Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1915-08-25


occurred the next day with the same re-
suit. Upon the 18th, however, at o. M.
our FORCES succeeded in making landing
on the west side and drove the British
into the fort
I'm July 81 our troops made consid-
cradle advance in their lines but sudden
ana unexpected sally from the fort drove
them back. Skirmishing continued daily
until August 10, when Gen. Lowell sue
eeeoed in getting his men close up to the
Tort and in>all probability the fort would
then have been captured had not intelli-
gsnce OF the approach up the bay OF
powerful British feet caused the order for
general retreat to be at once given and
the attack abandoned. The disastrous re-
treat OF our vessels towards Belfast and
up the river has been so often described
that 1t is probably familiar to most OF
you, and pass it by with the simple re-
ozark that every one OF them was either
captured, burned or sunk. The contest
lasted just three weeks and would in all
probability eventually have succeeded in
favor OF the Massachusetts, forces had it
not been for the arrival Of the greatly su-
perior British fleet.
"The American landing on the west
side was - for the times = really brave
affair, though not to be compared for an
instant with the scaling OF Lookout
mountain or the battles of Gettysburg -
to say nothing of those horrible conflicts
that have occurred within the past year
ha Uof Tha ~.
landing was made can easily be seen in
passing up the river from Dyce's Head.
1t is known by a large white boulder on
the shore-the only large one to be seen.
1t is known as Trask's Rock but ought in
my opinion to be called Hinckley's Rock
in commemoration OF the brave Capt.
Hinkiey, Of Brunswick, who was shot
while on its top cheering on his men,
while Trask, who wac fiier, hid behind
it while he was playing his fife.
"Why did not the originally superior
force Of the Massachusetts men prevail
in this conflict! There can be but one
answer. The failure was due entirely to
the cowardice or treachery OF Commodore
Ssltonsali, who was rightly court mar
tailed and dismissed from the service Had
SaltonsaIl had the courage OF Farragut or
Porter the three sloops OF war would have
been destroyed within few hours when
the enemy must necessarily have at once
surrendered.
mo further attempt to Gust the British
possession OF the place for four years
and four months. During their occu-
patton OF the place this whole eastern
section came more or less under their
control. They made frequent forays
and brought in many prisoners.
In February, 1850, they captured Gen.
peleg Wadsworth, grandfather OF the
poet Longfellow, and confined him, to-
gether with Major Burton, taken shortly
after, in a grated room in the officers bar
racks in Fort George and kept them there,
until they effected their celebrated and
daring escape the following June.
"The British evacuated the place in
December, l7s3-nearly month later
than their troops left New York. In No
vember, 1883, New York city celebrated
the centennial OF its evacuation, and it
was claimed that that city saw the retire.
ment from our shores OF the last British
troops. Such is not the fact. To Castine
belongs the honor, il any there be.
"The war OF the Revolution and espec-
tally the British occupation of the place,
seems to have kindled military spirit
among the settlers, for within four years
OF the evacuation military company was
formed here, which was in turn succeeded
by other companies up to the time OF the
war OF the Rebellion when Co. b OF the
Hancock Guards left for the field. OF
late years, however, the military spirit
has been kept greatly in allegiance though
few soldiers and sailors went from here
to the Spanish war.
"we come nov to the war of 1872. The
people OF New England as whole were
greatly opposed to the non-intercourse
and embargo act of 1907 and nowhere was
the opposition more pronounced than
here. The pages OF the towns records
of that period are filed full with the
resolutions that were passed at its meet
ings. After war had actually been de-
the citizens showed themselves without
exception loyal and patriotic, and no less
than thirty-four persons from this town
enlisted in the army. At the time OF the
British occupation OF the place in 1914 the
United States had small force OF regulars
stationed here in Fort Porter as it was
locally called, though its true name was
then as now Fort Madison-an American
fort, by the way. But this force was so
extremely small as to make any idea OF
resistance preposterous-we were no better
prepared for defence in this country then
than we are now so they did the wise
thing, discharged their cannon, destroyed
their ammunition and made their escape
'The British feet reached here Sept. l,
1914, and its approach up the bay was
witnessed by hundreds = not only from
Castine but from Brooksville and even
uuISu,t Th;a t,,,,a ho British landed at