A Brief History
On April 14, 1772, the building tension toward open rebellion of Americans against the British erupted in New Hampshire in an incident known as The Pine Tree Riot. The dispute at the core of this incident concerned the protection of Eastern White Pine trees of 12 inches or greater diameter, setting these aside for the exclusive use of British shipbuilders. Obviously, colonists thought they had better uses for the wood growing in their own backyard!
Digging Deeper
Britain, an island nation of immense naval power, had largely stripped its own land of trees suitable for building ships, especially those required for masts and booms, vital pieces during the Age of Sail. American Eastern White Pines happened to be quite appropriate for use as masts and booms on ships, and thus were appropriated by the British Government through the Colonial British Government of New Hampshire.
Facing severe fines for ignoring this law, colonists nonetheless defied the law and made it a point of pride that no floorboards should be less than 12 inches across, testament to their defiance. This proscription against using local lumber had angered colonists even beyond the anger generated by the Stamp Act and various Tea Taxes. The local authorities did not enthusiastically enforce this law until John Wentworth became Governor in 1766, when he insisted on the obedience to the law. In a crackdown against offenders in 1771-1772, several sawmills were found to be in possession of lumber earmarked for the Navy, and were ordered to pay fines or be prosecuted. Some paid, but some refused, and warrants for the arrest of those offenders were issued.
Ringleader of the offending sawmill operators, Ebeneezer Mudgett, led a group of 30 or 40 angry Americans against British authorities and attacked, punishing Sheriff Benjamin Whiting with one lash per tree the Americans were charged with possessing. Adding to the insult to the Crown, the rioters then cut off the ears and manes of Whiting’s horse and that of his deputy, while the Sheriff and Deputy were forced out of town.
Whiting ran to higher authority which of course sent a larger force to round up 8 of the rioters, and the rioters were fined 20 Shillings and court costs apiece for their actions. The lenient fines and actions of the British authorities encouraged American patriots and is believed to have inspired other acts of defiance such as The Boston Tea Party.
A lasting legacy of this incident is the Pine Tree Flag which was flown by Americans during the Revolution as a symbol of defiance of British authority, and had influence on neighboring states/colonies (of New Hampshire) Maine and Massachusetts.
(The pine tree referred to in the nickname of Maine, The Pine Tree State, is indeed the Eastern White Pine.)
Question for students (and subscribers): Did you ever learn about this riot in high school? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Evans, Connie. Ebenezer Mudgett and the Pine Tree Riot: A true story of New Hampshire colonists who defied British rule in the spring of 1772, foreshadowing the Boston Tea Party. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="14171 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=14171">25 Comments
Interesting to read about another way the American patriots stood up to opposing forces.
The Pine Tree Riot just seems like another act of rebellion towards the British that will eventually lead to American independence. The culmination of rebellious acts is how the Americans would end up gaining enough power to finally become independent.
I think reading about acts such as this really make me more proud of our heritage and in those who helped bring our country to life. I think that it is important to remember how much courage it took for these Patriots to rebel against the power of the British. I think it surprised me that this had angered the colonists more than the famous Stamp Act and Tea taxes you always hear about it. This was something I hadn’t heard of before and it made me realize how hard the colonists fought to set the events of the revolution in motion.
It is easy to see why the British colonists were getting mad about the way the British government was treating them. I am sure the British soldiers were angered when they saw the Pine Tree Flag.
It seems that every action or law the British made against the colonies was yet another spark to ignite the need and action towards independence. It’s not hard to see how the colonists felt cheated and under appreciated by British rule.
Pine Tree Flag which was flown by Americans during the Revolution as a symbol of defiance of British authority. There are some outrageous punishments for the pine trees and one was similar to what we read about earlier that an ear was cut off and previously that started a 10 year war. Lesson to be learned do not mess with anyone’s ear.
I find the idea of a Pine Tree Flag kind of funny. This is the start of a series of events against the British that lead to the independence on America later on. It takes a lot to rebel against a big force such as Britain, but small acts like this one are what freed the colonies at the end.
I had never heard of this riot but am now very interested. It is amazing that the British could lay claim to resources in America and cut the colonists off from accessing it. It makes a lot of sense why the settlers felt the need for a revolution.
Of course people were running out of the good wood! Sailors kept losing their boats to the sea!
It is kind of funny to think that the British actually thought the Americans would pay the fines for using the would and sawmills. They were frustrated and had their minds set so of course most of them would not pay any fines. This is interesting that this riot helped fuel the Americans at the time for the revolution.
The Pine tree riot was yet another testament of the colonists uprising against British rule. I have never heard of this riot, and I think it is interesting how much tactics of war have revolved around naval strategies.
The most famous uprising in colonial America was the Boston Tea Party. Other protests such as the White Pine Tree are not as well known, but are important nevertheless. These protests served as a rallying cry for American Patriots in their efforts against the British.
The Pine Tree Riot is a lesser known riot during the revolutionary times, but it still demonstrates perfectly how a small group of people can make a monumental impact in the course of the nation. Also it is so amazing how the British expected to get away with something like this and not see the potential repercussions down the road. Their lack of knowledge about the colonists’ emotions was their ultimate downfall.
Once again the smallest things can start a fight. Fighting over a pine tree? At that point they were just finding any little excuse to fight and it did not matter what the reason was they just wanted to fight.
The proscription against local lumber angered some more than the Stamp Act and Tea taxes. Because some were more angered by this than some of the Acts that are pretty well known in our history I’m surprised The Pine Tree Riots are not mentioned more in history classes. This is the first time I am hearing of them and you can tell how passionate some people were about using local lumber. Those who refused to pay the fine knew that meant death in many cases.
I’ve never heard anything about the pine tree riots before. The British definitely were stepping on the toes of Americans and it’s easy to see why the revolution occurred. America was a growing country and they needed these American resources to flourish. The British were too selfish in what they expected of the colonists and it ultimately led to them losing the colonies altogether.
Following the Stamp Act and the Tea Act, this had to be the icing on the cake. The British government simply felt they could make unfair laws and take claims to possessions of the Americans. Imagine how different hew country we live in today could be if it was not for the brave actions of people such as those mentioned in this article to take a stand and resist British rule.
I have never heard of this story before. It is annoying how the British did things like this all the time and made ridiculous laws for no reason. It is weird to think about what our country would be like today if we did not start a revolution against the British.
I remember learning of this story in the video to watch for this week. The British made unfair laws and took many things from the Americans that were not rightfully their own. I am glad the Americans stood up for themselves and for what was rightfully theirs. I am surprised the British authority did not give the Americans a worse punishment.
What is with the ear cutting back then?
It’s cool to learn about these stories throughout our history that made us into the country we are today. After the Americans cut the ears of the British soldiers, I’m sure they took the rioters a little bit more serious. The British pushed and pushed and pushed until finally the Americans had enough and eventually started a revolution.
The boston tea party was the only protest I remember from high school. It intrigues to me. It is one of the most influential protests in our history.
What a crazy law, especially with those pine trees being as common as they were! Thankfully the British leadership only handed out silly fines, making it easier to protest against them!
The horse did not deserve that.
Also, the punishment for the rioters does not seem as harsh as I would expect.
Couldn’t they have left the horse alone? I was in favor of this rebellion until I read that! Jerks.