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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.
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.
When news of this British establishment reached the Continental Congress in
Boston, they made plans to drive the British from the area. 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 in Penobscot Bay 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, and instead of attacking the British
fortified camp, they began construction of siege works. 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.
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, Maine. 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.
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 subsequently court-martialed and acquitted under a charge of disobedience. Peleg Wadsworth mitigated the damage by organizing a retreat and was not charged in the court
martial.
Archaeological Evidence
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, Maine 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.
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
External links
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