Nova Scotia, especially
Oak Island was very much in sympathy with
America's call for Independence from England.
Many of the Original Settlers and Follow Up Settlers were from the Americas, mostly Boston, Massachusetts where they played important roles with America's win.
The family of
Dr. Jonathan Prescott is one of the most interesting families connected to
Oak Island with deep roots maintained in Massachusetts.
"Joseph Prescott b.1762, second son from Jonathan's second marriage, was sent to Massachusetts at a young age for the purpose of gaining an education. He would pursue medical training under the guidance of Jonathan's only nephew a Dr. Samuel Prescott. By 1775, Samuel was already regarded as a high son of liberty. Samuel was in fact the fellow who finished the ride of Paul Revere to warn Concord the British were coming. Specifically the warning was passed to Amos Melvin who was first cousin to Robert Melvin listed below. Joseph and Samuel were recorded as serving together at Ft. Ticonderoga in 1776. Dr. Samuel Prescott would be captured later in 1776 on an American Privateer. He would be taken to Halifax where he would die a prisoner in 1777. History records Joseph as being a Doctor in the Rebel Army with close connections to George Washington via the Order of Cincinnati. Another of Dr. Jonathan Prescott's sons was at the battle of Lexington Green and is known as the famous shot heard around the world."
The well-known poem about The Ride of Paul Revere is inaccurate.
It was
Samuel Prescott, associated with the Prescott family from
"Oak Island" that completed this
"Ride".
"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1861 poem about Paul Revere’s ride got many of the facts wrong. For one thing, Revere was not alone on his mission to warn John Hancock, Samuel Adams and other patriots that the British were approaching Lexington on the evening of April 18, 1775. Two other men, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, rode alongside him, and by the end of the night as many as 40 men on horseback were spreading the word across Boston’s Middlesex County. Revere also never reached Concord, as the poem inaccurately recounts. Overtaken by the British, the three riders split up and headed in different directions. Revere was temporarily detained by the British at Lexington and Dawes lost his way after falling off his horse, leaving Prescott–a young physician who is believed to have died in the war several years later–the task of alerting Concord’s residents."
"The
Raid on Lunenburg (also known as the
Sack of Lunenburg) occurred during the
American Revolution when the US
privateer, Captain
Noah Stoddard of
Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on 1 July 1782. Lunenburg was defended by militia leaders Colonel
John Creighton and Major
Dettlieb Christopher Jessen. In Nova Scotia, the assault on Lunenburg was the most spectacular raid of the war. On the morning of 1 July Stoddard led approximately 170 US privateers in four heavily armed vessels and overpowered Lunenburg’s defence, capturing the blockhouses and burning the house of Jessen. The privateers then looted the settlement and kept the militia at bay with the threat of destroying the entire town. The American privateers plundered the town and took three prisoners, including Creighton, who were later released from Boston without a ransom having been paid."
Some stated that Jonathan Prescott was sympathetic with the American's cause that he purported Treason by associating with the Captains of the Privateers prior to the attack on Lunenburg.
"On June 30, the day before the raid on Lunenburg, Stoddard and two other privateers descended on Chester, Nova Scotia firing cannon from their vessels. Captain of the militia Jonathan Prescott fired cannon from the blockhouse and struck one of the privateers. As a result, the privateers retreated behind Nass’ Point. The crews went ashore and requested of Prescott to bury their dead. Prescott indicated that if they disarmed themselves, they would be assisted. Eventually, Prescott invited Stoddard and the two other captains to tea. The privateers left Chester to raid Raid on Lunenburg the following day."
Unlike other sympathizers, Jonathan Prescott with his connections in Halifax, was cleared of all charges and given the position of Justice of Peace along with the land for his future Estate...Maroon Hall in what is now called Acacia Grove, Nova Scotia.
In 1777, Article (11) in America's
"Article of Confederation", invited Nova Scotia, included within the territory of Canada to join the Confederation of America.
"The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 original states of the United States of America that served as its first constitution. It was approved, after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777), by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777, and sent to the states for ratification. The Articles of Confederation came into force on March 1, 1781, after being ratified by all 13 states. A guiding principle of the Articles was to preserve the independence and sovereignty of the states. The federal government received only those powers which the colonies had recognized as belonging to king and parliament."
- "11..If "Canada" (as the British-held Province of Quebec was also known) accedes to this confederation, it will be admitted. No other colony could be admitted without the consent of nine states."
The Treaty of Paris, 1783 established a precarious Border for Nova Scotia which may have changed if America had been successful in winning the
War of 1812.
During the
American Civil War, the Union Government was very much motivated to declare war against England for its interference by its recognition and support of the Confederacy.
If it had not been for President Abraham Lincoln's famous saying...
"Let Us Fight One War At A Time", America which had one of the largest Armies in the World, may have annexed Nova Scotia, along with the rest of Canada.
After the American Civil War, The Government showed a great animosity against England's part in supporting the Confederate side that a Bill was issued to annex parts of Canada including, Nova Scotia.
(Paraphrased)
"The Annexation Bill of 1866 was a failed bill introduced on July 2, 1866,. It called for the annexation of Nova Scotia, along with other parts of Canada. The bill authorized the President of the United States to, subject to the agreement of the government of the British state of Nova Scotia, publish by proclamation that, from the date thereof, the State of Nova Scotia, with limits and rights as by the act defined, are constituted and admitted as States and Territories of the United States of America." It provided for the admission of Nova Scotia, along with other parts of Canada. And in addition, the United States would connect Canada with the Maritimes by rail."
"The bill was introduced by Congressman Nathaniel Prentice Banks, a representative from Massachusetts. It was intended to appeal to Irish Americans who supported the Fenian Movement and were aggressively hostile to Britain. Indeed, much of American public opinion at the time was hostile because of Britain's perceived support for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. With America's weariness with war this Bill was not passed. There was no further serious effort in Washington to annex Nova Scotia or Canada."
The following Year, July 1st, 1867 Nova Scotia joined the other two (British Colonies of Canada and New Brunswick) to form the Dominion of Canada.
There for the
Grace of God, along with other important
Players goes the
Borders between us, which may have changed, leaving us all here in Nova Scotia and Canada speaking American!
