Battle of Fort Cumberland

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Battle of Fort Cumberland
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Date November 22 - December 28, 1776 Location near Sackville, New Brunswick Result British victory
Combatants
United States	Britain
Commanders
Jonathan Eddy	Joseph Goreham
Strength
500 militia	200 militia
Casualties
Unknown	Unknown

Canadian theater, 1775–1776
Ticonderoga – Crown Point – Longue-Pointe – Fort St. Jean – Quebec – Les Cèdres – Vaudreuil – Trois-Rivières – Valcour Bay – Fort Cumberland

The Battle of Fort Cumberland resulted in the defeat of an American army trying to invade and inspire rebellion in the British colony of Nova Scotia during the American Revolutionary War. The successful defense of Fort Cumberland in November and December of 1776 allowed British authorities to preserve the territorial integrity of their Maritime possessions. Nova Scotia remained loyal throughout the war.

Nova Scotia was generally poorly defended in the early stages of the conflict with the Thirteen Colonies, and unrest in the eastern regions provoked fears of an American-led uprising. Although reinforcements had begun reaching Halifax in 1776, the eastern reaches were only marginally protected when the Americans struck.

Fort Cumberland was in singularly deplorable condition. Seized from the French in 1755, the fortifications had been abandoned at the end of the Seven Years' War and allowed to fall into ruin. Arriving in August 1776, Colonel Goreham and his garrison of loyalists had done what they could to restore the premises to a defensible condition, even using old French equipment from the previous war. But Goreham had not been adequately provisioned and his men lacked everything from victuals to uniforms.

500 Americans under Jonathan Eddy reached the area on November 22. Lacking artillery, the Americans stormed the fort on December 13 but were repulsed. Night attacks on December 22 and December 23 succeeded in capturing and burning several buildings, but Goreham grimly held his ground, and the invaders were again forced out. On December 28, the HMS Vulture appeared in the Bay of Fundy bearing a contingent of Canadian regulars and marines. Fort Cumberland was at last relieved and the invaders routed.

Increased British naval presence also frustrated American privateering in the region. The Americans had previously conducted raids along the Gulf of St. Lawrence with relative impunity, looting and sacking several towns including present-day Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Besides the loss of Liverpool in 1778, Nova Scotia escaped the war without further harm.