Battle of Machias

{{short description|First naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War}} {{About|the 1775 battle|the 1777 battle|Battle of Machias (1777)}} {{good article}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = Battle of Machias (1775) | partof = the American Revolutionary War | image = 300px|alt=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 Machias. Holmes Bay is a large bay in the northeastern part of Machias Bay, just east of the mouth of the Machias River. | caption = A 1776 nautical chart of Machias Bay; Machias is at the very top | date = June 11–12, 1775 | place = Machias, Province of Massachusetts Bay | coordinates = {{coord|44|41|04|N|67|22|59|W|type:city_scale:100000_region:US|display=inline,title}} | result = American victory | combatant1 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}} | combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Ensign of New England (pine only).svg}} Massachusetts Bay | commander1 = {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}} James Moore {{KIA}} | commander2 = {{flagicon image|An Appeal to Heaven Flag.svg}} Jeremiah O'Brien {{flagicon image|An Appeal to Heaven Flag.svg}} Benjamin Foster | strength1 = schooner HMS ''Margaretta'' about 40 Royal Navy seamen<ref name="DriskoNarr29_">Drisko, pp. 29–30</ref> | strength2 = Private sloops ''Unity'' and ''Falmouth Packet'' 55 Massachusetts militia<ref name="Drisko48_49"/> | casualties1 = 5 killed<ref name="Drisko47"/> 9 wounded<ref name="USWounded">Miller, p. 34 indicates that there were 14 casualties, not specifying dead or wounded. Combined with Drisko's report of 5 dead, we arrive at 9 wounded.</ref> | casualties2 = 10 killed 3 wounded<ref name="BritCasualties">Drisko, p. 46, reports 2 killed and 3 wounded. Miller, pp. 33–34, apparently relying on better source material, reports 10 British dead.</ref> | campaignbox = {{Campaignbox American Revolutionary War: Boston}} }}

The '''Battle of Machias''' (June 11–12, 1775) was an early naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War,<ref name="Gratwick2010">{{cite book|last=Gratwick|first=Harry|title=Hidden History of Maine|date=April 10, 2010|publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated|isbn=978-1-61423-134-9|pages=28–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iLhYAAAAMAAJ&q=margaretta+bluejackets&pg=PA35|title=The Naval History of the United States|last=Abbot|first=Willis John|date=January 1, 1890|publisher=Peter Fenelon Collier|language=en}}</ref> also known as the '''Battle of the ''Margaretta''''', fought around the port of Machias, Maine.

Following the outbreak of the war, British authorities enlisted Loyalist merchant Ichabod Jones to supply the troops who were under the Siege of Boston. Two of his merchant ships arrived in Machias on June 2, 1775, accompanied by the British armed sloop HMS ''Margaretta'' (sometimes also spelled ''Margueritta'' or ''Marguerite''), commanded by Midshipman James Moore. The townspeople of Machias disapproved of Jones' intentions and arrested him. They also tried to arrest Moore, but he escaped through the harbor. The townspeople seized one of Jones' ships, armed it alongside a second local ship, and sailed out to meet Moore. After a short confrontation, Moore was fatally wounded, and his vessel and crew were captured.

The people of Machias captured additional British ships, and fought off a large force that tried to take control of the town in the Battle of Machias in 1777. Privateers and others forces operating out of Machias continued to attack British targets throughout the war.

==Background== {{further|Boston campaign}} The American Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, after which the Continental Army under the command of George Washington besieged the British army in the Siege of Boston.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles16001800/p/American-Revolution-Battle-Of-Machias.htm|title=Early Shots: Battle of Machias|newspaper=About.com Education|access-date=December 1, 2016|archive-date=December 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201213227/http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles16001800/p/American-Revolution-Battle-Of-Machias.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Leamon, pp. 74–76</ref> The besieged British were led by General Thomas Gage and Admiral Samuel Graves, and both did business with the people of Machias. Gage required lumber to build barracks for the additional troops arriving in the besieged city,<ref name="Duncan209">Duncan, p. 209</ref> and Graves wanted to recover the guns from the {{HMS|Halifax|1768|6}} shipwreck, which had been intentionally run aground in Machias Bay by a local pilot in February 1775.<ref name="Duncan208">Duncan, p. 208</ref> The ship's guns were reported to be of interest to the Patriots of Machias.<ref name="Leamon67">Leamon, p. 67</ref>

Graves authorized Machias merchant Ichabod Jones to carry flour and other food supplies to Machias aboard his ships ''Unity'' and ''Polly'', which would be exchanged for Gage's needed lumber. To guarantee that this trade would happen, Graves also sent Midshipman James Moore from his flagship {{HMS|Preston|1757|6}} to command the armed schooner HMS ''Margaretta'' and accompany the two merchant vessels. Moore had additional orders to retrieve what he could from the wreck of HMS ''Halifax''.<ref name="Duncan209" />

==Arrival at Machias== On June 2, 1775, Jones' ships arrived in the port at Machias. However, they were met with resistance from the townspeople when Jones refused to sell his pork and flour unless he was allowed to load lumber for Boston.<ref name="Duncan209"/> In a meeting on June 6, 1775, the townspeople voted against doing business with Jones. The hostile climate forced Jones to take action by ordering Moore to bring ''Margaretta'' within firing distance of the town.<ref>Mancke, p. 96</ref> The threat prompted the townspeople to meet for a second time, and they voted to permit trade. ''Unity'' was docked at the wharf to begin unloading the supplies.<ref name="DriskoNarr30">Drisko, p. 30</ref>

Following the vote, Jones announced that he would only do business with those who had voted in favor of trade. This angered those who had voted against trade. As a result, Colonel Benjamin Foster, a local militia leader, conspired with militia from neighboring towns to capture Jones. This was inspired by the actions of the Brunswick militiamen in Thompson's War a month earlier.<ref>Mancke, p. 97</ref> Foster's plan was to seize Jones at church on June 11, but the plan failed when Jones noticed the group of men approaching the building. Moore managed to get back to his ship,<ref name="Leamon68">Leamon, p. 68</ref> while Jones escaped into the woods and did not emerge until two days later.<ref name="Duncan210">Duncan, p. 210</ref>

The men of Machias regrouped the next day, and Foster took around 20 men, including his brother, Wooden Foster, to East Machias where they seized ''Unity'' and constructed deck breastworks to serve as protection. They also commandeered a local schooner named ''Falmouth Packet''. thumb|''Margaretta'' was likely smaller than this schooner, {{USS|Wasp|1775|6}}.|alt=A two-masted wooden sailing ship is shown in full sail on the sea. It is flying the flag of the United Colonies: thirteen red and white stripes, with a British Union Jack in the upper left quadrant. Another ship is visible in the distance. The other militiamen traveled on land to find the place where ''Margaretta'' was anchored and demanded surrender. After refusing to surrender, Moore sailed to where ''Polly'' was anchored and attempted to recover her. There was an inconsequential exchange of gunfire with the militia men who were located on the shore, and Moore was able to raise anchor and travel to a safe anchorage.<ref name="Duncan210"/> The remaining men armed themselves with muskets, pitchforks, and axes to set out after ''Margaretta.<ref name="Drisko43_45">Drisko, pp. 43–45</ref>''

==Conflict - capture of Margaretta== After escaping the Machias men, ''Margaretta'' was forced to jibe into brisk winds, which resulted in the main boom and gaff breaking away, crippling its navigability. Once Moore was in Holmes Bay he captured a sloop and took its spar and gaff to replace ''Margaretta''{{'s}}. Moore also took its pilot, Robert Avery, captive.<ref name="Duncan210" /> ''Unity'' crew of about 30 Machias men elected Jeremiah O'Brien as their captain and sailed out to chase down ''Margaretta''. Since ''Unity'' was a much faster sailing vessel, O'Brien's crew quickly caught up to the crippled ''Margaretta'', while ''Falmouth Packet'' lagged behind.<ref name="Duncan211">Duncan, p. 211</ref>

Upon seeing ''Unity'' approaching, Moore opened full sail and cut away his boats in an attempt to escape. As ''Unity'' pulled closer, Moore opened fire. ''Unity'' crew managed to avoid damage and pulled alongside ''Margaretta''.<ref name="Duncan212"/> Led by Joseph Getchell and O'Brien's brother, John, ''Unity'' crew stormed on board. Both sides exchanged musket shots as Moore tossed hand grenades onto ''Unity.'' Moore was taken down by Samuel Watts with a musket shot to the chest.<ref name="Drisko45_46">Drisko, pp. 45–46</ref> Once ''Falmouth Packet'' caught up to the attack, it managed to pull along the other side of Moore's ship. With the combination of both crews, they were able to overwhelm ''Margaretta''.<ref name="Duncan212">Duncan, p. 212</ref>

==Aftermath of 1775 engagement== Since Moore was grievously wounded in the battle, his second-in-command, Midshipman Richard Stillingfleet, surrendered the crew and the vessel. Moore was taken back to Machias and put into the care of Ichabod Jones's nephew, Stephen Jones. However, Moore's wounds were too severe and he died the following day. Three other members of Moore's crew were killed, including Robert Avery. The remaining crew members of the British schooner were held at Machias for a month, then handed over to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.<ref name="Drisko47">Drisko, p. 47</ref> Reports circulated that as many as 100 British men died in the battle.<ref name="Drisko57">Drisko, p. 57</ref> Machias lost two men, John McNiell and James Coolbroth, and three others were badly wounded: John Berry, who had a musket ball enter his mouth and exit behind his ear, Isaac Taft, and James Cole.<ref name="Drisko46">Drisko, p. 46</ref>

The residents of Machias expected British retaliation, and immediately petitioned to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress for guidance, supplies, and assistance.<ref name="Drisko51_52">Drisko, pp. 51–52</ref> The Provincial Congress organized the defense of Machias and remained vigilant. Jeremiah O'Brien immediately outfitted one of the three captured vessels with breastwork,<ref>Volo, p. 41</ref><ref name="Drisko50">Drisko, p. 50</ref><ref>Benedetto, p. 94</ref> and armed it with long guns and swivel guns taken from ''Margaretta'', and changed its name to ''Machias Liberty''.<ref name="Drisko50" /> In July 1775, O'Brien and Benjamin Foster captured two more British armed schooners, ''Diligent'' and ''Tatamagouche''. The ships' officers had been captured when they came ashore near Bucks Harbor.<ref name="Duncan212" /> The Provincial Congress formally recognized O'Brien and Foster's efforts by commissioning both ''Machias Liberty'' and ''Diligent'' into the Massachusetts State Navy with O'Brien as their commander in August 1775.<ref name="Miller35">Miller, p. 35</ref> British retaliation did not occur until October 18, 1775, with the burning of Falmouth.<ref>{{cite book|title=Coastal Maine: A Maritime History|first=Roger F|last=Duncan|year=1992|publisher=Norton|isbn=978-0-393-03048-8|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/coastalmainemari00dunc/page/216 216]|url=https://archive.org/details/coastalmainemari00dunc/page/216}}</ref>

thumb|left|{{USS|O'Brien|DD-51|6}}, launched in 1914, is one of several ships named for Jeremiah O'Brien.|alt=A black-and-white photo of the warship. Shown in motion with black smoke billowing from its four smokestacks, the ship has two masts but no sails.

===Lead up to 1777=== Following rumors of a planned American assault on Nova Scotia, a small British fleet carrying 1,000 men attempted to capture Machias. The battle took place on August 13, 1777, and continued until the next day. Local residents were able to successfully fight off the attackers with the help of Indian allies; both sides suffered minor casualties. The rumors of the assault on Nova Scotia ended up being only partly true since no significant military planning had taken place.<ref name="Drisko53_56">Drisko, pp. 53–56</ref>

===General Naval Support & Privateering=== During the war, Machias men refitted and armed a variety of ships—including ''Margaretta''—and used them to attack British targets. ''Machias Liberty'' and ''Diligent'' were used to intercept merchant ships that were supplying the British army during the siege of Boston. O'Brien and John Lambert built a 20-gun ship and began privateering under a letter of marque. Both men were commissioned into the Continental Navy for their work. O'Brien was captured off the coast of New York in late 1777, but was able to escape from prison in Britain and continued privateering throughout the war.<ref name="Duncan213">Duncan, p. 213</ref>

The Royal Navy was continually frustrated by the use of Machias as a staging point for American attacks against Nova Scotia. Samuel Graves ordered Sir George Collier to destroy Machias in 1777.<ref name="Drisko48_49">Drisko, pp. 48–49</ref> Graves attempted to capture Machias multiple times, but had no success.

thumb|right|upright|The Burnham Tavern in a 1911 postcard

==Liberty pole story== There is a widely told story that Machias men erected a Liberty pole after meeting in the Burnham Tavern to discuss the battles of Lexington and Concord. This story, which persists in modern history books and travel guides,<ref>Recent histories that recount this story include Harnedy (p. 8), Volo (p. 39), and Benedetto (p. 92). The 1995 edition of ''Fodor's exploring Boston & New England'' (Locke, p. 126) also has the story.</ref> has been shown to be an 1831 fabrication by Machias resident John O'Brien. There is no mention of the Liberty pole in any earlier accounts, including the official report sent by the residents of Machias in 1775, and the letters of other participants in the events.<ref>Churchill, pp. 61–63</ref>

==Footnotes== {{reflist|2}}

==References== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *{{cite book|title=Sailing Into the Abyss: A True Story of Extreme Heroism on the High Seas|first=William R|last=Benedetto|ref=Benedetto|year=2006|publisher=Citadel Press|isbn=978-0-8065-2646-1|oclc=70683882|location=New York}} *{{cite journal|first=Edwin A|last=Churchill|title=The Historiography of the Margaretta Affair or How Not to Let the Facts Interfere With a Good Story|journal=Maine Historical Society Quarterly|publisher=Maine Historical Society|volume= 15|issue= 2, Fall 1975|year=1975|pages=60–74|ref=Churchill}} *{{cite book|title=Narrative of the Town of Machias, the Old and the New, the Early and Late|first=George Washington|last=Drisko|publisher=Press of the Republican|year=1904|ref=DriskoNarr|url=https://archive.org/details/narrativetownma00drisgoog|oclc=6479739}} *{{cite book|title=Coastal Maine: A Maritime History|first=Roger F|last=Duncan|ref=Duncan|year=1992|publisher=Norton|location=New York|isbn=0-393-03048-2|url=https://archive.org/details/coastalmainemari00dunc}} *{{cite book|title=Revolution Downeast: The War for American Independence in Maine|first=James S|last=Leamon|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0-87023-959-5|ref=Leamon|url=https://archive.org/details/revolutiondownea0000leam}} *{{cite book|title=Fodor's exploring Boston & New England|first=Tim|last=Locke|author2=Gordon, Sue|publisher=Fodor's Travel Publications, Inc.|year=2005|isbn=978-0-679-02818-5|oclc=32270505|location=New York|ref=Locke|url=https://archive.org/details/exploringbostonn00fodo}} *{{cite book|title=The fault lines of empire: political differentiation in Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, ca. 1760–1830|first=Elizabeth|last=Mancke|ref=Mancke|year=2005|isbn=978-0-415-95000-8|publisher=Routledge|oclc=56368582|location=New York}} *{{cite book|title=Sea of Glory: The Continental Navy fights for Independence 1775–1783|first=Nathan|last=Miller|year=1974|ref=Miller|publisher=David McKay Company|isbn=0-679-50392-7|url=https://archive.org/details/seaofglorycontin0000mill}} *{{cite book | last = Nelson | first = James | title = George Washington's Secret Navy | publisher = McGraw-Hill | location = New York | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-07-149389-5 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/georgewashington0000nels/page/26 26–35] | url = https://archive.org/details/georgewashington0000nels/page/26 }} *{{cite book|title=Blue Water Patriots: The American Revolution Afloat|first=James M|last=Volo|ref=Volo|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7425-6120-5|oclc=209652239|location=Lanham, MD}}  *William James Morgan's "Captains to the Northwind", and the "American Theatre" *Drisko's "The Liberty Pole; a Tale of Machias" *William Bartlett Smith's "Historical Sketch of Machias" and "Memorial of the Centennial Anniversary of the Settlement of Machias" *Stephen Jones' "Historical Account of Machias, Me." *Foxhall A. Parker's "The First Sea Fight of the Revolution; the Capture of the Margaretta" *[https://books.google.com/books?id=n3k9AQAAMAAJ&dq=collections+of+the+maine+historical+society+vol.+3&pg=PA232 Maine historical Society] {{div col end}}

Machias 1775 Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving the United States Machias Category:1775 in the Thirteen Colonies Category:Machias, Maine Machias Category:1775 in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Machias