Kerr: Whipple's Reading – Kittery's unique Independence Day tradition

A new tradition has emerged in Kittery in recent years to celebrate Independence Day, an event I’ve come to think of as “Whipple’s Reading.”

This year’s ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 25, at Thresher Memorial Park beside Town Hall. It will feature the amazing youngsters of the Piscataqua Rangers Junior Fife and Drum Corps, decked out in Revolutionary War-era military uniforms.

Militia reenactors from Capt. Henry Dearborn's Company will also be on hand to fire a musket and (small) cannon salute in celebration. Navy sailors of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Color Guard will lead the procession.

But the highlight of our annual event is always the return of hometown hero Gen. William Whipple to give a public reading of the Declaration of Independence he signed way back in 1776.

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I think sometimes Kittery residents (Kitteryites?) take for granted how unique it is for a town this size to have a native son put his name to one of the most famous documents in the history of the planet. I very recently sat and counted through the roll call of Declaration signers, and determined there are no more than 42 town and cities in the entire country who can make such a claim.

What’s more, Whipple is the only native Mainer to sign the Declaration of Independence, a fact worth celebrating as Kittery marks its 375th birthday this year as the state’s oldest town. It also underscores Kittery’s fitting role in kicking off annual 4th of July celebrations in the Seacoast.

And what’s really cool is how Gen. Whipple was such a uniquely Maine character among some of the most brilliant and courageous men our young country has ever produced.

Born in Kittery in 1730, Whipple grew up in the home which still stands (an updated version of it, at least) just outside the back gate of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. At an age when most of his future colleagues in Congress were pursuing higher learning in the classroom, Whipple chose a life of adventure on the high seas, shipping out as a cabin boy in his youth.

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He went on to become a merchant sea captain, a brigadier general in the New Hampshire militia during the Revolutionary War, and a member of the Second Continental Congress. By the age of 30 he had earned enough of a fortune to leave the sea behind and settle down across the Piscataqua River in Portsmouth.

He married his first cousin Katharine Moffatt and went into business with two brothers as a successful merchant. The house he shared with his wife, now known as the Moffatt-Ladd House, is one of Portsmouth’s most celebrated historic homes. His sword is still on display there.

The home also features a huge sprawling horse chestnut tree which was planted by Whipple and his slave Prince in 1776, upon their return from Philadelphia after Whipple signed the Declaration of Independence.

The former sea captain continued to be a man of action even while serving as a member of Congress. Having previously served as a colonel in Portsmouth’s local militia, he was commissioned a brigadier general in charge of New Hampshire militia troops in 1777.

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He took part in the pivotal Battle of Saratoga, and helped to negotiate the British surrender. After the great American victory, he was given the honor of escorting the defeated British Gen. “Gentleman Johnny” Burgoyne back to the Boston area to be shipped back to England. Whipple also led troops in the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

Whipple is reported to have carried a cargo of slaves on at least one voyage during his days as a sea captain, and is believed to have co-owned a ship with his brother Joseph which brought slaves to America on another occasion. But he appears to have evolved in his opinion during the course of the Revolution.

He eventually freed his own slave, Prince, and in a letter to fellow signer Josiah Bartlett (the one Martin Sheen is supposed to be descended from in the TV hit “West Wing”), he wrote:

“A recommendation is gone thither for raising some regiments of Blacks. This will I suppose lay a foundation for the emancipation of those poor wreches [sic] in that Country, & I hope be the means of dispensing the Blessings of freedom to all the Human Race in America.”

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Whipple eventually left Congress in 1779 and also stepped away from his military duties as a result of poor health. However, he served as an associate justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court, riding his circuit on horseback. He died in 1785, living just long enough to see America win its independence.

But at least for one day, his spirit will live on in body as well, as a reenactor returns to the place of his birth to join the annual celebration of the freedom he helped forge.

Whipple’s Reading has become an annual tradition since its start in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, to celebrate the 4th of July, although it typically takes place the weekend before the actual holiday weekend.

The festivities will start at 9 a.m., right next to Town Hall at 200 Rogers Road. Local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Children of the American Revolution will be on hand as well.

The ceremony will be followed by a reception next door at the Kittery Historical and Naval Museum, where refreshments will be available. Fittingly, the celebration is funded this year by the local Navy yard’s Naval Civilian Managers Association and a well-entrenched local business, Hoppi’s Barber Shop.

What could be a more appropriate way to kick off this particular holiday season?

D. Allan Kerr is the organizer of this annual Whipple’s Reading event.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Whipple's Reading – Kittery ME unique Independence Day tradition