Musket
balls found along Benedict Arnold's trail.
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This spoon, found along the trail, may well be Dr. Isaac Senter's medicine spoon! |
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(A study of a primary source) by Nick Gove Background: Dr. Isaac Senter was from Londonderry, New Hampshire and was 22 years old when he marched to Quebec with Benedict Arnold. He studied medicine at Newport, Rhode Island with Dr. Thomas Moffat, a Scotch physician of eminence. Senter joined the Rhode Island troops, when he heard of the Battle of Lexington, as a surgeon, and was placed in Arnold's troop. After returning from Quebec and retiring from the Army in 1779, he established himself as a physician in Cranston, Rhode Island. He was later voted surgeon and physician of the state. Following his move back to Newport he continued to work in his profession. He was almost the only physician in the area. Senter later wrote several essays on professional subjects and was elected honorary member of Medical and Chirurgical Societies in Edinburgh and London. He was also a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and was president of Society of Cincinnati of Rhode Island. After living a great life and saving many lives in his profession, he died on December 21, 1799 at the age of 46.
Expedition to Quebec 1775:
Through the eyes of Dr. Isaac Senter, the march to Quebec had many hardships. There was snow and hail with fighting and starving. Trying to save peoples lives who had been shot or were very sick didn't make it any easier for Dr. Senter. The detachment under the command of Benedict Arnold had been marching since September 11, 1775. On the 13th at 5:00 p.m. Senter left Cambridge, Massachusetts in company of Mr. Greene (his mate), Mr. Barr, and Mr. Jackson. They all Marched 7 miles, in 2 hours, on their way to Newbury Port. The next morning they left early and marched to Salem where they ate. They later marched on to Old Ipwich where they found good lodgings. After renewing the march by sunrise they continued on until 1:30 p.m. when they arrived at Newbury Port. Senter took lodgings at Mr. Davenports. They left this "most beautiful town" on the 19th. With transports ready the troops were ordered to leave by 9:00. The transports consisted of 11 sloops and schooners. There were 100 men on each whereas the troop had 1100 men. Senter rode on the Broad Bay on their way to the "Cenebec River." After entering the mouth of the river on the 20th they anchored 1 mile up river. On the 22nd they passed through "Hells Gate" and arrived at Gardiners Town (now called Pittston) to get the bateaux. The bateaux weren't quite finished so the Broad Bay set sail for Fort Western leaving men behind to bring up the bateaux. Senter got out of his boat and walked on land 5 miles to Fort Western. He got there at 10:00. The transports couldn't make it through the rapids and had to wait for the bateaux to come up. There were 100 bateaux and they were made out of green pine boards that were very heavy and leaked. The day after they got to Fort Western, Senter was called to attend to a wounded soldier. The soldier had been shot by a drunk man and the shot later killed him. On the day of Monday September 25th the murderer was found and sentenced, by a court martial, to hang. They left Fort Western on Tuesday at 10:00 and were heading for Fort Halifax in Winslow. By the time they got from Fort Western to Fort Halifax the next day at noon (18 miles), many of the troops had dysentery and diarrhea. By now many of the bateaux were in very bad shape and Senter had to purchase another one before he reached Skowhegan Falls on Wednesday October 4th. They did pass these falls but not without a great deal of difficulty. On October 5th he left his bateaux to the crew and proceeded to the Norridgewock Falls by land. He met with two savages that helped haul the bateaux by the falls. The troops reached "Caratuncah" Falls on the 10th where Senter said there was a "beautiful growth of timber." These were very, very high so they had to pass the falls on foot carrying the boats as they did at Norridgewock. After passing through a terrible swamp the troops camped 1/2 mile from the Chaudiere River on the night of October 29th. The next day they saw what they believed to be the Chaudiere, and followed a footpath made by another army to where they camped. The conditions were so bad for them that they had to eat a dog, their shaving soap, lip salve, the leather from their shoes, and even cartridge boxes! A few days later though, the troops met 18 Canadians and 1 American that had a heifer. This cow was butchered and each man got 1 pound of beef. When in Canada they had an encampment set up. On December 24 their enemy began attacking their barracks. The enemy continued attacking throughout the night and into the day. Arnold's troops were planning to attack the city at night but the weather changed and they didn't. Their attack was postponed for a darker night and on Saturday the 31st it came. They were ordered to attack at 4:00 a.m. It was a very stormy night with snow and hail. The snow was 6 feet deep. Within 1 hour of the attack, wounded soldiers began coming into the hospital. Among the wounded was Arnold who had been shot in the leg. After the war, the troops found out that Captain Cheeseman and Mr. McPherson had been killed. Also all troops under Captain Darby and Lieutenant Colonel Greene had been captured or killed. In conclusion, Dr. Senter made it through all of the hardships and definitely had an experience of a lifetime. |