William Whipple
- katellashisadventure
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William Whipple was born on January 14, 1730, to Captain William Sr. and Mary (Cutts) Whipple. He was the eldest of five children. His paternal family can be traced back to Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Matthew Whipple, who left England and immigrated to Ipswich, Massachusetts, about 1638. He had been a clothier in Bocking, England. Whipple’s father was a brewer who later became a sea captain. His maternal line can be traced to William Cutts of Bristol, England, who had settled in Portsmouth, New England. His maternal grandfather was Robert Cutts, who was a successful shipbuilder in Kittery. William, the subject of this paper, was educated in public schools and then tutored by Robert Gerrish, his maternal cousin, who was a Harvard graduate before Whipple went to sea on his father’s boats.
After he finished his education, Whipple became a seaman on one of his father’s merchant vessels, and by the age of 21, he became the captain of his own ship. He would sail to and from the West Indies and attained a considerable fortune. It was during this time that he was possibly involved in the slave trade, but the evidence is sketchy. By 1759, he retired from the sea and went into business with two of his brothers. Several different articles suggest it was just one brother, Joseph, and the business was ultimately successful. Soon after establishing his business, he gets engaged and is left at the altar. It would not be until 1767 that he married his cousin Catherine Moffat. She is 35 years old when they get married, and they have one son who dies when he is 11months old. They would have no other children but would adopt her niece, Mary Tufton Moffat, and she would live with them until she married. Her nephew, John Langdon, would become the Governor of New Hampshire and sign the Constitution. They lived in a house in Portsmouth, now known as the Moffat House, which was originally built for her father, John.
Next to the home is a Chestnut tree that was planted with some seed brought that Whipple brought back from Philadelphia.
He entered the controversy with the British in 1760, a little earlier than other signers, due to trade restrictions the British had begun to impose that were affecting his business. In 1765, he was on a committee to prevent tea from landing in Portsmouth. But he does not take on many other political causes until 1775, when he dissolves his partnership with his brother Joseph and enters into the political fray. That same year, he became a member of the New Hampshire Provincial Congress and, by 1776, of the council and the New Hampshire Committee of Safety. In January 1776, he was elected as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and arrived in Philadelphia on February 29, 1776, to present his credentials. Just before his election, he wrote to his friend Josiah Bartlett, “This year, my Friend, is bug with might events. Nothing less than the fate of America depends on the virtues of her sons, and if they do not have virtue enough to support the most Glorious Cause ever human beings have engaged in, they don’t deserve the blessings of freedom.”[1]
The original delegate for New Hampshire to the Continental Congress was John Langdon, but he wanted to be appointed to the Continental Agent of Prizes for the New Hampshire Colony. He resigns from his position as a delegate to take this new position. What is interesting is that this appointment is the first in American history to raise the question of whether or not you can serve in dual appointments. Meaning, holding one office while holding another. Whipple would insert himself into this situation now that he was in Philadelphia. He wrote to John Langdon on January 24, 1776, before leaving for Philadelphia, telling him that he had secured the appointment but believed “it will be in expectation that you resign your seat in Congress.”[2] He also noted in the same letter that he was both happy and sad to secure the appointment, as he knew Langdon wanted it, but it would mean his resignation from Congress. Governor Langdon would eventually approve the section of the U.S. Constitution that prohibited holding dual office. Whipple’s tenure in Congress was highly active. He was on a variety of committees, including the Marine, Commerce, Secret, Military Affairs, and Finance Committees. During his time on the Military Committee, they appointed John Paul Jones to a command, and Whipple carried the authorization to Jones, who was in Boston awaiting his orders.
During the summer of 1777, Whipple and William Ellery took a return trip to New England. Along the way, Whipple, now General Whipple, kept a diary and spoke about the different lodgings and people they encountered along the way. At one inn, he noted, “if it had not been for a few Buggs W.E. (William Ellery) would not have lodg’d on the floor half the night. The People were Civil and obliging.” Some 16 miles further down the road, they stopped at a tavern that was no longer operating as a tavern, but the people were kind and offered them a meal. “We were regaled here with a good Dish of Tea, good cream, good Bread & Butter and some nice broiled ham as a Relisher. We were both tired and hungry, W.W. (Whipple) drank Tea and crown’d his Breakfast with a bowl if milk. W.E. confined himself to Tea & Bread & Butter at which he shone.” As they traveled through New Jersey, General Whipple noted that it was “was not divided into townships” and once in New York, he wrote that “The East End of Long Island where farming is carried on in the N England stile.” They then travel up to Fishkill, where they stay at the Week’s. He notes they have no meat to eat there. As well, he says, “They had some indifferent wine upon which and some Bread and cheese W.W. din’d. W.E. drank Tea & eat Bread and But for his dinner.”[3] General Whipple would go on to say it would not have been so bad if the lady of the house had some good humor. They would continue to journey together, encountering different circumstances of lodgings and food, some good, others not so hospitable, until Providence, R.I., when they went their separate way.
General Whipple had been appointed Brigadier General of the New Hampshire Militia, and he set out to join General Gates in New York at the Battle of Saratoga. His service during this battle was considered meritorious, and he was appointed, along with Colonel Wilkinson, as a representative of General Gates to meet and accept the terms of surrender from representatives of General Burgoyne. In addition, he was one of two officers who took the surrendered British troops to their final destination of Winder Hill near Boston. Upon their arrival in Boston, it was said he passed a note to John Paul Jones asking him to purchase several pairs of gloves and some black cloth for Mrs. Whipple. It was the decisive win at Saratoga that led the French to enter the Revolution on the side of America. While he was at Saratoga, his slave, Prince, was with him.
In 1778, General Whipple was once again sent into battle to retake Rhode Island at Newport. His commanding officer was General Sullivan. This battle would be unsuccessful due to the miscommunication with the French. However, John Hancock (who was also at the battle) would successfully navigate this to ensure the French are kept happy in the future. General Sullivan was forced to retreat, and, one morning, some British troops, near their location, fired a cannon and hit the building in which the American officers were having breakfast. General Whipple’s leg was shattered as a result, and he had to have it amputated. He would return to Congress in 1779 but retired in 1780 due to health concerns.
General Whipple returned to New Hampshire in 1780 and was elected to the General Assembly as a representative, and he would serve several terms. He was also an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1782 and was appointed by Robert Morris as a Receiver of Public Moneys for New Hampshire. He resigned from the latter job in 1784 due to its difficult nature. In 1784, he was appointed Justice of the Peace and Quorum in New Hampshire, but had to retire from the office that same year for health reasons. He had been riding the circuit for several years and had experienced chest pains on and off during that time. It was during this time that he freed his slaves. Before this, in 1779, his slave, Prince, and some twenty other slaves had signed a petition asking the New Hampshire Legislature to abolish slavery. The legislature tabled the petition, and slavery in the state would not officially end until 1857. However, by 1840, there was only one slave listed on the census. A newspaper in 1780 would print the petition ‘for the amusement’ of their readers.”[4]
General Whipple passed away on November 28, 1785. Before his death, General Whipple had authorized an autopsy to see what was causing the chest pains and the fainting spells he was experiencing. Autopsies were rarely performed, but his would give extremely useful information as to the cause of his death. His arteries were clogged so badly that a small needle was barely passable through one of his arteries. He was buried in the Old North Burial Ground in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as was his slave, Prince. On December 9, 1786, the New Hampshire Gazette printed: “On Monday, the 28th of November, died, universally lamented, the Hon. Gen. William Whipple, Judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. ‘In him concentrated every principle that exalts the dignity of man. His disinterested patriotism and public services are now known to all. And when newspaper encomiums are lost in oblivion, the pen of the historian shall preserve the remembrance of his virtue in the breast of succeeding generations…’ He was generous and humane, and the elements so mixed in him that nature might rise up and say THIS WAS A MAN.”[5]
Tidbits Described as having a strong mind, good manners, being easy, and unassuming. He has no direct descendants. |
[2] Adams, Charles Thornton, Matthew Thornton of New Hampshire A Patriot of the American Revolution (Philadelphia, Dando, and Printing CO. 1903) 39
[3]Various quotes in this section are from William Whipple's Notes of a Journey From Philadelphia to New Hampshire, In The Summer of 1777. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography (1877‑1906), 10, 366.
[4] Plaque at Moffat House, Portsmouth, NH
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