Raid On Charlottetown (1775)
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The Raid on Charlottetown of 17–18 November 1775, early in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, involved two American
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
s of the Marblehead Regiment attacking and pillaging
Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...
,
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
, then known as St. John's Island. The raid motivated
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
Governor Francis Legge to declare
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
. Despite the raid's success,
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
immediately freed senior colonial officials the privateers had brought back as prisoners to
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
.


Background

During the American Revolution, rebels and later French privateers frequently attacked Nova Scotia, damaging its maritime economy by raiding coastal communities including
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
and Annapolis Royal. In October 1775, British forces burned Falmouth, now Portland, Maine. To respond, General Washington commandeered two
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
s from John Glover's Marblehead Regiment for privateering. Glover recruited his son-in-law Captain Nicholson Broughton in the ''Hancock'' () and Captain John Selman (privateer) in the . They were ordered to intercept two
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
s carrying armaments from England arriving in the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
. Instead of following orders into a risky naval battle, the two privateers sought more convenient, easier quarry off Cape Canso, taking five prizes of dubious legality. The privateers heard that the British were recruiting at St. John's Island and decided to attack it. Washington sent Selman with Nicholson Broughton to lead an expedition off Nova Scotia to interrupt two British ships full of armaments bound for Quebec. Broughton commanded the USS Hancock, joined by Captain Selman in the Franklin. Selman and Broughton gathered intelligence at Canso, Nova Scotia that the two ships en route to Quebec had already gone to Quebec the month earlier. Broughton and Selman wrote Washington that "we are however something comforted in that no Vessel passes this season to Boston, Halifax or to any part of America from Quebec but must pass within gun Shot of us." Broughton and Selman captured seven British vessels around Canso. On 29 October Broughton captured the schooners Prince William (Capt. William Standley Cr) and Mary (Capt. Thomas Russell). Two days later, Selam and Broughton wrote to Washington, that he captured the sloop Phoebe commanded by Captain James Hawkins. The sloop was owned by Boston loyalist Enoch Rust. Broughton indicated that Rust was “contrary … to the Association of the united American Colonies.” He also described Loyalist Boston as a “Den of Mischievous Violators of the rights of Humanity.” Five days later, on 5 November, Broughton took the sloop Warren owned by Thomas Cochrane of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Warren was commanded by Captain John Denny, who Broughton described as not being in “a very favorable light respecting their attachment to American Liberties.”


Raid

Selman and Broughton gathered intelligence that the Governor of St. John Island was recruiting for the war efforts against the Americans and resolved to attack.Selman letter. 1813
/ref> As a result, Broughton headed for Charlottetown. On 17 November, both captains landed with two parties of six men each. They took two prisoners, Acting Governor Phillips Callbeck and Surveyor General Thomas Wright, for possible exchange for Patriot American prisoners taken at Quebec. They ransacked Callbeck's home, emptied his stores, took the colony's silver seal and Governor Patterson's Commission, and also plundered Patterson's House. Selman and Broughton also searched unsuccessfully for the wives of Callbeck and senior naval commander Captain David Higgins, both daughters of prominent Boston loyalists. Callbeck's wife was the daughter of Nathaniel Coffin Jr., who a few months earlier had ordered the felling of the
Liberty Tree The Liberty Tree (1646–1775) was a famous Elm, elm tree that stood in Boston, Massachusetts near Boston Common in the years before the American Revolution. In 1765, Patriot (American Revolution), Patriots in Boston staged the first act of def ...
on the Boston Common. Higgins wife was the daughter of Job Princes of Boston. Before the privateers left, they spiked the cannons at the fort.


Aftermath

The privateers took more prisoners at Canso: Captain David Higgins was captured in his schooner Lively on Nov. 23 in the Gut of Canso. On board were the Governor's priest Rev. Theophilus Desbrisay and Council member John Russell Spence, who were briefly held but shortly released. Higgins and the two other prisoners were taken to American headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts by way of Winter Harbour, Maine. (En route they were involved in the Raid on Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (1775).) Washington, who wanted colonies to rebel freely rather than by intimidation, censured the privateers for imprisoning government officials without permission and freed them. While George Washington censured Selman and Broughton,
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...
(who was on the committee to establish the navy) supported the privateers stating that they may “deserve censure for going counter to
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
orders, but I think in justice to ourselves we ought to seize every oyalistofficer in the service of Government wherever they may be found." When Selman was retired years later, the Vice President of the United States
Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...
favourably re-evaluated his contribution to the war effort and signed his letter, "with much esteem and respect, E. Gerry." Callbeck returned and became the Commander for the St. John Volunteers in the Revolutionary War, investing heavily in the island's defences. (The St. John Volunteers were later named Fanning's Corps of Island Saint John's Volunteers and then, in 1799, the Prince Edward Island Fencibles.) The privateers continued to attack throughout the war and Loyalists were re-routed away from the Island to settle at Louisbourg. In August 1777, 2 privateers invaded Saint Peters and killed livestock. The privateers pillaged the property of Wellwood Waugh and he was forced to move from Charlottetown to
Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'' Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk: ''Piktuk'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) nor ...
,
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, the following year. (In 1777, Waugh was himself implicated in an American privateer raid on Pictou and was forced to move to Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. He became a prominent inhabitant and Waugh River is named after him.) Major Timothy Hierlihy was ordered to be the commander of the defence of Prince Edward Island. (In 1778, Timothy defended the Spanish River coal mines in
Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...
from American privateers — recapturing two vessels, retrieving loyalist property, killing one of the privateers and sending other prisoners to Halifax. He later established Antigonish, Nova Scotia).


See also

* * Military history of Nova Scotia


References


Sources

* John Dewar Faibisy. Privateering and Piracy: The Effects of New England Raiding Upon Nova Scotia During the American Revolution, 1775–1883. University of Massachusetts. 1972. pp. 41–44 *William Bell Clark, George Washington's Navy (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1960, Chapters 5, 7. * Gardner W. Allen, A NAVAL HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (Boston, 1913), Chapter 17. * *
Selman, Captain John. Letter to Elridge Gerry. 18 March 1813. Printed in Salem Gazette 22 July 1856.
*Phillips Callbeck to Lord Dartmought, 5 January 1776: PRO, CO 226/6, 78 * Callbeck to Dartmouth, 5 January 1776, PRO, CO. 226/ 6, 79 *Washington's letter to Elridge Gerry, March 18, 1813, reprinted in Salem Gazette, 22 July 1856.
Washingston's instructions

Glover to Broughton letters

The Case of Phillip Callbeck

Washington renouncing the raid


External links

* * {{usurped,

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Lt. William Gray's log of the battle
Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving the United States Privateering in the American Revolutionary War
Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...
Maritime history of Canada Military history of Nova Scotia 1775 in Prince Edward Island Charlottetown (1775)[