This version is taken from George A. Wheeler's History of Castine, Penobscot and Brooksville, Maine, published in 1875.
Hutchings' Narrative to Joseph L. Stevens, Jr., in February, 1860.
In Wescott's battery there were three guns, one 12-lb., one 6-lb., and one 3-lb. brass field piece, which was lost overboard off Stover Perkins' point, when the Americans were trying to carry it off. It lays there now, I suppose - a little way from the shore. The transport must have come as nigh as she could. It probably slipped out of the slings.
I saw as many as 50 or 60 cannon the English got from the fleet up the river. They all lay at high water mark on the shore, loaded, and were fired off, to see if they were cracked, or anything the matter with them.
Doctor Calf (Calef) built the old Mann house about a year before the British came. He was a Tory refugee.
We shot an anchor from Wescott's battery off the Santillana (St. Helena) near Hatch's Point. Three or four ships lay along there. I saw it at low tide, and suppose I might have got it, if I had had spunk enough.
The old wreck on the shore down below Hatch's was the Providence.* The St. Helena was a letter-of-marque, of fourteen guns. She was not in the regular service. The Providence was an old transport, that troops come over in. She fell over there, I believe, and stove her side in.
*This is corroborated by a letter from J. Snelling, Esq., of Halifax, to the wife of Colonel Goldthwaite, at Bagaduce. This letter was dated December 17, 1779, and communicates the information that the St. Helena had recently been cast away, with great loss of life, at some place, the name of which we cannot decipher from the manuscript, but which certainly was not Penobscot or Bagaduce. The word looks like "Salu-ing."
The Albany carried sixteen guns, the Nautilus twenty-two, and the North twenty-eight. She was an old French ship, and was not good for much of anything. Her guns were light-mounted.
Nautilus Island was named after the Nautilus, and I suppose I saw the caper that was the occasion of it. The Hazard and other vessels, ran in behind the island, and fired across the bar, and raked the ships that lay across the mouth of the harbor. They cut or slipped their cables, and dropped up further. Nautilus Island used to be called Bank's Island; was called Nautilus Island after that.
The guard at Hainey's Point all ran off but five, who fired and killed one man - the first who was killed. My father is said to have done it on the second shot, and the Tories (the commanding officer didn't say it) said he would be hung. Mrs. Hainey told of it, and my mother was so frightened we had to move away. Ah! hard and trying times those were!
The Santillana was a very nice ship. The old Providence was an old vessel. She fell over and stove her broadside in. She was one of the British fleet. They hauled the transports ashore, when the Americans came. Otter Rock was named for the ship Otter, which went on the rock close by, at the eastward of it, going out, I think.
I went aboard the Nautilus. I was a boy. One of my countrymen took me down below, and fed me pretty well, then told me he was a pressed man. He had tried to run away, and got flogged for it. I saw two men flogged on the Albany. They can say what they please, when tied up, and one man told the officer he should run away again every chance. An English soldier joined us on the Kennebec, and then ran into the country. He was brought back and court martialed, and sentenced to 200 lashes. The blood ran down and filled his shoes. When he had received 100, they had to take him down. About that ship Providence, you needn't be afeared to assert it as truth, because I know all about it. * * * The frigate Blonde was one of the convoy that came with McLean. She did not come in, but lay outside of the harbor. I used to go on board, to sell milk, &c. She was a beautiful ship - was not here at the time of the siege, had gone away. The Albany was commanded by an American. Mowatt was a Portland man.
I remember when Pomroy was cut out by Little. He chased Pomroy about, but couldn't bring him to an engagement. Little said he would have him, if he followed him to h-ll. Pomroy had taken a coasting vessel with Little retook. Little got a whale-boat at Fox Islands, which he left with some men, below Nautilus Island, to make his escape in, if necessary. Pomroy had a 14-gun Brig; Little had a 12-gun Sloop. He came in on top of the tide, just at the close of day - before dark. When the sentry hailed him, he replied that he was a prize from Fox Island. "Who commands her?" "Peter Littlejohn." He ran alongside of the brig, and told them to heave him a warp, as he had lost both anchors in Fox Island thoroughfare. He had his men all ready, and jumped aboard with them, and took her. The sloop kept right on, and stood out of the harbor, but the brig had to make a couple of tacks. The people collected to look on, and Captain Little afterwards said he might have swept the streets as he went by. He was fired on from the fort, and the men ran down to the old French fort and fired. Commissary McLaughlin told a man (I heard him), that he delivered out 1700 rounds. It was said that Little picked up bullets by the bucketful from his deck, where they fell, after striking among the sails and rigging. A shot from the sloop, or brig, when going out of the harbor, struck a crowbar, and drove it through a hogshead of rum that stood in the King's store, about ten rods below the Fort gate. William Redhead told me that shot cost him one hogshead of rum. He was a sort of deputy Commissary, and came over with the British. He married old Banks' daughter. Pomroy was a Tory. He and most of his crew were ashore. Next day the British officers laughed at him. They thought very much of Little.
When the British came in I was at Fox Islands, with my uncle - where we went fishing in an open boat. We had news of their coming, and when the fleet came in sight, uncle said, "there comes the devils." We started for home, and when the fleet followed us up we knew it was them. We reached Castine when they were firing guns for pilots. Nine of the vessels came in. They anchored off Dice's Head, I should think by eleven o'clock. Their boats came ashore down at the beach, below Johnson's corner. I was there when they landed. As many as twenty officers came ashore. They all looked around as if they were considerably frightened. They didn't do much that day. I went home that night. Can't say if troops came next day or day after. When I went down they were camped in tents on the ridge to northeast of where the fort is.
When Little came, I had come back from the Kennebec, (a year before father) and worked here with the neighbors. I was then at old Mr. Samuel Wescott's. I had gone up to bed, and was leaning on a chest by the window. I heard a great firing of guns, and couldn't think what it all meant. Wescott was on the peninsula, and when he came home he told us all about it. I went down the next day and saw Pomroy, who looked as if he had been stealing sheep, and had lost all the friends he had in the world. General McLean was an excellent officer. He was very angry because the Tories drove off so many of the Americans by saying that the English were going to hang them. The old General didn't go about much, but the other officers used to. They went to Orland, to see Old Vyles' daughters.
As soon as the boats went off, the guard ran off. We thought they would come in above and cut us off. My father came near shooting one of our men who had run off. He was in the bushes, and started up. Father saw him and brought his gun to fire on him. He had a fur cap on, and father saw a mark on the back of it.
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