Fort William and Mary

The scenic town of New Castle, New Hampshire, is home to the ruins of Fort William and Mary. Similar to the college in Virginia, the fort was named in honor of the (sort of) iconic British rulers associated with the Glorious Revolution. It's ironic that each played a role in establishing the British monarchy in America under the guise of a revolution. Nevertheless, some assert that the first armed resistance to royal authority began here long before Lexington and Concord.

The Agitation

Royal Governor Wentworth

In May of 1774, the closure of Boston's port had most New Englanders inflamed. British authorities demanded that the "salt-water tea" be paid for and required Bostonians to concede. In New Hampshire, the Committee of Correspondence vowed to make Boston's fight their own. Royal Governor John Wentworth recognized a radical shift in public opinion and perceived a potential threat to Royal authority. He tried to install a garrison at his only military post, Fort William and Mary in New Castle. However, the Assembly, now antagonistic to the British, voted to grant him only 200 pounds for the enterprise. Wentworth appointed an officer and three men to administer the fort, thus demonstrating the King's authority. Not much of an army to stave off a revolution.



The Politics

The Assembly was not intimidated by Wentworth's measures. Later that month, they voted to establish a second Committee of Correspondence. Wentworth and the Rockingham County sheriff attempted to intimidate and shut down the Assembly, dismissing them from the chamber for holding an unlawful meeting. Undaunted, they retired to a local tavern, and in that congenial atmosphere, they made plans for a Provincial Congress to be held in Exeter in July. Over the next few months, the situation around Boston went from simmer to boil, and the impact spread across New England like a forest fire.





The Action

On December 13th, 1774, Paul Revere rode south to Portsmouth to report the British ban on importing military stores and that rumors about expected British troops were the worst kind: true rumors. John Sullivan, a Patriot leader and firebrand just returned from the First Continental Congress, decided to take action. Along with local Patriot merchant John Langdon, he vowed to seize the bastion of Royal authority

 Sullivan

sitting right under their noses at New Castle. On the 14th, Langdon made his way through Portsmouth with a drummer leading the charge. Once he had gathered a crowd, he addressed them. Approximately 400 people joined him, forming a mob that set out to take the powder from the fort. A single volley fired from the fort was answered by some shots from the crowd, but there were no injuries. They surged into the fort in a rush. Breaking into the magazine, they removed about 100 barrels of powder. Overwhelmed, the fort's commandant, Captain John Cochran, quickly surrendered his four-man garrison. This marks Fort William and Mary as the location for one of the first overt actions of the American struggle for independence. Some likened it to Lexington and Concord, but the absence of bloodshed makes it less compelling. Still, it was the first organized resistance to the King.

Fort William and Mary 1704

The Take

The following day, John Sullivan led more rebel forces now streaming in from across the colony. They first surrounded the governor's residence, but violence was avoided there, as Wentworth complied with their demands. That evening, December 15th, they returned to the fort and took all the arms and supplies, as well as some cannons. This action resulted in the Americans seizing some booty, a tangible benefit. This included about sixty muskets, sixteen cannons, and one hundred barrels of valuable powder. The gunpowder was swiftly transported inland and distributed among various armed groups in New Hampshire. Some of it may have reached the Patriots around Boston. In a land starved for ordnance, this was a small treasure desperately needed.

Gunpowder from the fort moved inland over ice

The Place

History is about a sense of time, people, and place. On a picturesque promontory overlooking the ocean, a colonial people inflamed by perceived injustice made their mark. New Castle is a scenic town of around 900 residents. It is also the smallest town in the state and the easternmost. Its narrow streets are lined with colonial-style houses. The fort itself was built at the beginning of the 18th century on the site of an earlier fort erected to deter pirates. Its major landmark is the Fort Point Lighthouse, constructed in 1877 on the site of an earlier lighthouse built in 1771. Until the latter was built, the only navigational aid for the rocky harbor was a lantern hung high on Fort William and Mary.

Site of Fort William and Mary today