Desperation, suspicion, coercion, passion, vengeance, obstinance, and courage; it was all there, each contributing their fair share in a preview to the first naval battle of the American Revolution – the Battle of Machias, June 11-12, 1775. It was not an epic fleet battle of first rates and frigates clobbering each other with massive broadsides. Nor two ships raking each other until bare hulks, with one claiming they had yet begun to fight. The vessels involved were much smaller and barely armed. Just the British ship carried cannon, four specifically along with a dozen swivel guns, and the Americans having none.
But it did have the intrigue of a nail-biting chase ending with an Errol Flynn/piratical boarding of men clambering over gunnels and swinging from yard arms with weapons clutched in teeth. However missing: sputtering fuses stuffed in black beards.
The battle was named for the town of Machias, settled in 1763; at the Machias Falls, approximately 20 miles upriver (Machias River) from Machias Bay. But few if any townspeople took part in the fire fight. A gathering of between thirty and forty single minded, fanatical Sons-of-Liberty patriots from outside communities saw an opportunity. They would put their mark on the ball that started rolling with the British thrashing at Lexington and Concord by bloodying a few sailor’s noses. These saber rattlers gathered what weapons they could find (including the classic pitchfork), commandeered merchantmen, and pursued a British war ship. They caught up with the vessel and after a desperate man to man fight, they took her captive. What led to this purge of British property and oh yes, the death of one of His Majesty’s naval officers? It began with desperation.
War Complicates a Familiar Trade
The settlement of Machias and Machias Bay lay far northeast on the coast of Maine (then part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), approximately 325 miles from Boston and only 30 miles from Canada. It was spring and the Machias settlement had survived a long and difficult winter. Food supplies were at a minimum so they were desperate to begin the trading season that predominately exchanged Maine lumber for food; mainly pork and flour. So, you could imagine how glad the townspeople were to see the return of two familiar merchant schooners; Unity (80 tons) and Polly (90 tons).
The ships were owned by Ichabod Jones, a fifty-eight-year-old Boston trader who had two residences, one in Boston and the other in Machias; having moved his wife and daughter there in 1774. As in past years, Jones purchased pork and flour from merchants in Boston that was loaded on his two schooners. He then sailed to Machias where the food was sold to the hungry settlers. In exchange, Jones bought firewood and lumber for the return trip to Boston. An industrious trader, he made a tidy profit at both ends. Having wintered at Machias with his family, he had already left Machias in May of 1775 with lumber for Boston. So, was expected back by the town in early June. But in the spring of 1775, the Maine community were not the only ones desperate. So too were the British, bottled up in Boston.
The longer days of April brought warmth to the Boston community. It also brought open warfare. The Battle of Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775, was quickly followed by the Siege of Boston, backed up by thousands of regional militiamen. British Commanding General Thomas Gage found he and his army of approximately 6,500 men hemmed in on the Boston Peninsula. With the expected arrival of reinforcements, he was desperate to build additional barracks. And this acquired lumber. Lots of it. And he had no further to look than shipper Ichabod Jones, who already had an established trade for Maine lumber. But in a country aflame with patriot fervor, there was no guarantee that the Maine community of Machias would agree to another shipment of lumber to Boston, especially if they thought it was going to the British army. Gage turned to Vice-Admiral Samuel Graves who turned the screws on Jones.
The Boston Port Act of 1774 required that Vice-Admiral Samuel Graves authorize all shipments to and from Boston. Graves used this leverage on Jones. If the Boston trader expected his two merchantmen to be granted permission to leave Boston with food for Machias, then the British must have a guarantee. Once the food was offloaded, the settlers would have to agree to load lumber on the two merchantmen for the return trip to Boston. Jones, eager to depart Boston, assured the admiral that he would return with the lumber.
To ensure Jones’ compliance, the armed patrol schooner Margaretta (50 tons with typical crew of around 40) armed with four 4-pounder cannon and a dozen swivel one-pounders, under the command of Midshipman James Moore, would accompany the Unity and Polly to Machias. As a side mission, Graves assumed Moore would have time on his hands while negotiations for and loading the lumber took place. He ordered Moore to look in on the wreck of the HMS Halifax. It wasan armed sloop of 6 six-pounders with 8 swivel guns that had been driven ashore by her pilot off Foster Island, near Machias, on February 5, 1775, and broken up in a snowstorm. If the wreck was accessible, Graves wanted the cannon back before they fell in the hands of the rebels.
Suspicions Mount and Tempers Flare
When the sails of Jones’ ships appeared off Machias Bay on June 2nd, the townspeople were ecstatic. They knew the merchantmen were loaded with food. What they did not know is that there would be a catch for the sale. Elation quickly turned to suspicion when they spotted the merchantmen accompanied by a British war ship. In an age of ardent readers seeking the latest news, it was no secret to all who witnessed the arrival of the ships that Jones was a loyalist. An article published on August 14, 1775, in the Newport Mercury, referred to Jones as “that noted friend of government.” Clearly he was a man of the crown. And no one was more suspicious as to Jones’ showing up alongside a British warship than the local chapter of Sons of Liberty boys. Who, in turn, received their marching orders from the Committee of Safety’s leader, Reverand James Lyons.
Here one may use the word pressure, or strongarm; however, coercion serves nicely. Expecting to purchase the food directly from Jones, on June 3rd, the townspeople were surprised to learn that there were strings attached. Jones stated that as a prerequisite to obtaining food from the ships, the colonist must sign a petition that agreed to sell lumber to Jones to be loaded on the ships for the return to Boston. Asked why this was necessary when in years past, there was no such stipulation, Jones was, how may it be put, elusive. He basically explained that in these trying times, he just needed reassurances that he could continue to do business with the region. Yet the people were not fooled. It was easy to see that the British warship anchored in the river represented the buyer of the lumber; the British military. And its presence was there to assure the residents fell in line and provided the lumber, or else. Most of the town’s residents just shrugged and signed the petition. There were few firebrand patriots among them. With war brewing further south, most did not want to stir up trouble. If angered, British ships could level the town any time they chose.
Enter passion. Providing lumber, or anything for that matter, to Boston did not go well with the Committee of Safety and their couple dozen or so Liberty boys. They wanted to do their part to weaken England now that hostilities had broken out. All knew Jones was a loyalist. And everyone knew loyalists could not be trusted. (Perhaps in this case they were not far off the mark). The food was offloaded, and the lumber began to fill the merchantmen’s hold. But the small number of rabble-rouses were determined that no lumber would ship out from Machias. Reverand Lyons challenged the petition and sale of lumber and a meeting was arranged at the Burnham Tavern for a vote.
As before, most of the town’s residents were fine with the sale of lumber. But a small vocal number of patriots, many who had not signed the petition, were persistent in denying Jones’ purchase of lumber go through. It was reported that Jones became worried that Lyons could sway those assembled to vote against him, that he slipped out and hurried to the Margaretta’s anchorage. Soon after, Moore brought the ship up river. It was so near the town, that it was obvious his guns could level any and all houses if he so chose. Literally staring down the gun barrel, the vote was overwhelming in Jones’ favor; he could carry on business as usual.
The following is a June 14, 1775 excerpt of Reverend Lyons’ report in which he describes the signing of the petition and meeting afterwards. Though succinct and informative, he does interject bias. In it he states that the people on June 6th were averse to the sale. In another memo he stated that most regretted having signed the petition after learning that Jones was a loyalist. Fact: it was public knowledge that Jones’ was loyal to the crown, and the only ones averse to the sale on the 6th was his small minority of regional residents.
“On the 3d instant, a paper was handed about for the people to sign, as a prerequisite to their obtaining any provisions, of which we were in great want. The contents of this paper, required the signers to indulge Capt Jones in carrying Lumber to Boston, & to protect him and his property, at all events…On the 6th the people generally assembled at the place appointed, and seemed so averse to the measures proposed, that Capt. Jones privately went down to the Tender [H.M.S. Margaretta] & caused her to move up so near the Town that her Guns would reach the Houses…. The people…considering themselves nearly as prisoners of war…passed a Vote, that Capt Jones might proceed in his Business as usual without molestation, that they would purchase the provisions he brought into the place and pay him according to Contract.“
Upsetting the Cart and Tempers Flared
At this stage Jones shot himself in the foot. His vengeance, or perhaps paranoia, gave the rebels an opening to blow the whole affair wide open. While the loading of lumber proceeded without incident, Jones took it upon himself to announce that only those who signed the petition could share in the distribution of the food. In effect he personally penalized those who had opposed the sale of lumber. The number of settlers who did not sign was small, mainly patriots who were against anything being sold to the British. But so too, some who did not sign, could care less about loyalties to England or over what they considered nonsense spouted by the Sons of Liberty faction. But when told what they could or could not do, especially when concerning the right to purchase food supplies, they expressed anger. Tempers flared. The patriots, now with assistance from other townspeople, began to organize and put in place a plan to seize Jones, the British crew, and the armed sloop. Lyons writes:
“After obtaining this Vote, Capt. Jones immediately ordered his Vessels to the Wharf & distributed his provisions among those only, who voted in favour of his carrying Lumber to Boston. This gave such offence to the aggrieved party that they determined to take Capt. Jones, if possible, & put a final stop to his supplying the Kings troops with anything.”
Rebels Act
Benjamin Foster, a staunch Sons of Liberty man, hatched the plan to seize Jones and Moore while attending Church on Sunday, June 11th. Once the captain of the British sloop was in hand, he plotted to swarm the Margaretta and take her while in anchor in the Machias River. Foster’s leadership was joined by Jeremiah O’Brien, an outspoken dealer in lumber who had skills as a sailor. As the Liberty boys approached the church, they were spotted. Moore escaped to his ship and Jones took off for the woods (later to be captured).
At this point, things escalated. Moore, obstinate to still follow through with securing the sale of lumber, sailed his sloop to Scott’s Point and threatened to level Machias if the rebels tried to halt the loading of lumber. Of course, Moore’s threat was ignored and both the Unity and Polly were seized by the colonists. Reverend Lyons explains what next occurred:
“…a party of [settlers] went directly to stripping the sloop that lay at the wharf, [the Unity]and another party went off to take possession of the other sloop [the Polly]…The tender [Margaretta] did not fire, but weighed her anchors…in the dusk of the evening, fell down and came within musket shot of the sloop [the Polly], which obliged our people to slip their cable and run the sloop aground.”
Moore repositioned his sloop to fire upon the Polly. Some sources state that it was here he raided a nearby merchantman from Connecticut and detained its captain, Robert Avery, to assist in piloting. Other sources state that Avery was taken later in the bay.Foster and O’Brien, with several men, came down river in canoes and small boats and lined the shore directly across from the Margaretta. Lyons continues:
“having demanded her to surrender to America, received for answer, ‘fire and be damn’d’: they immediately fired in upon her, which she returned, and a smart engagement ensued.”
Nathaniel Godfrey, a sailor aboard the Margaretta who had been pressed by the British, explained the same action:
“Mr. Moore…was hailed on shore by the rebels…desiring him to strike to the Sons of Liberty, threatening him with Death if he resisted…they fired a volley of small arms, which was returned from the Schooner [Margaretta] with swivels and small arms. The firing continued about an hour and a half. Mr. Moore then cut the cable, drop’t down half a mile lower, and anchored near a sloop laden with boards [Polly]. In the night they endeavored to board…but were beat off by a brisk fire…”
The British Cut and Run
By dawn, the Margaretta was riddled with bullet holes. Moore had enough. Jones would have to manage on his own and the lumber was a lost cause. His only desire now was to save his ship and crew. Moore continued to drift downriver toward Machias Bay while still being fired upon. With the bay in view, he hoped to slip into the Bay of Fundy and set sail for Boston. But the Liberty boys were not about to give up.
Perhaps obstinate courage best describes it, but O’Brien and Foster were more determined than ever to capture the Margaretta. Though the Polly was aground, there were two other merchantmen available. O’Brien, along with around thirty men carrying small arms, boarded the commandeered Unity to chase the British. As the Unity drifted downriver, they constructed deck breastworks in anticipation of battle. Foster and about twenty men hurried to East River to prepare the Falmouth Packet to join the Unity in its pursuit. Reverend Lyons describes the action:
“Our people, seeing [the Margaretta] go off in the morning, determined to follow her. About forty men, armed with guns, swords, axes & pick forks, went in Capt Jones’s sloop [Unity], under the command of Capt Jeremiah O Brien: about Twenty, armed in the same manner, & under the command of Capt Benjamin Foster, went in a small Schooner [Falmouth Packet]. During the Chase, our people built them breast works of pine boards, and anything they could find in the Vessels, that would screen them from the enemy’s fire.“
When captains Jeremiah O’Brien and Benjamin Foster, and the forty odd men who followed them, decided to pursue the British, they were not acting in the interest of the Machias community, most wishing to avoid any violent confrontation, but rather in the interest of the local chapter of the Sons of Liberty. The Unity, under command of Obrien, reached the Bay and shot out after the Margaretta. The Falmouth Packet, commanded by Foster ran aground and was delayed.
Midshipman, James Moore, commander of the Margaretta, was later posthumously accused of inexperience both in seamanship and military decisions as to the rebel attack. Here accounts vary as to why the Unity was successful in catching the Margaretta. Some state the Unity was a quicker ship. Others put the blame on the youthful Moore’s fledgling seamanship. Some state that the Margaretta had been damaged while tacking downwind; thereby slowing her down.
The most detail was given by Roger Duncan, in his 1992 text, Coastal Maine, A Maritime History. In it, he states that the Margaretta was forced to jib 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, Captain Robert Avery, captive. Understandably, all this took time, giving the rebels the advantage in thee chase. It is perhaps safe to assume that a combination of the above contributed to the Margaretta being chased down: Moore’s inexperience, multiple tacking which damaged the rigging, and the Unity, larger and having more sails, was quicker and caught up with the British patrol vessel.
Battle on Open Water
Since Unity was a faster sailing vessel than the Margaretta, O’Brien’s crew quickly caught up to the crippled Margaretta. Meanwhile, the Falmouth Packet was able to free itself and lagged behind. Reverend Lyons reported on the action:
“The [Margaretta], upon the first appearance of our people, cut her boats from the stern, & made all the sail she could – but being a very dull sailor, they soon came up with her, and a most obstinate engagement ensued, both sides being determined to conquer or die: but the [Margaretta] was obliged to yield, her Captain [midshipman Moore] was wounded in the breast with two balls, of which wounds he died next morning…. The Battle was fought at the entrance of our harbour, [near Round Island] & lasted for over the space of one hour.“
Nathaniel Godfrey, aboard the Margaretta, also described the engagement:
“A Sloop [Unity]& Schooner [Falmouth Packet] appeared, we immediately weighed Anchor & stood out for the Sea, they coming up with us very fast, we began to fire our Stern Swivels, & small Arms as soon as within reach. When within hail, they again desired us to strike to the Sons of Liberty, promising to treat us well, but if we made any resistance they [would] put us to Death. Mr. Moore seeing there was no possibility of getting clear, [swung] the Vessel too and gave them a Broadside with Swivels & Small Arms in the best manner he was able, and likewise threw some Hand Grenadoes into them; they immediately laid us Onboard, [mortally wounded Mr. Moore and] took possession of the Schooner [carrying] her up to Mechias, in great triumph.“
The Unity pulled aside. More romantic accounts describe O’Brien as leaping on board the Margaretta just as his ship pulled away, leaving him alone to face the charging British crew. He then leapt overboard, only to clammer back aboard the Margaretta to take part in the fight. No primary source backs this up, leaving one to believe this second-hand account was written as a movie script by someone far ahead of his time. More reliable sources give Joseph Getchell and O’Brien’s brother, John, as the ones leading the rebel boarding party. Both sides exchanged shots and came at each other with axe and sword. Moore was taken down by Samuel Watts, a teenager still aboard the Unity, with a musket shot to the chest. Once the Falmouth Packet caught up to the attack, it managed to pull along the other side of Moore’s ship; however, by then he played a secondary role in the capture. Margaretta’s crew were placed under guard and the ship sailed back to Machias. Among the Americans who boarded the British sloop and was noted for his bravery was Richard Earle, O’Brien’s black servant.
Casualties and Prisoners
This action is considered the first time British colors were struck to the rebellious American colonists. With Moore grievously wounded, surrender of the crew and vessel fell to Midshipman Richard Stillingfleet. Moore would be put in the care of Ichabod Jones’ nephew, Stephen Jones, and would die the next day. Three other members of Moore’s crew were killed, including Robert Avery, the pilot who had been pressed into service by Moore. British wounded are listed as high as eight. As to the colonists, John McNiell and James Coolbroth were killed. Three more were badly wounded: John Berry (a musket ball entered his mouth and exited behind the ear), Isaac Taft, and James Cole.
Around two dozen crewmen were taken prisoner. The Committee of Safety held them for a month before they were taken to Worcester, Massachusetts and handed over to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Two had been given a reprieve and set to work at Machias – both shipwrights considered in great need. Ichabod Jones and his nephew Stephen were also sent to Worcester; Ichabod being kept in solitary confinement when first arriving. Ichabod was later released in October of that year and his nephew soon after. A loyalist, Ichabod lost all his holdings and died in 1790, buried in Boston at King’s Chapel burial ground.
By the time Margaretta’s crew reached Massachusetts, General George Washington had already assumed command of the Continental Army. Both the general and the Massachusetts Assembly agreed to a prisoner exchange, which occurred later in the year. Midshipman Stillingfleet was considered a British naval officer, and was soon after arrival, released to Royal Navy officials
Aftermath
The town of Machias feared the British would seek vengeance and by July, had requested an armed sloop for protection, plus a troop to be stationed at Machias. The Committee of Safety petitioned the Massachusetts Provincial Congress for permission to fit and arm at least one of the sloops captured in the bay off Round Island. The Unity was armed and renamed the Machias Liberty under the command of Jeremiah O’Brien. A month later, in July, O’Brien and Foster took another British ship, the Diligence, after it ran aground in Bucks Harbor.
Machias was not attacked. But Falmouth, Maine, 200 miles south of Machias (now incorporated int Portland) paid dearly for the early victory in Machias Bay: on October 11, 1775 the British bombarded the town and burned eleven American ships at anchor.
As to the fate of the Margaretta. Joseph Getchell, saw mill owner and one of the original settlers in Machias, took the ship up the Machias River to Middle river and hid it in Marshfield. There he removed its cannon and useful materials. The cannon may have been used to arm the Unity, renamed Machias Liberty. It was sold to George Benner who captained the stripped-down vessel as a commercial ship, trading with the settlements between Machias and Falmouth. Around four years later, the ship ran aground on rocks near Jonesport and was abandoned. Another account states the ship was chased into ‘Sawyer’s Cove, Jonesport, and there burned by the British.
Lumberjack turned ship’s captain, Jeremiah O’Brien, continued to command Jones’ Unity, the newly named Machias Liberty, for two years, having received the first captain’s commission in the Massachusetts State Navy in 1775. Afterwards, as a privateer, he captained the Resolution and later the Scarborough, a British vessel captured in 1777. He continued to harass the British off the coast of Massachusetts and Maine until his ship Hannibal was captured in 1780. He became a prisoner on the dreaded prison ship HMS Jersey, anchored off Long Island. He spent six months in the dreadful hulk, deprived of food and medical treatment that killed thousands. Afterwards he and those of the surviving crew of the Hannibal were shipped overseas to Mill Prison, near Plymouth, England; the facilities nearly as dreadful as the Jersey. In early 1782, he escaped and found his way across the channel to France. By October, 1782, he was back with his family in Machias. For O’Brien, the war was over. In 1811, he was appointed as the federal customs collector for Machias, dying there in 1818. Since 1900, five US ships have been named in his honor as well as the O’Brien class of destroyer prominent in World War I
AS to the wreck of the HMS Halifax, that was on Midshipman’s Moore’s agenda to investigate. A schooner named Halifax was recorded as being purchased by an American shipper in 1775. Her lines were identical to the original Halifax sunk that year, and may therefore have been salvaged and returned to service.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BATTLES ON THE HIGH SEAS, CHECK OUT THESE FREE PREVIEWS ON AMAZON
OF SIMILAR INTEREST ON REVOLUTIONARY WAR JOURNAL
SOURCE
Cecere, Michael. “The Village of Machias confronts the Royal Navy, June 1775.” July 9, 2015. Journal of the American Revolution.
Cohen, Sheldon S. “Captain Jeremiah O’Brien.” Maine History (June 2016) Vol 50 No. 1. Published by Loyola University.
Duncan, Roger F. Coastal Maine: A Maritime History. 1992: Norton Publishing, New York, NY.
“The First Naval Battle of the Revolution,” Friends of Liberty Hall, Machiasport, Maine.
Fowler, William M. Rebels Under Sail: The American Navy During the Revolution. 1976: Scribner, New York, NY.
“Jeramiah O’Brien: Naval Captain. Missouri Broadsides. Feb. 13, 2022. Num. 7 Missouri Sons of Liberty.
Kent, Sarah, “Taking the War to the Water: The American Revolution At Sea, 1775-1776” (2013). Honors College. 126.
Rose, Tera. “This Day in History: The First Naval Battle of the American Revolution.” June 11,
Swett, Sophie. Stories of Maine. 1899: American Book Company, New York, NY.