Putting the Matilda Newport Myth to Rest - Part I
By Siahyonkron Nyanseor
Snyanseor@theperspective.org
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
December 1, 2003
Liberian history is replete with accounts of heroism on the part of Americo-Liberians (Settlers), and accounts of cowardice on the part of Native-Liberians (the aborigines). And it is this slanted view of Liberian history, and this false sense of heroism and cowardice that have been the main source of conflict amongst generations of Liberians on either side of the political and social divide, and undermined true patriotism and nationalism in Liberia.
These conflicts also became the key stimulants for continued
distrust, disunity, and infighting amongst Liberians up to this day.
For instance, the story of Matilda Newport was a mixed bag of Americo-Liberian
pride, and native-Liberian nightmare, yet successive Americo-Liberian-dominated
government leaderships in Liberia found it necessary to honor and celebrate
the supposed good deeds of Matilda Newport as a national holiday. And
Liberian school children were forced to parade in the streets in celebration
of Matilda Newport Day until 1980 when the holiday was abolished by
the native-Liberian leaders of the 1980 coup, which displaced the ruling
Americo-Liberian leaders of the ruling True Whig Party after 133 years
at the helm.
I can still vividly recall that as a youth growing up in Monrovia we
used to assemble at Coconut Plantation each December 1 to watch the
reenactment of the Battle of Fort Hill. And during the reenactment,
one group of actors would dress-up in native-Liberian attires with their
faces painted to portray native-Liberian tribesmen, and the other groups
of actors would dress-up in Antebellum south style outfits to portray
Americo-Liberians Settlers or Pioneers. And suddenly, a woman dressed-up
as an old lady would appear from nowhere, light a cannon pointed directly
at the actors dressed like native tribesmen (portrayed like fools in
front of the cannon), and then “BOOM” the cannon goes off,
and all of them would fall and pretend to die.
But way back then, I had the inclination that something was just not
right about the Matilda Newport story. For I didn’t believe for
a second that a group of tribal warriors would be so stupid to become
such an easy target of elimination. But, again, I was very young, so
I just had to play along. But then as I got older, and read the 1926
Matilda Newport Day Oration by Honorable D. Twe (Didwho Twe) that I
realized that I was not alone in my suspicion about the Matilda Newport
story. In reference to his December 1, 1926 Matilda Newport oration,
delivered under the title, “Our Foremost Internal Problem,”
Mr. Twe, who became a member of the Liberian legislature recalls thus:
"…In 1926 I delivered the Newport Day address for that year
right in this very hall, but on that day I went against my conviction.
The task was therefore a very uncomfortable one to perform, for I have
always felt that the continual celebration of the destruction of men
of the Bassa Tribe by Matilda Newport is a shortsighted policy to sustain.
It invites ill feelings from within and criticism from without. The
outside world would feel, and rightly so, that is radically wrong in
Liberia where, one brother fires canon in celebrating the day he was
successful to kill the brother.
"What sort of unity do we really expect to establish? Nevertheless,
I delivered the oration. It was my first public address but it landed
me in the National Legislature the following year as member from Montserrado
County."
And given Mr. Twe’s reflections and what I have read, I have come
to realize over the years the depth to which some people will go to
preserve falsehood. But I couldn’t be sure the Matilda Newport
story was a myth or reality in the absence of concrete evidence. But
I had several theories of my own why anyone would want to invent such
a story. And one of these was that the people in power, in this case
the ruling class in Liberia, would not hesitate to use their intellectual,
political, and economic resources to suppress dissent, and make good
example of those who attempt to challenge their authority. And history
is replete with the enormous prize paid by those who fought at various
points in time to reveal the truth. Some pay with their lives, while
others were ostracized or branded as divisive, ridiculed or called by
all sorts of names. And for those who couldn’t stand the pressure
or the heat soon compromised their scholarship to project the popular
view of the day to avoid physical and financial hardship.
I have also come to realize that in order to maintain the status quo,
those in power will show little or no compunction for speaking or writing
the truth. They usually tend to promote or impose a particular way of
life (culture) or viewpoint as the “gospel truth” without
considering the impact it will have on the entire society. Such is the
case of Matilda Newport. And even my family felt victim to the Matilda
Newport myth. Because my sister was born on December 1, or “Matilda
Newport Day”, she was almost named Matilda like most other females
born on December 1, before the family decided against it. But the incident
with my sister only goes to illustrate the impact of the celebration
of Matilda Newport, a woman who supposedly and single-handedly defeated
the indigenous warriors during the battle of Crown Hill. The battle
was supposedly fought between the Americo-Liberian settlers and Bassa,
Dey and Gola tribes at Cape Mesurado in present day Monrovia, the Liberian
capital, over the ownership of land.
However, in the 1970s, there were serious public debates regarding the
truth or falsity of the heroism attributed to Matilda Newport. There
were those who felt that Matilda Newport was a mystical or fictional
character, while others believed she actually existed. But whether or
not she existed is not the concern of this writer. My goal is to present
available research regarding the Matilda Newport story so as to correct
this blemish on Liberian history, to the extent that the next generations
of Liberians would be able to carefully evaluate the story or myth,
and put its divisive consequences in proper perspective. And this brings
me to the inquiry as to whether Matilda Newport was a person, or a mystical
or fictional character developed to reinforce Americo-Liberian domination
of native-Liberians.
And on that score alone, there are inherent faults in the recorded Liberian
history taught in Liberian primary and secondary schools. Written accounts
in Liberian history differ from author to author, even on identical
subjects, including the Matilda Newport story. Authors such as Abayomi
Karnga, Ernest Jerome Yancy, A. Doris Banks Henries, Christian Abayomi
Cassell and Nathaniel R. Richardson were notorious for their slanted
views of Liberian history, especially issues involving native Liberians.
In their respective history books, these authors saw nothing of substance
that African Liberians contributed to the development of Liberia. Even
where the natives granted the newcomers free arbor at Providence Island
and other places in modern Liberia, it was written that the natives
sold their land for “smoke-fish”. And most references to
the natives were always negative, except in the cases of natives who
collaborated with the newcomers. For example, A. Doris Banks Henries,
a recent emigrant described native Liberians in her Liberian History
(1966) book as: “savage, primitive, belligerent people”.
A. Doris Banks Henries and her contemporaries were not only bias in
their writing of Liberia’s history, they also committed academic
dishonesty.
For since history is defined as the recording of past and present events
(activities), then those who record history are not suppose to leave
out the contributions made by others when the history is about the entire
country, otherwise such a written history would be grossly inaccurate.
But, as the saying goes, “You can fool some of the people, some
of the time, but not all of the people, all of the time”. So I
joined the debate in the 1970s to find out whether the deed Matilda
Newport was credited with was true or false. There were those who felt
that Matilda Newport was a myth created by descendents of the Settlers,
and there were others who believed that she did perform the deed. Based
on both concerns, I felt it was the right thing to do by setting the
record straight once and for all. That’s how I began my inquiry,
- which became a research paper (unpublished) titled: Matilda Newport’s
Deed, Myth or Reality? Excerpts from this work were used to write this
article.
Nonetheless, in order to find out the truth or falsity of the Matilda
Newport story, we must first answer the following questions: Who was
Matilda Newport? Was she a real person? Was she an old lady as portrayed?
Was she literate? Is it possible for a cannon to be fired by coal from
a pipe? Is Matilda Newport and Matilda Spencer the same person? Did
Matilda Newport perform the deed she is credited with? Was she Spencer
or Newport when she allegedly fired the cannon? And why were the natives
portrayed as stupid? These are issues this article intends to address.
For in this two-part article, I will explore the Matilda Newport story
from the perspectives of various Liberian and non-Liberian historians
in part I, and continued in part II with research accounts as to whether
the Matilda Newport story is a myth or reality, and then provide my
own thoughts on the subject in the conclusions to the article. Let’s
now begin our journey into the Matilda Newport story on this anniversary
date of December 1, 2003, which was celebrated as a national holiday
throughout Liberia before being abolished in 1980. We shall now review
various accounts of the Matilda Newport story:
 |
In the Photo Section of The Liberian Connection website is a sub-section dedicated to Liberian Monuments and Statues. A gigantic photo of the cannon supposedly fired by Matilda Newport to defeat native-Liberian warriors during the Battle of Fort Hill is vividly displayed, along with the following essay, which is being reproduced in its entirety for the sake of clarity:
“This cannon is known as the Matilda Newport cannon and is located at Fort Norris on Ducor Hill. The hill overlooks the city and bay of Monrovia, Cape Montserrado.
"During the early days of the settlement that is now Monrovia, Matilda Newport as the story goes, was taking an evening stroll smoking her pipe, when she saw a group of native Liberians in war paint advancing on the settlement. She use (sic) her pipe to light this loaded cannon that was facing the direction the attackers were coming from. BOOM! The cannon went off. The sound was so loud, it frighten (sic) the attackers who had never seen such a discharge of firing power before.
"Thus she save (sic) the settlement from being taken over by the attackers. For over 133 years December 1, was observed as a national holiday honoring the heroic deed of this daughter of Liberia.
"In 1980 after the popular people revolution, that saw the rise of Samuel Doe and the people (sic) redemption council to power, Matilda Newport Day was abolish (sic) by the Junta.”
Ernest Jerome Yancy’s Account of the Matilda Newport Story
“…On Sunday, November 10, 1822, news came that a large tribal force was crossing the Mesurado River. Other groups came from other directions and by evening they had camped on the Mesurado Peninsula, half a mile away from the colonists waiting in their stockade. The attack began at dawn and it was almost fatal to the colonist. One of the guns had been left by the guards who thought they had finished their turn of guard duty. The enemy attacked at this point broke into the stockade. Instead, however, of going on with the attack, many of the tribesmen rushed into the huts and houses to see what they could get. Had they been wiser they might have won a quick and easy victory. But the colonists got their cannons to work and soon had all the tribal forces running before them. They followed with cannon and musket fire. The result was terrible for the tribesmen. A great cry went up and the host fled into the forest. The first struggle was over - the colony had survived the ordeal.
“The battle was called the ‘Battle of Crown Hill’ as it was fought in the section of Monrovia of that name. In remembrance of their victory the colonist made November 11th a Day of Thanksgiving and it has become one of Liberia’s national holidays.
“But, at the settlement, there was much to be done. A second attack might come and everyone had to be ready. Parts of the stockade had to be rebuilt and other parts strengthened. On the morning of December 1st the second attack began. The tribal force coming towards the front of the stockade was soon driven back. Two further attempts from the front were made but they were overcome before the stockade was reached. Then up the river side came another force. This reached the stockade and the fighting was fierce. Although Governor Ashmun came through safely he had three bullet holes in his clothes. At last the tribesmen seemed to join forces and were about to lunch a further attack. At that moment, it is said, an old member of the colony - Matilda Newport exploded the big brass cannon with her pipe. The great roar filled the advancing tribesmen with terror and they turned and fled into the forest. The second attack was over. Once more a holiday was declared, this time bearing the name of Matilda Newport.” (The Republic of Liberia, 1959)
Nathaniel R. Richardson’s Account of the
Matilda Newport Story
Be that as it may, she formed her plan. Silently she went forward,
resolved to do, or die. Hundreds of the natives, their main body, were
yet collected around the cannon. She walked fearlessly in amongst them
and offer (sic) to teach them how to use that cannon. They listened
to her attentively. She directed them to arrange themselves in a row,
directly in front of the cannon’s mouth. When she had got them
arranged in straight line, directly in front, with the cannon pointing
straight at them, she coolly and quickly took a coal of fire from her
pipe and placed it in the cannon’s tube.
“The explosion that followed killed nearly all the natives she had so arranged; the rest summoned our dispirited men to renew the combat. They returned full of hope to the charge, retook their cannon, and soon gained a complete victory over the routed foe.
“Thus, Matilda Newport has rendered her name famous in the annals of Liberian history, and is well worthy of the honor paid her memory on every first day of December by citizens generally, especially by the military company ‘A’ of ‘Newport Volunteers’. Without her action, it is probable that the colony would have perished.
“But while war in self-defence is no doubt often necessary, it should be registered more as a means of protecting innocence, the establishment of right, and the introduction of higher principles of human action, rather than as a means of self-gain. While we rejoice with the victor in our case we should pity the misguided natives who fought to uphold the wicked cause of slave-trading.
“On December first, the citizens of Monrovia celebrate a national holiday in honor of the Liberian heroine of colonial days, Matilda Newport. This anniversary of the day in 1822 when the colonists, aided by Matilda Newport, won a great victory over attacking hostile native tribes. Thus Matilda Newport Day is marked each year with solemn thanksgiving as well as gay celebrations.
“The Commissioner of the Commonwealth District of Monrovia arranges a special program for the occasion, at which time a distinguished citizen delivers an address appropriate to the occasion, and the Liberian Frontier Force parades through the streets. After the program, the Commissioner holds a reception for the guests. In the evening the celebration is climaxed by a grand ball.
“The story of Matilda Newport begins in the difficulty times when the first pioneers came to Liberia. The natives were hostile, because they misunderstood the mission of the colonists, and on December first, a combined force of Deys, Vais and Mambas made a furious assault on the little band of colonists. Both sides fought bravely for hours, but the outcome looked increasingly hopeless for the new settlers. Then to make matter worse, a great number of tribesmen began a new attack from two sides. This action was observed by Mrs. Matilda Newport, who, seeing that the cannoneers were dead or wounded, rushed forward and ignited a cannon with a coal from her pipe. The explosion at almost blank range stopped the attack, and gave the settlers time to man other guns. In a short time the host fled in wild panic and the battle was over." (Liberia’s Past and Present, 1959)
Tom W. Shick’s Account of the Matilda Newport
Story
The first violent confrontation between Afro-American settlers
and Africans occurred during the now legendary Battle of Fort Hill on
December 1, 1822. Tradition maintains that the first settlers in Monrovia
were outnumbered and on the verge of being overwhelmed by the attacking
Africans. At that crucial moment a settler woman, Matilda Newport, fired
a cannon with her pipe. The blast is said to have killed and wounded
many of the attackers, causing the rest to retreat in disarray. This
early victory against great odds has become an important element in
the settler ethos. It marks the triumph of ‘civilization over
barbarism; of enlightenment over gross ignorance; and of Christianity
over paganism.’ Unfortunately this emphasis on the Fort Hill encounter
tends to obscure the varied aspects of African-settler relations during
the nineteenth century. Conflicts were frequent, but the motives were
often more complicated than simply a struggle between civilization and
barbarism. Africans were never unified in opposition to the presence
of Afro-American settlers. As immigration increased and new settlements
were formed, settler attitudes towards their African neighbors also
became differentiable." (Behold the Promised Land, 1980)
Prince Massala Reffell's Account of the Matilda
Newport Story (Novel)
"An old white lady, Matilda Newport, was directing some of the
women and children on the ammunition supply line. News had been sent
to them by one of the fighters to abandon their post. She directed the
women and children to safety as they had practiced before the war, she
lit her pipe that she always smoked and took a look into the ammunition
dump. After making sure that no one else was in the warehouse, she walked
out of the warehouse together with a fighter, as her escort was about
to close the door, a warrior made it close enough and struck the settler
a deadly blow. Before he could attack the woman, he was gunned down
by a second settler, Matilda Newport, frightened by the suddenness of
the episode, threw her pipe down into a cannon as she ran to safety.
A short while later, a large number of native fighters made their way
to the warehouse with some warriors. They crowded it, inspecting the
ammunition with curiosity. One of the main witch doctors who had come
with the group decided that victory was at hand and climbed on top of
the warehouse with some warriors. He started to perform some rituals
to insure victory. The chief watched closely as the dancing and stampeding
of some warriors began within the stockade. There was no doubt in the
minds of the settlers that it was all over, as the warriors now carried
their chief toward the warehouse, which was attracting a lot of the
natives' attention.
"But a third and major miracle for the settlers was about to unfold.
The pipe Matilda Newport had thrown into the cannon had been very hot
and suddenly it had the cannon aflame. It fired, and part of the explosion
caught part of the warehouse. In a few seconds it was fireworks. Dancers,
chief, witch doctors, all evaporated as the fireworks made rattling
and cracking sound that could be heard as far as surrounding native
villages. The rest of the fighters saw their chief, elders, and top
warriors of their society screaming and dying in flames. They saw their
witch doctors and sorcerers of war being thrown up into the air and
engulfed in flames right in front of their eyes. As they watched, the
devil of hell consumed their best, the fighters were so astounded and
frightened that they stopped what they were doing. In the confusion,
they imagined that the settlers must have more powerful witch doctors
and medicine men than they did, to have lured their chief, elders, and
witch doctors to a particular spots to be devoured whole. In extreme
horror, some feared that, if they should continue to advance, the same
fate would await. They dropped their ammunition, turned around, and
started running. The effect was immediate. Like mules following the
lead, the surviving natives took to their heels, dropping their weapons
as they ran. Some of the settlers, in the confusion, were shooting their
last ammunition at the natives as they ran. But the way they ran was
very different from what seemed to have been an organized retreat during
their first attack. At that time, they ran with their ammunition. This
time they were running and leaving everything behind. They were obviously
running for their life." - (The Black Mayflower, 2000)
Part 2 to continue…
