Castine, past and present; the ancient settlement of Pentagöet and the modern town . nno the same time orders were received from the Com-manding General at New York, which Avere concealedfrom General Wadsworth. He finally learned that hewas not to be paroled or exchanged, but was to be sentto England, as a rebel of too much consequence to be atliberty. Not long afterwards. Major Benjamin Burton,a brave and worthy man, who had served under GeneralWadsworth the preceding summer, was taken andbrought into the fort and lodged in the same room withthe general. He had been informed tha
Castine, past and present; the ancient settlement of Pentagöet and the modern town . nno the same time orders were received from the Com-manding General at New York, which Avere concealedfrom General Wadsworth. He finally learned that hewas not to be paroled or exchanged, but was to be sentto England, as a rebel of too much consequence to be atliberty. Not long afterwards. Major Benjamin Burton,a brave and worthy man, who had served under GeneralWadsworth the preceding summer, was taken andbrought into the fort and lodged in the same room withthe general. He had been informed that both the gen-eral and himself were to be sent, immediately after thereturn of a privateer then out on a cruise, either to NewYork or Halifax and thence to England. The prisoners immediately resolved to make a desper-ate attempt to escape. They were confined in a gratedroom in the officers barracks within the fort. The wallsof this fortress, exclusive of the ditch surrounding twenty feet high, with fraising on the top andchevaux de /rise at the bottom. Two sentinels were. Period of the Revolution. 43 always in the entry, and the door, the upper part of whichwas of glass, might be opened by these watchmen when-ever they thought proper, and was actually opened atseasons of peculiar darkness and silence. At the outerdoors of the entries sentries were also stationed, as wereothers in the body of the fort and at the quarters of Gen-eral Campbell. At the guard-house a strong guard wasdaily mounted. Several sentinels were stationed on theAvails of the fort, and a complete line occupied themby night. The gate of the fort was shut at sunset, anda picket-guard was placed on or near the isthmus leadingfrom the fort to the mainland. The room in which theywere confined was ceiled with boards. One of these theydetermined to cut off, so as to make a hole large enoughto pass through, and then to creep along till they shouldcome to the next, or middle entry, lowering themselvesdown in
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidcastinepastp, bookyear1896
