Treaty of Watertown

The Treaty of Watertown, the first foreign treaty concluded by the United States of America after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, was signed on July 19, 1776, in the Edmund Fowle House in the town of Watertown, Massachusetts Bay. The treaty established a military alliance between the United States and the St. John's and Mi'kmaq First Nations in Nova Scotia - two of the peoples of the Wabanaki Confederacy - against Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War.

The treaty was signed by the "Governors" (Council) of the State of Massachusetts Bay, "in behalf of said State, and the other united States of America," just one day after the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed from the balcony of the Old State House in nearby Boston. After the Declaration had been translated, the First Nations delegates said, "We like it well." The preamble of the treaty quotes verbatim from the conclusion of the Declaration of Independence, asserting for the thirteen colonies "that as Free and Independent States they have full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts & Things which Independent States may of Right do."

Under the terms of the treaty, the Mi'kmaq and St. John's Tribes (Maliseet and Passamaquoddy) committed to "supply and furnish 600 strong men...or as many as may be" for service in the Continental Army. Three of the six Mi'kmaq delegates who signed the treaty "manfully and generously" volunteered to enlist immediately. The treaty also notes that their pay would commence upon their arrival at Washington's camp in New York. Tribal forces formed an "American Battalion" in the Battle of Fort Cumberland (November 22-December 28, 1776). They also protected the Maine border and launched other attacks against British installations. Since 1995, the town of Watertown, Massachusetts has held an annual Treaty Day celebration.

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