Liveblogging the American Revolution: November 29, 1776: Battle of Fort Cumberland
Jonathan Eddy returned to Massachusetts in August. While the Second Continental Congress and George Washington would not authorize, fund, or otherwise support military activities in Nova Scotia, Eddy was able to convince the Massachusetts Provincial Congress to provide some material support (primarily muskets, ammunition, powder, and other military supplies) for an attempt on Fort Cumberland.... Eddy left Boston in September and sailed to Machias, where he recruited about 20 men. On October 13, this party sailed from Machias for Passamaquoddy Bay....
From Campobello, Eddy sailed up the Saint John River to Maugerville, where 27 men were recruited, and then up to the Maliseet settlement at Aukpaque (just upriver from present-day Fredericton). There he learned the bad news that Pierre Tomah, the main Maliseet chief, was not interested in taking up the hatchet. Eddy was able to convince Ambroise St. Aubin, one of Tomah's competitors, and 15 men to join the expedition in exchange for an agreement with the Maugerville community to support the families of those men. In another disappointment, none of the local Acadians joined, contrary to assertions St. Aubin had made to Eddy during a previous visit to the area.
With a force now numbering about 72, Eddy sailed up the Bay of Fundy to Shepody Outpost.... Goreham was finally alerted to Eddy's actions on November 4, when a boat sent with supplies for the Shepody patrol was informed of Eddy's activities by locals. Goreham heightened the guard on the fort, but did not immediately attempt to notify Halifax or Windsor, since he was uncertain what routes away from the fort might have been blocked by Eddy....
On November 6, Eddy's patrols began ranging closer to the fort, alerting Goreham to the approaching force. Goreham took no additional steps to protect the Polly, and any attempts to get word of his predicament out were again delayed by his decision to await the return of scouts he had dispatched earlier. (The fate of the scouts is uncertain; they did not return before the fort was invested.) That evening, thirty of Eddy's men surprised the sleepy guards aboard the Polly, taking thirteen prisoners. They also seized another ship, owned by a Patriot sympathizer, that happened to be anchored nearby. On the morning of November 7 Goreham decided that it was time to get a message to Windsor. He sent a party of men down to the dock that morning. These men, numbering about 30, were taken prisoner by Eddy's men as rapidly as they arrived due to their unawareness that Eddy had control of the ship. The Polly was then sailed to Fort Lawrence, to the east of Fort Cumberland, where the supplies were landed. Sentries in the fort spotted the move, and Goreham, realizing Eddy had taken the ship, fired an ineffectual cannonade....
Goreham took stock of his situation. Nearly one quarter of his garrison (more than 60 men) had been captured by Eddy, along with critical fuel and other supplies that had not been unloaded from the Polly before her seizure. His defenses consisted of a hastily constructed palisade that encompassed most of the fort, and six cannons, for which his men had only completed three mounts. The fort's military complement was 176 men, including officers and artillerymen. Over the next few days, local militia arrived to raise the garrison's size to about 200, although this included individuals not effective for combat due to illness. On both November 7 and 8 he again attempted to get messengers out of Eddy's cordon, without success.
On November 8 Eddy was joined by about 200 men from Cobequid and Pictou, and he finally felt ready to act on November 10. Eddy sent a letter demanding that Goreham surrender his garrison. Goreham refused, suggesting in retort that Eddy surrender. The next day... Michael Francklin, patrolling in the Bay of Fundy for privateers, recovered a ferry that had been taken, and learned from its passengers that Eddy was active.... Commodore Sir George Collier had previously dispatched the HMS Vulture into the Bay of Fundy on rumors of privateering activity there, so he ordered the HMS Hope to locate the Vulture so that she could assist....
Lacking artillery, the rebels attempted to storm the fort on the night of November 12, attempting a feint to draw Goreham's strength away from the weak points of the defenses. The experienced Goreham saw through the feint and repulsed the attack. One of Eddy's Maliseet warriors sneaked into the fort and very nearly opened a gate but was stopped at the last moment. Following the failed attack, Eddy effectively lost control of the expedition, as a council of leaders formed against him. Night attacks ordered by the council on November 22 and 23 succeeded in capturing and burning several buildings, but Goreham grimly held his ground, and the invaders were again repulsed.
On November 27, the Vulture arrived. Rather than retreat in the face of arriving relief, the rebels increased their guard; Goreham, with some intelligence about the size of the force opposing him, planned a sortie. Early on the morning of November 29, Major Thomas Batt led 150 men from the Vulture's Royal Marine contingent and the Royal Fencible Americans, and scattered Eddy's men, killing and wounding several, at the cost of two dead and three wounded....
Batt's men chased Eddy's, but bad weather and the lack of adequate footwear eventually caused him to call off the pursuit. Eddy's forces scattered, with many retreating overland to Maugerville. Some of the Massachusetts men took more than two months to reach Machias. Homes and farms of rebel supporters were burned in reprisal but British authorities took a lenient approach toward captured rebels, including Richard John Uniacke, who went on to become Attorney General of Nova Scotia. Goreham issued an offer of pardon for those who would surrender their arms, which more than 100 locals accepted. This prompted Major Batt to file charges against Goreham for neglect of duty; Goreham was exonerated. The victory at Fort Cumberland strengthened the British presence in Nova Scotia, in part by driving Patriot sympathizers like Allan and Eddy out of the province, but also by cowing those that remained, often by requiring people to make pledges to the Crown...
