634:
150:
661:. There he captured a frigate laden with mast timbers destined for France. In his report Collier declared the mission a success and claimed to have successfully forestalled another invasion of Nova Scotia. He also believed that with another one hundred men "the destruction would have been compleat." General Massey, whose troops had been preparing to participate in the expedition but were excluded by Collier's abrupt departure from Halifax, wrote that Collier "wanted the whole honour of destroying Machias," and that he "stole out of Halifax, made a futile attack on Machias, was most shamefully drove from thence...."
135:
500:. However, British authorities in Halifax had received some intelligence of Allan's intended mission, and a larger British force arrived at the St. John River on June 23. Men that Allan had left at the settlements near the mouth of the river skirmished with the British but then withdrew upriver. Allan was forced to make a difficult overland journey back to Machias after his small force retreated up the river. He was joined on this journey by a number of sympathetic
48:
440:
617:
began chanting and shouting in an attempt to magnify their numbers. At this point, "To the great
Surprise and Astonishment of every one in Less than half an Hour after Coming to an Anchor, the Brig & Sloop Both Gote under way without firing a Gun" and "made down the River against the Tide of flood." The
616:
The two ships then moved further up the river until they reached the town itself. All along the way they were harassed by musket and cannon fire from the shore, as the militia and their Indian allies positioned themselves to dispute possible landing sites. When darkness set in, the
Indians reportedly
612:
up the river. Word of this reached the militia, and thirty-five men mustered to oppose them. The ships reached the log boom, and a firefight began between the two forces. The militia resistance was sufficient to keep the
British from attempting a landing that day. Early the next morning, under the
430:
The result of the raid was disputed. Collier claimed the action was successful in destroying military stores for an attack on Fort
Cumberland (although such stores had not been delivered to Machias), while the defenders claimed that they had successfully prevented the capture of Machias and driven
649:
there was such a slaughter". American estimates of
British casualties ran from forty to one hundred, while claiming their own casualties at one killed and one wounded. The British reported their losses as three killed and eighteen wounded, which were mainly incurred when the
492:). Although Congress authorized him to recruit as many as three thousand men, the Massachusetts government was only prepared to give him a colonel's commission and authority to raise a regiment in eastern Massachusetts to establish a presence in the
1093:
455:
is at the very top. Machias Bay is on the coast of eastern Maine. Machiasport is located near the outlet of the
Machias River into the bay. Upriver and north from Machiasport, the river branches, leading left (west) to Machias, and east to East
259:
519:
Papers documenting Allan's fairly elaborate plans, including a projected attack on Fort
Cumberland, were taken during the conflict on the St. John River and fell into the hands of Captain Sir George Collier, second-in-command to Admiral
532:
on Fort
Cumberland the previous year. He therefore organized an assault on Machias, Allan's base of operations and the source of many of his recruits. Because Collier and the commander of land forces at Halifax, General
252:
613:
cover of fog, the marines were landed. They cut the log boom, seized a sloop carrying lumber, and set fire to a storehouse, seizing stores of flour, rice, corn, shoes, and ammunition before returning to the ships.
644:
Colonel Allan ascribed the militia's success to
British concerns that they might be entering a trap. He also grandiosely likened the encounter to another battle, writing "not an Action during the War Except
245:
464:
of
Massachusetts that is now the state of Maine, was a persistent thorn in the side of British naval authorities since the start of the American Revolutionary War. In June 1775, its citizens rose up and
504:
Indians that he had persuaded to join the American cause. In early August the Massachusetts Provisional Congress voted to disband forces recruited for Allan's expedition because of the
269:
1068:
82:
542:
538:
563:
1063:
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to a nearby shore, and peppered her with shot the next morning before she was refloated by the tide and made her way into Machias Bay.
588:
further upriver, armed with cannons taken from local privateers. The defense was coincidentally reinforced by forty to fifty Maliseet,
576:, the leader of the 1776 attack on Fort Cumberland. He had been warned that the British were organizing an attack. The militia laid a
1088:
1083:
1058:
657:
After departing from Machias, Collier cruised the Maine coast, capturing smaller American ships, and raided communities on the
1006:
987:
956:
377:
415:. Local militia aided by Indian allies successfully prevented British troops from landing. The raid, led by Commodore Sir
633:
680:, where again the British created the colony of New Ireland, but were returned to United States control after the war.)
937:
689:
493:
534:
357:
664:
Machias was not attacked again during the war, although it became somewhat isolated when the British occupied
485:
577:
481:
336:
323:
1073:
412:
362:
39:
604:
Collier's fleet arrived at the mouth of the river early on August 13. He boarded 123 marines onto the
529:
497:
424:
352:
190:
999:
The Fault Lines of Empire: Political Differentiation in Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, ca. 1760–1830
676:. (Machias and other parts of eastern Maine were successfully occupied by British forces during the
555:, planning to use the marines aboard those ships in ground operations. He was joined by the frigate
427:
in November 1776. The British forces landed below Machias, seized a ship, and raided a storehouse.
420:
408:
367:
140:
1078:
318:
308:
1025:
886:
The Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, Volume 20
908:
884:
646:
621:, however, ran aground while making its way downstream in the twilight. The militia hauled a
596:
that Colonel Allan had called to Machias to explain what had gone wrong with his expedition.
372:
347:
673:
589:
477:
342:
303:
283:
194:
164:
8:
669:
1094:
Battles in the Northern Coastal theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga
976:
556:
298:
1037:
1012:
1002:
983:
962:
952:
933:
926:
912:
890:
549:
505:
466:
461:
332:
20:
949:
Frigates and Foremasts: The North American Squadron in Nova Scotia Waters, 1745–1815
902:
537:, did not get along, Collier decided to launch the expedition without taking on any
593:
521:
513:
160:
672:. Collier returned to successfully defend New Ireland from the American patriot
658:
525:
328:
665:
572:
The defense of Machias consisted of local militia under the command of Colonel
452:
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76:
53:
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84:
47:
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470:
237:
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448:
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288:
419:, was executed in an attempt to head off a planned second assault on
501:
168:
585:
439:
19:
This article is about the 1777 battle. For the 1775 battle, see
978:
Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine
907:. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Historical Society. 1911. p.
404:
904:
Publications of the Cambridge Historical Society, Issues 5–7
528:. This spurred Collier to act, since there had already been
541:
troops. He sailed from Halifax in late July in the frigate
496:
valley. Allan based his effort in Machias, and had by June
488:
presence in the western part of Nova Scotia (present-day
844:
Publications of the Cambridge Historical Society, p. 71
395:(August 13–14, 1777) was an amphibious assault on the
480:, an expatriate Nova Scotian, was authorized by the
469:, and the community had ever since been a base for
1069:Battles of the American Revolutionary War in Maine
982:. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
975:
925:
1050:
460:The small community of Machias, located in the
146:
131:
253:
267:
260:
246:
1026:"Machias in the Revolution and Afterward"
484:to organize an expedition to establish a
724:
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632:
438:
889:. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 1920.
1051:
813:
811:
215:local militia; allied Native Americans
16:1777 American Revolutionary War battle
1024:Smith, M. F. C. (March–August 1895).
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838:
801:
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766:
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738:
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719:
569:while making the passage to Machias.
241:
668:in 1779, establishing the colony of
1064:Battles involving the United States
808:
13:
786:
757:
731:
584:, and constructed several earthen
14:
1105:
928:Coastal Maine: A Maritime History
498:landed some forty men in the area
148:
133:
46:
1089:Military history of Nova Scotia
1084:Military history of New England
1059:Battles involving Great Britain
1036:. John N. McClintock & Co.
865:
856:
847:
829:
820:
690:Military history of Nova Scotia
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745:
710:
701:
1:
877:
508:posed by the army of General
434:
951:. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.
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7:
996:
973:
923:
683:
482:Second Continental Congress
467:seized a small naval vessel
10:
1110:
997:Mancke, Elizabeth (2005).
608:, and ordered her and the
548:, accompanied by the brig
413:American Revolutionary War
117:Both sides claimed victory
40:American Revolutionary War
18:
946:
599:
279:
219:
200:
191:Stephen Smith (privateer)
174:
125:
59:
45:
37:
32:
1030:The New England Magazine
974:Leamon, James S (1995).
924:Duncan, Roger F (1992).
695:
524:in the naval station at
403:(in present-day eastern
271:Northern coastal theater
98:44.7140500°N 67.460861°W
1001:. New York: Routledge.
641:
457:
175:Commanders and leaders
103:44.7140500; -67.460861
947:Gwyn, Julian (2004).
636:
442:
220:Casualties and losses
932:. New York: Norton.
674:Penobscot Expedition
343:Penobscot Expedition
195:John Allan (colonel)
862:Leamon, pp. 104–106
853:Mancke, pp. 103–104
707:Duncan, pp. 211–217
94: /
642:
458:
411:forces during the
67:August 13–14, 1777
1074:Conflicts in 1777
1008:978-0-415-95000-8
989:978-0-87023-959-5
958:978-0-7748-0911-5
752:Acts and Resolves
716:Leamon, pp. 90–91
431:off the British.
393:Battle of Machias
386:
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324:Little Egg Harbor
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33:Battle of Machias
21:Battle of Machias
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522:Mariot Arbuthnot
462:eastern district
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506:imminent threat
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421:Fort Cumberland
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353:Fort St. George
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1079:Machias, Maine
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562:and the sloop
494:St. John River
445:nautical chart
436:
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417:George Collier
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368:Groton Heights
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77:Machias, Maine
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639:Jonathan Eddy
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590:Passamaquoddy
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582:Machias River
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574:Jonathan Eddy
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510:John Burgoyne
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490:New Brunswick
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425:been besieged
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156:United States
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141:Great Britain
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86:44°42′50.58″N
78:
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539:British Army
518:
475:
471:privateering
459:
429:
423:, which had
392:
390:
329:Tryon's raid
293:
126:Belligerents
89:67°27′39.1″W
38:Part of the
25:
835:Gwyn, p. 66
774:Gwyn, p. 65
754:, pp. 87–90
728:Gwyn, p. 64
678:War of 1812
670:New Ireland
647:Bunker Hill
580:across the
535:Eyre Massey
530:one attempt
512:in upstate
449:Machias Bay
373:Fort Slongo
314:Grey's raid
294:2nd Machias
212:123 marines
101: /
1053:Categories
878:References
654:grounded.
623:swivel gun
594:Penobscots
478:John Allan
435:Background
348:Cape Split
289:Sag Harbor
284:Ridgefield
227:18 wounded
206:3 frigates
967:144078613
629:Aftermath
564:HMS
557:HMS
550:HMS
543:HMS
476:In 1777,
378:Lunenburg
337:Fairfield
232:1 wounded
161:Penobscot
1017:56368582
684:See also
637:Colonel
586:redoubts
578:log boom
514:New York
502:Maliseet
456:Machias.
399:town of
363:Cape Ann
299:Setauket
230:1 killed
225:3 killed
201:Strength
169:Maliseet
72:Location
1042:7568653
917:6177743
895:4553382
666:Castine
559:Mermaid
545:Rainbow
526:Halifax
486:Patriot
453:Machias
443:A 1776
409:British
401:Machias
333:Norwalk
309:Newport
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1005:
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915:
893:
610:Blonde
600:Battle
592:, and
552:Blonde
208:1 brig
153:
138:
114:Result
696:Notes
407:) by
405:Maine
1038:OCLC
1013:OCLC
1003:ISBN
984:ISBN
963:OCLC
953:ISBN
934:ISBN
913:OCLC
891:OCLC
652:Hope
619:Hope
606:Hope
566:Hope
391:The
180:Sir
64:Date
52:Sir
1034:XII
447:of
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339:)
331:(
261:e
254:t
247:v
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
