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The Pine Tree Riot - Page 2


© Christina Coruth
Page 2

Apr 27, 2001


At dawn on April 14, 1772, twenty men with faces blackened, burst into Whiting's room and subdued him before he could reach for his gun. Holding him by the arms and legs, they struck his bare back repeatedly with tree switches - one lash for each tree to cancel out the debt. After they finished, they did the same to Quigley. In a further effort to disgrace the King's men, they forced them to ride out of town through a gauntlet of jeering townspeople. To add further insult, their horses had been rendered valueless because the townsmen had cropped their ears and shorn their manes and tails.

The Court sends a message, too.

A large posse was sent to arrest the rioters, but the men had disappeared into the woods by the time the posse arrived. Determined to see them punished, Whiting continued his pursuit until he succeeded in arresting one of the men. The rest then came forward voluntarily, including Ebenezer Mudgett. They were charged with being "rioters, routers, disturbers of the peace," and "with making an assault upon the body of Benjamin Whiting, so that his life was despaired of." They pled guilty and were fined 20 shillings each plus the payment of court costs. This punishment was an extremely lenient one. Apparently, rebellion had spread to the court system.

The next time you read about the tea tax and the Boston Tea Party, remember the seeds of defiance against the Crown also sprouted a year earlier in Weare, New Hampshire at the Pine Tree Riot!

Bibliography

Dearborn, Helen. Town History of Weare, New Hampshire. Evans Printing Company, 1959.

Morison, Elizabeth and Morison, Elting. New Hampshire: A Bicentennial History. WW Norton & Company, 1976.

A Closer Look at White Pine by Karen Sullivan
http://www.cowasuck.org/whitepine.htm
accessed April 2000

Weare Today

Weare, New Hampshire
http://weareweb.weare.nh.us/

Special thanks to the photographer -- my daughter Mariah :-)

Site Add makes it free and easy to add your site to the top search engines.

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The copyright of the article The Pine Tree Riot - Page 2 in New Hampshire is owned by Christina Coruth. Permission to republish The Pine Tree Riot - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages
16.   May 10, 2001 4:37 PM
In response to message posted by Ireland:
Tweety and I both thank you! I'm glad you dropped by, it's always great to see you.
Tina ...

-- posted by Tina_Coruth
15.   May 10, 2001 6:07 AM
Excellent article. Enjoyed it a lot. And I love your signature too!

-- posted by Ireland
14.   May 4, 2001 2:47 PM
In response to message posted by jerrib:
Hi Jerri,
Isn't it fun to find the little-known history? I love the researching part! I get ...

-- posted by Tina_Coruth
13.   May 4, 2001 2:43 PM
In response to message posted by Maryel:
Hi Mary Ellen,
I had a hunch you loved history, too! LOL Whether it's Pompeii or New Hampsh ...

-- posted by Tina_Coruth
12.   May 3, 2001 11:04 AM
you tell us about little-known historical facts, Tina - and so skillful you are at it.

The pine tree plaque is really an interesting shape - and what an interesting tale.

Thanks, once again, for ...

-- posted by jerrib



For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Christina Coruth's New Hampshire topic, please visit the Discussions page.


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