Myth 3:
All Americans hated the British before the Revolution 

THE TRUTH: Most New Hampshire colonists prior to the Revolution were proud to be British citizens and sat on the fence regarding the coming Revolution. They just wanted to be treated with the respect given to other Englishmen. Unlike Massachusetts, New Hampshire liked its royal British governors, many of whom were born and lived in Portsmouth. Benning Wentworth, a paunchy aristocratic leader, is now seen as a snobby Loyalist. But in his day, locals knew that his global business connections also made Portsmouth a wealthy town. His nephew John Wentworth attended Harvard, helped found DartmouthCollege, built the first state house and the first lighthouse, developed the state’s highways system and fought against the hated Stamp Act. But Wentworth and his family were ultimately driven from their Portsmouth home, victims of the American Revolution, never to return under penalty of death.  

SEE MORE:  Portsmouth was a prominent seaport before and after the American Revolution. Patriot John Langdon was a friend of George Washington who visited his Portsmouth home in 1789. William Whipple of the Moffatt_Ladd House in town signed the Declaration of Independence. John Paul Jones sailed the Portsmouth-built RANGER from here in 1777 and the home of Washington’s secretary Tobias Lear is still open to the public. To learn these stories and more visit the DiscoverPortsmouthCenter and get directions to the city’s many historic sites related the Revolution.

CONTINUE TO MYTH #4