Siege of Saint John (1777)

St. John River expedition
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia - sent troops to end John Allan's operations
Date June 2–30, 1777 Location Saint John, then Nova Scotia, now New Brunswick Result British victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
John Allan	Gilfred Studholme Michael Francklin
Strength
about 100 militia	120 troops
Casualties and losses
12 killed	1 killed

The St. John River expedition was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by John Allan to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1777. With minimal logistical support from Massachusetts and approximately 100 volunteer militia and Natives, Allan's forces occupied the small settlement at the mouth of the Saint John River (present-day Saint John, New Brunswick, then part of Sunbury County, Nova Scotia) in June 1777.

The settlement's defense was weakened by the war effort and that Americans quickly occupied it and took prisoner British sympathizers. Almost a month later, under command of Brigade Major Studholme and Colonel Francklin, British forces successfully drove off the occupying Americans, forcing Allan to make a difficult overland journey back to Machias, Maine. Allan's incursion was the last significant American land-based assault on Nova Scotia during the war, which remained Loyal throughout the war.

In 1776, when the American Revolutionary War began, there was a small British settlement at the mouth of the Saint John River, where the modern city of Saint John, New Brunswick is located. The territory was at the time part of Nova Scotia, and was defended by a small garrison stationed at Fort Frederick. When the war broke out, the garrison was withdrawn to Boston. Under the command of Stephen Smith, an American militia from Machias, Massachusetts (now part of Maine) immediately attacked and burned Fort Frederick. In late 1776, Jonathan Eddy raised a mixed force of Indians, Massachusetts Patriots, and Nova Scotian sympathizers, and unsuccessfully besieged Fort Cumberland, which protected the land approach to Halifax from the west. Privateers also became active in raiding both Nova Scotia shipping and its communities. By the end of 1776, the Americans had taken nearly 350 prizes and raided the Nova Scotian communities of Yarmouth, Digby, and Cornwallis.

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