THE EDDY REBELLION.
THE Eddy Rebellion does not occupy much space in history, but it was an
important event in the district where it occurred, and in the lives of
those who were responsible for it. The leaders were Colonel Jonathan
Eddy, Sheriff John Allan, or "Rebel John," as he was afterwards called,
William Howe, and Samuel Rogers. Eddy, Rogers and Allan had been, or
were at that time members of the Assembly at Halifax. Allan was a
Scotsman by birth, the others were from New England.
The pretext for the rebellion was the militia order of Governor Legge;
the real reason was the sympathy of the New Englanders with their
brother colonists. It was represented at the Continental Congress that
six hundred persons in Nova Scotia, whose names were given, were ready
to join any army who might come to their help. If these six hundred
names represented those who were of an age to bear arms, then the
statement of Arbuthnot that the New Englanders were all disloyal was
correct.
The first step taken in opposition to Governor Legge's order was to
petition against its enforcement. The petition from Cumberland referred
to the destruction of the fort on the St. John River as "rather an act
of inconsideration than otherwise," and then said, "those of us who
belong to New England, being invited into this Province by Governor
Lawrence's proclamation, it must be the greatest piece of cruelty and
imposition for them to be subjected to march into different parts in
arms against their friends and relations. The Acadians among us being
also under the same situation, most, if not all, having friends
distributed in different parts of America, and that done by order of
His Majesty."
This petition was signed by sixty-four persons in Cumberland, the
Amherst petition was signed by fifty-eight, and the Sackville one by
seventy-three. Fifty-one of the petitioners were Acadians. The date was
December 23rd, 1775.
Governor Legge took no other action on these petitions than to send
them at once to the British Government as evidence of the disloyalty of
the Province, and at the same time he wrote to the Earl of Dartmouth
that some persons had spread the report that he was trying to draw the
militia to Halifax that he might transport them to New England and make
soldiers of them. He also adds, "The consequence of such reports
influenced the whole country, so that many companies of the militia
have refused to assemble, ending in these remonstrances which here in a
public manner have been transmitted to your Lordship."
As soon as it became known to the petitioners that Governor Legge would
not cancel the militia order, and that the petitions had been forwarded
to Downing Street, it was decided to elect delegates to meet in
Cumberland to take into consideration what steps should next be taken.
Accordingly, representatives appointed by the petitioners met at
Inverma, the home of Sheriff Allan. Jonathan Eddy and Sheriff Allan
were there as members of the convention, and took especial pains to
urge upon the meeting that the time had arrived for decided action.
Either they must cast in their lot with their friends in Massachusetts
and Connecticut, or they must be loyal to the British Government. They
also made it clear that they could not hold the country against the
British without help from their friends. The decision must have been in
favor of independent action, as almost immediately Colonel Eddy started
for New England with the intention of securing help from that quarter.
Allan remained for a while longer in the country, but his outspoken
sympathy with the rebel cause was soon reported to the Government and
steps were taken to have him arrested.
About this time Rogers' and Allan's seats in the Legislature were
declared vacant, and a reward of two hundred pounds was offered for the
apprehension of Eddy and one hundred pounds each for Allan, Rogers, and
Howe. Allan's biographer, in writing of this period in his life, says,
"His life being now in danger, he resolved to leave the Province for
the revolted colonies; but previous to his departure he made several
excursions among the Indians to the northward and by his influence
secured for the rebel provinces the co-operation of a large number of
the Micmac tribe." He left Cumberland in an open boat on August 3rd,
1776, and coasting along the Bay of Fundy, reached Passamaquoddy Bay on
the 11th. In Machias Bay, which he entered on the 13th, he found Col.
Eddy with twenty-eight others in a schooner on their way to the Bay of
Fundy to capture Fort Cumberland. Allan tried to induce Eddy to abandon
the expedition for the present, urging that it was impossible to
accomplish anything with so small a force. Colonel Eddy was headstrong
and sanguine, and kept on his way. He was sure more men would follow
him, and he expected to get a large addition to his force when he
reached the St. John River.
Allan, in the meantime, pushed on to Machias, and after spending a few
days there, went as far as the Piscataquis River by water, and thence
he took the stage to Boston. From Boston he proceeded to Washington's
headquarters, giving New York, which was then in possession of the
British, a wide berth. He dined with Washington, and talked over the
situation. On the 4th of January he was introduced to the Continental
Congress, where he made a full statement of matters in Nova Scotia.
After some deliberation, Congress appointed him Superintendent of the
Eastern Indians and a colonel of infantry. He received his instructions
from Hon. John Hancock, and left at once for Boston. While there he
urged upon the members in council the necessity of protecting the
eastern part of Maine, and showed the advantage it would be to the
rebels if, by sending out an armed force, they could take possession of
the western part of Nova Scotia. This the Council promised to do.
After giving this advice, Allan himself set out to show what could be
done by raiding the loyal settlers on the River St. John. This
expedition was not very successful, and Colonel Allan was glad to get
back to Maine, and take up the duties of his new position as
Superintendent of the Eastern Indians. He made Machias his
headquarters, and to the end of his life, which came in the year 1805,
he remained a resident of the State of Maine.
Beamish Murdoch, the historian of Nova Scotia, in a letter to a
relative of Colonel John Allan, says: "If the traditions I have heard
about John Allan are correct, he could not have been much over twenty-
one years old in 1775. As he had no New England ancestors, his escapade
must be attributed to ambition, romance, or pure zeal for what he
thought was just and right. For the feelings against the Crown in Nova
Scotia in 1775 were confined to the Acadian French, who resented the
conquest, the Indians who were attached to them by habit and creed, and
to the settlers who were emigrants from New England."
Mr. Murdoch was mistaken in the age of Allan. John Allan was born in
Edinburgh Castle at about "half after one" of the clock, on January
3rd, 1746 (O. S.), and was baptized on the 5th by Mr. Glasgow. He thus
must have been in his 30th year when he joined the Eddy rebels.
After Colonel Eddy's interview with Colonel Allan in Machias Bay, he
pushed on to Cumberland, and landed in Petitcodiac. His little army had
increased considerably since he left Machias. At the mouth of the
Petitcodiac River he stationed a small force to watch for any
reinforcements that might be coming to Fort Cumberland. With the main
body of his followers he started overland for Chignecto, after he had
supplied his commissariat from the loyal settlers along the river.
They crossed the Memramcook well up to the head of that river, and took
a straight course for Point Midgic. Then going through the woods above
the Jolicure Lakes, they came to the home of Colonel Allan, in Upper
Point de Bute. Mrs. Allan and her children were still there, and there
was no disposition on the part of the inhabitants of Jolicure to
interfere in any measure against the rebels.
At Allan's it was learned that a vessel with provisions had been seen
in the bay, heading for Fort Cumberland. Eddy sent a number of scouts
down, with instructions to capture the vessel. Under the cover of
darkness and a thick fog,they were able to locate the sloop in
Cumberland Creek without being seen by the men on the look-out. In the
early morning, when the leader of the scouts suddenly levelled his gun
at the one man on deck, and called out, "If you move you are a dead
man," the surprise was complete, and the man obeyed orders. The rebels
boarded the sloop, and soon had all hands in irons. As it grew lighter,
and the fog cleared away, Captain Baron and missionary Egleston from
the fort came down to the vessel, suspecting nothing, and were both
made prisoners. Egleston was taken to Boston, and remained a prisoner
for eighteen months. As soon as the tide turned the vessel floated out
of Cumberland Creek, and headed for the Missiquash. The Union Jack was
hauled down and the Stars and Stripes run up in its place.
This capture greatly elated the rebels, furnishing them, as it did,
with supplies, of which they probably stood in considerable need. The
sloop could run up the Missiquash near to the farms of the Eddys,
Jonathan and William, who at the time owned most of the upper part of
Fort Lawrence.
Colonel Eddy now decided to lose no time, but attack the fort at once.
His army camped at Mount Whatley, near where the residence of David
Carter now stands. Mount Whatley was called Camp Hill for a number of
years after this.
While these things were being done by the rebels the English were not
idle. A hundred and fifty regulars, under Colonel Gorham, had been sent
to assist the garrison and strengthen the defences of the fort. When
all was ready in the rebel camp, Colonel Eddy sent the following
summons to Lieutenant-Colonel Gorham, demanding his surrender:
"To Joseph Gorham, Esq., Lieut.-Colonel Commandt. of the Royal
Fencibles Americans, Commanding Fort Cumberland:
"The already too plentiful Effusion of Human Blood in the Unhappy
Contest between Great Britain and the Colonies, calls on every one
engaged on either side, to use their utmost Efforts to prevent the
Unnatural Carnage, but the Importance of the Cause on the side of
America has made War necessary, and its Consequences, though in some
Cases shocking, are yet unavoidable. But to Evidence that the Virtues
of humanity are carefully attended to, to temper the Fortitude of a
Soldier, I have to summon you in the Name of the United Colonies to
surrender the Fort now under your Command, to the Army sent under me by
the States of America. I do promise that if you surrender Yourselves as
Prisoners of War you may depend upon being treated with the utmost
Civility and Kind Treatment; if you refuse I am determined to storme
the Fort, and you must abide the consequences.
"Your answer is expected in four Hours after you receive this and the
Flag to Return safe.
"I am Sir,
"Your most obedt. Hble. Servt.,
"JONA EDDY,
"Commanding Officer of the
United Forces.
"Nov. 10, 1776."
He received the following reply:
"SIR,
"I acknowledge the receipt of a Letter (under coular of Flagg of Truce)
Signed by one Jonan Eddy, Commanding officer, expressing a concern at
the unhappy Contest at present Subsisting between Great Britain and the
Colonys, and recommending those engaged on either side to use their
Endeavors to prevent the too Plentiful effusion of human Blood, and
further Summoning the Commanding officer to surrender this garrison.
"From the Commencement of these Contest I have felt for my deluded
Brother Subjects and Countrymen of America, and for the many Innocent
people they have wantonly Involved in the Horrors of an Unnatural
Rebellion, and entertain every humane principle as well as an utter
aversion to the Unnecessary effusion of Christian Blood. Therefore
Command you in His Majesty's name to disarm yourself and party
Immediately and Surrender to the King's Mercy, and further desire you
would communicate the Inclosed Manifests to as many of the Inhabitants
you can, and as Speedily as possible to prevent their being involved in
the Same dangerous and Unhappy dilemma.
"Be assured, Sir, I shall never dishonour the character of a Soldier by
Surrendering my command to any Power except to that of my Sovereign
from whence it originated. I am, Sir,
"Your most hble servt,
"JOS. GORHAM,
"Lt.-Col., Com'at, R. F. A.,
"Commanding Officer at Fort Cumberland."
The following is Colonel Eddy's own account of the first attack on Fort
Cumberland, given in "Eastern Maine" (Kidder, p. 69): "Upon Colonel
Gorham's Refusal to surrender we attempted to storm the Fort in the
Night of the 12th Nov. with our scaling Ladders and other
Accoutrements, but finding the Fort to be stronger than we imagined
(occasioned by late Repairs), we thought fit to Relinquish our Design
after a heavy firing from their Great Guns and small Arms, with
Intermission for 2 Hours, which we Sustained without any Loss (except
one Indian being wounded), who behaved very gallantly, and Retreated in
good Order to our Camp."
Previous to the first attack on the place, Eddy had arranged with an
Indian to sneak into the fort and open the main gate; he would have his
men ready to rush in and take the place by assault. While the attack
was in progress the Indian got into the place and was in the act of
unbarring the gates when he was discovered by Major Dickson. The major
spoiled the little scheme by slashing the Indian's arm with his sword,
which left him maimed for life. The assailants soon after this
retreated without any very serious loss.
In another attack, made a few days later,the large barracks on the
south-east side of the fort were set on fire, in the hope that it would
communicate with the magazine. It is said a traitor in the rebel camp
warned the English of the second attack. This also failed, but the
barracks and a number of houses near the fort were burned.
Before the rebels had a chance to make a third attack, a sloop of war
arrived in the Basin with four hundred men to reinforce the garrison.
Colonel Eddy seems not to have heard of the arrival of these troops.
Their presence, however, enabled Col. Gorham to take the offensive, and
the rebel camp was attacked. Eddy did not wait to try the mettle of his
men, but got away with the loss of one man. With as many of his
followers as he could hold together he hastened toward Bay Verte. A
short distance beyond the Inverma Farm, a squad took ambush in a
thicket near a bridge, and when the regulars in pursuit were crossing
the bridge the party fired a volley, killing several of the soldiers
and wounding others. This so incensed the troops that they returned and
set fire to Sheriff Allan's house, which was burned to the ground,
together with a number of other buildings in the neighborhood. Mrs.
Allan and her children escaped to the woods, where they remained until
hunger compelled them to come out. She was found some days after this
by her father, Mark Patton, having lived for some time on baked
potatoes picked up around the burned dwelling, and was taken to his
home not far from the fort. Mrs. Allan was not allowed to remain long
with her father, but was carried a prisoner to Halifax. She remained
only in Halifax a few months when she was given her liberty and
rejoined her husband at Machais.
Eddy, after going in the direction of Bay Verte for some time, finding
he was not pursued, turned his steps toward Point Midgic, where he had
called while on his march to Chignecto. From there he made his way back
to Machais. Just what route he pursued, or how great the difficulties
he met with in this long, tiresome journey, has never been given to the
public. Machais, until the close of the war, was the rendezvous of
privateers and all manner of adventurers, both before and after the
arrival of Eddy and Allan. Colonel Eddy's escape from Chignecto ended
the rebellion in that district so far as any hope remained of a
successful attempt to hand over the government of the country to the
New Englanders, but the differences of opinion among neighbors, the
raids of rebel bands in the district, together with the burning of a
number of buildings, created a strong feeling that it took years to
allay.
Mr. James Dixon, in the "History of the Dixons," speaking of this
period says:
"The rebels found more congenial employment in raiding the homes of the
loyal and peaceable inhabitants, plundering them of such articles as
they were in need of, and destroying or carrying away any guns or
ammunition they might find. Mr. Dixon's home did not escape their
unwelcome notice. His house was robbed of many valuable articles, some
of which he kept for sale. For a considerable period the loyal
inhabitants, notably the English settlers, were subjected to a state of
anxiety, and lived in dread of a repetition of such unwelcome visits.
On one occasion, when some of these people were approaching the house,
Mrs. Dixon hastily gathered up her silverware and other valuables and
deposited them in a barrel of pig feed, where they quite escaped the
notice of the visitors. On a later occasion, when somewhat similar
troublous times existed, Mr. Dixon, with the aid of his negro servant,
Cleveland, hid his money and other valuables in the earth, binding his
servant by a solemn oath never to divulge to anyone the place of
concealment."
Nor was all the destruction of property chargeable to the rebels. At
this time a number of the loyal settlers, who, it is said, had been
drinking freely, surrounded the house of Mr. Obediah Ayer, who was in
sympathy with the rebels, and set fire to his place, intending to burn
the inmates. Mrs. Ayer was warned by her neighbors and escaped to the
woods with her baby in her arms. After the raiders departed she with
her children found a temporary home with a neighbor. Her husband did
not dare appear for many days, but hid in the woods by day and visited
his family at night.
The raid of Allan on the St. John gave the Government uneasiness in
that quarter for some time longer. As mentioned before, there were two
Eddys, Jonathan and William. They owned adjoining farms in Fort
Lawrence. The upper road leading from Fort Lawrence to Amherst still
bears the name of the "Eddy Road." It was probably made through the
Eddy grant, and the Eddys may have been instrumental in its
construction.
It is related that William Eddy, after the rebellion, came back to Fort
Lawrence to settle his business and take his wife and family out of the
country. To escape being made a prisoner at that time he kept hid in a
hay-stack in the day-time and visited his home during the night. One
night the soldiers who were watching saw him enter the house and at
once surrounded the place, sending in two of their number to bring out
the prisoner. Mrs. Eddy would give no knowledge of her husband's
whereabouts. The house was thoroughly searched, but the man could not
be found. The soldiers were dumbfounded. The fact is, that when Mrs.
Eddy saw the soldiers coming, she told her husband to cover himself in
a bin of grain in the chamber and place his mouth close to a crack on
the side of the bin over which had been tacked a piece of list to
prevent the grain from coming out. She would tear off the list and that
would give him air to breathe. Her husband did as directed. When the
officer who was making the search came to the grain-bin he thrust his
sword into it, and said, "He is not there." Mr Eddy said afterwards
that the sword went between his body and arm, so near was he being made
a prisoner.
Inverma, the home of Sheriff Allan, is now owned, in part, by
Councillor Amos Trueman, and is still called by that name. It consisted
at that time of three hundred and forty-eight acres of marsh and upland
and was no doubt part of the Allan grant of 1763. Besides the Sheriff's
own house there were six or seven small houses occupied by Acadian
families as tenants, also two large barns and four smaller ones.
Allan's wife was Mary Patton, the daughter of Mark Patton, who was at
one time a large property-owner on the Isthmus. Patton Point, in the
Missiquash valley, still goes by his name. His home farm joined the
glebe lands of the parish, and was afterwards bought by William Trueman
and given to his son, Thomas. I find the following entry in William
Trueman's journal, referred to elsewhere:
"Old Mrs. Patton was buried at the burying-ground by Thomas Trueman,
July 31st, in the 92nd year of her age."
This lady was no doubt Mrs. Allan's mother. She had continued to live
at the old place after Thomas Trueman had taken possession, and as this
was in the year 1808, she had lived thirty-two years after her daughter
left the country.
The question has been asked, would it not have been better for the
northern half of this continent if the Eddy rebellion had succeeded and
what is now Canada had become one country with the United States? The
name Americans could then fairly have been claimed by the citizens of
the great Republic and a people whose interests and aspirations are
identical, and whose religion, language and customs are the same, would
have been united in carrying out the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon in
America. This may sound very well, but events have transpired in the
last hundred and twenty-five years that point unmistakably to the
conclusion that the God of history intended this northern land called
Canada to work out its own destiny independent of the southern
Republic. At the period of the Eddy rebellion Nova Scotia was still in
the cradle and had no grievances to redress. New Brunswick as a
Province had no existence. Never in all history had a conquered country
been treated so justly by the victors as had Quebec. Ontario at this
time was but a western wilderness. It will thus be seen that there
would have been no justification for the new settlers in this northern
land to have joined hands with the thirteen older colonies.
Another preliminary objection can be found in the situation of the
Loyalists of 1783, from the fact that one of the grandest band of
exiles that was ever driven from fireside and country would have found
no place on the continent to make new homes for themselves. This would
have placed them in infinitely worse circumstances than that body of
noble men and women of another race that twenty-eight years earlier in
the century had been driven out as exiles to wander in hardship and
want on that same New England coast. These Loyalists brought to Canada
the sterling principle, the experience in local Government, the sturdy,
independent manhood and business experience and energy which this
northern land needed to make it one of the most prosperous and best
governed countries in the world. To think what Canada would have been
without the Loyalists helps one to see more clearly how fortunate it
was that the Eddy rebellion was crushed.
The British Empire may owe more to the loyal Yorkshire emigrants than
has ever been fairly accorded to them. Canada as a coterie of colonies
furnished Great Britain with a training school for her statesmen that
she did not otherwise possess. In this way British North America has
been the prime factor in placing Great Britain first among the nations
of the world in the government of colonies. It is true English
ministers and English governors made mistakes and had much to learn
before the present system was fully adopted, but the descendants of the
Loyalists and those who remained true to the Crown during the stormy
years of the Revolution were not likely to stir up strife without a
just cause. And is it claiming too much to say that to Canada's
remaining loyal in 1776 is due to a very large extent the proud
position Great Britain holds to-day as the mother of nations, the
founder of the greatest colonial empire the world has yet seen?
There are those who believe that the principle of equality and
fraternity, of government by the people and for the people, the freedom
for which the Pilgrim Fathers faced the stormy Atlantic and for which
Washington fought against such odds, has been worked out in fuller
measure and juster proportions in Canada than in the United States.
Canada has helped greatly to emphasize the truth, only yet half
understood by the world, that it makes little difference whether the
chief ruler of a country is called president, king or emperor, or
whether the government is called a monarchy or republic. These are but
incidents. What is important, what is essential,if freedom is to be won
and maintained, is that the people understand their rights and have the
courage to maintain them at any sacrifice. It was the leaven of freedom
working in the lump of the British people that gave the world the Magna
Charta, Montford's rebellion, Cromwell and the Commonwealth, the
Revolution of 1688,and the still greater Revolution of 1776.
This last event broke from the parent stem one of the strong branches
of the Anglo-Saxon family, and gave each an opportunity to work out in
different ways the ideals after which both were striving. And who will
say that the descendants of Cromwellians and Quakers, Nonconformists
and Churchmen, whose ancestors, from force of circumstances or love of
country remained in their island home, are not to-day breathing the air
of freedom as pure and unadulterated as their cousins on the banks of
the Charles or in the valleys of the historic Brandywine. At any rate,
we who live in this northern country, that escaped the cataclysm of
1776, feel that Canada has been no unimportant factor in helping to
work out the great problem of government for and by the consent of the
governed.