Thomas Sanders of Gloucester, MA.
Indians, exasperated by the recent Louisburg victory over their French
allies, on the 19th of July made a furious attack:
"on Saturday evening
last I received an account from Capt. Bradbury of a great number of Indians
attacking the Fort at St. George's River, burning several houses on that river,
killing a great number of cattle, and killing or taking one of the inhabitants."
The saw-mill at Mill River, and one of the block-houses were also set on fire;
but little impression was made on the garrisons.
Shirley also wrote to
Capt. Thomas Sanders, then in command of the Province sloop-of-war
"Massachusetts," under date of July 20th, "I have just received advice by a
letter from Capt. Bradbury, that the Indians in a body of about seventy attacked
them at St. George's, and took or killed one man, and killed fifty or sixty head
of cattle, besides hogs and horses. You must therefore come without a moment's
delay, and get your full complement of men to sail forthwith to the Eastward.
Mr. Wheelwright tells me your sloop is ready with everything on board. Fail not,
by any means."
This Capt. Sanders, a native of Gloucester, had
distinguished himself in the Louisburg expedition as commander of the
transports, and was now retained in command of the sloop, as his father of the
same name had long been before him.(*)
On one occasion during this war,
having anchored off Owl's Head, Thomas junior was decoyed on shore by an Indian,
surrounded by a party in ambush and taken prisoner. He was brought to the Fort
here and ransomed for about $200 by his father who had already arrived there,
but on the condition that the prisoner would accompany his captor a sufficient
distance to protect him from scouting parties. Sanders went with him, keeping
the money in his possession, as far as Camden (Maine). Requesting to be
discharged, and the Indian not consenting, Sanders began to suspect him of bad
faith. Without betraying his suspicions he accompanied him on to Ducktrap,
where, requesting the Indian's gun to shoot at some ducks in sight, he received
it, and, on pretence [sic] of getting nearer them, gradually receded from the
Indian, took to his heels, and fled homeward. Somewhat encumbered by the money,
in his flight, he hastily concealed it under a root of a tree, and arrived safe
at the fort.
Some fifteen years later, in one of his eastern voyages, he
went on shore and recovered his deposit.(+)
The Indians who made this
attack on the fort were supposed to be from Canada, Cape Sable, and St. Johns,
assisted probably by a few Penobscots; and demands were immediately made upon
the latter, through Capt. Bradbury, to deliver up within a fortnight those of
their tribe concerned in this outrage, or war would be declared against them,
"only giving liberty, for 14 days, to such as shall be so inclined, to come and
live with us." This demand not being complied with, war was declared against all
the Eastern tribes; and large bounties (viz.: œ100 to paid soldiers, and œ400 to
unpaid volunteers) were offered for every Indian captive or scalp.
(*)
Thomas Sanders was one of the early settlers of Gloucester, Mass., and there was
a Thomas for six successive generations in the family.
(+) This account,
which differs in many respects from that in the Annals of Warren, was prepared
for that work, but was mislaid before it went to press, and not found till some
ten years after. It was prepared on the reliable authority of Wm. Lermond, who
was a boy in his tenth year, residing at the fort when the money was found, and
whose recollection of the circumstances as he heard them there talked over, was
much more clear and corroborated by other events.
This selection
is from the "History of Maine" as posted to a message board by Jean Sanders,
Haverhill MA. She would like to know more about this family.