CAPTAIN
RICHARD DERBY
In February of 177,5, General
Gage was informed that the Provincial Congress had stored a large amount of
munitions and a number of cannons in Salem., and ordered Colonel Leslie to
embark in a transport with a battalion of infantry, disembark at Marblehead,
march across to Salem and seize this material of war. These troops, two hundred
fifty strong, sailed from Boston at night and landed at Marblehead beach Sunday
afternoon. Major Petrick, a patriot of the town, at once mounted a horse and
galloped to Salem, two miles away, to carry the warning of this invasion. The
British marched along the turnpike until they came to the North River, a small
navigable stream making up from Salem Harbor. This was spanned by a drawbridge
and Col. Leslie was much disturbed to find the drawbridge raised and a
formidable assemblage of Salem citizens buzzing angrily at the farther side of
the stream. The British officer had no orders to force the passage, and the
situation was both delicate and awkward in the extremes. Timothy Pickering had
been chosen Colonel of the First Regiment of Militia and forty of his armed men
were mustered, drawn up and ready to fire at the order. Colonel Leslie
threatened to let loose a volley of musketry to clear the road and was told by
Captain John Felt of Salem:
" You had better not fire,
for there is a multitude, every man of whom is ready to die in this
strife."
Some of the more adventurous
patriots climbed to the top of the raised drawbridge and hurled insulting taunts
at the British infantry, yelling, " Fire and be damned to you " Rev
Thomas Bamard of the North Church tried to make peace and addressed Colonel
Leslie,'You cannot commit this violation against innocent people, here on this
holy day, without sinning against God and humanity, let me entrust you to
return".
At the head of the crowd of
armed men stood Captain Richard Derby. He owned eight of the nineteen cannons
which had collected for the use of the Provincial Congress and he had not the
slightest notion of surrendering them. There was a parley where Colonel Leslie
argued that he was in lawful possession of the Kings highway. The Salem rejoiner
was to the effect that the road and bridge were private property to be taken
from them only by force and under martial law. At this juncture, when a bloody
collision seemed eminent, Captain Richard Derby took command of the situation,
and roared across the stream, as if he was on his own quarterdeck:
" Find the cannon if you
can. Take them if you can. They will never be surrendered. " A fine
portrait of this fine gentleman has been preserved and in a well powdered wig,
with a spyglass in his hand, he looks every inch the man who hurled defiance at
Great Britain and dared a battalion of his Majesties foot knock the chip off his
stalwart shoulder. Colonel Leslie made a half hearted attempt to set his men
across the river in boats, and it was at this time that the only causality
occurred, a Salem man, Joseph Welcher, receiving a bayonet thrust. Perceiving
that to force a passage meant to set the whole colony in a blaze, and unwilling
to shoulder so tremendous a responsibility without orders from General Gage, the
British Colonel delayed for further discussion. At length Captain Derby and his
friends proposed that in order to satisfy Colonel Leslie's ideas of duty and
honor, he should be permitted to cross the bridge and immediately thereafter
return whence he came. The compromise was accepted, and after marching to the
farther side of the river, the troops faced about and footed back to their
transport at Marblehead without finding the cannon that they had come to take.
It was a victory for Captain Richard Derby and his townsmen and well worth a
conspicuous place in the history of the beginnings of the American Revolution.