A few minutes after,

troops and killed two horsemen. three citizens of the town, Abraham Russell, Thomas Cook, aud Diah Trafford, all of whom were armed, were discovered by the British coming up a cross street. When near the corner of County street these three men were fired upon and shot down. Trafford was shot through the heart and died instantly, after which his face was badly cut with the sabres of the British. Cook died about daylight, and Russell about ten o'clock the next morning. Lieutenant Gordon was taken prisoner but afterwards escaped. Lieutenant Metcalf was mortally wounded during the night at Acushnet. died three days afterwards and was buried with mili tary honors on the hill by the meeting house at Acushnet.

He

The detachment which marched down Union street immediately commenced the work of destruction. The first buildings fired were the rope-walk and the distillery. Soon after, all the stores and warehouses and a number of dwelling houses and barns were burned, together with every vessel in port except those anchored in the stream. The number of vessels destroyed was seventy, of which four were privateers and eight were large ships laden with valuable cargoes.

Between eight and nine o'clock in the evening the detachment which landed on the east side of the river advanced on the Fort. Two guns were fired at the fleet, and then, after spiking the guns, the garrison retreated to the north and concealed themselves, leaving the colors of the Fort flying. The British supposing the Fort to be still garrisoned, opened a heavy artillery fire upon it, but they soon ceased when no response was

made. The enemy discovering the position of the concealed soldiers, fired upon them, wounding a man named Robert Crossman, and taking two prisoners, John Skiff and his father. Before the evacuation of the Fort a train of powder was placed from the magazine to the platform. The British after taking possession applied a slow match to the magazine, which communicated with the train left by the garrison and an explosion occurred sooner than was intended, killing one, if not more, of the British. After burning the barracks, the detachment moved north and effected a junction with the force moving down from Acushnet. The next day the troops

re-embarked near the Fort.

The night following, a number of barges came up the river, but were fired upon and driven back, a body of militia at this time having arrived from Middleborough. Major (afterwards General) Israel Fearing displayed great gallantry on this occasion.

On Sunday, the sixth day of September, two tories (named Eldad Tupper and Joseph Castle) who had been driven from the town, instigated the British to send a force into Apponagansett harbor. A family of Akinses, strong whigs, had been chiefly instrumental in the expulsion of the tories, and they were the principal sufferers by this raid. Captain Elihu Akins' dwelling house and a new brig on the stocks, were burned. The dwelling house of James Akins, his brother, and also a house belonging to Meribah Akins, were fired and burned to the ground.

After this the fleet proceeded to Martha's Vineyard, where the enemy seized a large quantity of fire arms, cattle, and sheep, and also one thousand pounds sterling,

the latter being a tax recently collected by authority of the Continental Congress.

Dartmouth was in no respect behind her sister towns of Massachusetts in devotion and sacrifice to the cause of liberty. She contributed freely in men and money, and although we find in the military annals of the period no names of distinction belonging to the town, yet we know that her people were thoroughly in sympathy with the revolution. On the nineteenth day of September, 1768, Walter Spooner was appointed by the town to represent it in Faneuil Hall, Boston, to consider what wise and prudent measures should be adopted to prevent the distress and misery which were likely to come upon them by reason of the number of regular troops to be quartered in Massachusetts. In 1774 a town meeting was called "to take into the most mature and serious consideration the melancholy and distressing situation of public affairs of this Province, and to adopt and pursue all those rational and justifiable methods which, by the blessings of Heaven attending our endeavors, will have the greatest tendency to remove from us and our fellow-sufferers those troubles we feel and fear under the present frowns of the British Administration."

The town. meeting was held July 18th, 1774. Hon. Walter Spooner, Benjamin Akin, Esq., William Davis, William Tallman, Major Ebenezer Willis, Jireh Willis, Seth Pope, Seth Hathaway, and Hannaniah Cornish, were appointed a committee to prepare and draw up what they should deem most proper as expressing the sense of the meeting, and report in the afternoon for the town's consideration. The report of these gentlemen

was accepted. It was Voted-"That we are grieved at being necessitated to act a part which at first view appears unfriendly with respect to to our manufacturing brethren and friends in Great Britain and Ireland, but we trust we shall readily be excused by them when they consider that this part of our conduct is wholly designed, and in our judgment will have the greatest tendency of anything in our power, to save both them and us from BONDAGE and SLAVERY, for upon mature consideration we judge the several late unconstitutional acts of the British Parliament have a direct tendency to destroy the harmony which has subsisted among all the British subjects and to entirely abolish the English Constitution and form of government, and therefore as the most probable means to prevent those destructive purposes we unite with our American brethren, and

RESOLVE, That we will not purchase any goods manufactured in Great Britain and Ireland which shall be imported from thence after this day; that we will not purchase any English goods of any hawker or pedler; that we will not purchase any foreign teas whatever; that we will not export any flax-seed to any foreign market; that we do acquiesce in the nature and necessity of raising our proportion of money to pay the Congress and to raise the same by subscription, and that these resolves do remain in force so long as the present grievous acts of the British Parliament remain unrepealed."

At this meeting a committee of correspondence was chosen to act with other committees in America. And also a resolve was passed advancing "the town's pro

portion of the money to pay the committee of Congress."

In the county Congress held at Taunton the same year "to devise and act on such measures as the exigencies of the times require," the town was ably and patriotically represented.

Not the men alone, but the women of Dartmouth fully entered into the resolutions of non-intercourse with Great Britain. They had their League Society which was more exacting in the observance of its principles than the Ladies' League Associations of the present day. In January 1774, fifty-seven ladies of Bedford Village had a meeting at which they entered into an agreement not to use any more India tea; and having heard that a gentleman there had lately bought some, they requested he would immediately return it. This request he complied with, whereupon the ladies treated him with a dismissed him, highly A number of gen

glass of "this country wine" and pleased with his exemplary conduct. tlemen present gave him three cheers in approbation of his noble behavior.*

This occurred six months prior to the action of the town meeting, and doubtless contributed much in forming the public sentiment of the town.

There are many other events in our history which deserve a mention. Much might be said upon the circumstances and state of public feeling which attended the separation of the several towns from the Mother town, and the strong local political prejudices and antagonism which existed at times between the different. sections of the town. The separation of Fairhaven from New Bed

*Dodsley's Annual Register, vol. 17, page 97.