Captain Titus Salter (1722–1798) was an American military commander of militia forces in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, a merchant, and a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. He helped draw up plans for the defense of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. He was a military commander during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. His home in Portsmouth is documented in a photograph held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

and is a site on area walking tours. The Journal of the House, Tuesday, December 30, 1777, ''New Hampshire Provincial Papers'', volume VIII, p. 758, documents the appointment Capt. Titus Salter as Commander of Fort Washington in New Hampshire. He was the son of John Salter who immigrated from England. There is a Salter Street in Portsmouth.

Career

Salter captained John Langdon's ''Hampden'' during the

Penobscot Expedition The Penobscot Expedition was a 44-ship American naval armada during the Revolutionary War assembled by the Provincial Congress of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The flotilla of 19 warships and 25 support vessels sailed from Boston on July 1 ...

in 1779. Fort Sullivan was built atop a bluff in

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost town in t ...

, and in conjunction with Fort Washington across the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

on Peirce Island, it guarded the

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

. The militia withdrew about three years later. The fort was reactivated for the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

in 1814. In 1861, it was rebuilt with eleven 8-inch

Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed by ...

s to protect Portsmouth against attacks by the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

navy. He was in charge of a

matross A matross was a soldier of artillery, who ranked next below a gunner. The duty of a matross was to assist the gunners in loading, firing and sponging the guns. They were provided with firelocks, and marched with thstore-wagons acting as guards. I ...

company.

Family

His son was also named Titus Salter (January 8, 1764 – January 27, 1840), and was also a captain. The younger Titus Salter was born in Portsmouth and was buried at the Proprietors Burying Ground ( Auburn Street Cemetery) in Portsmouth. They had prominent descendants. Titus Salter married Elizabeth Bickford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salter, Titus 1722 births 1798 deaths New Hampshire militiamen in the American Revolution People from Portsmouth, New Hampshire American privateers

Career

Family

See also

References