Why was Benjamin Church attempting to send a letter to his brother-in-law, John Fleeming, in Boston, through Newport via a Major Cane? It would seem that the siege lines around Boston were not so tight that letters couldn't be passed back and forth without that much difficulty. And we know that they were. So why did Church choose this rather round about way of getting a letter to his brother-in-law? Because that's how Fleeming instructed him to do it. Here is Church's own account of how he came to write and send the letter while under interrogation in the Massachusetts Provincial Congress:
Sometime after my return from Philadelphia I was passing in my chaise towards Mistick , I met with a team conveying household furniture towards Cambridge,. In the team, seated on the bed was a woman with two children; the woman accosted me by name, asking me if I did not know her; her countenance was familiar to me; I answered yes, and inquired when she left Boston, she informed me the day before, and told me she had a letter for me from Boston from my Brother; she took a small bundle out of her pocket, and, opening it, handed it to the carman, who delivered it to me; it was directed to me; upon breaking the seal I found it to be written in ciphers and signed J.F. I put it in my pocket and rode a few rods; curiosity induced me to turn back and repair to my lodgings, to decipher the letter, and acquaint myself with the contents. This is the letter...
Dear Doctor: I have often told you what the dreams of your high flaming sons would come to; do you forget my repeated cautions not to make yourself too obnoxious to Government? What says the psalm-singer and Johnny Dupe to fighting British troops know? They are at Philadelphia, I suppose plotting more mischief where, I hear, your high mightiness has ben ambassador extraordinaire; take care of you nob, Mr. Doctor - remember your old friend, the orator; he will preach no more sedition[Dr Joseph Warren]. Ally [ Church's sister Alice] joins me in begging you to come to Boston. You may depend on it, Government is determined to crush this rebellion; a large re-enforcement of troops is hourly expected, when they are determined to penetrate the country; for God's sake, Doctor, come to town directly, I'll engage to procure your pardon; your sister is unhappy, under the apprehension of your being taken and hanged for a Rebel, which God grant may not be the case. You may rely on it, the Yankees will never be a match for the troops from Great Britain. The Yorkers have behaved like damned fools in robbing the King's stores, as Government had intended to grant them some executive privileges in trade had they continued loyal. It will now be a rendezvous for British troops. We know ell enough that you are divided; your people are discouraged; that you want discipline, artillery, ammunition; and Government has taken effectual care that you shall not be supplied by other Powers. I have wondered that we have not heard from you.; difference of politicks has not cancelled my friendship for you. Let me entreat you not to take up arms against your rightful King, as your friend Warren did, for which he has paid dearly. I cannot send your sulky and other matters you sent for; you may thank your own people for that, who first set the example, by preventing anything from being brought to town. I think you might have sent us some fresh pork now and then. You see Hancock and Adams are attained already. If you cannot pass the lines, you may come in Captain Wallace, via Rhode Island; and if you cannot come immediately, write me in this character, and direct your letter to Major Cane. on his Majesty's Service, and deliver it to Captain Wallace, and it will come safe. We have often head your people intend to attack the town. By God I believe that they had such a dose on Bunker's Hill as to cool their courage. Your sister has been for running away. Kitty [Church's niece] has been very sick We wished you to see her; she is now picking up.I remain your sincere friend and brother.
P.S. Don't fail to write me soon.
John Fleeming, the husband of Church's sister Alice, a native Scot, was a very prominent Loyalist newspaper publisher and printer whose activities on the part of the Crown forced him to leave Boston, with his family, virtually penniless, in April 1773. He returned to Boston in 1774, probably May 1774, as some kind of civil official with the British Army. ( I have been unable to determine precisely what his job was.)
Historians have traditionally identified Major Cane as Lt Col Maurice Cane of the 6th Regiment of Foot. But Maurice Cane, a Lt Colonel with a date of rank of May 1772, never got close to Boston. Major Cane is, in fact, Edward Cane, a captain in the 43rd Regiment of Foot, who was promoted to Major on July 12, 1775.
Captain Cane was appointed to the post of Town Major for Boston in November 1774. In the British Army, a Town Major, usually a Captain's position, is an officer responsible for good order in an occupied city during military operations. Captain Cane was promoted to Major after his predecessor, Major Spendlove, died of the wounds he suffered during the second charge at Bunker Hill.
I now suspect that John Fleeming was serving as an agent for one of the British Regiments, probably the 43rd. In the British Army system, a Regiment was really the property of its colonel and much of his income came from what he could derive from the running of his regiment, legitimately. However, the number of financial tasks, commercial transactions, finance, pay, etc. required the appointment of a civilian agent to handle these matters. The term for this individual was regimental agent. The agent was paid by the deduction of two pence in the pound from the pay of the entire regiment. This resulted in a tidy sum and often the Colonel of the Regiment would sell the position to the highest bidder. Professional Agent offices were established in London but representatives had to be dispatched with a Regiment when it was posted to an overseas detachment. It is possible that John Fleeming was serving as one of these agent's representatives. It would also help to explain why he wasn't on the list of civilians evacuated from Boston. He would have been considered part of a regiment. But I can't definitively establish that.
Since Fleeming apparently had some type of civil service position with the British Army, he may have been familiar with Major Cane, and he with him.
I find it interesting that neither Fleeming nor Church established some type of relationship with the woman who brought him the letter and to funnel a reply through her back to Boston. But there could have been all kinds of reasons why that wasn't practicable.
Just for the record. I believe Church's account as to how he received the letter from his brother-in-law.
Church used the same cypher as his brother-in-law used which is not surprising. And it should not be surprising that people communicated in cypher in the mid 18th century. It was quite common.
For the most comprehensive biography available on John Fleeming see my three part biography of him:
Dr Benjamin Church Jr: John Fleeming - Part One
Dr Benjamin Church Jr: John Fleeming - Part Two
Dr Benjamin Church Jr: John Fleeming - Part Three
