Joseph Wanton
Encyclopedia
Joseph Wanton was a merchant and governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
from 1769 to 1775. Not wanting to go to war with Britain, he has been branded as a Loyalist
, but he remained neutral during the war, and he and his property were not disturbed.
Born in Newport of a prominent Quaker family that was very involved in Rhode Island politics, Wanton became a highly successful merchant. He is depicted in the satirical 1750s painting by John Greenwood
, Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam, with other prominent merchants and seamen from the colony. As a merchant, he was involved in the trade of most goods, including slaves, and at one point his ship with a cargo of rum and slaves was confiscated off the coast of Africa by
a French privateer
.
With no known civic background, Wanton was elected as governor of the colony in 1769, and served for six years. With the American Revolutionary War
on the horizon, he was involved with a large array of issues and incidents, most notably the Gaspee Affair
in 1772, where he played an important role in thwarting the crown from finding the members of the group of colonists that boarded and burned the royal schooner
Gaspee. The formation of the Continental Congress
took place during his administration, and he was in continuous communication with governors of other colonies. He also became a founder and trustee of the new college in the Rhode Island colony, eventually named Brown University
.
As the Revolutionary War approached, members of the General Assembly were getting very hawkish, and when Wanton was elected for the seventh time in 1775, he refused to agree to the raising of an army of 1500 men, and would not commission new officers. He also would not immediately take the oath of office, and for these reasons the Assembly refused to seat him as Governor, and formally removed him from office a few months later, with Nicholas Cooke
taking his place. While he was not overtly Loyalist, he did not see a war with Great Britain to be in the interest of the colony. He retired to his home in Newport where he was undisturbed during the war, and died before its conclusion, in 1780.
in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
on 15 August 1705, Wanton was the seventh of nine children born to William Wanton
and his first wife, Ruth Bryant. His father had been a governor of the colony, as had his uncle John Wanton
and his older first cousin, Gideon Wanton
. His grandfather, Edward Wanton, was a ship builder, who became a Quaker after witnessing the persecution of these people, and became a speaker (preacher) of that religion. His grandfather had lived in York, Maine
; Boston
, Massachusetts
; and Scituate, Massachusetts
, and though he likely never lived in Rhode Island, many of his children settled in Newport or other parts of the colony. Though Wanton was of a Quaker background, his mother was a Presbyterian, and as a compromise, her children were raised in the Anglican faith.
While some sources say he graduated from Harvard College
in 1751, it is far more likely that this was his 21-year old son, Joseph, Jr.
, rather than the 46-year old Wanton, who was by then a highly successful merchant sailing the globe in pursuit of commercial interests. That he was well educated, however, is certain from the vast amount of correspondence in which he engaged, particularly as Governor of the colony. In the mid 1750s, the Boston portraitist, John Greenwood
, followed a group of sea captains and merchants to Surinam on the northeast coast of South America. The trading usually took time, so the men often waited in pubs. Being commissioned by the merchants to create a satirical painting, Greenwood concocted a 22-figure tavern scene, showing himself among the affluent traders, all subject to the "intoxicating effects of alcohol and economic ambition." Most accounts agree that Wanton is the bald man slumped in a chair by the table, being doused with a pitcher of rum, by one account, or of punch and vomit, by other accounts.
As a merchant, Wanton was involved in the maritime trade of a variety of goods. During the first half of the 18th century the slave trade was booming in Newport, and from 1708 to 1755 the population of black slaves in the colony burgeoned from 220 to nearly 4700. In 1758 Wanton declared that he had sailed the Snow King of Prussia with a cargo of 124 hogsheads of rum and 54 slaves. While at anchor along the African coast, he and his cargo were captured by a French cruiser.
In 1765 Wanton became one of the founders of the new college in Rhode Island, called the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and later named Brown University
. He is named as an original "corporator," and as an original trustee of the college.
, had corresponded. In the letter he boldly stated that it was not possible for him as Governor to obey the instructions of the crown "without acting diametrically opposite to the constitution
of the colony...; we cannot but humbly express our opinion that the power exercised by the Parliament of Great Britain (in which we are not represented), of raising monies upon us without our consent (which it is possible under a bad administration, may be extended to our last penny), is a real grievance; we are not without hopes that his Majesty's rejecting our petition, is entirely owing to the false information he hath received from America, of the state and temper of his subjects here."
Disquiet among the American colonists caused by irritants such as the Stamp Act
mounted during the 1760s, and the decade drew to a close with the most serious event yet. In July 1769 the British revenue ship Liberty
brought into the Newport harbor two Connecticut vessels, a brig and a sloop, suspected of smuggling. When some difficulty arose between the officers of the Liberty and those of the brig, the captain of the brig was fired upon from the Liberty. That evening some Newport citizens, who considered the seizure of the two vessels to be an outrage, boarded the Liberty and scuttled it, while the two captured vessels sailed away. This was the first overt act of violence of the colonies against Great Britain, and showed the temperament of the people towards the British customs officers. Wanton issued a proclamation for the arrest of the guilty parties, but no arrests were ever made.
to enforce the revenue acts. The commander, Lieutenant William Dudingston, had engaged in a number of annoyances upon vessels in the bay, detaining them without pretext, stopping market boats, and sometimes plundering the people ashore. He violated the charter
of the colony by acting without showing his commission. The inhabitants of Providence complained to Deputy Governor Darius Sessions
, who consulted with Chief Justice
Stephen Hopkins
, who offered the opinion "that no commander of any vessel has a right to use any authority in the body of the colony, without previously applying to the governor, and showing his warrant for so doing, and also being sworn to a due exercise of his office."
Sessions then communicated the complaints, with Hopkins' opinion, to Wanton, who immediately sent a letter to the commanding officer requiring him to produce his commission and instructions. The next day, Dudingston sent an arrogant reply, to which Wanton replied directly, repeating his demand, and assuring Dudingston of safety in coming to shore. Dudingston then enclosed the correspondence in a letter to his superior officer, Admiral Montagu, in Boston, who sided with the lieutenant, addressing an extremely insolent letter to Wanton, defending the commander and ridiculing the governor, suggesting that those interfering with the crown's activities could "hang as pirates." Wanton then informed Montagu "that I do not receive instructions for the administration of my government from the King's Admiral stationed in America." He then presented the chain of correspondence to the General Assembly, and directed that copies of the correspondence be sent to England. Wanton also wrote Lord Hillsborough, complaining of Montagu's insolence, and detailing the conduct of the Gaspee.
On 8 June 1672 the sloop
Hannah, coming from New York, arrived in Newport, reported to the custom house, and the next day proceeded up the river. The Gaspee, in its customary fashion, gave chase, but ran aground on Namquit (later called Gaspee Point), near Pawtuxet, and the Hannah escaped to Providence. That evening, by beat of drum, men were called to the house of James Sabin to organize an attack on the Gaspee. John Brown provided eight long-boats of five oars each, and shortly after 10 p.m., the party headed towards the Gaspee, commanded by Captain Abraham Whipple
. Well after midnight the party approached the vessel, and when hailed, did not answer the ship's sentinel. This prompted Dudingston himself to hail, again without answer. A second hail by the commander was then answered with profanity by Whipple, who ordered his men to spring to their oars. Shots were fired in both directions, and a musket ball fired by Joseph Bucklin hit Dudingston in the groin, and as he fell, the attackers boarded the schooner, and took over the vessel. The crew of the schooner was overtaken, bound, and put on shore, while Dudingston was attended to by Dr. John Mawney. A milestone had been reached; this was the first British blood shed in the American War for Independence. After removing the crew, the captors set fire to the vessel, and then returned to Providence.
A report was sent by a crew member to Montagu, who then forwarded a copy to Wanton with the request to apprehend the offenders. Wanton then issued his proclamation, offering 100 pounds reward for evidence sufficient for conviction of the guilty parties. An active correspondence then ensued between Wanton, the Admiral, and Lieutenant Dudingston, with an account of the event sent to Lord Hillsborough. An escaped slave who was with the expedition gave names of some of the men involved to Admiral Montagu, who then forwarded this deposition to Wanton, requesting that the instigators be questioned. Wanton, instead of obeying the request, took depositions invalidating the testimony of the slave. When news reached England, the King issued a proclamation offering a reward of 1000 pounds each for either of the leaders of the expedition, and 500 pounds for each of the other involved parties. Wanton, along with others from neighboring colonies, was commissioned to inquire into the report upon the facts.
The perpetrators of the Gaspee incident were well known, and among the most prominent citizens of the colony. Some of the younger and more rash of the accomplices had openly boasted of the events, while the ship still smoldered off the shore. Wanton and the other Rhode Island leaders were successful in subtly hampering the progress of the investigations, and amid all of the communications, commissions, claims, and counter claims, the court could not obtain enough direct evidence to indict a single person.
At some point during Wanton's tenure as governor the inhabitants of Providence urged the General Assembly to prohibit the importation of black slaves into the colony. They further wanted black slaves born in the colony to be freed at a certain age. These were "in a measure" adopted by the Assembly. In early 1773, a movement to unite the colonies was underway. Resolutions advising the appointment of inter-colonial committees of correspondence were unanimously passed, and sent to every colony for approval and adoption. In May 1774, the first explicit movement for a Continental Congress
was made at a meeting in Providence, and within a few weeks delegates were elected to attend. Of the 13 colonies, all but Georgia sent representatives to the congress, with Rhode Island's delegates being Stephen Hopkins
and Samuel Ward.
On 19 April 1775, the Battle of Lexington began the long-anticipated war between the colonies and Britain. Three days later the Rhode Island General Assembly, sympathetic of Massachusetts, passed an act for raising 1500 men as an army of observation, prepared to assist any sister colonies. On 25 April Governor Wanton, Deputy Governor Darius Sessions
and two others signed a protest against raising an army of observation "because we are of the opinion that such a measure will be attended with the most fatal conequences to our charter privileges, [and] involve the country in all the horrors of a civil war."
replaced Sessions as Deputy Governor. A resolution of the Assembly outlined a number of grievances against Wanton, some being that he protested raising an army; he refused to commission officers to command the troops; and he failed to attend the Assembly and take the oath of office. Wanton sent a calm reply to this resolution, but continued his opposition to the army and the commissions. This was not satisfactory to the patriots in the General Assembly, and at the June session of the Assembly Wanton was excused from office, without an impeachment trial, then formally removed in November, and Deputy Governor Cooke fulfilled the duties of his office until the next election.
While critics treated Wanton harshly for his actions, and branded him as a loyalist
, he did have valid concerns about going to war with the mother country. He was a resident of Newport, the wealthiest community of its size in the colonies. A war with the home government would likely cause loss of wealth and social rank in the town. As an important seaport center, the occupation and devastation of the town was also likely. On 2 May 1775, Wanton wrote in a letter, "The prosperity and happiness of this colony is founded in its connection with Great Brittain; for if once we are separated, where shall we find another Britain to supply our loss? Torn from the body to which we are united by religion, liberty, laws and commerce, we must bleed at every vein."
Following his removal from office, Wanton retired to private life, occupying a strict neutrality, and giving neither aid nor comfort to the British. Neither he nor his property were disturbed, and he died in 1780, being buried in the Clifton Burying Ground
where several other Quaker governors are buried.
in the Connecticut Colony
, the great granddaughter of Connecticut colonial Governor, John Winthrop, Jr., and a great great granddaughter of Massachusetts colonial Governor and Boston founder John Winthrop
. They had eight children, the oldest of whom, Joseph Wanton, Jr.
was a Deputy Governor of the colony for two terms, but also an overt Loyalist
whose Newport property was confiscated after the British occupation of Newport ended.
While Wanton himself was outwardly neutral during the war, his sentiments leaned heavily toward the British, with not only his son being a Loyalist, but several of his daughters marrying prominent British officials.
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
from 1769 to 1775. Not wanting to go to war with Britain, he has been branded as a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
, but he remained neutral during the war, and he and his property were not disturbed.
Born in Newport of a prominent Quaker family that was very involved in Rhode Island politics, Wanton became a highly successful merchant. He is depicted in the satirical 1750s painting by John Greenwood
John Greenwood (artist)
John Greenwood was an early American portrait painter and engraver.Greenwood was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1727. He apprenticed with Thomas Johnston, a sign painter and engraver from 1742 to 1745 where he copied various English works. Besides portraits, Greenwood painted many satirical works...
, Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam, with other prominent merchants and seamen from the colony. As a merchant, he was involved in the trade of most goods, including slaves, and at one point his ship with a cargo of rum and slaves was confiscated off the coast of Africa by
a French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
.
With no known civic background, Wanton was elected as governor of the colony in 1769, and served for six years. With the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
on the horizon, he was involved with a large array of issues and incidents, most notably the Gaspee Affair
Gaspée Affair
The Gaspée Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The HMS Gaspée, a British customs schooner that had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water on June 9, 1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode...
in 1772, where he played an important role in thwarting the crown from finding the members of the group of colonists that boarded and burned the royal schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Gaspee. The formation of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
took place during his administration, and he was in continuous communication with governors of other colonies. He also became a founder and trustee of the new college in the Rhode Island colony, eventually named Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
.
As the Revolutionary War approached, members of the General Assembly were getting very hawkish, and when Wanton was elected for the seventh time in 1775, he refused to agree to the raising of an army of 1500 men, and would not commission new officers. He also would not immediately take the oath of office, and for these reasons the Assembly refused to seat him as Governor, and formally removed him from office a few months later, with Nicholas Cooke
Nicholas Cooke
Nicholas Cooke was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the first Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Born in the maritime town of Providence, he...
taking his place. While he was not overtly Loyalist, he did not see a war with Great Britain to be in the interest of the colony. He retired to his home in Newport where he was undisturbed during the war, and died before its conclusion, in 1780.
Early life
Born in NewportNewport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
on 15 August 1705, Wanton was the seventh of nine children born to William Wanton
William Wanton
William Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving a short term prior to his death...
and his first wife, Ruth Bryant. His father had been a governor of the colony, as had his uncle John Wanton
John Wanton
John Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for six consecutive terms from 1734 to 1740. He was the son of Edward Wanton who was a ship builder, and who became a Quaker after witnessing the persecution of these people, also becoming a preacher of...
and his older first cousin, Gideon Wanton
Gideon Wanton
Gideon Wanton was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who served for two separate one-year terms. His father was Joseph Wanton, a shipbuilder in Tiverton, and his mother was Sarah Freeborn, the daughter of Gideon and Sarah Freeborn...
. His grandfather, Edward Wanton, was a ship builder, who became a Quaker after witnessing the persecution of these people, and became a speaker (preacher) of that religion. His grandfather had lived in York, Maine
York, Maine
York is a town in York County, Maine, United States at the southwest corner of the state. The population in the 2000 census was 12,854. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort. It is home to three 18-hole golf clubs, three sandy beaches, and...
; Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
; and Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate, Massachusetts
Scituate is a seacoast town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, on the South Shore, midway between Boston and Plymouth. The population was 18,133 at the 2010 census....
, and though he likely never lived in Rhode Island, many of his children settled in Newport or other parts of the colony. Though Wanton was of a Quaker background, his mother was a Presbyterian, and as a compromise, her children were raised in the Anglican faith.
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1751, it is far more likely that this was his 21-year old son, Joseph, Jr.
Joseph Wanton, Jr.
Joseph Wanton, Jr. was a Loyalist, merchant, Deputy Governor of Rhode Island in 1764 and 1767 and owner of Hunter House in Newport, Rhode Island.Wanton was born to Governor Joseph Wanton and Mary Winthrop Wanton of Newport on February 8, 1730...
, rather than the 46-year old Wanton, who was by then a highly successful merchant sailing the globe in pursuit of commercial interests. That he was well educated, however, is certain from the vast amount of correspondence in which he engaged, particularly as Governor of the colony. In the mid 1750s, the Boston portraitist, John Greenwood
John Greenwood (artist)
John Greenwood was an early American portrait painter and engraver.Greenwood was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1727. He apprenticed with Thomas Johnston, a sign painter and engraver from 1742 to 1745 where he copied various English works. Besides portraits, Greenwood painted many satirical works...
, followed a group of sea captains and merchants to Surinam on the northeast coast of South America. The trading usually took time, so the men often waited in pubs. Being commissioned by the merchants to create a satirical painting, Greenwood concocted a 22-figure tavern scene, showing himself among the affluent traders, all subject to the "intoxicating effects of alcohol and economic ambition." Most accounts agree that Wanton is the bald man slumped in a chair by the table, being doused with a pitcher of rum, by one account, or of punch and vomit, by other accounts.
As a merchant, Wanton was involved in the maritime trade of a variety of goods. During the first half of the 18th century the slave trade was booming in Newport, and from 1708 to 1755 the population of black slaves in the colony burgeoned from 220 to nearly 4700. In 1758 Wanton declared that he had sailed the Snow King of Prussia with a cargo of 124 hogsheads of rum and 54 slaves. While at anchor along the African coast, he and his cargo were captured by a French cruiser.
In 1765 Wanton became one of the founders of the new college in Rhode Island, called the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and later named Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. He is named as an original "corporator," and as an original trustee of the college.
Governorship
There is no evidence that Wanton held any important office in the colony prior to his election as governor in May 1769. Once elected, his first act was to send a letter to Lord Hillsborough, the Colonial Secretary of State, with whom his predecessor, Josias LyndonJosias Lyndon
Josias Lyndon was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a single one-year term. He was the son of Samuel and Priscilla Lyndon of Newport, the grandson of Josias Lyndon of Newport, and the great grandson of Augustin Lyndon, a shipwright in Boston in the...
, had corresponded. In the letter he boldly stated that it was not possible for him as Governor to obey the instructions of the crown "without acting diametrically opposite to the constitution
Royal Charter of 1663
The Royal Charter of 1663 was a colonial charter giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, providing a foundation for the government, and outlining broad freedoms for the inhabitants of that colony...
of the colony...; we cannot but humbly express our opinion that the power exercised by the Parliament of Great Britain (in which we are not represented), of raising monies upon us without our consent (which it is possible under a bad administration, may be extended to our last penny), is a real grievance; we are not without hopes that his Majesty's rejecting our petition, is entirely owing to the false information he hath received from America, of the state and temper of his subjects here."
Disquiet among the American colonists caused by irritants such as 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...
mounted during the 1760s, and the decade drew to a close with the most serious event yet. In July 1769 the British revenue ship Liberty
HMS Liberty (1768)
HMS Liberty was a British ship that was burned in 1769 by American colonists in Newport, Rhode Island as one of the first acts of open defiance against the British crown.-History:The ship was originally owned by John Hancock...
brought into the Newport harbor two Connecticut vessels, a brig and a sloop, suspected of smuggling. When some difficulty arose between the officers of the Liberty and those of the brig, the captain of the brig was fired upon from the Liberty. That evening some Newport citizens, who considered the seizure of the two vessels to be an outrage, boarded the Liberty and scuttled it, while the two captured vessels sailed away. This was the first overt act of violence of the colonies against Great Britain, and showed the temperament of the people towards the British customs officers. Wanton issued a proclamation for the arrest of the guilty parties, but no arrests were ever made.
Gaspee Affair
In March 1772, the people of the colony were harassed by his Majesty's schooner Gaspee, with eight guns, stationed in the Narragansett BayNarragansett Bay
Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound. Covering 147 mi2 , the Bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor, and includes a small archipelago...
to enforce the revenue acts. The commander, Lieutenant William Dudingston, had engaged in a number of annoyances upon vessels in the bay, detaining them without pretext, stopping market boats, and sometimes plundering the people ashore. He violated the charter
Royal Charter of 1663
The Royal Charter of 1663 was a colonial charter giving English royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, providing a foundation for the government, and outlining broad freedoms for the inhabitants of that colony...
of the colony by acting without showing his commission. The inhabitants of Providence complained to Deputy Governor Darius Sessions
Darius Sessions
Darius Sessions was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the buildup to the American Revolutionary War...
, who consulted with Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (politician)
Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
, who offered the opinion "that no commander of any vessel has a right to use any authority in the body of the colony, without previously applying to the governor, and showing his warrant for so doing, and also being sworn to a due exercise of his office."
On 8 June 1672 the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Hannah, coming from New York, arrived in Newport, reported to the custom house, and the next day proceeded up the river. The Gaspee, in its customary fashion, gave chase, but ran aground on Namquit (later called Gaspee Point), near Pawtuxet, and the Hannah escaped to Providence. That evening, by beat of drum, men were called to the house of James Sabin to organize an attack on the Gaspee. John Brown provided eight long-boats of five oars each, and shortly after 10 p.m., the party headed towards the Gaspee, commanded by Captain Abraham Whipple
Abraham Whipple
Abraham Whipple was an American revolutionary naval commander in the Continental Navy. Whipple was born near Providence, Rhode Island and chose to be a seafarer early in his life. He embarked upon a career in the lucrative West Indies trade, working for Moses and John Brown...
. Well after midnight the party approached the vessel, and when hailed, did not answer the ship's sentinel. This prompted Dudingston himself to hail, again without answer. A second hail by the commander was then answered with profanity by Whipple, who ordered his men to spring to their oars. Shots were fired in both directions, and a musket ball fired by Joseph Bucklin hit Dudingston in the groin, and as he fell, the attackers boarded the schooner, and took over the vessel. The crew of the schooner was overtaken, bound, and put on shore, while Dudingston was attended to by Dr. John Mawney. A milestone had been reached; this was the first British blood shed in the American War for Independence. After removing the crew, the captors set fire to the vessel, and then returned to Providence.
A report was sent by a crew member to Montagu, who then forwarded a copy to Wanton with the request to apprehend the offenders. Wanton then issued his proclamation, offering 100 pounds reward for evidence sufficient for conviction of the guilty parties. An active correspondence then ensued between Wanton, the Admiral, and Lieutenant Dudingston, with an account of the event sent to Lord Hillsborough. An escaped slave who was with the expedition gave names of some of the men involved to Admiral Montagu, who then forwarded this deposition to Wanton, requesting that the instigators be questioned. Wanton, instead of obeying the request, took depositions invalidating the testimony of the slave. When news reached England, the King issued a proclamation offering a reward of 1000 pounds each for either of the leaders of the expedition, and 500 pounds for each of the other involved parties. Wanton, along with others from neighboring colonies, was commissioned to inquire into the report upon the facts.
The perpetrators of the Gaspee incident were well known, and among the most prominent citizens of the colony. Some of the younger and more rash of the accomplices had openly boasted of the events, while the ship still smoldered off the shore. Wanton and the other Rhode Island leaders were successful in subtly hampering the progress of the investigations, and amid all of the communications, commissions, claims, and counter claims, the court could not obtain enough direct evidence to indict a single person.
Approach to war
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
was made at a meeting in Providence, and within a few weeks delegates were elected to attend. Of the 13 colonies, all but Georgia sent representatives to the congress, with Rhode Island's delegates being Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (politician)
Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
and Samuel Ward.
On 19 April 1775, the Battle of Lexington began the long-anticipated war between the colonies and Britain. Three days later the Rhode Island General Assembly, sympathetic of Massachusetts, passed an act for raising 1500 men as an army of observation, prepared to assist any sister colonies. On 25 April Governor Wanton, Deputy Governor Darius Sessions
Darius Sessions
Darius Sessions was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the buildup to the American Revolutionary War...
and two others signed a protest against raising an army of observation "because we are of the opinion that such a measure will be attended with the most fatal conequences to our charter privileges, [and] involve the country in all the horrors of a civil war."
Removal from office
At the May 1775 session of the Assembly, Wanton was elected governor for his seventh term, but Nicholas CookeNicholas Cooke
Nicholas Cooke was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the first Governor of the State of Rhode Island. Born in the maritime town of Providence, he...
replaced Sessions as Deputy Governor. A resolution of the Assembly outlined a number of grievances against Wanton, some being that he protested raising an army; he refused to commission officers to command the troops; and he failed to attend the Assembly and take the oath of office. Wanton sent a calm reply to this resolution, but continued his opposition to the army and the commissions. This was not satisfactory to the patriots in the General Assembly, and at the June session of the Assembly Wanton was excused from office, without an impeachment trial, then formally removed in November, and Deputy Governor Cooke fulfilled the duties of his office until the next election.
While critics treated Wanton harshly for his actions, and branded him as a loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
, he did have valid concerns about going to war with the mother country. He was a resident of Newport, the wealthiest community of its size in the colonies. A war with the home government would likely cause loss of wealth and social rank in the town. As an important seaport center, the occupation and devastation of the town was also likely. On 2 May 1775, Wanton wrote in a letter, "The prosperity and happiness of this colony is founded in its connection with Great Brittain; for if once we are separated, where shall we find another Britain to supply our loss? Torn from the body to which we are united by religion, liberty, laws and commerce, we must bleed at every vein."
Following his removal from office, Wanton retired to private life, occupying a strict neutrality, and giving neither aid nor comfort to the British. Neither he nor his property were disturbed, and he died in 1780, being buried in the Clifton Burying Ground
Clifton Burying Ground
The Clifton Burying Ground is an early colonial cemetery located in Newport, Rhode Island. It is a Quaker cemetery, and has the graves of four Rhode Island colonial governors.- Description :...
where several other Quaker governors are buried.
Family
Wanton married Mary, the daughter of John Still Winthrop of New LondonNew London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
in the Connecticut Colony
Connecticut Colony
The Connecticut Colony or Colony of Connecticut was an English colony located in British America that became the U.S. state of Connecticut. Originally known as the River Colony, it was organized on March 3, 1636 as a haven for Puritan noblemen. After early struggles with the Dutch, the English...
, the great granddaughter of Connecticut colonial Governor, John Winthrop, Jr., and a great great granddaughter of Massachusetts colonial Governor and Boston founder John Winthrop
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer, and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in New England after Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of migrants from England in 1630, and served as governor for 12 of...
. They had eight children, the oldest of whom, Joseph Wanton, Jr.
Joseph Wanton, Jr.
Joseph Wanton, Jr. was a Loyalist, merchant, Deputy Governor of Rhode Island in 1764 and 1767 and owner of Hunter House in Newport, Rhode Island.Wanton was born to Governor Joseph Wanton and Mary Winthrop Wanton of Newport on February 8, 1730...
was a Deputy Governor of the colony for two terms, but also an overt Loyalist
Loyalist
In general, a loyalist is someone who maintains loyalty to an established government, political party, or sovereign, especially during war or revolutionary change. In modern English usage, the most common application is to loyalty to the British Crown....
whose Newport property was confiscated after the British occupation of Newport ended.
While Wanton himself was outwardly neutral during the war, his sentiments leaned heavily toward the British, with not only his son being a Loyalist, but several of his daughters marrying prominent British officials.
See also
- List of colonial governors of Rhode Island
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsColony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsThe Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...