Penobscot Expedition
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The Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and its worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor.
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[edit] Background
In mid-June 1779, the British sent two regiments (about 600–700 men) under the command of Brigadier General Francis McLean to Penobscot Bay on the east coast of Maine, then a part of Massachusetts. Their goal was to establish an outpost for traders from Nova Scotia and establish a base for further raids into New England.
The British began to build a fortification near present-day Castine. When news of this British establishment reached the Continental Congress in Boston, they 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.
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 called up over 1,000 militia and acquired six small field cannons, and placed Brigadier General Solomon Lovell in command. The expedition departed from Boston on July 24 and arrived off Penobscot Bay that same day.
The British fort was located on Bagaduce Peninsula (now called Castine) which jutted into the bay and commanded the principal passage into the inner harbor. The Americans landed around 750 men under Lovell on July 26, but instead of attacking the British fortified camp, they began construction of siege works under constant and accurate fire. That same day, the Americans landed a small group on nearby Nautilus Island and overran a British artillery battery. But over the next two weeks, Lovell and Saltonstall hesitated to attack the British fortified positions and argued over who was in command of the forces on the land or the sea. Eventually, at another meeting-of-war on August 6, Lovell and Saltonstall agreed to try to lure the British out of their fortifications to engage them in the open.
[edit] Battle
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 their arms and equipment. The next day, Saltonstall finally decided to launch a naval attack against the British fort, but a long-delayed British relief fleet arrived and attacked. Over the next two days, the American fleet fled upstream on the Penobscot River, pursued by the British fleet. Several vessels were scuttled or burned along the way with the rest destroyed at Bangor. In the 1700s 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.
[edit] Aftermath
The American forces lost all their ships as well as 474 men killed, wounded or captured. The British losses were reported at only 13 killed and wounded, all of whom fell in the August 11 land engagement. A committee of inquiry blamed the failure on poor coordination between land and sea forces and on Commodore Dudley 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 Revere participated in this expedition and was dismissed from the militia, but he later had the charge expunged. Peleg Wadsworth mitigated the damage by organizing a retreat and was not charged in the court martial.
[edit] Archaeological Evidence
The earthworks of Fort Bagaduce, also known as Fort George, still stand at the mouth of the Penobscot in Castine, Maine, accompanied by concrete work added to the fort by Americans later. Archaeological evidence of the expedition, including cannonballs and cannon, was located during an archaeological project in 2000-2001. Evidence of scuttled ships was found under the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge in Bangor and under the Bangor town dock. 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.
[edit] References
- George E. Buker. 2002. The Penobscot Expedition: Commodore Saltonstall and the Massachusetts Conspiracy of 1779, Naval Institute Press, 2002.
- Wheeler, George A. 1923. History of Castine: Battle Line of Four Nations. Cornwell, NY: privately printed.
- Penobscot Expedition Archaeological Project Field Report
