The War comes to Maine
In the fall of 1775, after the war’s early battles in Lexington and Concord and at Bunker Hill, Benedict Arnold, a Colonel in the Continental Army, led over 1,000 soldiers carrying heavy wooden bateaux on an expedition through the relatively unmapped wilderness of Maine. The expedition was designed to be a surprise attack on British-held Quebec City, and to rally Canadian support for the American cause. The march, however, quickly became a nightmare. As you can see on the maps of their route, after the men sailed from Newburyport and reached Fort Western to begin the march, they faced dense forests, rough terrain, freezing rain, and swollen rivers. While Arnold originally estimated a 180-mile march in 20 days, the difficult trek took 45 days, and covered 350 miles, nearly double the initial projections. This was a consequence of faulty maps, poor planning, and soldiers unfamiliar with wilderness conditions. Over the course of the 45-day march, nearly 1/3 of the force turned back or died before reaching Canada. Though Arnold and his remaining men eventually reached the outskirts of Quebec in December, their weakened condition, tattered clothing, and dwindling supplies contributed to a failed assault on the British stronghold. While the mission ended in defeat, in its memory and retelling, it became an early symbol of American resolve and sacrifice [at least in the years prior to Benedict Arnold’s traitorous defection to the British].
Maine was also the site of one of the largest American naval operations in the war. In the summer of 1779, the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts launched the Penobscot Expedition from Boston. Their goal was to expel the British forces established at Fort George and Castine (which they renamed New Ireland and set up as a Loyalist Colony) and reclaim the territory for the American cause. The expedition consisted of 44 ships and 1,000 soldiers and militiamen. But poor coordination, leadership disputes, and a lack of urgency stalled the attack. After weeks of indecision by Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, a British relief fleet arrived, trapping the American forces in Penobscot Bay. The result was catastrophic: the American fleet (with ships borrowed from individual merchants) was destroyed. Many ships were burned or scuttled to prevent capture, and troops were forced to flee overland through the dense wilderness. Until Pearl Harbor, the Penobscot Expedition was considered among the worst American Naval defeats.