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 borders 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 vessel which engages in commerce raiding 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 o ...

. He helped draw up plans for the defense of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He was a military commander during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

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

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

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 ...

in 1779. Fort Sullivan was built atop a bluff in

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of ...

, and in conjunction with Fort Washington across the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki language, 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 to the Atlant ...

on Peirce Island, it guarded the

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

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

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

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 A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

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 the store-wagons, acting as guards ...

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 Privateers from the Thirteen Colonies Merchants from colonial New Hampshire 18th-century American merchants

Career

Family

See also

References