Pine Tree Riot
Encyclopedia
The Pine Tree Riot was an act of resistance to British
royal authority undertaken by American colonists in New Hampshire
in 1772, placing it among the disputes between Crown and colonists that culminated in the American Revolution
.
British success in the War of Jenkins' Ear
(1739-1748) and the Seven Years' War
(1756-1763) were due in large part to the control of the seas by the British Navy. By the late 17th century, due to the number of ships built and repaired, Great Britain
had few trees remaining which were suitable to be used as masts
for merchant and naval ships. White pine
trees were considered to be the best type of tree to use for these single-stick masts. To maintain Britain's naval and trading advantage, laws were passed in North America to protect white pine trees until they were fully grown for British ship building.
passed a law making it illegal to cut down "any white pine tree of the growth of 12 inches of diameter" or face a fine of ₤5 to ₤50, depending upon the diameter of the tree and whatever lumber was unlawfully cut down. "Surveyors of the King's Woods" were assigned to identify all trees suitable for the king's use with a broad arrow, before a settler could do their clearing and regardless of their needs.
The passage of this law was not just an inconvenience, it was an impediment to necessary building of the colonists, causing more anguish and anger than the Stamp Act
or tea tax
. The result of the law caused a patriotic backlash of sentiment, making it unfashionable to have floorboards less than 12 inches wide. The law was not strictly enforced until John Wentworth
was appointed governor of the New Hampshire colony in 1766. Although often sympathetic to the colonists, he held firm on this issue.
and Weare
possessed large white pines and marked them with the broad arrow
to indicate that they were the property of the King. The owners of the mills were named as offenders in the February 7, 1772 edition of the New Hampshire Gazette. The mill owners hired a lawyer by the name of Samuel Blodgett to represent them, and he met with Governor Wentworth in hopes that he could persuade the governor to drop the charges against the mill owners. Instead, the governor offered Blodgett the job of Surveyor of the King's Woods, which he accepted. Upon returning from his mission, Blodgett wrote to the sawmill owners and instructed them to pay a settlement. The mill owners from Goffstown paid their fines at once and had their logs returned to them. Those from Weare refused to pay.
On April 13, 1772, Benjamin Whiting, Sheriff of Hillsborough County
, and his Deputy John Quigly were sent to South Weare
with a warrant to arrest the leader of the Weare mill owners, Ebenezer Mudgett. Mudgett was arrested and released with the understanding that he would provide bail in the morning. The sheriff and deputy spent the night at Aaron Quimby's inn, the Pine Tree Tavern. Many of the townsmen gathered at Mudgett's house to decide what course of action should be taken - some decided to help him pay his bail, while others wanted to run the sheriff and deputy out of town.
At dawn the next day, 20 or 30-40 men led by Mudgett with faces blackened with soot entered Whiting's room and assaulted him and his deputy with tree switches. They gave him one lash for every tree for which they were being fined. They cut off the ears and shaved the manes and tails of Whiting and Quigley's horses to render them valueless. In a further effort to disgrace the men, the people of Weare forced Whiting and Quigly to ride out of town through a gauntlet of jeering townspeople.
Whiting, with Colonel Moore of Bedford
and Edward Goldstone Lutwyche of Merrimack
, assembled a posse and returned to arrest the rioters. By this time, the townspeople had fled. After searching, they arrested one of the men involved in the assault, and the others were named, ordered to post bail and appear in court. Eight men were charged with being rioters and disturbers of the peace and with "making an assault upon the body of Benjamin Whiting." Four judges, Theodore Atkinson, Meshech Weare
, Leverett Hubbard and William Parker, heard the case in the Superior Court
in Amherst
in September 1772. The rioters pled guilty, and the judges fined them 20 shilling
s each and ordered them to pay the cost of the court hearing.
.
The first Pine Tree Flag
flown by colonists against the British was red with a pine tree within a white square in the upper left corner.
Of the men charged, Timothy Worthley, Jonathan Worthley and William Dustin fought against the British in the Revolutionary War, as did Samuel Blodgett. Benjamin Whiting fought for the British and had his land confiscated. Meshech Weare, one of the judges, assisted in framing the New Hampshire constitution adopted in 1776, establishing its own government, and becoming the first colony to declare its independence.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
royal authority undertaken by American colonists in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
in 1772, placing it among the disputes between Crown and colonists that culminated in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
.
British success in the War of Jenkins' Ear
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in...
(1739-1748) and the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
(1756-1763) were due in large part to the control of the seas by the British Navy. By the late 17th century, due to the number of ships built and repaired, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
had few trees remaining which were suitable to be used as masts
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
for merchant and naval ships. White pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
trees were considered to be the best type of tree to use for these single-stick masts. To maintain Britain's naval and trading advantage, laws were passed in North America to protect white pine trees until they were fully grown for British ship building.
Pine Tree Law
In 1722, the New Hampshire General CourtNew Hampshire General Court
The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 members...
passed a law making it illegal to cut down "any white pine tree of the growth of 12 inches of diameter" or face a fine of ₤5 to ₤50, depending upon the diameter of the tree and whatever lumber was unlawfully cut down. "Surveyors of the King's Woods" were assigned to identify all trees suitable for the king's use with a broad arrow, before a settler could do their clearing and regardless of their needs.
The passage of this law was not just an inconvenience, it was an impediment to necessary building of the colonists, causing more anguish and anger than the Stamp Act
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp...
or tea tax
Tea Act
The Tea Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its principal overt objective was to reduce the massive surplus of tea held by the financially troubled British East India Company in its London warehouses. A related objective was to undercut the price of tea smuggled into Britain's...
. The result of the law caused a patriotic backlash of sentiment, making it unfashionable to have floorboards less than 12 inches wide. The law was not strictly enforced until John Wentworth
John Wentworth (governor)
Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet was the British colonial governor of New Hampshire at the time of the American Revolution. He was later also Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia.-Early life:...
was appointed governor of the New Hampshire colony in 1766. Although often sympathetic to the colonists, he held firm on this issue.
Pine Tree Riot
John Sherman, Deputy Surveyor of New Hampshire, ordered a search of sawmills in 1771-1772 for white pine marked for the British Crown. His men found that six mills in GoffstownGoffstown, New Hampshire
Goffstown is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 17,651 at the 2010 census. The compact center of town, where 3,196 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the Goffstown census-designated place and is located at the...
and Weare
Weare, New Hampshire
Weare is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,785 at the 2010 census. It is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester and Concord.-History:...
possessed large white pines and marked them with the broad arrow
Broad arrow
A broad arrow or pheon is a type of arrow with a typically flat barbed head. It is a symbol used traditionally in heraldry, most notably in England, and later the United Kingdom to mark government property.-Use in heraldry:...
to indicate that they were the property of the King. The owners of the mills were named as offenders in the February 7, 1772 edition of the New Hampshire Gazette. The mill owners hired a lawyer by the name of Samuel Blodgett to represent them, and he met with Governor Wentworth in hopes that he could persuade the governor to drop the charges against the mill owners. Instead, the governor offered Blodgett the job of Surveyor of the King's Woods, which he accepted. Upon returning from his mission, Blodgett wrote to the sawmill owners and instructed them to pay a settlement. The mill owners from Goffstown paid their fines at once and had their logs returned to them. Those from Weare refused to pay.
On April 13, 1772, Benjamin Whiting, Sheriff of Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 380,841 people, 144,455 households, and 98,807 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 149,961 housing units at an average density of 171 per square mile...
, and his Deputy John Quigly were sent to South Weare
Weare, New Hampshire
Weare is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,785 at the 2010 census. It is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester and Concord.-History:...
with a warrant to arrest the leader of the Weare mill owners, Ebenezer Mudgett. Mudgett was arrested and released with the understanding that he would provide bail in the morning. The sheriff and deputy spent the night at Aaron Quimby's inn, the Pine Tree Tavern. Many of the townsmen gathered at Mudgett's house to decide what course of action should be taken - some decided to help him pay his bail, while others wanted to run the sheriff and deputy out of town.
At dawn the next day, 20 or 30-40 men led by Mudgett with faces blackened with soot entered Whiting's room and assaulted him and his deputy with tree switches. They gave him one lash for every tree for which they were being fined. They cut off the ears and shaved the manes and tails of Whiting and Quigley's horses to render them valueless. In a further effort to disgrace the men, the people of Weare forced Whiting and Quigly to ride out of town through a gauntlet of jeering townspeople.
Whiting, with Colonel Moore of Bedford
Bedford, New Hampshire
-Demographics:As of the Census of 2000, there were 18,274 people, 6,251 households, and 5,125 families residing in the town. The population density was 556.6 people per square mile . There were 6,401 housing units at an average density of 195.0 per square mile...
and Edward Goldstone Lutwyche of Merrimack
Merrimack, New Hampshire
Merrimack is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 25,494 at the 2010 census, making it the eighth-largest municipality in New Hampshire....
, assembled a posse and returned to arrest the rioters. By this time, the townspeople had fled. After searching, they arrested one of the men involved in the assault, and the others were named, ordered to post bail and appear in court. Eight men were charged with being rioters and disturbers of the peace and with "making an assault upon the body of Benjamin Whiting." Four judges, Theodore Atkinson, Meshech Weare
Meshech Weare
Meshech Weare was an American farmer, lawyer and revolutionary statesman from Seabrook, New Hampshire. He served as the first President of New Hampshire from 1776 to 1785.-Family life:...
, Leverett Hubbard and William Parker, heard the case in the Superior Court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...
in Amherst
Amherst, New Hampshire
Amherst is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,201 at the 2010 census. Amherst is home to Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Hodgman State Forest, the Joe English Reservation and Baboosic Lake....
in September 1772. The rioters pled guilty, and the judges fined them 20 shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s each and ordered them to pay the cost of the court hearing.
Following events
The Pine Tree Riot, although conducted in a remote section of the British colonies, was a test of the British Royal Authority. This is partially evident by the light fines exacted against the rioters. Some believe this to be an inspiring act for the Boston Tea PartyBoston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
.
The first Pine Tree Flag
Pine Tree Flag
The Pine Tree Flag was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, featuring a pine tree flag with the motto "An Appeal to God," or, more usually, "An Appeal to Heaven," was used originally by a squadron of six cruisers commissioned under George Washington's authority as...
flown by colonists against the British was red with a pine tree within a white square in the upper left corner.
Of the men charged, Timothy Worthley, Jonathan Worthley and William Dustin fought against the British in the Revolutionary War, as did Samuel Blodgett. Benjamin Whiting fought for the British and had his land confiscated. Meshech Weare, one of the judges, assisted in framing the New Hampshire constitution adopted in 1776, establishing its own government, and becoming the first colony to declare its independence.
Participants
- John Sherburn - Deputy Surveyor
- Samuel Blodget - lawyer and later Surveyor
- Benjamin Whiting - County Sheriff
- John Quigley - Deputy Sheriff
- Aaron Quimby - owner of the Pine Tree Tavern
- Ebenezer Mudgett - leader of sawmill owners in Weare, rioter
- Colonel Moore - head of a regiment that marched to Weare
- Colonel Edward Goldstone Lutwyche - head of a regiment that marched to Weare
- Timothy Worthley - resident of Weare, rioter
- Jonathan Worthley - resident of Weare, rioter
- Caleb Atwood - resident of Weare, rioter
- William Dustin - resident of Weare, rioter
- Abraham Johnson - resident of Weare, rioter
- Jotham Tuttle - resident of Weare, rioter
- William Quimby - resident of Weare, rioter and brother of Aaron Quimby
- Honorable Theodore Atkinson - Chief Justice
- Honorable Meshech Weare - Justice
- Honorable Leverett Hubbard - Justice
- Honorable William Parker - Justice
External links
- Weare Historical Society - "The Pine Tree Riot"
- New Hampshire History Curriculum Sample Lesson Plans - "We Had a Riot"
- An account of the survey of logs by Deputy Surveyor John Sherburn in the History of Goffstown
Further reading
- Joseph J. Malone. Pine Trees and Politics (New York: Arno Press, 1979)
- Roberts, Strother E. (2010). Pines, profits, and popular politics: Responses to the White Pine Acts in the colonial Connecticut River Valley. The New England QuarterlyThe New England QuarterlyThe New England Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal consisting of articles on New England's cultural, literary, political, and social history. The journal contains essays, interpretations of traditional texts, essay reviews and book reviews...
, 83(1), 73–101. (The subject of this article is mentioned on page 76.)