Battle of Machias The Battle of Machias ( also known as the Battle of the " Margaretta " ) was the first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War . It took place on June 11 – 12 , 1775 , in and around the port of Machias in what is now eastern Maine , and resulted in the capture by Patriot militia of a British schooner . Following the outbreak of the war and the start of the Siege of Boston , British authorities enlisted the assistance of Loyalist merchant Ichabod Jones to assist in the acquisition of needed supplies . Two of Jones ' merchant ships arrived in Machias on June 2 , accompanied by the British armed sloop " Margaretta " , commanded by midshipman James Moore . The townspeople , unhappy with Jones ' business practices , decided to arrest him , and in the attempt , decided to go after Moore and his ship . Moore was able to escape out of the harbor , but the townspeople seized one of Jones ' ships , armed it and a second local ship , and sailed out to meet him . In a short confrontation , they captured Moore ' s vessel and crew , fatally wounding him in the process . The people of Machias went on to capture additional British ships , and fought off the landing of a large force intended to take control of the town in 1777 . Privateer s and others operating out of Machias continued to be a thorn in the British Navy ' s side throughout the war . Background . On April 19 , 1775 , the American Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the British Province of Massachusetts Bay . Following the battle , the militia that had mustered to oppose the British besieged the city of Boston where the British troops were located . Boston ' s British military leaders , Admiral Samuel Graves and General Thomas Gage , both had reason to do business with the people of Machias , a small coastal logging community located in what is now eastern Maine , but was then part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay . Gage required lumber to build barracks for additional troops arriving in the besieged city . Graves wanted to recover the guns from the wreck of " HMS Halifax " , which had apparently been intentionally run aground in Machias Bay by a local pilot in February 1775 . The ship ' s guns were reported to be of interest to the Patriots of Machias . Graves authorized Ichabod Jones , a Tory Machias merchant who had ships in the port of Boston , to take flour and other food supplies to the town of Machias aboard his two ships " Unity " and " Polly " in exchange for Gage ' s needed lumber . To guarantee that this would happen , Graves sent the armed schooner " Margaretta " ( sometimes also spelled " Margueritta " or " Marguerite " in historical accounts ) , under the command of James Moore , a midshipman from his flagship " HMS Preston " , to accompany the two merchant vessels . Moore also carried orders to retrieve what he could from the wreck of the " Halifax " , which they would pass on the way . Arrival at Machias . On June 2 , 1775 , Jones ' ships arrived in the port at Machias , while the " Margaretta " was delayed retrieving the guns from the " Halifax " wreck . Jones met resistance from the community by refusing to sell his pork and flour unless he was allowed to also load lumber for Boston . In a meeting on June 6 , the townspeople voted against doing business with Jones . The hostile climate led Jones to ask Moore to bring the " Margaretta " within firing distance of the town . This prompted the town to meet a second time ; this time they voted to permit the trade , and the " Unity " was docked at the wharf to begin unloading . Following the vote , Jones announced that he would only do business with those who had voted in favor of trade . This angered those who had voted against , and Colonel Benjamin Foster , a local militia leader , conspired with militia from neighboring towns to capture Jones . Their plan to seize him at church on June 11 failed when he noticed the group of men approaching the building . Jones ran into the woods , from which he eventually emerged two days later . Moore and his second - in - command , who were also attending the services , also managed to get back to their ship . Prelude . Some of the militia men boarded the docked " Unity " , removed the remaining supplies , and also removed her sails . Others went around by land near the place where the " Margaretta " was anchored , and demanded her surrender . Moore refused , threatening to fire on the town . This threat was more bluster than real , as " Margaretta " sported only a few mounted guns capable of firing one - pound shot . More of the militia men rowed out to the " Polly " , which was anchored downstream from the " Margaretta " , and attempted to tow her into the harbor . This attempt failed when she ran aground , possibly due to low tide . Moore raised anchor and came alongside " Polly " , intending to recover her . After a brief and inconsequential exchange of gunfire with the militia men on the shore , however , he again raised anchor and went further downstream to a safe anchorage . The next day , the men of Machias regrouped . Foster took about 20 men to East Machias , where they commandeered the " Falmouth Packet " , a local schooner . The remaining men commandeered the " Unity " . They rerigged her , installed some planks as a makeshift breastwork to serve as protection , armed themselves with muskets , pitchforks and axes and then set out after the " Margaretta " , which by that time had reached the waters of Machias Bay . Moore had brought aboard as pilot one Captain Toby , near whose sloop he had anchored overnight , and was looking to depart the scene . In jibing into brisk winds , however , the " Margaretta " ' s main boom and gaff broke away , crippling its navigability . As a result , once in Holmes Bay , Moore captured a sloop , took its spar and gaff to replace the " Margaretta ' s " and also took captive its pilot , Robert Avery , of Norwich , Connecticut . Conflict . The " Unity " crew , about 30 Machias men , elected Jeremiah O ' Brien as their captain , and then sailed out to chase down the " Margaretta " . As the " Unity " was a much faster sailing vessel , O ' Brien ' s crew quickly overtook the crippled " Margaretta " , while the " Falmouth Packet " lagged behind . Maine historian Roger Duncan , among others , indicates that both the " Unity " and the " Falmouth Packet " engaged the " Margaretta " , but other sources disagree . Early 20th - century Machias historian George Drisko claims that the " Falmouth Packet " either ran aground or never caught up to the " Margaretta " , and that the men aboard the " Unity " alone battled the " Margaretta " directly . Seeing the " Unity " approaching , Moore opened full sail and cut away his boats in an attempt to escape . As the " Unity " pulled closer , he opened fire , but the Machias crew managed to avoid that fire and pull alongside the " Margaretta " . It took two tries , but they tied alongside and stormed on board the " Margaretta " , led by O ' Brien ' s brother John and Joseph Getchell . Both sides also exchanged musket shots , and Moore tossed hand grenades onto the " Unity " until Samuel Watts took him down with a musket shot to the chest . As Duncan reports , the " Falmouth Packet " then managed to pull along the other side of the " Margaretta " , and the combined crews overwhelmed the " Margaretta " . As Midshipman Moore was grievously wounded , his second , Midshipman Stillingfleet , surrendered the crew and vessel . Moore was taken into care in Machias at the home of Stephen Jones , the nephew of Ichabod Jones , but died the next day . At least three other members of Moore ' s crew were also killed , as was Robert Avery , the colonist taken by the British . The remaining crew members of the British schooner were held at Machias for about a month , and were eventually handed over to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress . There were also reports circulated , likely exaggerated , that as many as 100 British men died in this and other skirmishes in the Machias area . Machias lost two men , John McNiell and James Coolbroth . Coolbroth died after the skirmish of his wounds . Three others were badly wounded but survived . They were John Berry , who had a musket ball enter his mouth and exit behind his ear , Isaac Taft , and James Cole . Aftermath . The Machias community , expecting the full wrath of the British Empire in revenge , immediately petitioned the Massachusetts Provincial Congress for guidance , supplies and assistance . They organized for the defense of Machias and maintained vigilance in the event of British retaliation . Jeremiah O ' Brien immediately outfitted one of the three captured vessels ( sources disagree on " which " vessel ; " Polly " and " Unity " are both mentioned , and historian James Volo suggests that recent scholarship favors " Polly " ) with breastwork , armed her with the guns and swivels taken from the " Margaretta " and changed her name to " Machias Liberty " . In July 1775 , Jeremiah O ' Brien and Benjamin Foster captured two more British armed schooners , the " Diligent " and the " Tatamagouche " , whose officers had been captured when they came ashore near Bucks Harbor . In August 1775 , the Provincial Congress formally recognized their efforts , commissioning both the " Machias Liberty " and the " Diligent " into the Massachusetts Navy , with Jeremiah O ' Brien as their commander . Following rumours that an assault on Nova Scotia was being planned , with stores stockpiled at Machias , a small British fleet carrying 1 , 000 men attempted to take Machias in August 1777 ; the locals successfully fought off the landing . The rumors were only partly true ; the idea had been proposed , but no significant military planning had taken place . During the war , Machias men refitted and armed a variety of ships — including the " Margaretta " — and sailed off looking for battle with the British . Jeremiah O ' Brien and John Lambert were both commissioned into the Continental Navy . The " Machias Liberty " and the " Diligent " were used to intercept merchant ships supplying the British in the siege of Boston . John and Jerry O ' Brien built a twenty - gun ship and began privateer ing under an American letter of marque . Jerry was captured off New York late in 1777 ; he escaped from prison in Britain , and continued privateering throughout the war . The British naval command was continually frustrated by the actions of the Machias seamen during the war , and by the use of Machias as a staging point for militia actions ( such as the Eddy Rebellion ) in Nova Scotia . Graves more than once attempted to subdue Machias ; he gave commands in 1776 to " proceed and reduce Machias " , and ordered Sir George Collier to " Go , — destroy Machias " in 1777 . One British officer , presumed to be Collier , said " The damned rebels at Machias were a harder set than those at Bunker Hill . " Liberty pole story . There is a widely told story concerning this affair that Machias men erected a Liberty pole after meeting in the Burnham Tavern to discuss the battles of Lexington and Concord . This story , which persists in modern history books and travel guides , has been shown to be an 1831 fabrication by Machias resident John O ' Brien . There is no mention of the Liberty pole in any earlier accounts , including the official report sent by the residents of Machias in 1775 , and the letters of other participants in the events .