“We must strike the vestiges of Tyranny from all corners of this continent.”
—Clark Hopswood
Following the Battle of Boston, the majority of the remaining towns in Massachusetts joined the F.R.R., however, Maine (then a part of Massachusetts) did not join the F.R.R. Instead, when news of the Battle of Boston reached Maine, representatives assembled from across the region to form a government, independent of either government of Massachusetts. On March 12th, 1787, the Republic of Maine was declared, with Jeremiah O’Brien as Governor. The first act of the legislature of Maine was to send a formal request to join the United States of America.
On March 17th, the news reached the Massachusetts government in exile. Upon hearing the news, Governor Bowdoin wrote:
“I wish them the best of luck on their venture. Maine has always been a part of Massachusetts, but if our present circumstances are taken into consideration, I cannot fault them for their decision.”
Two days later, news of Maine’s request to join the union reached the Confederation Congress. The Confederation Congress recommended that Maine should wait until the rebellion in Massachusetts was resolved before applying to join. However, a number of delegates for the upcoming Constitutional Convention suggested that Maine should send a delegate to the Convention as well.
When the news of Maine’s secession reached Boston on March 16th, Clark Hopswood called for a liberation of Maine from those who had led Maine astray with a “corrupt bargain.” There was a slight issue with Hopswood’s plan however; between Maine and Massachusetts was the state of New Hampshire. New Hampshire had remained relatively neutral in the conflict, having suppressed a number of revolts and riots internally, but had not taken action outside of New Hampshire. However in Hopswood’s eyes, New Hampshire would be one of the first steps towards liberating the whole continent from tyranny. On March 18th, a secret meeting of the executives of Massachusetts decided that an invasion of New Hampshire and Maine would be undertaken. Job Shattuck was the sole dissenting executive, believing that if Massachusetts were to attack New Hampshire, Massachusetts' other neighbors would eventually unite and crush Massachusetts.
Early April 3rd, an army of seven thousand Massachusetts Regulators, led by Martin Horn, crossed the Merrimack River into New Hampshire. The same day, the town of Dunstable was captured. Three days later, the Massachusetts Army reached Exeter, the capital of New Hampshire. John Sullivan, the governor of New Hampshire, had rallied militias from Exeter and the surrounding regions to defend Exeter from the Massachusettsan Army. Just as they had when a riot attempted to overthrow the government in September 1786, the militias turned out two thousand strong. However, the New Hampshirites were poorly equipped and many were poorly trained. Late in the evening of April 6th, the two armies clashed outside of Exeter. The New Hampshirite army initially fought bravely, however, when the Massachusettsan army fired cannons into the New Hampshirite lines, the majority of the New Hampshirites either deserted or surrendered, with Sullivan being left with only three hundred militiamen when he retreated back to Exeter.
The following morning, the sun rose on an Exeter ready to fight for its life. Those who would not or could not had fled from the city in the night while the remainder of Sullivan’s army, a number of deserters who had returned, and every person capable of fighting had constructed barricades and other makeshift defenses throughout the town. In the center of the fortifications was the Folsom Tavern which served as the headquarters of the defenders. The Massachusettsan Army surrounded Exeter, and a messenger was sent under the white flag to offer the New Hampshirites surrender. John Sullivan’s reply was simple: “No.” The Battle of Exeter had begun.
The New Hampshirites fought tooth and nail. As they retreatred, broken glass, and shards of wood and metal were scattered throughout the roads and paths by the New Hampshirites. The fighting extended from house to house, with buildings burned as Massachusettsans pressed through. By midday, much of Exeter was burning, and the New Hampshirites had been pressed into a small area around the tavern. Within the hour, the New Hampshirites ran out of munitions. Despite this, the remainder of the New Hampshirites fought on, with defeat only coming to the New Hampshirites when they were entirely overrun. In all, 509 New Hampshirites were killed in the battle.
News of the Battle spread incredibly fast across the American nation. Outrage was widespread, with the event being instrumental in George Washington accepting the offer of Dictator later in the month. Similarly, when the Rhode Island legislature changed their decision on whether or not to allow the creation of the Dictator office, the Battle was cited as one of the reasons for the change. However, within the F.R.R. of Massachusetts, the battle was hailed as a great victory, with Hopswood himself calling it the “First step towards the liberation of New Hampshire.”