A quick note: my name is Mike Romero, and I'm a Historic Interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. The postings I make on this site are my own personal opinions and research, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Colonial Williamsburg. With that said, enjoy the read!
With the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775, the senior British naval officer in the region of Massachusetts was Vice Admiral Samuel Graves. Although he'd sworn support to General Gage in Boston, the American rebels had the unfortunate tendency to use whaleboats and other small craft to raid, destroy or capture possible sources of supplies or provisions Graves was seeking ashore. The small town of Machias in Massachusetts Bay (now a part of Maine) would prove to be of common interest to both officers; Gage was in need of lumber from the small logging community to construct fortifications and barracks to support his efforts in Boston, and Graves was hoping to recover cannon and other materials from the wreck of HMS Halifax that had run aground in Machias Bay earlier that year.
Enter Ichabod Jones, a loyalist merchant with a plan. The people of Machias were still recovering from a particularly brutal winter; Jones intended to trade provisions such as flour and pork for Machias lumber. Both Gage and Graves approved of the scheme, with Admiral Graves dispatching HMS Margaretta (a schooner armed with 12 swivel guns) under Midshipman James Moore to escort Jones' ships Unity and Polly, and attempt to salvage the guns of the Halifax. The people of Machias would prove to be less than receptive. Upon receiving word of the Battles of Lexington and Concord just a few weeks earlier, the people of Machias had erected a liberty pole in the center of town to openly celebrate their loyalty to the American cause and the Sons of Liberty.
Unity and Polly arrived at Machias on June 2, 1775 while Margaretta was delayed attempting to salvage the guns of Halifax. Almost immediately, Ichabod Jones was butting heads with the townspeople; he refused to offload his provisions unless he was also permitted to take on lumber for Boston. The townspeople met on June 6 to discuss the issue, voting not to do business with Jones. As a result, Jones prevailed upon Moore to bring Margaretta within firing distance of the town, prompting a second vote, which agreed to the trade...barely. Following this, Jones announced that he would trade provisions only with those people who had voted in his favor. The people of Machias had had enough.
Benjamin Foster, a local militia colonel, made plans with militia from other nearby towns to kidnap Ichabod Jones. Jones, Moore, and his second-in-command where attending church in Machias on June 11 when the attempted kidnapping was to take place. The plot was foiled when the minister's servant warned the intended victims, who were able to escape through a side window. Ichabod Jones would escape into the neighboring woods while Moore and his second quickly returned to Margaretta. The incensed Midshipman warned the people of Machias that if they attempted to interfere with Jones, his mission, or his vessels, Moore would destroy the town.
Machias townsfolk with the aid of local militiamen promptly boarded Unity and proceeded to forcibly remove the remaining provisions and stripping the vessel's sails to boot. Others boarded the Polly, manned her guns, and opened fire on Margaretta. Moore sailed his vessel out of immediate range, only to be approached by a flotilla of rowboats and small craft at dusk. As the rebels moved to within hailing distance, Moore demanded to know their intentions, refusing to deliver Ichabod Jones at the rebels insistent request. The townsfolk raised their muskets and pistols, accepting Moore's invitation to "Fire and be damn'd!" Rebel small arms fire was quickly drowned by Margaretta's swivel guns, forcing them to row furiously out of range.
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| "Sloop Unity and the Schooner Margaretta" painted by Robert L. Lambdin |
As the sun rose on June 12, Midshipman Moore observed Unity (freshly re-rigged) and Polly stuffed with armed men from Machias hunkered down behind breastworks improvised by the very lumber General Gage was in such need of. Moore ordered Margaretta to make sail for the mouth of the harbor, but the schooner's boom and gaff carried away as she turned, severely hampering the vessel's progress. Undaunted, Moore sent several of his crew to board a nearby sloop that had been neutrally observing the action thus far, and commandeered two spars so the Margaretta could make repairs.
Meanwhile, as the Machias men bore down on the schooner, they elected a man named Jeremiah O'Brien to serve as their captain through the remainder of the action. As the two rebel vessels approached, O'Brien called out for Margaretta to "strike to the Sons of Liberty." Moore resolutely turned into the wind, and ordered his men to open fire with as punishing a broadside as his swivels, muskets, and pistols could provide. Despite this, Unity and Polly moved to attack Margaretta from either side. Furious small arms and swivel gun fire continued, with Midshipman Moore personally throwing several hand grenades across to Unity before taking musket balls to the chest and belly. As Moore fell mortally wounded to the deck, the rebels boarded the schooner, quickly forcing the British crew to strike their colors.
Margaretta was taken back to Machias, with the wounded Moore, unrepentant of his decision to stand and fight, being carried to the home of Stephen Jones (Ichabod's nephew). The next morning, he was said to gasp that he "preferred Death before yielding to such a sett of Villains" shortly before dying of his wounds. Including Moore, the British lost five men dead and three wounded, compared to the rebels losing two men dead and five wounded. O'Brien, hailed as a hero by the exultant people of Machias, was awarded with command of Unity, soon to be outfitted with Margaretta's swivels and renamed Machias Liberty. As the summer continued, the people of Machias would take numerous other British vessels and form a small fleet which would soon be incorporated into the Massachusetts State Navy with Jeremiah O'Brien as its commander.
Although this would be the second naval action of the American Revolution, it involved the first surrender of a British warship to rebel colonial forces. Nathan Miller would refer to the engagement as "the naval Lexington," as have others in the intervening years. The British would return to Machias in 1777, but that is a story for another day...
Sources:
1. "Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea" by Tim McGrath
2. "The Meaning of the Machias 1775 Naval Victory Lives on Today" by Harvey Spears, http://www.harveyspears.com/assets_d/18632/download_media/machias1775naval-victoryhs_107.pdf
3. "The Battle of Machias" Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Machias
