HMS Margaretta

Battle of Machias (1775)

Machias Bay is on the coast of eastern Maine. Machiasport is located near the outlet of the Machias River into the bay. Upriver and north from Machiasport, the river branches, leading left (west) to Machias, and east to East Machias. Holmes Bay is a large bay in the northeastern part of Machias Bay, just east of the mouth of the Machias River.

A 1776 nautical chart of Machias Bay; Machias is at the very top

Date	June 11–12, 1775
Location	Machias, Massachusetts 44°42′50.58″N 67°27′39.1″W / 44.7140500°N 67.460861°W / 44.7140500; -67.460861Coordinates: 44°42′50.58″N 67°27′39.1″W / 44.7140500°N 67.460861°W / 44.7140500; -67.460861
Result	Patriot forces capture the HM schooner Margaretta

Belligerents

Great Britain

Massachusetts

Commanders and leaders

James Moore †

Jeremiah O'Brien

Benjamin Foster

Strength

HM schooner Margaretta
about 40 Royal Navy seamen

Private sloops Unity and Falmouth Packet
55 militia (Massachusetts militia)

Casualties and losses

5 killed
9 wounded

10 killed
3 wounded

Jeremiah O'Brien

The Battle of Machias (June 11–12, 1775) was the first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War. Also known as the Battle of the Margaretta, it was fought around the port of Machias (in what is now eastern Maine).

Following the outbreak of the war and the start of the Siege of Boston, British authorities enlisted the assistance of a loyalist merchant, named Ichabod Jones, to aid in the acquisition of needed supplies. Two of Jones' merchant ships arrived in Machias on June 2, 1775, accompanied by a British armed sloop called the Margaretta (sometimes also spelled Margueritta or Marguerite) that was commanded by Midshipman James Moore. The townspeople of Machias disapproved of Jones' intentions and arrested him. They also tried to arrest Moore, but he escaped through the harbor. The townspeople seized one of Jones' ships, armed it alongside a second local ship, and sailed out to meet Moore. After a short confrontation, Moore was fatally wounded, and his vessel and crew were captured.

The people of Machias captured additional British ships, and fought off a large force that tried to take control of the town in the Battle of Machias in 1777. Privateers and others operating out of Machias continued to harass the Royal Navy throughout the war.

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