On this day 250 years ago in New Hampshire, 400 Sons of Liberty from the towns of Portsmouth, New Castle and Rye, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine, led by John Langdon and Thomas Pickering attacked and captured Fort William and Mary on Castle Island at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. The fort was guarded by only a retired British Naval Captain and 5 British soldiers plus the Captain’s wife and 2 civilians, but the British defended the fort with cannon fire, a volley of muskets and hand to hand combat before being overwhelmed by the Patriots. No one died in the battle but the British captain and a British soldier, as well as one American, were wounded in the assault. The Patriots briefly detained all the defenders, cut down a huge British flag flying over the fort and removed one hundred barrels of gunpowder for safekeeping inland. That evening the raiders made plans to return to the fort the next day to remove the fort’s cannon.
Although little remembered outside of Portsmouth today, the capture of Fort William and Mary should be considered the first battle of the Revolutionary War. John Langdon would later have a distinguished career as a Founding Father, serving in the Second Continental Congress, outfitting ships for the Continental Navy, commanding New Hampshire militia at the Battles of Saratoga and Rhode Island, signing the Constitution of the United States and being elected as one of first United States Senators from New Hampshire and is widely recognized as a Founding Father. Thomas Pickering would command a naval ship in the War but die in combat against the Royal Navy. Pickering and the other Patriots who seized Fort William and Mary deserve recognition for their contributions to the cause of American Independence.
Sources: https://nhsar.org/the-raid-on-fort-william-and-mary-in-1774/#[57];
https://www.americanheritage.com/1774-two-hundred-and-twenty-five-years-ago-2; https://www.seacoastnh.com/seizure-of-arms-and-powder-at-fort-william-and-mary/?showall=1;
https://earlynewenglandfamilies.blogspot.com/2012/06/drowne-silversmiths-of-portsmouth.html
New Hampshire was not the only colony on this day 250 years ago where Patriots were busy keeping artillery out of British hands. In New London, Connecticut, Patriots removed cannon from a battery guarding the harbor four miles inland so the crew of the HMS Rose could not seize the cannon when it returned from the unsuccessful attempt to seize cannon from Rhode Island. Newly formed militia regiments in Providence, Rhode Island were guarding the 44 cannon they had removed from the fort in Newport Bay in case the British made another attempt. And in occupied Boston, the Sons of Liberty were guarding four cannons hidden under the noses of the British army until the Massachusetts Committee of Safety could arrange for them to be smuggled out of the city.
Source: Norton, Mary Beth, 1774 the Long Year of Revolution, New York: Vintage Books, 2021 at p. 249-50.
On December 14 and 15, 2024 events to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the capture Fort William and Mary are being held in New Hampshire.
On This Day In The Revolution 