John Langdon and the Battle of Fort William and Mary.
The Battle of Fort William & Mary is one of the first major instances of Patriots taking up arms against the British in the American Revolution. John Langdon was at the head of the first attack.
Published 4/16/18 - Updated 10/30/21
Gunpowder
The American Revolutionary War is commonly known to have broken out because the British were collecting unfair taxes and trampling on colonial rights.
While this is a correct assessment of the backdrop to revolution, the actual violence began with an attempt to secure one thing…gunpowder.
When Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage began collecting gunpowder from colonial storehouses, the people began freaking out.
If they didn’t have powder, they couldn’t shoot guns. If they couldn’t shoot guns, tyranny could trample through their villages.
John Langdon
John Langdon had a bright future. Over the next thirty years he would lead troops at Saratoga, attend the Continental Congress, sign the Constitution, be in attendance for the first decade of the U.S. Senate and act as a multi-term Governor of New Hampshire.
On December 12, 1774, however, John Langdon was a 33-year-old resident of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He had made his name as a successful ship captain and merchant in his early 20’s.
Like many merchants at this time, Langdon’s business was severely affected by Britain’s harsh trade regulations and he was one of Portsmouth’s leaders in the resistance movement.
Calling out the Militia
The previous day, Paul Revere took a not-so-famous mid-day ride to Portsmouth.
His news was dire. The British, he warned, were coming. They were sending a ship to take the gunpowder stored at Fort William & Mary.
It turns out this information was false. Though Governor Gage had considered this plan but decided against it. That did not matter, as the colonists believed Revere.
John Langdon took matters into his own hands. He recruited a drummer and marched through town calling for the militia.
The Raid of Fort William & Mary
Langdon successfully recruited 400 men that day. They went up river to Fort William & Mary to seize the gunpowder before the Brits could.
The Fort was guarded by six men. Though extremely outnumbered, they refused to give up. They fired on the militia as it approached and continued to throw fists as they were tackled by the much larger group of men.
Despite the engagement, no one was killed and there were only minor injuries.
Langdon had his men remove the gunpowder and release the captured soldiers.
Aftermath
It is interesting to reflect on why this is not considered to be the first battle of the American Revolutionary War.
It has all the same elements of Lexington and Concord (almost universally considered the first battle). Paul Revere road up to warn ‘the British are coming.’ The British were simply retrieving gunpowder to bring back to Boston. It was a short battle that the Patriots won.
The most likely reason for this, in this author’s opinion, is twofold.
First, there was barely any bloodshed. No one to make a martyr to the cause. No ‘shot heard round the world.’
Second, it was only the New Hampshire militia involved. Lexington and Concord attracted troops from New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island to assist those from Massachusetts.
Additionally, those troops proceeded to Boston to continually hold the British in their position.
What this battle did do, however, was bring fame to John Langdon, who would spend the next thirty years of his life as a leading Founding Father of the United States.
John’s brother Woodbury was also an American Founder:
Woodbury Langdon Gets Detained in NYC
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There is no modern biography of John Langdon.
He is, however, a major player in 'New Hampshire and the Revolutionary War' and a minor figure in 'Plain, Honest Men.' I keep recommending 'Plain...' because I just completed it and cannot speak highly enough about it. I am not sponsored by these books but I am an affiliate of Amazon so we do get a VERY small cut if you pick one up.
