Overview
Joseph Frye was a merchant, surveyor, soldier, and politician from Massachusetts who rose to prominence during the French and Indian War and continued his military service into the early days of the American Revolutionary War. Frye is known for more than one narrow escape from Native American Indians, including the massacre at Fort William Henry in 1757. He established a town, Fryeburg, in the District of Maine, and supported the separation of Maine from Massachusetts. However, this did not occur until 1820, more than 20 years after his death.
Personal Facts
- Born: March 19, 1712, in Andover, Massachusetts.
- Parents: John and Tabitha Frye (also spelled Frie).
- Spouse: Mehitable Poor (1733).
- Died: July 25, 1794, in Fryeburg, Maine, at the age of 83.
- Buried: Pine Grove Cemetery, in Fryeburg, Maine.
- Significance: Joseph Frye is important to American History because of his military service during the American Revolutionary War.
Biography
Early Life
- Joseph Frye was born in Andover, Massachusetts, on March 19, 1712.
- His parents were John and Tabitha Frye, and he was the 9th of their 13 children.
- John Frye was a Sergeant in the local militia. He also spent time as the Town Clerk and as a Selectman.
Marriage
- Frye was a farmer and surveyor.
- He married Mehitable Poor in the 1730s, and they had 11 children together.
- Their first three children died in 1738, during the Great Throat Distemper, when diphtheria spread through New England.
King George’s War
Frye served in the provincial forces during King George’s War. He was an Ensign in the 5th Massachusetts Regiment, which was led by Colonel Robert Hale, and participated in the Siege of Louisburg (1745) on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia (Acadia). Frye remained with the army through 1749, serving at Falmouth and Scarborough. By the war’s end, he achieved the rank of Captain.
- Provincial Forces — Colonial troops who served alongside British Regulars (Redcoats) during the Colonial Wars. The British looked down on the provincials, creating some of the tension that led to the American Revolution.
- Maine — During this time, Maine was part of Massachusetts, typically called the “District of Maine.”
Frye’s Leap
After King George’s War, Frye explored the Sebago Lake Region of Maine.
- He was alone when he ran into a party of hostile Native American Indians who chased him.
- Frye found himself on a ragged outcrop overlooking the frozen lake.
- He jumped, landed on the ice, and took refuge on an island.
- The Indians abandoned their pursuit.
- The cliff he jumped from is called Frye’s Leap. It is located at Raymond Point near present-day Raymond, Maine.
Massachusetts General Court
Frye returned to Andover, where he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court. He used this position to his advantage.
- Frye had incurred expenses supporting himself and several of his troops in Maine.
- He petitioned for reimbursement and was granted compensation.
This was the first of a long series of petitions and requests he made, which were often successful and lucrative for him..
Winslow’s Expedition
At the start of the French and Indian War, Frye was a Lieutenant Colonel under Major General John Winslow. In 1754, Winslow led an expedition into Maine, where his forces built Fort Halifax, near present-day Winslow, Maine, and Fort Western at present-day Augusta, Maine.
- In 1755, Frye fought the French at Fort Beausejour and Fort de Gaspereaux.
- Afterward, he was charged with the responsibility of burning more than 250 farmsteads and evicting the Acadian population in what is called the “Expulsion of the Acadians.”
Siege of Fort William Henry
In 1757, he was serving under Lieutenant Colonel George Munroe. General Louis-Joseph Montcalm and his French forces laid siege to the fort and forced Munroe to surrender on August 9.
- Although Montcalm promised to protect the British from his Indian allies, the Indians ignored his orders and attacked the British troops and civilians living in the fort.
- Frye escaped after killing his guard and made his way to Fort Edward.
Frye recorded his account of the events at Fort William Henry, which was published as Journal of the Attack on Fort William Henry. Regarding the massacre, he said, “…at Last with great difficulty the troops got from the Retrenchment, but they were no sooner out then the Savages fell upon the Rear killing & Scalping, which occassion’d an order for a halt. which at Last was done in great Confusion. But as soon as those in the front found the Rear was Attack’d, they began to press forward, and then the Confusion Continued & Increased til we Came to the Advance guard of the French, the Savages still Carrying away Officers, privates, Women & Children, Some of which Latter they killed & Scalp’d in the Road.”
British terms of surrender placed Frye on parole for 18 months. He returned to active duty and commanded Fort Cumberland near present-day Amherst, Nova Scotia, from March 1759 to the end of 1760.
Fryeburg
After returning to Andover, he petitioned for a land grant in Maine. His request was approved on March 3, 1762. In 1770, he moved there and opened a store in the town called “Fryeburg.”
American Revolutionary War
- On June 21, 1775, he became a Major General in the Massachusetts Militia. He held the position for about 3 months during the Siege of Boston.
- On January 10, 1776, he became a Brigadier General in the Continental Army. However, this was short-lived. On April 23, 1776, he resigned due to poor health.
George Washington was not impressed with Frye. In a letter to Joseph Reed, he said Frye ‘…‘has not, and I doubt will not, do much service to the cause…”
Death
Frye returned to Fryeburg, where he lived until he died on July 25, 1794.
Appendix
AHC Note — This biography of Joseph Frye is from the Dictionary of American Biography, edited by Allen Johnson and published by the American Council of Learned Societies in 1945. Minor text corrections have been made.
Joseph Frye (March 19, 1712–July 25, I794) was the ninth of the thirteen children of Sergeant John and Tabitha (Farnam) Frye of Andover, Massachusetts, where the family had long been of local prominence.
Frye married Mehitable Poor of Andover on March 31, 1733.
While a resident of Andover, Frye was elected as a representative to the General Court from 1751-1755, 1762-1763, and 1764-1765.
Joseph started his military career, for which he is chiefly distinguished, in February 1745 as an Ensign in Hale’s 5th Massachusetts Regiment, which took part in the capture of Louisburg. From March 1748 until June 1749, he served as a Captain.
During 1754, he was a Lieutenant-Colonel in Winslow’s Kennebec Expedition. Still with Winslow, he was a Major in the expedition planned by Governor William Shirley, which expelled a portion of the Acadians in 1755, performing the unpleasant duty of burning houses and forcing the rebellious settlers to submit to English rule.
In early 1757, John Campbell, Fourth Earl of Loudoun (Lord Loudon), commissioned Frye to raise 1,800 troops to reinforce General Daniel Webb for a proposed attack on Crown Point. During the expedition, the British forces tried to reinforce Fort William Henry. The French and Indians under Montcalm surrounded the fort and the relief forces, compelling Lieutenant-Colonel Munroe to surrender on August 9, 1757.
The French were unable to control their Indian allies, who massacred many of the disarmed troops. Frye escaped after hand-to-hand combat and made his way to Fort Edward.
Prevented by the terms of the capitulation from serving for 18 months, Frye did not reenlist until March 1759. From then to the close of 1760, he was the commanding officer at Fort Cumberland in Acadia. The chief problems of this routine service were feeding the inhabitants who submitted to English control, disciplining his troops, and ending a mutiny within his ranks.
On March 3, 1762, in response to his petition, the Massachusetts General Court granted Frye a township of land in the Maine district, and in 1770, he moved with his family from Andover to the new settlement, where he opened a store.
On June 21, 1775, the Provincial Congress appointed him a Major-General in the Massachusetts Militia. He served in this capacity at Falmouth from November to January 10, 1776, when he was appointed a Brigadier-General in the Continental Army. He resigned on account of infirmities on April 23, 1776.
The town of Fryeburg was incorporated in January 1777. Frye kept 10 of the 60 rights (land grants) and acted as proprietor’s clerk from June 23, 1766, to September 15, 1777.
He favored the separation of Maine from Massachusetts and was a delegate from Fryeburg to the Portland Convention (September 1786), which met to consider the issue, but did not approve it.
- AHC Note — Maine did not separate from Massachusetts until 1820.
