{268}
_Capture of Eastport and Castine--Occupation of Territory
in Maine--Destruction of the Frigate Adams--Bombardment of
Stonington--Affairs at Wareham, Scituate, and Boothbay._
|The close of the war in Europe had not only enabled the English to
strengthen their land forces in America, but had also liberated many of
their warships, and the result was felt all along our coast. The enemy's
purpose to conquer territory which might be retained after the war,
apparent enough before, was now definitely proclaimed.
In July, Sir Thomas Hardy, commander of the British fleet before New
London, received orders to capture Moose Island, in Passamaquoddy Bay,
and sailed thither with five ships of war and transports containing
about fifteen hundred troops. The Americans had here a small fort,
garrisoned by only fifty men, under Major Putnam, who made no resistance
to the enemy, but surrendered at once, July 11th. Sir Thomas then took
formal possession not only of the town of Eastport, which at that time
contained about one thousand inhabitants, but {269}of the whole island,
and issued a proclamation in which he declared that all the islands in
the bay-had been surrendered and were thenceforth British territory. He
gave the inhabitants one week in which to make their choice, either to
swear allegiance to the British Crown or move away. About two thirds of
the people took the oath, supposing they would thereby be admitted to
the privileges of British citizenship; but a month later the Provincial
Council of New Brunswick ordered that they should be treated as a
conquered province and placed under martial law. The fortifications
of Eastport were greatly strengthened, the six guns being increased to
sixty, and a large garrison placed there. But provisions were extremely
scarce, the men deserted in great numbers, and the British officers were
often seen on the ramparts, doing duty as sentinels.
On the 1st of September, another British force entered Penobscot River.
The small American garrison at Castine blew up the fort and retreated,
and the enemy took possession, and soon issued a proclamation declaring
all that part of Maine east of the Penobscot to be conquered territory.
It contained about forty villages, with an aggregate of more than thirty
thousand inhabitants.
Captain Morris, after a successful cruise, had re {270}cently arrived
in the Penobscot with the American frigate _Adams_, and taken her
to Hampden, thirty-five miles up the river, for repairs. The British
commander sent up an expedition of about a thousand men to capture
her, and Captain Morris made all possible preparations for defence.
He erected several batteries on the shore, collected a small force of
militia from the neighborhood, and, as they were unarmed, put the ship's
muskets into their hands. But on the approach of the British regulars,
the militia ran away; and Morris, seeing that he could not save his
vessel, sent away his sailors and marines, who retreated across a bridge
over a deep creek. He and a few men whom he had retained for the service
then set a slow-match to the magazine, and, as their retreat by the
bridge had been cut off, swam the stream and escaped. The frigate
was blown to pieces, and the enemy returned to Castine with neither
prisoners nor plunder. But they made thenceforth frequent incursions
among the towns of the neighborhood, and freely robbed the inhabitants
of what little property they had that was worth taking.
The next orders issued to the British Commodore, Sir Thomas Hardy, were
to destroy the town of Stonington, Connecticut; which he found a very
different task from the capture of Moose Island. With two {271}frigates,
a brig, and a bomb-vessel, he appeared before the town on the 9th of
August, and sent in word that he should begin a bombardment in one hour.
The women and children were hastily removed, and the men repaired to the
defences of the place. These consisted of a small breastwork and three
pieces of artillery--two eighteen-pounders, and a six-pounder. A rude,
flag-staff was erected, and a small flag nailed to it. Those who had
been trained as artillerists took their places at the guns, and the
remainder, with muskets, were placed behind the breastwork. Word was
sent to General Cushing, commanding at New London, and couriers on
horseback rode through the surrounding country to rally the militia.
It was toward evening when Hardy opened his ports and fired upon the
town every kind of missile in use at that day--round-shot, grape-shot,
canister, bomb-shells, carcasses, rockets, and stink-pots. A carcass was
a cylindrical cage or framework of iron, covered with canvas and filled
with combustibles, intended to set the buildings on fire. About eight
o'clock, while the bombardment was still going on, five barges and a
launch filled with men and carrying several guns approached the shore.
The Americans permitted them to come within close range, and then poured
such a fire of grape-shot {272}into them from the two eighteen-pounders
that they were very soon compelled to retire. They then sailed around
to the eastern side of the little peninsula, where they supposed it was
defenceless. But the Americans dragged the six-pounder across, and were
ready for them. With this gun alone, so rapidly was it served and so
skilfully handled, they again drove off the fleet of barges.
The bombardment was kept up till midnight, and next day the fleet
was increased by the arrival of another brig. The vessels now took a
position nearer the shore, and the action was reopened. One brig was
anchored within pistol-shot of the battery, at which it directed its
guns. But the old eighteen-pounders sent several balls through her
between wind and water, compelling her to haul off and repair damages.
The barges made an attempt to land a force, as on the day before; but
met a similar reception and once more retired. One of the barges was
completely torn to pieces by the fire of the six-pounder. The fleet then
drifted out of reach of the battery, but kept up the bombardment at long
range during that and the following day. On the 12th, Sir Thomas, who
had lost twenty-one men killed and more than fifty wounded, bore up and
sailed away.
Of the Americans, six had been slightly wounded, and one mortally. Of
the hundred houses in Ston{273}ington, forty had been more or less
injured, ten of them badly, and two or three were entirely destroyed.
The enemy had thrown in more than sixty tons of metal. Colonel Randall,
the commanding officer, received high praise for the manner in which he
had conducted the defence, as did also Lieutenants Lathrop and Hough.
There were smaller affairs of the same nature, at various points along
the New England coast. At Wareham the enemy landed in safety by means of
a flag of truce, and then burned a large cotton factory and the vessels
at their moorings. At Scituate also they burned the shipping. But at
Boothbay the militia rallied and drove them off with considerable loss.
The attempt to land was repeated on several different days, but every
time without success.