How the British Invasion of Maine During the War of 1812 Led to Statehood-- Part 1

From the March 9, 2020, TV 13 CBS News by Bill Trotter.

The War of 1812 came to Maine in 1814 in a big way.  That's when the powerful British Navy descended upon the towns of Eastport, Machias and Castine.  What is today Maine, was at the time a part of Massachusetts.

The British controlled much of the Maine coast between Penobscot and Cobscook bays for most of a year, raiding towns along the Penobscot River and attacking Hampden and Bangor before returning to Castine.

The war had been going on for two years already, but divided support in the United States as well as the British being more involved with Napoleon had kept the fighting away from Maine.  That is, other than a sea battle between the USS Enterprise and the HMS Boxer which the American ship won.

Initial support for the war was weakest in New England, where the Federalist Party favored strong ties with England and merchants conducted significant trade with the British colony of Canada.  The New Englanders went so far as to almost have secession, something they opposed when the Southern states did so some fifty years later.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Reinforcements Arrive, Action in Maine

Even though the Treaty of Ghent had been signed in December, it had yet to be ratified in Britain of the United States.  The war went on in North America.

JANUARY 1815:  The British 102nd Regiment arrives in Quebec City, Lower Canada.

JANUARY 1815:  Ensign Goerge Morehouse of the New Brunswich Fencibles led a detachment from Meductic and captures Houlton, District of Maine, in an effort to secure the strategically important line of communications between Saint John, New Brunswick, and Quebec, Lower Canada.

JANUARY 1, 1815:  The British bombard the defenses of New Orleans.

--Brock-Perry

200 Years Ago: Part of British Invasion Force Leaves Maine

SEPTEMBER 18TH, 1814:  Half of the British invasion force departs from the District of Maine for Halifax, Nova Scotia.

--Brock-Perry

War of 1812 Timeline: June 1814: Fort Shelby, District of Maine and the Chesapeake Campaign

JUNE 6, 1814:  U.S. General William Clark establishes Fort Shelby at Praiie du Chien, Wisconsin territory.

JUNE 6TH, 1814:  The British Secretary of War, the Earl of Bathurst, orders Lt. Governor Sir John Coape Sherbrooke to occupy the part of the District of Maine "which at present intercepts the communication between Halifax and Quebec."

The marches of the 104th Regiment and others had opened British eyes wide to the strategic importance of the Saint John River as a conduit for reinforcements during winter.  The invasion of eastern Maine to secure that route was seen as part of a major offensive that would include escalation of the Chesapeake Campaign and the invasion of Upper New York via Lake Champlain.

The British captured Moose Island, Passamquoddy Bay on 11 July, and in early September an army-navy contingent of 2,500 men took possession of the entire Maine coast between Penobscot and St. Croix rivers.  This guaranteed that troops who might have to march up the frozen Saint John River would not have to worry about the enemy along the way.

--Brock-Perry