Captain John Bacon is one of the most notorious of the legendary Pine Robbers – outlaws who preyed on rebel and Tory alike in the desolate lands of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Bacon, like many other famed Tory leaders in the province of New Jersey likely held a commission and gained his “Captain” title from the “Board of Associated Loyalists,” which was a group formed in New York and chartered by William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin and last Royal governor of New Jersey. The British Government, knowing that having an organized force of Loyalists would free up their armies to conduct military operations against the Continentals, approved of the Board and as such offered a reward of 200 acres of land to anybody willing to fight for the British during the duration of the war. Raids were to be conducted solely against military targets , and Bacon chiefly confined his “picarooning” to well-known members of the Monmouth Militia unlike many other Pine Robbers who simply used the war as an excuse to plunder indiscriminately. The exploits of Bacon and other Refugees – Tories operating under the auspices of the Board – were far more violent and sinister than those sanctioned by the Crown.
Prior to the war Bacon worked as a laborer on the Crane family farm in Manahawkin. Members of the Crane family would later join the Monmouth Militia.
It’s likely that Bacon’s Tory sympathies caused a rift between himself and his Whig employers and he either was fired or quit to join the Board of Associated Loyalists. At some point he settled his wife and two sons in Pemberton but spent most of his time hiding and raiding in the area between Cedar Creek and Tuckerton.
One of the first actions that can be attributed to Bacon is a raidi...
... middle of paper ...
...id.
Ibid, 45.
Salter, 210
Renee Brecht, The Long Beach Island Massacre, part 2, http://www.njpinelandsanddownjersey.com/open/index.php?module=documents&JAS_DocumentManager_op=viewDocument&JAS_Document_id=205 (June 21, 2011).
Salter, 210.
American War of Independence – At Sea, The Long Beach Island Massacre http://www.awiatsea.com/incidents/25%20October%201782%20The%20Long%20Beach%20Island%20Massacre.html (June 21, 2011).
Salter, 209.
New Jersey Gazette, Trenton, January 8, 1783.
George F. Fort, MD, “An Account of the Capture and Death of the Refugee John Bacon,” Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, (Newark, NJ: New Jersey Historical Society, 1847) 151.
New Jersey Gazette, Trenton, April 9, 1783.
Fort, 152
Henry Charlton Beck, More Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey. (Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1963) 260.
Bacon’s Rebellion, King Phillip’s War and the Pequot War were similar in that there were conflicts with Natives over land, however they differed in the ways the wars were carried out and the results of the wars. Bacon’s rebellion was a result of the poorer classes moving west to cultivate land, however they encountered natives and the governor refused to protect them. Likewise the Pequot war was a direct effect of puritans moving westward, additionally all three wars resulted in the colonists as victors. During King Phillip’s war the natives destroyed a fifth of the towns in Masseuses and Rhode Island in contrast to the other wars where the natives did not cause as much damage to the colonists. Bacon’s Rebellion was significant because afterwards
Nathaniel Bacon attempted to damage William Berkeley’s reputation by accusing Berkeley of not protecting the people in the Colony. He wanted to show why he should lead the people of Virginia. Berkeley had certain people
When the revolutionary war began Few sided with the Whig cause, which was the side of the war fighting for America’s freedom from British rule. Even though Few had little schooling as a child he proved leadership and won a lieutenant-colonelcy, a very high rank in the minutemen army. Few also began to take interest in politics and were elected Georgia provincial congress of 1776. He also was and the state executive, surveyor general, Indian commissioner, as well as served in the Continental Congress general. Few was also reelected to the Georgia assembly.
"Governor William Berkely on Bacon's Rebellion 19 May 1676." American History From Revolution to Reconstruction and beyond. http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1651-1700/governor-william-berkely-on-bacons-rebellion-19-may-1676.php
Rutman’s main purpose for writing this book was to show the differences between what Winthrop thought his American life would be, and what it turned out to be. Winthrop’s Boston: A Portrait of a Puritan Town, 1630 - 1649, portrays the story of John Winthrop setting up his dream. The novel starts with John “aboard the Arabella contemplating his ‘Citty upon a Hill,’” (135). His journey on the Arabella was not just a boat ride, it was where the planning began. Being a puritan and wanting religious freedom Winthrop had left behind his wife and life to start a new one in America. Although his initial thought was a “Citty upon a Hill”, Boston ends up being “The Citty by the Water”. This change in title is just one example that shows what he book reveals about Winthrop’s ideal community. In the end, he did set-up Boston but it wasn’t exactly how he pictured it. Along the way there were situations in which he did not predict.
John Hope Franklin’s childhood had a huge impact on his life and scholarship. His parents were a primary influence in his education and much of the subjects he was passi...
...ies to the British crown, such as officials and soldiers, whose economics relied on the British Crown. This was true, but in many cases, their reasons were much simpler. Many Loyalists were simply happy with the status quo; this was the government in which they were accustomed. Others saw the Patriots as hooligans and outlaws, while others had invested heavily in British goods, and others still did not want the prospect of war. Many consider the power that the British soldiers, or “Red Coats”, had in the American colonies as justified under the British Crown. They were the police force, arresting and upholding the British laws. Many people who held the title of Loyalist saw the frequently violent actions of the Patriots as criminal in nature instead of heroic as the Patriots saw them, and as such refused to assist them even if some agreed with them to an extent.
During the Revolutionary War, Aaron and I accompanied General Benedict Arnold's expedition into Canada in 1775, a difficult trek of over 500 miles in the middle of winter. Upon arriving before the Battle of Quebec, we were sent up the St. Lawrence River to make contact with General Richard Montgomery, who had taken Montreal, and escort him to Quebec. Montgomery liked the Aaron, and promoted him to Captain and added him to his staff as an aide-de-camp. After Montgomery was killed and the advance party thrown into confusion, Burr single-handedly gathered some of the soldiers and began an attack on the British lines. Overwhelmed by cannon fire, we were forced to retreat. Burr carried the body of Montgomery a short distance before retreating from the field. Our courage made us a national hero and earned us a place on Washington's staff in Manhattan, but we quit after two weeks because we wanted to return to the field.
The battle of okinawa. Retrieved from http://www.okka.co.uk/battleokinawa.html Battle of okinawa. (1996). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of okinawa (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_okinawa.htm (n.d.).
13) Bacon’s Rebellion: About a thousand Virginians broke out of control in 1676, led by a twenty-nine-year-old planter, Nathaniel Bacon. Many of the rebels were frontiersmen who had been forced into the untamed backcountry in search of arable land. Bacon had ignited the smoldering unhappiness of landless former servants, and he had pitted the hardscrabble backcountry frontiersmen against the haughty gentry of the tidewater
The thought of the separation and democracy was far and few between amongst the colonists. A thought such as revolution was even more farfetched. Bacon’s Rebellion took place in Virginia's western front, an area of great agricultural potential. As pioneers began to take up the farm land in the west, latter settlers had to move farther west in order to find feasible farming land. These settlers soon discovered that the western backcountry of Virginia was inhabited by many Native American tribes, and that farming in these areas would be extremely susceptible to raids from disgruntled Indians. When the Virginia governor William Berkley denied the authority to raise a militia to drive the Indian tribes out of farmland in the western backcountry, resentment of the eastern elite grew. Farmers sensed that the upper class intended to use them as expendable “ human shields” to avoid confrontation with the Natives. Led by Nathaniel Bacon , a wealthy immigrant who arrived too late to nab good fertile coastal land, the group of farmers formed a militia to attack the tribes. Fighting against both the Indians and colonial authority , these protesters lashed out against the Susquehannocks, and also the Pamunkeys ( English
In 1748, he had slaves working in his home and print shop. During that time, Franklin began to find the act he was participating in cruel and inhumane. By 1760, he had freed most of his slaves. Franklin aided as the leader of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery, and wrote many tracts urging the abolishment of servitude. While he was a member of Philadelphia’s city council and the justice of the peace, the French and Indian war was amidst. He helped unite and group all of the colonies together, to defend against the French. After the war, Franklin negotiated through many of his disputes with the proprietors of Pennsylvania, which ultimately led him to spend more time in London for two whole decades, and later return to Pennsylvania in
With every piece of history, behind them were tensions. Bacon’s Rebellion took place in Jamestown, Virginia in 1676, led by Nathaniel Bacon. Sir William Berkeley, the royal governor of Virginia, adopted policies that favored the large planters. He also angered farmers on Virginia's western frontier because he failed to protect their settlements from Indian attacks. Nathaniel Bacon was upset due to how Berkeley was leading colony and led a rebellion against Berkeley's government. He raised an army of volunteers and conducted a series of raids against Indian villages a...
This chapter provided information from the trial of Captain Thomas Preston. The chapter asked the question, “What really happened in the Boston Massacre”. Chapter four focused on the overall event of the Massacre and trying to determine if Captain Preston had given the order to fire at Boston citizens. The chapter provides background information and evidence from Preston’s trial to leave the reader answering the question the chapter presents. Although, after looking through all the witnesses’ testimonies some might sway in Captain Preston’s favor, just the way the grand jury did.
of the book. Eds. James N. N. Pickering and Jeffery D. Hoeper. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, O. 1700-57. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary'.