Battle of Hampden The Battle of Hampden involved the British conquering present - day Maine and establishing the colony New Ireland during the War of 1812 . Sir John Sherbrooke led a British force from Halifax , Nova Scotia to establish New Ireland , which lasted until the end of the war , eight months later . The brief life of the colony yielded customs revenues which were subsequently used to finance a military library in Halifax and found Dalhousie College . The subsequent retirement of the British expeditionary force from its base in Castine , Maine to Nova Scotia ensured that eastern Maine would remain a part of the United States . Lingering local feelings of vulnerability , however , would help fuel the post - war movement for statehood for Maine . The withdrawal of the British represented the end of two centuries of violent contest over Maine by rival nations ( initially the French and British , and then the British and Americans ) . Prelude : Capture of Castine . On August 26 , 1814 , a British squadron from the Royal Navy base at Halifax moved to capture the Down East coastal town of Machias . The force consisted of four warships : HMS " Dragon " ( 74 ) , HMS " Endymion " ( 50 ) , HMS " Bachante " ( 38 ) , HM Sloop " Sylph ' ' ( 18 ) , a large tender , and ten transports carrying some 3 , 000 British regulars ( elements of the 29th , 60th , 62nd , and 98th regiments and a company of Royal Artillery ) . Under the overall command of Sir John Sherbrooke , who was then the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia , Major General Gerard Gosselin commanded the army and Rear Admiral Edward Griffith Colpoys controlled the naval elements . The intention of the expedition was clearly to re - establish British title to Maine east of the Penobscot River , an area the British had renamed " New Ireland " , and open the line of communications between Halifax and Quebec . Carving off " New Ireland " from New England had been a goal of the British government and the colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia ( " New Scotland " ) since British Brigadier General Francis McLean conquered Maine during the American Revolution . " En route " , the squadron fell in with HM Sloop " Rifleman " , 18 , and learned that the USS " Adams " ( 28 ) , commanded by Captain Charles Morris was undergoing repairs at Hampden , on the Penobscot River . Sherbrooke changed his plan and headed for Castine at the mouth of the Penobscot . He rendezvoused off Matinicus Island and added HMS " Bulwark " ( 74 ) , HMS " Tenedos " ( 38 ) , HMS " Peruvian " ( 18 ) and HM Schooner " Pictou " to his force . The complete force entered the cove at Castine on September 1 . The local militia melted away at the sight and a 28 - man contingent from the U . S . Army under Lieutenant Andrew Lewis spiked their four 24 - pounders , blew up their magazine and withdrew to the north trailing a pair of field pieces . As the first order of business , Sherbrooke and Griffith issued a proclamation assuring the populace if they remained quiet , pursued their usual affairs and surrendered all weaponry , they would be protected as British subjects . Moreover , the British would pay fair prices for all goods and services provided . Next , Gosselin crossed the bay with most of the 29th to occupy Belfast and protect the left flank of the major operation to follow . Locals did not challenge the occupation , although some 1 , 200 militiamen gathered three miles outside Belfast to await developments . Expedition up the Penobscot River . Griffith assigned RN Captain Robert Barrie the task of going after the " Adams " . Barrie proceeded up the Penobscot with the " Dragon " , " Sylph " , " Peruvian " , the transport " Harmony " and a prize - tender . The ships carried an armed contingent of some 750 men drawn from the four participating regiments , the artillery company and some Royal Marines . During the war , Barrie was one of the few British officers in America to acquire a loathsome reputation , which he was about to reinforce . When Morris entered the river late in August he moved past Buckstown ( now Bucksport , Maine ) and anchored at the mouth of the Sowadabscook Stream in Hampden on the west bank of the Penobscot some 30 miles inland . Anticipating an attack , he placed nine of the ship ' s guns in battery on a nearby hill and fourteen on the wharf next to his crippled ship . Morris , commanding a crew of 150 , called for help from Brigadier General John Blake , commander of the Eastern Militia at Brewer , Maine . Blake responded with some 550 militiamen and formed the center of a defensive line running along a ridge facing south , or towards Castine . Lieutenant Lewis showed up with his two dozen or so regulars and two field pieces . Adding a carronade , he went in line to the right or west and commanded the north - south road , the expected route of British attackers . Late on September 2 , Barrie landed his force at Bald Head Cove three miles below Hampden and waited for morning . Early on September 3 , in rain and fog , the British moved on Hampden , led by Lt . Colonel Henry John . Skirmishers met with resistance at Pitcher ' s Brook , primarily from the guns directed by Lewis , but John sent reinforcements and the British stormed across the bridge . In short order , the full force was in position to continue against the American defensive line on the hill . The sight of the oncoming disciplined Redcoats , bayonets glistening , rattled the untrained militia . The center broke and fled to the woods toward Bangor . Morris on the left and Lewis on the right found themselves in untenable positions . About to be overrun , Morris spiked his guns and ignited a train leading to the " Adams " . With colors flying , the ship blew up before the British could intervene . Lewis likewise spiked his guns and withdrew to the north . Morris and his navy band made it to Bangor , crossed west through rugged country to the Kennebec River , and around September 9 arrived at their base in Portsmouth , New Hampshire . After two weeks , every sailor reported , not a man missing , a source of great satisfaction for Morris . At this point , Barrie detailed 200 men to take control of Hampden while he and the balance of his force pursued the Americans in the direction of Bangor . Eighty prominent men of the Hampden area spent a night as prisoners . Most were paroled the next day . Sacking of Bangor and Hampden . Supported by three of his ships , Barrie entered an intimidated Bangor at midday and called for unconditional submission . Provisions and quarters were demanded and readily turned over " since the commodore , who was a churlish , brutish monster " , according to a correspondent , " threatened to let loose his men and burn the town if the inhabitants did not use greater exertion to feed his men . " Although Barrie ordered a ban on liquor for his troops , some men managed to acquire brandy by the bucket . Accordingly , Barrie ordered an officer to destroy all liquor in the town . This set off a wave of plundering . Six stores fell to the mob and $ 6 , 000 worth of property was damaged . Many citizens fled to the woods . " We are alive this morning , " wrote a newspaper correspondent , " but such scenes I hope not to witness again . The enemy ' s Soldiery . . . have emptied all the stores and many dwelling houses - they break windows , and crockery , and destroy every - thing they cannot move . " During the night , the British burned 14 vessels across the river in Brewer . Before the raiders could ignite Bangor vessels , the town ' s selectmen made a deal . Fearful that the burning would lead to a conflagration , the selectmen offered Barrie a $ 30 , 000 bond and agreed to complete four ships on the stocks and deliver them to him in Castine . Barrie accepted the arrangement and carried away a packet , four schooners and a boat . Before moving back down the river on the 4th , Barrie and John paroled 191 locals considered prisoners , including General Blake . Bangor selectmen estimated that the losses and damages totalled $ 45 , 000 . The Bangor diversion did not end the difficulties for Hampden . Barrie decided to spend more time in the town . Redcoats terrorized the village , killing livestock for sport and destroying whatever met their fancy , including gardens , furniture , books and papers . Two vessels moored off the town were burned . The rampage prompted a town committee to appeal to Barrie to treat the place with a little humanity . His shocking reply summarized his approach . " Humanity ! I have none for you . My business is to burn , sink , and destroy . Your town is taken by storm . By the rules of war we ought to lay your village in ashes , and put its inhabitants to the sword . But I will spare your lives , though I mean to burn your houses . " Barrie did not follow through on his threat to burn houses , but he did secure a $ 14 , 000 bond on several incomplete vessels on the stocks in town . The terms required the completed vessels be delivered to the Royal Navy in Castine by November 1 . In the end , the town estimated the value of its losses to total $ 44 , 000 . The British then slipped down to Frankfort and demanded considerable livestock and surrender of all arms and ammunition at that place . The locals were slow to comply and before he moved along on the 7th , Barrie promised to return and make the town pay for its delays . The captain did not make good on this threat , and except for some nuisance sniping at the British as they passed Prospect , Maine , the Battle of Hampden was at an end . Casualties . The British Army loss in the battle was 1 enlisted man killed , 1 officer and 7 enlisted men wounded and 1 enlisted man missing . Four of the casualties were from the 29th Regiment , two from the 62nd Regiment and 4 from the 98th Regiment . The Royal Navy reported 1 sailor from HMS " Dragon " killed . Two British graves in Hampden remain there today , but no details are carved on the stones . These could be the soldier and sailor killed that day . American casualties were low , but sources are conflicting . Williamson gives 1 militiaman killed and 11 wounded , with at least two civilians killed by accident . Including the wounded , 84 Americans were taken prisoner . Williamson ' s data may reflect only the losses to the Hampden militia companies . Captain Barrie could form no estimate , but noted upwards of 30 laying wounded in the woods . Lt . Col . John states he had no correct number , but reported 30 to 40 killed , wounded or missing . Militia leaders could not confirm how many men actually reported for duty . A list for pay purposes was finally produced but is missing entire companies and states no casualties except for one " Tobias Oakman - killed " ( the basis for the " 1 killed " that Williamson repeated ) . Claims by citizens for various compensations were filed for numerous years after the battle without a final tally or surviving documentation . British evacuation of Castine . Sherbrooke declared " New Ireland " ( Eastern Maine ) a province of British North America ( Canada ) and left General Gosselin in Castine to govern it . For the next 8 months ( from the fall of 1814 to the spring of 1815 ) , the Penobscot River was essentially an international boundary . That Hampden and Bangor were on the wrong ( American ) side might have contributed to their rough treatment . With the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814 , however , the British claim to Maine was effectively surrendered . The British were forced to evacuate Castine on April 25 , 1815 , and the pre - war boundary was restored . The final boundary between the inland , wooded portion of Maine and Canada would remain open to dispute until the Webster - Ashburton Treaty of 1842 . Aftermath and consequences . Local memory of this humiliation contributed to subsequent anti - British feeling in Eastern Maine , which would find outlet again in the Aroostook War of 1838 - 1839 . It would also contribute to the post - war movement for Maine ' s statehood ( given that Massachusetts had failed to protect the region ) and to the building of a large , expensive granite fort ( Ft . Knox ) at the mouth of the Penobscot River starting in the 1840s . General Blake and two other officers ( Lt . Col . Andrew Grant of Hampden and Maj . Joshua Chamberlain of Brewer , grandfather of the later Civil War general ) were court - martialed in Bangor in 1816 for their part in the defeat . Blake and Chamberlain were both exonerated , but Grant was cashiered .