Old Fort No.4 Associates http://pacific.discover.net/~rwillard/of4.html Fort at No. 4 Living History museum March 26, 1997 Rodney E. Willard Director, Willard Family Association 1633 Garden Street Redlands, CA 92373 Dear Mr. Willard: As you may be aware, the history of the Willard family and the Fort at No. 4 have been intertwined since the early 1700s. By 1743, members of the Willard family were prominent in the affairs of township number 4, which was chartered by Governor Shirley of the province of Massachusetts. They shared the rewards and misfortunes common to early settlers of this northwesternmost British community. This summer, on July 25, 26, and 27, a large re-creation of history, the Siege of '47, will take place at the Fort. Reenactors from both the U.S. and Canada will gather to portray the events of the original siege--which ultimately determined English presence in the northern Connecticut River Valley. Since the Willard family played a major role in the history of the fortified village at this period, we felt sure that it would be of interest to you to know of this important event. Willard descendants might like to attend the Siege or to visit the Fort at another time, given the historic relationship. We are enclosing a dateline with events concerning Willards footnoted, and also some other background information. Thank you for your attention. Very truly yours, Joyce Higgins Fort Staff Enc. P.0. Box 336 Charlestown New Hampshire 03603 (603) 826-5700 A Non-Proflt Corporation DATELINE FOR THE FORT AT NO. 4 1735 - Massachusetts Provincial government granted township No. 4. 1740 - Three Farnsworth brothers (Samuel, David, Stephen) settled No. 4. 1743 - Proprietors and settlers of No. 4 met and decided to build a fort for their own protection in the event that war broke out anew between England and France. * 1744 - War declared between England and France. In Europe, it was called the War of Austrian Succession; in the new world, King George's War. 1745 - Massachusetts Bay colony raised an army with the other New England colonies to attack the French fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island. The Fortress fell after a short siege. 1746 - A bad year for No. 4, starting on April 19 with the nearby mills on Clay Brook being burned and three men captured. May 2: Indians attacked again and one man was killed. May 24: an ambush with one man killed and another taken. June 19: A party of men collecting horses outside the fort was ambushed by Indians, but attackers beaten off, with only four men wounded. August 3: a two-day attack on the fort, but the defenders stood firm, and the Indians withdrew after burning a number of buildings outside the fort and killing livestock. As winter drew close and the soldiers were recalled, the settlers of No. 4 abandoned the fortified town, due to lack of provisions and protection by troops. 1747 - March 27: Capt. Phineas Stevens with 30 soldiers reoccupied the fort. Eleven days later, April 7, the fort was attacked by a large force of French and Indians. The attack lasted three days, but again the defenders stood firm. The report of Capt. Stevens dealing with the attack was sent to Massachusetts Bay, where it was published in the Boston News. Among the readers was Commodore Charles Knowles, who sent Capt. Stevens a silver-hilted sword in recognition of his bravery. No. 4 was renamed Charlestown, in Sir Charles Knowles' honor, in 1753. 1748 - Attacks continued against the township of No. 4, but no direct attacks were made against the fort, due to the presence of three cannons and a continuous garrison at the fort. The war ended on October 18, and a number of those captured at No. 4 were returned. 1749 - Though England and France were at peace, Indian attacks persisted. On June 20, they attacked, killed one man and captured a boy. Capt. Stevens was sent by Gov. William Shirley of Massachusetts Bay to Canada to redeem more captives. He made two more trips to Canada for the same purpose in 1751 and 1752. 1751 - Settlers voted at a town meeting to settle a blacksmith and a minister in town. 1753 - No. 4 received a new township grant from the Province of New Hampshire and was renamed Charlestown. ** 1754 - In May, war broke out again between England and France, this time known as the Seven Years War. The town petitioned the king of England for protection. August 29: attacks began again with a family captured and three individuals taken. 1756 - June 18: another attack by Indians with one man killed and one wounded. *** 1757 - April 20: the mills again burned and 5 men captured. 1759 - A military road was started between Crown Point on Lake Champlain and No. 4. Crown Point was formerly French Fort St. Frederick, captured by English troops in l 758. Road was completed in 1760. English General James Wolfe also captured the city of Quebec. New France (Canada) had begun to crumble. 1760 - The last attack on No. 4 was on June 7. Again, a family was captured, at their home south of the fort. On Sept. 8, the fortified city of Montreal fell, and with it, Canada surrendered to the English. Though peace wasn't concluded for three years, the fighting ended in New England. During the 1760s, the fort was slowly disassembled to make way for the growing town. **** 1777 - Though the fort no longer existed, the town of Charlestown had become the supply depot for new settlements to the west, north, and east. In July 1777, Charlestown was the recruiting point for General John Stark's army,, which marched to victory at Bennington. Willard Connections: * The Willard family was at the township of No. 4 at this time. ** The Johnson Family was captured (Susanna Willard Johnson and Miriam Willard, her sister, were among the captured.) *** Moses Willard was killed, Moses Willard, Jr., wounded. **** The Joseph Willard family was the last family captured at No. 4. Why the Siege of '47? On the New England Frontier 250 Years Ago... The Connecticut River Valley in the area now known as New Hampshire had only a few settlers scattered along the banks of the river, the settlers' vital link with towns to the south. Behind the settlers, west of them, and north of them for miles lay only virgin forests and mountains, inhabited by deer, bears, Indians, and an occasional French trapper. The settlers in Township No. 4, the northwesternmost settlement of all, were determined to stay and create homes in this isolated and hostile environment. When King George's War began, the inhabitants of Township No. 4 knew that they would be the first area attacked as hostilities renewed. They decided to defend themselves by pulling five existing houses together and building a sixth. After connecting these houses with leantos to present a solid wall, they enclosed most of the buildings with log palisades, creating a unique fortified village. The Fort at No. 4 served its inhabitants well, and its defenses were never breached. The most important battle to take place there was the Siege of 1747. Due to continuous Indian raids during the summer of 1746, the settlers had been unable to grow any crops to feed themselves over the winter, and were forced to withdraw to Massachusetts until the spring of 1747. Knowing that the French and Indian war parties would be prowling again as soon as the ice was out of the rivers, Captain Phineas Stevens obtained Massachusetts Governor Shirley's consent to take a troop of volunteers to the fort to protect it. The small militia of thirty men had scarcely been at the fort for two weeks when the attack came. Claiming to be 700 strong and demanding the fort's surrender, the French and Indian forces fired continuously for three days and nights. Through the withering musket fire and fires set to buildings and fences outside the fort, Captain Stevens and his men resolutely refused to yield. The attackers, eventually realizing that they could not take the fort, moved on to easier prey. The victory of Captain Stevens' militia not only saved the Fort at No. 4--which would have been burned to the ground--but secured English presence in the valley, and made it possible for what we know as New Hampshire and Vermont to develop as English colonies. This small battle cast a long shadow. If the victory had swung to the French and Indians, French might be spoken in these areas today! And now, 250 years later, the reconstructed fort sits again on the banks of the Connecticut River in New Hampshire' flying the red ensign flag of an English colony in 1747, and conducting and explaining a way of life long past. Until...on July 25, 26, and 27, the warring French and their Indian allies will once again fall upon the fort and put it under siege. The echoes of history are awoken, and the past becomes the present for a brief, memorable time. COME AND JOIN US SIEGE OF FORT AT NUMBER FOUR to BE REENACTED IN JULY July 25, 26, 27, 1997 CHARLESTON N.H.--The 250"' anniversary of the repulse of a siege by French and Indians of a fortified English settlement on the Connecticut River here will be reenacted July 25-27. More than 400 reenactors will converge on the authentically reconstructed Fort at No. 4 for three days of musketry, cannon fire, encampments, bagpipe, and fife music and more, honoring the 1747 victory which helped assure that northern New England would remain in British, not French, control. The event offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to glimpse life on the New England frontier at a time when great European powers were struggling for control of a continent. Festivities will actually begin two weeks earlier at the Old Fort on St. Helens Island Montreal Canada when a party of raiders departs to retrace the attackers' route to Number 4. Their arrival at the fort just across the Connecticut River from Springfield Vt. will begin the three day event. Opening ceremonies are set for 10:30 a.m. on Friday July 25. Throughout the three days reenactors portraying the French and Indian attackers will bring the fortified settlement under fire while the 30 settler defenders reply. The siege will continue until late in the third day when as 250 years ago the French and Indians short of food and having taken casualties will withdraw. "Our goal' as always at the Fort, is historic authenticity, but we are also aiming to make this event a great deal of fun " according to Jeffrey Miller Fort research administrator. Three full days of history and entertainment are planned. Reenactors will conduct demonstrations of European infantry tactics and give cannon firing demonstrations. Indian and French encampments will be set up. A naval engagement between Indian canoes and settlers' boats will be staged on the Connecticut River. Tours of the besieged fort will be conducted. Sutlers will sell 18th Century wares, puppeteers, and magicians will perform, jigs and reels will be danced, and there will be concerts of bagpipe and fife and drum music. Children will be invited to join in a "children's muster " armed with wooden stick guns. A blueberry festival parade, several church suppers, and other events will be held in Charlestown village, located on the original site of the Fort at Number Four. The authentic reconstruction of the Fort begun a half century ago less than a mile from the original site and the scene of the siege reenactment will near completion with the dedication of two newly reconstructed buildings within the fort's stockaded walls. The Fort is easily accessible just off Interstate 91 at Springfield, Vermont about two-and-one half hours from Boston, two hours from Hartford, and some four hours from New York City.