New Hampshire WWI Military: Heroes of Derry

Posted on 6 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

On Armistice Day of 1923 public ceremonies were held by the Town of Derry New Hampshire, under the auspices of the Lester W. Chase post No. 9, American Legion to dedicate a monument to those who served from Derry in the World War (later called World War I).  The ceremonies included a line of march from Legion Hall to the Adams Memorial building where the ceremonies were held. Bands played, prayers were offered, music sung, remarks and addresses given. Rev. Donald Gerrish, 11th Army Corps chaplain of Lawrence, MA urged the audience “to never forget the sacrifice the boys of 1917 and 1918 made…”   Continue reading →

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100 Years Ago: The Tidal Wave Ships of July 4th 1918

Posted on 4 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Lithograph Poster advertising
The Tidal Wave, July 4,
1918–95 ships launched.
Library of Congress.

On the Fourth of July 1918 the United States celebrated the holiday with a Tidal Wave of ships.  From both coasts–Portland, Maine to Portland Oregon and at Great Lakes ports a virtual tsunami when ninety-five new ships were launched. It was a remarkable Independence Day celebration, and a milestone day of great achievement for the Emergency Fleet Corporation for this action established the new United States merchant marine as a formidable war time and maritime organization.

These ships were built as part of a merchant fleet desperately needed to transport goods, people and to aid communication.  From April 1918 to July 1918 a tremendous effort was expended in order to build and launch the 95 ships.  These totaled nearly 500,000 tons, a figure which exceeds the tonnage lost by American shipping since the war began by 150,000 tons. Of the ninety-five ships, forty-one were wooden. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Military: Sgt Major Robert C. Beckett of Concord

Posted on 1 July, 2018 by Janice Brown

Big gun: Fort Standish: Lovells Island, Boston Harbor. Leslie Jones Collection,
Boston Public Library Print Dept.

I have written several articles about Concord New Hampshire’s involvement in World War I.  I introduce to you now another one of the brave heroes who did not return home from that war.  Robert Clinton Beckett was born 22 Oct 1892 in Concord NH, son of John E. & Elizabeth C. (Clinton) Beckett.   He grew up and attended schools in New Hampshire’s state capitol, and in 1910 the U.S. Census shows him living there with his parents, and two younger siblings, Rosaline E., and Dorothy C. Beckett. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire WWI Military: Heroes of Antrim

Posted on 29 June, 2018 by Janice Brown

Old postcard showing the James A. Tuttle
Library in Antrim and the WWI monument on
the front lawn. Property of J.W. Brown.

In 1922 the town of Antrim decided to create a memorial for all its veterans of the World War (later called World War I). Antrim’s Historic and Cultural Resources document states that “an 8 foot high, 15 ton boulder was moved from Gregg Lake Road to the James A. Tuttle Library lawn [45 Main Street].” To this boulder was attached a bronze tablet on which was inscribed the names all of Antrim’s heroic men and women in service. Continue reading →

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New Hampshire’s Last Highwaymen

Posted on 27 June, 2018 by Janice Brown

Advertisement by Huse Karr of his
robbery near Boscawen NH in 1821.

New Hampshire doesn’t seem like a hot-spot for highwaymen, and indeed there have not been many. In the early history of the State, travelers either did not have much coin or they didn’t travel with it.

Because the roads were so poor, boats on the Merrimack or the Connecticut Rivers were popular modes of travel, resulting in a near impossible method for a highwayman to ply his trade. But as the roads improved, as toll roads were built, and as more affluent people began to travel, meeting a highwayman was a possibility, though a rarity.

Highwaymen were not the romantic figures of the pulp fiction novels. They were thugs, thieves, and miscreants. They threatened people’s lives and tried to steal their hard-earned money and possessions. In colonial New England getting caught was risky, for the punishment was death. Continue reading →

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