Towns

NH, USA

Governor Wentworth Flees to HMS Scarborough

August 23, 1775

DateAugust 23, 1775
Precisionday

Royal Governor John Wentworth, facing growing hostility from the Patriot movement and unable to maintain order, abandoned his Portsmouth residence and fled to HMS Scarborough anchored in the harbor. His departure ended 150 years of Wentworth family dominance of New Hampshire politics and created the governmental vacuum that Exeter's Patriot institutions filled for the duration of the war.

People Involved

Governor John Wentworth(Royal Governor of New Hampshire)

The last royal governor of New Hampshire, whose flight to HMS Scarborough in August 1775 created the governmental vacuum that Exeter's Patriot institutions filled. His departure ended 150 years of Wentworth family dominance of New Hampshire politics.