Penobscot Expedition

408 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA 02110

In summary the Penobscot Expedition was the worst naval disaster in American history until Pearl Harbor. In 1779, British warships and troop transports sailed into Bagaduce (now Castine, Maine), on the Penobscot Bay. Seven hundred British troops built a fort to defend Canada, deny timber to the rebels and interrupt their privateering. Where Americans were expected to win the battle they mishandled it so poorly they lost their entire Navy.

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The British intended to settle the outpost as a haven for Loyalists and to call it New Ireland. Maine then belonged to Massachusetts, and the colony’s leaders soon got word of the British presence on its soil. Civilian officeholders of the commonwealth decided to force them out.

The Penobscot Expedition included 40 vessels, nearly 2,000 seamen and marines, 100 artillerymen, 870 militia and 350 guns. Civilians planned the operation with little military input, and badly trained part-time soldiers carried it out. Paul Revere took charge of the artillery train. He didn’t have much military training, but he had repaired the guns damaged when the British evacuated Boston.

When the massive flotilla left Boston Harbor, everyone expected it to capture the garrison – even the British. Though the Americans seemed to have a decisive advantage, the British had more military experience. They also had a favorable geographic position and better coordination between land and sea forces. Revere wanted to storm the fort, but Lovell ordered a siege. Saltonstall refused to clear the harbor of the three British ships. For two weeks the militiamen sat outside the fort. Lovell wouldn’t attack the fort until Saltonstall attacked the fleet, but Saltonstall wouldn’t attack the fleet until Lovell attacked the fort.

Meanwhile, the dithering allowed the British to build up the earthen walls of the fort and request reinforcements. On Aug. 13, the British relief fleet arrived and Saltonstall ordered a retreat – up the Penobscot River. As the British bore down, the Americans burned and sank their own ships, then disappeared into the woods. Revere and the others made their way back to Massachusetts.

In the end, Americans lost all their ships but one, which the British captured. The Americans lost 470 men; the British only 13. Recrimination followed the disaster. Dudley Saltonstall was court martialed and dismissed from the Continental Navy. He then turned to privateering. Lt Col Paul Revere was placed under house arrest and charged with unsoldierlike behavior and cowardice. It took him 2 years to clear his name as he’d made enemies due to his arrogance.

-Source Links-

https://penobscot1779.tripod.com/PE%20history.htm

https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/penobscot-expedition-americas-forgotten-military-disaster/

https://blog.togetherweserved.com/2022/08/01/the-penobscot-expedition/

https://www.history.navy.mil/research/underwater-archaeology/sites-and-projects/ship-wrecksites/penobscot-expedition-archaeological-project.html Wreck of USS Defense