Penobscot Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War
and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor
. The fighting took place both on land and on sea, in what is today Maine
.
In June 1779, British Army forces established a series of fortifications centered on a fort located on the Bagaduce Peninsula
in Penobscot Bay
, with the goals of establishing a military presence on that part of the coast and beginning a new colony to be known as New Ireland. In response, the state of Massachusetts
, with some support from the Continental Congress
, raised an expedition to drive the British out.
The Americans landed troops in late July and attempted to establish a siege of the British fort in a series of actions seriously hampered by disagreements over control of the expedition between Commodore Dudley Saltonstall
and General Solomon Lovell
. The operation ended in disaster when a British fleet under the command of Sir George Collier
arrived, driving the American fleet to total self-destruction up the Penobscot River
. The survivors of the American expedition were forced to make an overland journey back to more-populated parts of Massachusetts with minimal food and armament.
's failed Saratoga campaign
, British war planners looked for other ways to gain control over the rebellious New England
colonies, while most of their effort was directed at another campaign targeted at the southern colonies
. Lord Germain
, the Secretary of State
responsible for the war effort, and his under-secretary, William Knox, wanted to establish a base on the coast of the District of Maine
(which was then a part of Massachusetts
) that could be used to protect shipping around Nova Scotia
from American privateer
s.
Opportunity arrived when John Nutting, a Loyalist
who had piloted Sir George Collier
's expedition against Machias, came to London
with the idea of establishing a British military presence in Maine. In September 1778, Nutting left for New York
carrying orders for Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton to assist with the establishment of "a province between the Penobscot
and St. Croix rivers. Post to be taken on Penobscot River." It was Knox's idea to call this province New Ireland. Unfortunately for the British, Nutting's ship was captured by an American privateer, and he was forced to dump his dispatches, putting an end to execution of the idea in 1778.
, so he sent Nutting there with Germain's detailed instructions.
McLean's expedition set sail from Halifax on May 30, 1779, and arrived in Penobscot Bay
on June 12. The next day McLean and Andrew Barkley, the captain of the naval convoy, identified a suitable site at which they could establish a post. On June 16, his forces began landing on a peninsula that was then called Majabigwaduce (now Castine
), between the mouth of the Bagaduce River
and a finger of the bay leading to the Penobscot River
. The troops numbered approximately 700: 50 men of the Royal Artillery and engineers, 450 of the 74th Regiment of (Highland) Foot
and 200 of the 82nd (Duke of Hamilton's) Regiment
. These began to build a fortification on the peninsula, which jutted into the bay and commanded the principal passage into the inner harbor.
The principal works, called Fort George
, was in the center of the small peninsula, with two batteries outside the fort to provide cover for the , which was the only ship expected to stay in the area. A third battery was constructed on an island south of the bay in which Albany was harbored, near the mouth of the Bagaduce River. Construction of the works occupied the troops for the next month, until rumors came that an American expedition was being raised to oppose them, following which efforts were redoubled to have works suitable for defense against the Americans prepared before they arrived. Albany captain, Henry Mowat, who was familiar with Massachusetts politics, took the rumors (which were followed by reports that a fleet had left Boston) quite seriously, and convinced General McLean to leave additional ships that had been part of the initial convoy as further defense. Some of the convoy ships had already left; orders for armed sloops North and Nautilus were countermanded before they were able to leave.
, they hurriedly made plans to drive the British from the area. The Penobscot River was the gateway to lands controlled by the Penobscot Indians, who generally favored the British. Congress feared that if a fort were successfully constructed at the mouth of the river, all chance of enlisting the Penobscots as allies would be lost. Massachusetts was also motivated by the fear of losing their claim over the territory to rival states in any post-war settlement.
To spearhead the expedition, Massachusetts petitioned Congress for the use of three warships—the 12-gun sloop Providence
, 14-gun brig Diligent, and 32-gun frigate Warren
—while the rest of over 40 ships were made up of ships of the Massachusetts State Navy
and private vessels under the command of Commodore Dudley Saltonstall
. The Massachusetts authorities mobilised more than 1,000 militia
, acquired six small field cannons, and placed Brigadier General Solomon Lovell
in command of the land forces. The expedition departed from Boston on July 24 and arrived off Penobscot Bay that same day.
On July 26, Lovell sent a force of Continental Marines
to capture the British battery on Nautilus Island
(also known as Banks Island), while the militia were to land at Bagaduce. The marines achieved their objective but the militia turned back when British shot overturned the leading boat, drowning Major Daniel Littlefield and two of his men. Meanwhile, 750 men under Lovell landed and began construction of siege works under constant fire.
On July 27, the American artillery bombarded the British fleet for three hours, wounding four men aboard .
, the Hunter and the Sky Rocket, Brigadier General Peleg Wadsworth
led an assault force of 400 (200 marines and 200 militia) ashore with orders to capture the British fort. They landed on the beach and advanced up the bluff leading to the fort. The British pickets, who included Lieutenant John Moore, put up a determined resistance but received no reinforcement from the fort and were forced to retire, leaving the Americans in possession of the heights. 8 British troops were captured. At this point, Lovell ordered the attackers to halt and entrench where they were. Instead of assaulting the fort, Lovell had decided to build a battery within “a hundred rods” of the British lines and bombard them into surrender. The American casualties in the assault had been severe: “one hundred out of four hundred men on the shore and bank”, with the Continental Marines suffering more heavily than the militia. Commodore Saltonstall was so appalled by the losses incurred by his marines that he refused to land any more and even threatened to recall those already on shore.
On July 30, both sides cannonaded each other all day.
On July 31, 2 American sailors belonging to the Active were wounded by a shell.
On August 1, Lovell ordered a night assault on the Half-Moon Battery, next to Fort George, whose guns posed a danger to the American shipping. The Americans opened fire at 2.00 a.m. Colonel Samuel McCobb’s centre column, comprising his own Lincoln County Regiment, broke and fled as soon as the British returned fire. The left column comprising Captain Thomas Carnes and a detachment of marines, and the right column comprising sailors from the Fleet, both kept going and stormed the Battery. As dawn broke, the Fort’s guns opened up on the captured battery and a detachment of redcoats charged out and recaptured the Half-Moon, routing the Americans, who took 18 prisoners with them. Their own casualties were 4 men missing (who were killed) and 12 wounded.
The siege continued with minor skirmishing. On August 2, militiaman Wheeler Riggs, of Falmouth, was killed by an enemy cannon shot that bounced off a tree before hitting him. On August 4, Surgeon John Calef recorded in his journal that several men were wounded in exchanges of fire. On August 5, one American-allied Indian was killed and another man captured. On August 7, 100 Americans engaged 80 British but the only casualties were 1 killed and 1 wounded on the American side and 2 wounded among the British.
During this time, the British had been able to send word of their condition, and request reinforcements. On August 3, a fleet of 10 warships left New York under the command of Commodore Sir George Collier
.
On August 11, about 250 American militia advanced from their fortified camp and occupied a recently abandoned battery about a quarter mile (400 m) from the British fort. As expected, a sortie of about 55 British troops advanced from the fort to engage: but the poorly trained American troops fired only one volley at the attacking British troops and fled back to their fort, leaving behind all of their arms and equipment.
The next day, Saltonstall finally decided to launch a naval attack against the British fort, but the British relief fleet arrived and attacked the American ships. Over the next two days, the American fleet fled upstream on the Penobscot River, pursued by the British. On August 13, an American officer was wounded by enemy fire. Several vessels were scuttled or burned along the way with the rest destroyed at Bangor
. In the 18th century there were rapids at Bangor at the approximate location of the old Water Works. The surviving crews then fled overland back to Boston with virtually no food or ammunition.
Apart from the 100 men killed and wounded during the assault of July 28, the known American casualties throughout the siege came to 12 killed, 16 wounded and 1 captured, in addition to "several wounded" on August 4. This adds up to at least 130 killed and wounded. The History of Penobscot says that "our whole loss of men was probably not less than 150". The chaotic retreat however, brought the American loss up to 474 killed, wounded, captured or missing.
, who participated in this expedition, was accused of disobedience and cowardice, resulting in his dismissal from the militia; he later had the charges cleared. Peleg Wadsworth, who mitigated the damage by organizing a retreat, was not charged in the court martial.
Despite repulsing the American expedition, the British evacuated the area following the 1783 Peace of Paris
, abandoning their attempts to establish New Ireland. During the War of 1812
the British again occupied the area they called New Ireland, and used it as a naval base before withdrawing with the arrival of peace. Full ownership of the area remained disputed until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
in 1842. Maine was a part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it was admitted into the Union as the 23rd state.
searched for and found the wreck of the Defence
, a privateer that was part of the American fleet. Evidence of scuttled ships has also found under the Joshua Chamberlain
Bridge in Bangor
and under the Bangor town dock, and several artifacts were recovered. Cannonballs were also reported to have been recovered during the construction of the concrete casements for the I-395
bridge in 1986.
The earthworks of Fort George still stand at the mouth of the Penobscot River in Castine, accompanied by concrete work added later by the Americans in the 19th century. Archaeological evidence of the expedition, including cannonballs and cannon, was located during an archaeological project in 2000–2001.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and the United States' worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
. The fighting took place both on land and on sea, in what is today Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
In June 1779, British Army forces established a series of fortifications centered on a fort located on the Bagaduce Peninsula
Fort George (Castine, Maine)
Fort George was an earthworks fort built by the British during the American Revolutionary War to provide safety for British ships and loyalists in the area. The roughly 3-acre remains of the fort are located on the Bagaduce Peninsula in the town of Castine, Maine.The British dug a defensive canal...
in Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
, with the goals of establishing a military presence on that part of the coast and beginning a new colony to be known as New Ireland. In response, the state of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, with some support from the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, raised an expedition to drive the British out.
The Americans landed troops in late July and attempted to establish a siege of the British fort in a series of actions seriously hampered by disagreements over control of the expedition between Commodore Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall was an American naval commander during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known as the commander of the naval forces of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster, with all ships lost...
and General Solomon Lovell
Solomon Lovell
Solomon Lovell was a brigadier general in the militia of the state of Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the land forces during the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, a disastrous attempt by Massachusetts to dislodge a British force from a settlement on a...
. The operation ended in disaster when a British fleet under the command of Sir George Collier
George Collier
Sir George Collier was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the frigate HMS Rainbow, he was one of the most successful British naval commanders during the opening stages of war...
arrived, driving the American fleet to total self-destruction up the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
. The survivors of the American expedition were forced to make an overland journey back to more-populated parts of Massachusetts with minimal food and armament.
Background
Following a failed attempt to gain control of Machias in 1777, as well as General John BurgoyneJohn Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
's failed Saratoga campaign
Saratoga campaign
The Saratoga Campaign was an attempt by Great Britain to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War...
, British war planners looked for other ways to gain control over the rebellious New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
colonies, while most of their effort was directed at another campaign targeted at the southern colonies
Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
The Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central area of operations in North America in the second half of the American Revolutionary War. During the first three years of the conflict, the primary military encounters had been in the north, focused on campaigns around the...
. Lord Germain
George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville
George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville PC , known as the Hon. George Sackville to 1720, as Lord George Sackville from 1720 to 1770, and as Lord George Germain from 1770 to 1782, was a British soldier and politician who was Secretary of State for America in Lord North's cabinet during the American...
, the Secretary of State
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
responsible for the war effort, and his under-secretary, William Knox, wanted to establish a base on the coast of the District of Maine
District of Maine
The District of Maine was a legal designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from American independence until the Missouri Compromise on March 4, 1820, after which it gained its independence from Massachusetts and became the 23rd state in the Union...
(which was then a part of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) that could be used to protect shipping around Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
from American privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s.
Opportunity arrived when John Nutting, a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
who had piloted Sir George Collier
George Collier
Sir George Collier was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the frigate HMS Rainbow, he was one of the most successful British naval commanders during the opening stages of war...
's expedition against Machias, came to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with the idea of establishing a British military presence in Maine. In September 1778, Nutting left for New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
carrying orders for Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton to assist with the establishment of "a province between the Penobscot
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
and St. Croix rivers. Post to be taken on Penobscot River." It was Knox's idea to call this province New Ireland. Unfortunately for the British, Nutting's ship was captured by an American privateer, and he was forced to dump his dispatches, putting an end to execution of the idea in 1778.
British forces arrive
Nutting reached New York in January 1779, but General Clinton had received copies of the orders from other messengers. Clinton had already assigned the expedition to General Francis McLean, who was based in HalifaxCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, so he sent Nutting there with Germain's detailed instructions.
McLean's expedition set sail from Halifax on May 30, 1779, and arrived in Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay
Penobscot Bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River. There are many islands in this bay, and on them, some of the country's most well-known summer colonies. The bay served as portal for the one time "lumber capital of the world," namely; the city of Bangor...
on June 12. The next day McLean and Andrew Barkley, the captain of the naval convoy, identified a suitable site at which they could establish a post. On June 16, his forces began landing on a peninsula that was then called Majabigwaduce (now Castine
Castine, Maine
Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...
), between the mouth of the Bagaduce River
Bagaduce River
The Bagaduce River is a tidal river in the Hancock County, Maine that empties into Penobscot Bay near the town of Castine. From the confluence of Black Brook and the outflow of Walker Pond , the river runs about north, northwest, and southwest, forming the border between Brooksville on its left...
and a finger of the bay leading to the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
. The troops numbered approximately 700: 50 men of the Royal Artillery and engineers, 450 of the 74th Regiment of (Highland) Foot
74th Regiment of (Highland) Foot
The 74th Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment raised to fight in the American Revolution. In December 1777, John Campbell of Barbreck received letters of service from King George III to raise a regiment of infantry in the county of Argyll for service in the regular army...
and 200 of the 82nd (Duke of Hamilton's) Regiment
82nd Regiment of Foot (1778)
For other regiments with the same number, see 82nd Regiment of Foot The 82nd Regiment of Foot was a British regiment raised for service in the American Revolutionary War....
. These began to build a fortification on the peninsula, which jutted into the bay and commanded the principal passage into the inner harbor.
The principal works, called Fort George
Fort George (Castine, Maine)
Fort George was an earthworks fort built by the British during the American Revolutionary War to provide safety for British ships and loyalists in the area. The roughly 3-acre remains of the fort are located on the Bagaduce Peninsula in the town of Castine, Maine.The British dug a defensive canal...
, was in the center of the small peninsula, with two batteries outside the fort to provide cover for the , which was the only ship expected to stay in the area. A third battery was constructed on an island south of the bay in which Albany was harbored, near the mouth of the Bagaduce River. Construction of the works occupied the troops for the next month, until rumors came that an American expedition was being raised to oppose them, following which efforts were redoubled to have works suitable for defense against the Americans prepared before they arrived. Albany captain, Henry Mowat, who was familiar with Massachusetts politics, took the rumors (which were followed by reports that a fleet had left Boston) quite seriously, and convinced General McLean to leave additional ships that had been part of the initial convoy as further defense. Some of the convoy ships had already left; orders for armed sloops North and Nautilus were countermanded before they were able to leave.
American reaction
When news of this reached the American authorities in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, they hurriedly made plans to drive the British from the area. The Penobscot River was the gateway to lands controlled by the Penobscot Indians, who generally favored the British. Congress feared that if a fort were successfully constructed at the mouth of the river, all chance of enlisting the Penobscots as allies would be lost. Massachusetts was also motivated by the fear of losing their claim over the territory to rival states in any post-war settlement.
To spearhead the expedition, Massachusetts petitioned Congress for the use of three warships—the 12-gun sloop Providence
USS Providence (1775)
Originally chartered by the Rhode Island General Assembly as Katy, USS Providence was a sloop in the Continental Navy.-Service as Katy:...
, 14-gun brig Diligent, and 32-gun frigate Warren
USS Warren (1776)
USS Warren was one of the 13 frigates authorized by the Continental Congress on 13 December 1775. With half her main armament being 18-pounders, Warren was more heavily armed than a typical 32-gun frigate of the period. She was named for Joseph Warren on 6 June 1776...
—while the rest of over 40 ships were made up of ships of the Massachusetts State Navy
Massachusetts State Navy
The Massachusetts State Navy , a naval militia active during the American Revolutionary War was founded December 29, 1775, to defend the interests of Massachusetts from British forces....
and private vessels under the command of Commodore Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall
Dudley Saltonstall was an American naval commander during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known as the commander of the naval forces of the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, which ended in complete disaster, with all ships lost...
. The Massachusetts authorities mobilised more than 1,000 militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, acquired six small field cannons, and placed Brigadier General Solomon Lovell
Solomon Lovell
Solomon Lovell was a brigadier general in the militia of the state of Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the land forces during the 1779 Penobscot Expedition, a disastrous attempt by Massachusetts to dislodge a British force from a settlement on a...
in command of the land forces. The expedition departed from Boston on July 24 and arrived off Penobscot Bay that same day.
Landing
On July 25, nine of the larger vessels in the American flotilla exchanged fire with the Royal Navy ships from 3.30 p.m to 7.00 p.m. While this was going on, seven American boats approached the shore for a landing but turned back when enemy fire killed an American-allied Native warrior in one of the boats.On July 26, Lovell sent a force of Continental Marines
Continental Marines
The Continental Marines were the Marine force of the American Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The corps was formed by the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775 and was disbanded in 1783. Their mission was multi-purpose, but their most important duty was to serve as on-board...
to capture the British battery on Nautilus Island
Nautilus Island, Maine
Nautilus Island is a privately owned island in Penobscot Bay, Maine. Lying half a mile south of Castine and guarding the entrance to Castine Harbour, the island has a long, rich history...
(also known as Banks Island), while the militia were to land at Bagaduce. The marines achieved their objective but the militia turned back when British shot overturned the leading boat, drowning Major Daniel Littlefield and two of his men. Meanwhile, 750 men under Lovell landed and began construction of siege works under constant fire.
On July 27, the American artillery bombarded the British fleet for three hours, wounding four men aboard .
Assault
On July 28, under heavy covering fire from the TyrannicideMassachusetts ship Tyrannicide (1776)
Tyrannicide was a 14-gun brigantine-rigged sloop of the Massachusetts State Navy. The ship was built for the American Revolutionary War and participated in commerce raiding until destroyed in the Penobscot expedition.-John Fisk:...
, the Hunter and the Sky Rocket, Brigadier General Peleg Wadsworth
Peleg Wadsworth
Peleg Wadsworth was an American officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts representing the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Wadsworth was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to Peleg and Susanna ...
led an assault force of 400 (200 marines and 200 militia) ashore with orders to capture the British fort. They landed on the beach and advanced up the bluff leading to the fort. The British pickets, who included Lieutenant John Moore, put up a determined resistance but received no reinforcement from the fort and were forced to retire, leaving the Americans in possession of the heights. 8 British troops were captured. At this point, Lovell ordered the attackers to halt and entrench where they were. Instead of assaulting the fort, Lovell had decided to build a battery within “a hundred rods” of the British lines and bombard them into surrender. The American casualties in the assault had been severe: “one hundred out of four hundred men on the shore and bank”, with the Continental Marines suffering more heavily than the militia. Commodore Saltonstall was so appalled by the losses incurred by his marines that he refused to land any more and even threatened to recall those already on shore.
Siege
On July 29, 1 American was killed.On July 30, both sides cannonaded each other all day.
On July 31, 2 American sailors belonging to the Active were wounded by a shell.
On August 1, Lovell ordered a night assault on the Half-Moon Battery, next to Fort George, whose guns posed a danger to the American shipping. The Americans opened fire at 2.00 a.m. Colonel Samuel McCobb’s centre column, comprising his own Lincoln County Regiment, broke and fled as soon as the British returned fire. The left column comprising Captain Thomas Carnes and a detachment of marines, and the right column comprising sailors from the Fleet, both kept going and stormed the Battery. As dawn broke, the Fort’s guns opened up on the captured battery and a detachment of redcoats charged out and recaptured the Half-Moon, routing the Americans, who took 18 prisoners with them. Their own casualties were 4 men missing (who were killed) and 12 wounded.
The siege continued with minor skirmishing. On August 2, militiaman Wheeler Riggs, of Falmouth, was killed by an enemy cannon shot that bounced off a tree before hitting him. On August 4, Surgeon John Calef recorded in his journal that several men were wounded in exchanges of fire. On August 5, one American-allied Indian was killed and another man captured. On August 7, 100 Americans engaged 80 British but the only casualties were 1 killed and 1 wounded on the American side and 2 wounded among the British.
During this time, the British had been able to send word of their condition, and request reinforcements. On August 3, a fleet of 10 warships left New York under the command of Commodore Sir George Collier
George Collier
Sir George Collier was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the frigate HMS Rainbow, he was one of the most successful British naval commanders during the opening stages of war...
.
On August 11, about 250 American militia advanced from their fortified camp and occupied a recently abandoned battery about a quarter mile (400 m) from the British fort. As expected, a sortie of about 55 British troops advanced from the fort to engage: but the poorly trained American troops fired only one volley at the attacking British troops and fled back to their fort, leaving behind all of their arms and equipment.
The next day, Saltonstall finally decided to launch a naval attack against the British fort, but the British relief fleet arrived and attacked the American ships. Over the next two days, the American fleet fled upstream on the Penobscot River, pursued by the British. On August 13, an American officer was wounded by enemy fire. Several vessels were scuttled or burned along the way with the rest destroyed at Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
. In the 18th century there were rapids at Bangor at the approximate location of the old Water Works. The surviving crews then fled overland back to Boston with virtually no food or ammunition.
Casualties
Over the course of the siege, Colonel David Stewart claims the British garrison suffered 25 killed and 34 wounded. Stewart gives no figures for captured or missing but 26 prisoners are known to have been taken by the Americans.Apart from the 100 men killed and wounded during the assault of July 28, the known American casualties throughout the siege came to 12 killed, 16 wounded and 1 captured, in addition to "several wounded" on August 4. This adds up to at least 130 killed and wounded. The History of Penobscot says that "our whole loss of men was probably not less than 150". The chaotic retreat however, brought the American loss up to 474 killed, wounded, captured or missing.
Aftermath
A committee of inquiry blamed the American failure on poor coordination between land and sea forces and on Commodore Saltonstall's failure to engage the British naval forces. Saltonstall was declared to be primarily responsible for the debacle, and he was court-martialed, found guilty, and dismissed from military service. Paul ReverePaul Revere
Paul Revere was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride...
, who participated in this expedition, was accused of disobedience and cowardice, resulting in his dismissal from the militia; he later had the charges cleared. Peleg Wadsworth, who mitigated the damage by organizing a retreat, was not charged in the court martial.
Despite repulsing the American expedition, the British evacuated the area following the 1783 Peace of Paris
Peace of Paris (1783)
The Peace of Paris was the set of treaties which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America—commonly known as the Treaty of Paris —and two treaties at...
, abandoning their attempts to establish New Ireland. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
the British again occupied the area they called New Ireland, and used it as a naval base before withdrawing with the arrival of peace. Full ownership of the area remained disputed until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies...
in 1842. Maine was a part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it was admitted into the Union as the 23rd state.
Legacy
In 1972 the Maine Maritime Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
searched for and found the wreck of the Defence
Defence (ship)
The Defence was an American Revolutionary War privateer that was part of the Penobscot Expedition. The ship burned to the waterline and sank. The location of the wreck was discovered in 1972 by the Maine Maritime Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...
, a privateer that was part of the American fleet. Evidence of scuttled ships has also found under the Joshua Chamberlain
Joshua Chamberlain
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain , born as Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain, was an American college professor from the State of Maine, who volunteered during the American Civil War to join the Union Army...
Bridge in Bangor
Bangor, Maine
Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
and under the Bangor town dock, and several artifacts were recovered. Cannonballs were also reported to have been recovered during the construction of the concrete casements for the I-395
Interstate 395 (Maine)
Interstate 395 is a 4.99-mile long Auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Bangor, Maine area. The western terminus of the route is at a cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 95 near downtown Bangor, where I-395 continues west as U.S. Route 2 and State Route 100. The eastern terminus is at U.S...
bridge in 1986.
The earthworks of Fort George still stand at the mouth of the Penobscot River in Castine, accompanied by concrete work added later by the Americans in the 19th century. Archaeological evidence of the expedition, including cannonballs and cannon, was located during an archaeological project in 2000–2001.
Further reading
- Bernard CornwellBernard CornwellBernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
, The Fort, HarperCollins, 2010. An historical novel depicting the Penobscot Expedition, with a non-fiction "Historical Note" (pp. 451-468) on sources and key details.