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Penobscot Expedition Part of the American Revolutionary War Date July 24 – August 12, 1779 Location Penobscot Bay, Maine Result British victory Combatants Britain United States Commanders Colonel Francis McLean General Solomon Lovell and "Commadore" {Captain} Dudley Saltonstall Brigadier General Peleg Wadsworth Lt. Colonel Paul Revere Strength 600 regulars 1,000 regulars, 43 warships Casualties 13 killed and wounded 474 killed, wounded, and captured; all ships lost

Northern theater after Saratoga, 1778–1781 Rhode Island – Wyoming Valley – Carleton's Raid – Cherry Valley – Stony Point – Minisink – Penobscot expedition – Sullivan expedition – Newtown – Springfield – Groton Heights

The Penobscot Expedition was the largest American naval expedition of the American Revolutionary War and its worst naval defeat until Pearl Harbor.

Contents 1 Background 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 References 5 External links

In mid-June 1779, the British sent two regiments (about 600–700 men) under the command of Brigadier General Francis McLean to Penobscot Bay on the east coast of Maine, then a part of Massachusetts. Their goal was to establish an outpost for traders from Nova Scotia and establish a base for further raids into New England.

When news of this British establishment reached the Continental Congress in Boston, they made plans to drive the British from the area. To spearhead the expedition, Massachusetts petitioned Congress for the use of three warships, while the rest of over 40 ships were made up of ships of the Massachusetts State Navy and private vessels under the command of Commodore Dudley Saltonstall. The Massachusetts authorities called up over 1,000 militia, scraped together six small field cannons, and placed Brigadier General Solomon Lovell in command. The expedition departed from Boston on July 24 and arrived off Penobscot Bay that same day.

The British fort in Penobscot Bay was located on Bagaduce Peninsula (now called Castine) which jutted into the bay and commanded the principal passage into the inner harbor. The Americans landed around 750 men under Lovell on July 26, and instead of attacking the British fortified camp, they began construction of siege works. That same day, the Americans landed a small group on nearby Nautilus Island and overran a British artillery battery. But over the next two weeks, Lowell and Saltonstall hesitated to attack the British fortified positions and argued over who was in command of the forces on the land or the sea. Eventually, at another meeting-of-war on August 6, Lovell and Saltonstall agreed to try to lure the British out of their fortifications to engage them in the open.

On August 11, about 250 American militia advanced from their fortified camp and occupied a recently abandoned battery about a quarter mile (400 m) from the British fort. As expected, a sortie of about 55 British troops advanced from the fort to engage. But the poorly trained American troops fired only one volley at the attacking British troops and fled back to their fort, leaving behind all their arms and equipment. The next day, Saltonstall finally decided to launch a naval attack against the British fort, but a long-delayed British relief fleet arrived and attacked. Over the next two days, the American fleet fled upstream on the Penobscot River, pursued by the British fleet. Not a single American ship escaped, and the surviving crews grounded and burned their ships, and then fled overland back to Boston.

The American forces lost all their ships as well as 474 men killed, wounded or captured. The British losses were reported at only 13 killed and wounded, all of whom fell in the August 11 land engagement. A committee of inquiry blamed the failure on poor coordination between land and sea forces and on Commodore Dudley Saltonstall's failure to engage the British naval forces. Saltonstall was declared to be primarily responsible for the debacle, and he was court-martialed, found guilty, and dismissed from military service. Paul Revere participated in this expedition and was subsequently court-martialed and acquitted under a charge of disobedience. Peleg Wadsworth mitigated the damage by organizing a retreat and was not charged in the court martial.

• George E. Buker. 2002. The Penobscot Expedition: Commodore Saltonstall and the Massachusetts Conspiracy of 1779, Naval Institute Press, 2002.
• Wheeler, George A. 1923. History of Castine: Battle Line of Four Nations. Cornwell, NY: privately printed.

• Revolutionary War-Era Swivel Gun reveals its secrets {Reference only}
• "The Ancient Penobscot, or Panawanskek." Historical Magazine, February, 1872.