Back Bataille de Machias (1775) French Cath Machias (1775) Irish Battaglia di Machias Italian マチャイアスの海戦 Japanese Bitwa pod Machiasem Polish Batalha de Machias Portuguese Бой при Махиасе Russian 馬柴厄斯海戰 Chinese

Battle of Machias

This article is about the 1775 battle. For the 1777 battle, see Battle of Machias (1777).

Battle of Machias (1775)
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Machias Bay is on the coast of eastern Maine. Machiasport is located near the outlet of the Machias River into the bay. Upriver and north from Machiasport, the river branches, leading left (west) to Machias, and east to East Machias. Holmes Bay is a large bay in the northeastern part of Machias Bay, just east of the mouth of the Machias River.
A 1776 nautical chart of Machias Bay; Machias is at the very top
DateJune 11–12, 1775
Location
Machias, Province of Massachusetts Bay
44°41′04″N 67°22′59″W / 44.68444°N 67.38306°W / 44.68444; -67.38306
Result American victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain Massachusetts Bay
Commanders and leaders
James Moore  †

Jeremiah O'Brien

Benjamin Foster
Strength
schooner HMS Margaretta
about 40 Royal Navy seamen[1]		 Private sloops Unity and Falmouth Packet
55 Massachusetts militia[2]
Casualties and losses
5 killed[3]
9 wounded[4]		 10 killed
3 wounded[5]

The Battle of Machias (June 11–12, 1775) was an early naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War,[6][7] also known as the Battle of the Margaretta, fought around the port of Machias, Maine.

Following the outbreak of the war, British authorities enlisted Loyalist merchant Ichabod Jones to supply the troops who were under the Siege of Boston. Two of his merchant ships arrived in Machias on June 2, 1775, accompanied by the British armed sloop HMS Margaretta (sometimes also spelled Margueritta or Marguerite), commanded by Midshipman James Moore. The townspeople of Machias disapproved of Jones' intentions and arrested him. They also tried to arrest Moore, but he escaped through the harbor. The townspeople seized one of Jones' ships, armed it alongside a second local ship, and sailed out to meet Moore. After a short confrontation, Moore was fatally wounded, and his vessel and crew were captured.

The people of Machias captured additional British ships, and fought off a large force that tried to take control of the town in the Battle of Machias in 1777. Privateers and others operating out of Machias continued to harass the Royal Navy throughout the war.

  1. ^ Drisko, pp. 29–30
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Drisko48_49 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Drisko47 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Miller, p. 34 indicates that there were 14 casualties, not specifying dead or wounded. Combined with Drisko's report of 5 dead, we arrive at 9 wounded.
  5. ^ Drisko, p. 46, reports 2 killed and 3 wounded. Miller, pp. 33–34, apparently relying on better source material, reports 10 British dead.
  6. ^ Gratwick, Harry (April 10, 2010). Hidden History of Maine. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. pp. 28–. ISBN 978-1-61423-134-9.
  7. ^ Abbot, Willis John (January 1, 1890). The Naval History of the United States. Peter Fenelon Collier.
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