page_title: Battle of Machias
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Machias / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Burnham Tavern, Machias, Maine. Now the Burnham Tavern Museum, it was built in 1770
context_page_description: The Battle of Machias was an early naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War, 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, 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.
context_section_description: Since Moore was grievously wounded in the battle, his second-in-command, Midshipman Richard Stillingfleet, surrendered the crew and the vessel. Moore was taken back to Machias and put into the care of Ichabod Jones's nephew, Stephen Jones. However, Moore's wounds were too severe and he died the following day. Three other members of Moore's crew were killed, including Robert Avery. The remaining crew members of the British schooner were held at Machias for a month, then handed over to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Reports circulated that as many as 100 British men died in the battle. Machias lost two men, John McNiell and James Coolbroth, and three others were badly wounded: John Berry, who had a musket ball enter his mouth and exit behind his ear, Isaac Taft, and James Cole.
  The Machias community expected retaliation by the British Empire, and immediately petitioned to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress for guidance, supplies, and assistance. The Provincial Congress organized the defense of Machias and remained vigilant. Jeremiah O'Brien immediately outfitted one of the three captured vessels with breastwork, and armed it with guns and swivels that were taken from Margaretta, and changed its name to Machias Liberty. In July 1775, O'Brien and Benjamin Foster captured two more British armed schooners, Diligent and Tatamagouche. The ships' officers had been captured when they came ashore near Bucks Harbor. The Provincial Congress formally recognized O'Brien and Foster's efforts by commissioning both Machias Liberty and Diligent into the Massachusetts Navy with O'Brien as their commander in August 1775. Retaliation from the British did not occur until October 18, 1775, with the Burning of Falmouth.
  Following rumors of a planned assault on Nova Scotia, a small British fleet carrying 1,000 men attempted to take Machias at the Battle of Machias (1777). The battle took place on August 13, 1777, and continued until August 14, 1777. The locals were able to successfully fight off the British forces with the help of Indian allies. The rumors of the assault on Nova Scotia ended up being only partly true since no significant military planning had taken place.
  During the war, Machias men refitted and armed a variety of ships—including Margaretta—and sailed off looking for battle with the British. Machias Liberty and Diligent were used to intercept merchant ships that were supplying the British in the Siege of Boston. Jeremiah O'Brien and John Lambert built a twenty-gun ship and began privateering under an American letter of marque. Both men were commissioned into the Continental Navy for their work. O'Brien was captured off the coast of New York in late 1777, but was able to escape from prison in Britain to continue privateering throughout the war.
  The British naval command was continually frustrated by the use of Machias as a staging point for militia actions in Nova Scotia. Samuel Graves ordered Sir George Collier to destroy Machias in 1777. Graves attempted to subdue Machias multiple times, but had no success.
caption: The Burnham Tavern in a 1911 postcard
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