dicted the independence of the colonies, and great pains were taken in England to ascribe all the glory to the navy, and lessen the merit of the army.* * Doctor Thornton participated in the perils of this fortunate expedition, as a surgeon in the New Hampshire division of the army, consisting of five hundred men; and it is a creditable evidence of the professionable abilities and attention of the medical department, that, from among that number, only six individuals died from sickness previous to the surrender of the town, notwithstanding they had been subjected to excessive toil and constant exposure. At the commencement of the Revolutionary I war, Doctor Thornton still resided in Londonderry, and held the rank of a colonel in the militia. He was also commissioned a justice of the peace, under the administration of Benning Wentworth, who was superseded in favour of his nephew, John Wentworth, in 1766; but similar civil appointments, conferring, in any case, little distinction, became so numerous, and were so easily procured during the time of governor B. Wentworth, that the office was almost rendered contemptible. When he assumed the chair, he found only twenty-five justices of the peace in the whole province; but, in the first com * Belknap, Hist. New Hampshire, vol. ii, chap. xix. mission which he issued, he nominated as many in the town of Portsmouth alone. Numerous publications, ridiculing this profusion of "conservators pacis," appeared, among which was a pasquinade, published in 1765, and attributed to judge Parker. He humorously observes that When their worships manifold, Like men divinely blessed of old, And sign'd for those who could not write. When men, adroit to punish crimes, Were close at hand?—and, what is better, Fulfil his contract, and to boot, Pay, twice his debt in costs of suit." In 1775, when the British government was dissolved, and a provincial convention formed for temporary purposes, Matthew Thornton was appointed the first president. Although the co-operation of the inhabitants of New Hampshire with the other colonies, in their opposition to the Stamp Tax, did not appear very cordial, from their omission to send delegates to the congress of 1765, yet the state assembly, at their next meeting, adopted the same measures, and forwarded petitions to England, similar to those which had been prepared by the congress. The provinces of New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Virginia, were unrepresented; but the legislators of the two last were not in session, and the former alone, although joining in the general opposition. declined sending delegates to the convention This defalcation, so destructive to the unanimity which ought to have characterized the proceedings of the oppressed colonists, probably arose from the exercise of the same influence which created a reluctance on the part of the merchants of Portsmouth to adopt the non-importation agreement, in 1769; but the popularity and power of governor Wentworth, were unable to cope with the spirit of patriotism, strengthened by the conviction that their whole intercourse with the other colonies would be suspended, unless they followed the general example, by forming an association similar to those which had been elsewhere adopted; this was accordingly effected in 1770. But notwithstanding these ap pearances, the popular spirit of New Hampshire was decidedly, but temperately, displayed, upon all proper occasions, in opposition to the odious tax which had been imposed. Effigies of the distributor of stamps were exhibited at Portsmouth, and he was compelled publicly to deliver up his commission and instructions, which were mounted on the point of a sword, and carried in triumph through the town: an oath was also administered to him, purporting that he would neither directly nor indirectly attempt to execute his office. The stamp act was to commence its operations on the first day of November, 1765, when the New Hampshire Gazette appeared with a mourning border: the bells tolled, and a funeral procession was made for the Goddess of Liberty; but, on depositing her in the grave, some signs of life were supposed to be discovered, and she was carried off in triumph. These exhibitions served to incite the spirit of the populace until the repeal of the act; and at the same time, rendered it more easy to be aroused upon the renewal of oppressive measures, which occurred in the imposition of a tax upon tea. The permission granted to the East India Company, to export tea to America upon their own account, excited a general alarm throughout the colonies: resolved to act with becoming energy, the consigness were in some places compelled to relinquish their appointments, and the cargoes of teas were returned unladen, or deposited in stores until they could be reshipped; and in Boston, where the people had been driven to desperation, they were destroyed. In New Hampshire, however, the prudence of governor Wentworth, the vigilance of the magistrates, and the firmness of the people, were combined, and the hateful commodity was sent away without any damage, and with but little tumult. In the midst of these ferments, and with daily indications of the approaching commencement of hostilities, the colonies from New Hampshire to Georgia inclusive, resolved, at the instigation of Massachusetts, to appoint delegates to a general congress to be held in Philadelphia, on the fourth day of September, 1774. The members from New Hampshire.were Nathaniel Folsom, and John Sullivan, Esquires, who were appointed by a convention held for that purpose in Exeter, in the month of July. On the thirteenth of December, an order passed by the king in council, prohibiting the exportation of gunpowder and other military stores to America, reached Portsmouth by express; the committee of the town hastily and secretly collected a body of men, and before the governor had any suspicion of their intentions, assaulted and captured the fort, |