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June 11, 1775. The Battle of Machias was the first naval engagement of the Revolution and resulted in the local militia capturing the British sloop HMS Margaretta.
Gen. Gage needed lumber to build barracks for the increasing British regulars arriving in Boston, which was under siege by colonial militia. He commissioned a Loyalist merchant named Ichabod Jones to sail with two ships to the port of Machias, now in Maine but at that time part of the Massachusetts Bay Province. Gage also sent the Margaretta along under the command of Midshipman James Moore to protect the merchant ships and to recover the eighteen guns aboard the HMS Halifax, which a Machias pilot had intentionally run aground in the port the previous February.
When the little convoy arrived in Machias on June 2, the locals refused to do business with Jones; however, once Moore brought the Margaretta into firing position in the harbor, the locals agreed to sell lumber. But on June 11, local militia under Col. Benjamin Foster and Capt. Jeremiah O'Brien seized one of Jones' merchant vessels, the Unity, and took another local ship, the Falmouth Packet, and managed to sail alongside the Margaretta. The local militia boarded the Margaretta and mortally wounded the commanding midshipman Moore and seized the British ship.
The locals imprisoned the British sailors and renamed the Margaretta as the Machias Liberty. Jeremiah O'Brien commanded the Machias Liberty as a privateer and went on to have a successful career raiding British vessels during the Revolution. The Machias militia outfitted other vessels that were crucial in preventing the British from resupplying Boston during the siege, and the port of Machias became a key base for harassing British efforts to maintain their force in Boston. This little-known battle was the first naval victory for the embryonic Continental Navy, and the men of Machias were essential in forcing the British to make their humiliating withdrawal from Boston in March 1776.
The US Navy has named four ships for Capt. O'Brien, and the US Merchant Marine considers the Machias Liberty as its first vessel.
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Discussion (6)
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It's always cool to get a history lesson on an event I've not heard of. Thanks!
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Hey, everybody, "like" these toot-sweet, so they get promoted to the Main Feed, and I can send links to not-yet Ricochetti.
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I had never heard of it, but it was mentioned on some "on this day in history" list, so I did some research about it. It turned out not only to be the first naval battle but also an important factor in forcing Gage to withdraw from Boston when he couldn't resupply his men.
The fact that a local Machias pilot had intentionally run a British warship aground a few months before should have been a warning to Gage that maybe Machias wasn't the best place to buy lumber. The town became a hotbed of privateering against British merchant and naval vessels throughout the war that were supplying their army. And for some reason I remember learning nothing about it.
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Machias was small enough that a schooner with four 4-pounders could order around the city fathers to get the lumber ready, but unfortunately just large enough that some hotheads would go ahead and make a play to snatch the schooner.
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The Liberty ship moored at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is named the Jeremiah O'Brien.
Hey, y'all, Day 53 needs one more "like" to be promoted to the Main Feed, so I can distribute it to not-yet Ricochetti. Let's get with it!
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