What the British came out after was to destroy the province stores that they had got laid up for the militia. There were in the town a number of entrenching tools which they carried out and burnt. There were about 100 barrels of flour in Hubbard’s malt house, Capt. Nathan Barrett married his daughter. They rolled them out, knocked them to pieces and rolled some into the mill pond, part of which was saved after they were gone.¹⁰⁴ They set fire to several new carriages for the artillery, rifled several houses, took possession of the town house, destroyed 500 lbs of musket ball and set a guard of 100 men at North Bridge.¹⁰⁵ Lt. Col. Smith sent Capt. Pole of the 10th¹⁰⁶ with 100 men,¹⁰⁷ three companies,¹⁰⁸ to South Bridge¹⁰⁹ to destroy provisions.¹¹⁰ The grenadiers remained in the town¹¹¹ knocking off the trunnions off three iron 24 pound cannon,¹¹² a great number of carriage wheels burnt, some gun powder and ball with other small articles thrown into the river,¹¹³ destroying harness,¹¹⁴ barrels of trenchers and spoons of wood for their camp.¹¹⁵
The grenadiers continued on the green, feeding their horses within five feet of Martha Moulton’s door and about fifty or sixty of them was in and out her house, calling for water and what they wanted for about three hours. Her near neighbors were drawn off to places far from the thickest part of the town and had taken with them their families and what of their best effects could carry, some to a neighboring wood, others to remote houses for security. Martha Moulton wait on them, as they called, with water or what she had, chairs for Major Pitcairn and four or five more officers, who sat at the door of Martha’s house viewing their men. Suddenly the British had set fire to the great gun carriages just by her house and, while they were in flames, smoke arise out of the town house. Martha begged the officers to send some of their men to put out the fire but they sneered. Seeing the town house on fire and in a few minutes be past recovery, she expostulate with the officers just by her as she stood with a pail of water in her hand, begging them. They said, “Don’t be concerned.” Then she to put as much strength to her arguments as she could. At last, by one pail of water after another, they extinguished the fire.¹¹⁶
