage. Oh! the goodness of God in preserving my life though they fell on my right hand and on my left. I was in great pain the first night with my wound. Sunday June 18. I and Phineas Hubbard came to Mr. Watsons. Monday June 19. Mr. Hubbard and I set out for home. Came as far as Lincoln; met our honored fathers. Got as far as Concord that night. Tuesday, June 20. We got home. Note: Here he makes a memorandum that for a considerable time past, he could not keep up his journal on account of the wound in his arm but under date of August 14, he says: "Now I begin to write a littel;" and he proceeds: "Monday August 14. Set out for Cambridge got there that day: found our company pretty well." From that day to August 24 nothing of interest is recorded. On that day he says: "About twelve o'clock I had my arm dressed. Dr. Hart opened it nigh two inches down to the bone. About 3 in the afternoon Col. William Prescott (his cousin) gave orders to march to Sewell's Point and they marched, but I did not go with them because of my wound." He remained with the army at Cambridge until Oct. 27 and his diary contains a record of the doings, in which, in consequence of his wound, he was an actor only to a limited extent. On that day he was furlough- ed and sent home, when it was found that in addition to his wound he had camp fever. He recovered however, but was unable again to return to the army at Cambridge. I have not thought proper to change a word of this simple record of what was done under his observation and of the acts in which he was a participant from the 19th of April to the 17th of June, 1775. His words are better than mine. (Claudius Farns- worth) Much that Amos Farnsworth observed was not commited to his diary and this writer remembers listening as a boy to his reminiscences of Bunker Hill and other acts in the Revolutionary drama in which he was an act- or. Among other things I heard him say that as the troops under Colonel Prescott were leaving the entrenchment at Bunker Hill they met General Putnam who, with a large body of men had remained "nie by", as Amos Farnsworth expressed it in his diary, but had not participated in the battle. Amos Farnsworth was very near the two commanders and distinctly hear the conversation between them. Colonel Prescott began by sharply asking General Putnam why he had not sent up reinforcements as he had promised. Putnam answered that he "could not drive the damned dogs up." To this Colonel Prescott hotly responded: "Then why did you not lead them up? They would have followed you." Note: This conversation is re-iterated word for word in the memoirs of Colonel William Prescott as reported in the Prescott Memorial. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, 1775, Amos Farnsworth's father and his brother Benjamin were both drowned by the upsetting of a boat in the Nashua River, near where they lived and the whole care of the family devolved on him. Yet, in spite of his wounded and weak arm and the state of the family, the next year, in the summer of 1776, he volunteered to go to the defence of Ticonderoga in Colonel Reed's regiment that was raised in the neighborhood of Groton (MA) for that purpose. He had served as a corporal at Bunker Hill. He had done so well that he was made an ensign, equivalent to a second lieutenant, in that expedition. He went into service in Col. Reed's expedition on the 23d of July and returned home at the close of the year with his men. While at Ticonderoga he was engaged in several affairs with the British which he briefly relates in his journal, but which are not of sufficient interest to repeat here. He was afterwards while holding a commision as first lieutenant in a company of Matrosses (commanded by William Swan) in Colonel Jonathan Reed's regiment, sent with some troops to New Jersey, where notwith- standing his weak arm, he performed effective service by his bravery and judgement and by his care of his men, with whom he was always popular. His first commission as ensign or second lieutenant was in the infantry. His next commission was in the artillery or "Matrosses" as that branch of the service was called. His commission as first lieutenant is in the name of "The Major Part of the Council of Massachusetts Bay in New England," as the State government had not then been organized, and Massachusetts was then under an ex tempore government. His commission as first lieutenant is as follows: Official Document... State of Massachusetts Bay - The Major Part of the Council of Massa- chusetts Bay in New England. SEAL To Amos Farnsworth, Gentleman, Greeting. "You being appointed First Lieutenant of a company of Matrosses commanded by William Swan raised in the Sixth Regiment of Militia in the County of Middlesex wherof Jonathan Reed Esquire is Colonel to rank as Captain, By Virtue of the Power vested in us, We do by these Presents (reposing specail Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty, Courage and good Conduct,) Commission you accordingly. You are there- fore carefully and deligently to discharge the Duty of a First Lieut. in leading, ordering, and exercising said Company in Arms, both infer- ior Officers and Soldiers; and to keep them in good Order and Disipline And they are hereby commanded to obey you as their first Lieut., and you are yourself, to observe and follow such Orders and instructions as you shall from time to time receive from the Major Part of the Council or your Superior Officers. Given under our Hands and the Seal of the said State at Boston the Nineteenth Day of October in the Year of our Lord, 1778. By the Command of the Major Part of the Council John Avery, Deputy Secretary Jer. Powell Artemas Ward T. Cushing Benj. Austin H. Gardner D. Hopkins Saml. Danielson N. Cushing B. White Danl. Davis Oliver Prescott Oliver Wendell A. Fuller E. Brooks Fra. Dana After the close of the war, he was commissioned as "Captain of a company of Matrosses in the Brigade of Militia in the County of Middlesex." That company is the old Groton Artillery Company. The commission bears the signature of John Hancock as "Governor and Commander in Chief in and over the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." This company is still in existence. His next commission, signed by Samuel Adams as Governor, appoints him "Major of a Battalion of Artillery in the Second Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of this Commonwealth comprehending the County of Middlesex," and is dated July 1, 1794. The poverty of the people of Massachusetts at the close of the Revolu- tionary War, and their distress in consequence of it was very great. Paper money became valueless; many were heavily indebted; taxes were burdensome; and the way out of their difficulties was obscure. Great economy in the government was needed and practiced. The military organizations were reduced to a point lower than was consistent with with safety. In the year 1786 the "Shay's Rebellion" broke out. The necessity of having some provision in the laws for the collection of debts so exasperated some hasty and indebted persons that they did as has been done in other periods of the world's history, they rebelled. Job Shattuck of Groton (MA) was one of the leaders in the rebellion. The cannon of the Groton Artillery Company, then under Major Amos Farnsworth's command were usually kept in an out-building on his farm. The first movement made by Shattuck and his associates was one October night, 1786, to break open the building in which the guns were stored, drag them across the fields to the Nashua River and pitch them into it, after which they retired quietly to their homes. The loss of the guns was learned early the next morning; the course taken with them was tracked through the frosty grass; they were very soon found, and before night they were restored to the place from which they had been taken and a guard was kept over them afterwards until the close of the political troubles. Amos Farnsworth had the reputation of being an efficient and very popular officer. In addition to his military services he was for several years a deacon of the church of Groton and he served the church in many business ways until old age diminished his powers. He died October 29, 1847 at the advanced age of ninety three years and six months. His wife survived him but a few weeks and died Dec. 11, 1847 aged ninety years. ____________________________________________________________________ Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth (Amos is in my direct line of descent)