VAUGHAN, William

WILLIAM VAUGHAN


http://www.famousamericans.net/williamvaughan/

VAUGHAN, William, soldier, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 12 September, 1703; died in London, England, 11 December, 1746. His father, George (1676-1724), was graduated at, Harvard in 1696 and was lieu-tenant-governor of New Hampshire in 1715-'17. The son was graduated at Harvard in 1722, became concerned in the fisheries, and settled in Damariscotta. He is one of the claimants for the honor of first suggesting the successful expedition against Louisburg. It is said that he made the suggestion to Governor Benning Wentworth, of New Hampshire, who referred him to Governor William Shirley, of Massachusetts. He took part as lieutenant-colonel in the expedition under Sir William Pepperell, and at the head of a detachment, chiefly of New Hampshire troops, he marched by night to the northeastern part of the harbor, where he burned the warehouses and destroyed a large quantity of wine and brandy. The French were forced by the smoke to desert the grand battery, of which Vaughan took possession next morning, and which he held till the fall of the city. He considered himself slighted in the distribution of awards, and at the time of his death was asserting his rights in England. His claim of priority in the suggestion of the expedition is upheld in the anonymous tract, "The Importance and Advantage of Cape Breton" (London, 1746), the authorship of which is often assigned to William Bollan, but which some believe to have been inspired by Vaughan. Other authors also say that common report gave him priority. See also "Colonel William Vaughan of Martinicus and Damariscotta" in the "Collections of the Maine Historical Society," by William Goold.