Raid on Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (1775)

Last updated
Raid on Yarmouth (1775)
Part of the American Revolutionary War
DateDecember 5, 1775
Location
Result American victory
Belligerents
Naval Ensign of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts Bay Privateers Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg  Great Britain
Strength
2 armed schooners (80 men each) Local militia

The Raid on Yarmouth took place on 5 December 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved American Privateers from Salem, Massachusetts attacking Yarmouth, Nova Scotia at Cape Forchu. The privateers intended to stop the export of supplies being sent from Nova Scotia to the loyalists in Boston. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

During the American Revolution, Americans regularly attacked Nova Scotia by land and sea. American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities, [3] such as the numerous raids on Liverpool and on Annapolis Royal. [4] Sent to join Captain Jeremiah O'Brien in the Bay of Fundy, five vessels left Salem for Nova Scotia. The schooners took four prizes in the Bay of Fundy and sent three to Salem. Two of the schooners went to Yarmouth. One of these schooners had prisoner Acting-Governor Phillips Callbeck, having been captured in the Raid on Charlottetown (1775). [5]

Battle

On December 5, 1775 at 10:00 in the morning two American Privateers (80 men each) from Salem, each armed with eight Carriage guns and 16 swivels, landed at Yarmouth. [6] The crew had fire locks, pistols and cutlasses. They overwhelmed the local militia and imprisoned all the officers. Under threat of death, the inhabitants of the town watched as the privateers pillaged their town. As a result, 82 inhabitants of Yarmouth signed a petition to Governor Legge to either withdraw to Halifax or New England or be able to remain neutral in the conflict, which was quickly rejected by Richard Bulkeley. [7] [8]

Aftermath

American privateers remained a threat to Nova Scotian ports for the rest of the war. The attacks put an end to the trade relations between Nova Scotia and New England. [9] For example, after a failed attempt to raid Chester, Nova Scotia, American privateers struck again in the Raid on Lunenburg in 1782.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool, Nova Scotia</span> Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)</span> Military unit

The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present-day Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries. The 84th Regiment was also involved in offensive action in the Thirteen Colonies; including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and what is now Maine, as well as raids upon Lake Champlain and the Mohawk Valley. The regiment consisted of 2,000 men in twenty companies. The 84th Regiment was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War and stayed in North America. As a result, the 84th Regiment had one of the oldest and most experienced officer corps of any regiment in North America. The Scottish Highland regiments were a key element of the British Army in the American Revolution.

HMS Bream was a British Royal Navy Ballahoo-class schooner of four 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in Bermuda, and she was launched in 1807. Bream operated primarily in North American waters and had an uneventful career until the War of 1812. She then captured two small American privateers and assisted in the recovery of a third, much larger one. She also captured a number of small prizes before she was sold or broken up in 1816.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia (1782)</span> Battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Raid on Lunenburg occurred during the American Revolution when the US privateer, Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on July 1, 1782. The raid was the last major privateer attack on a Nova Scotia community during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Howe</span> Historic site in Saint John, New Brunswick

Fort Howe was a British fort built in Saint John, New Brunswick during the American Revolution. It was erected shortly after the American siege in 1777 to protect the city from further American raids. The 18th and 19th century British Army fortification stood at the mouth of the Saint John River where it empties into the Bay of Fundy. A replica blockhouse has been constructed approximately 250 metres to the northeast of the original structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle off Halifax (1782)</span> Naval battle in American Revolutionary War

The Battle off Halifax took place on 28 May 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. It involved the American privateer Jack and the 14-gun Royal Naval brig HMS Observer off Halifax, Nova Scotia. Captain David Ropes commanded Jack, and Lieutenant John Crymes commanded Observer. The battle was "a long and severe engagement" in which Captain David Ropes was killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. John River expedition</span> Military action in the American Revolutionary War

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 in June 1777.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of Nova Scotia</span> Provincial military history

Nova Scotia is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Maritime Provinces and the northern part of Maine, all of which were at one time part of Nova Scotia. In 1763, Cape Breton Island and St. John's Island became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony. Nova Scotia included present-day New Brunswick until that province was established in 1784. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the colony was primarily made up of Catholic Acadians, Maliseet, and Mi'kmaq. During the last 75 years of this time period, there were six colonial wars that took place in Nova Scotia. After agreeing to several peace treaties, the long period of warfare ended with the Halifax Treaties (1761) and two years later, when the British defeated the French in North America (1763). During those wars, the Acadians, Mi'kmaq and Maliseet from the region fought to protect the border of Acadia from New England. They fought the war on two fronts: the southern border of Acadia, which New France defined as the Kennebec River in southern Maine, and in Nova Scotia, which involved preventing New Englanders from taking the capital of Acadia, Port Royal and establishing themselves at Canso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impressment in Nova Scotia</span> Conscription of Nova Scotians into the Royal Navy

Impressment by the Royal Navy in Nova Scotia happened primarily during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Guard boats of the Navy patrolled Halifax harbour day and night and they boarded all incoming and outgoing vessels. The Navy consistently struggled with desertion in Nova Scotia, and senior naval commanders recognised that only impressment could ensure local squadrons had enough men onboard. The guard boats were used as floating press gangs, impressing every fiftieth man on merchant ships entering the harbour. Due to constant manpower shortages, they even pressed Americans from cartels and prison hulks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Blomindon</span>

The Battle of Blomidon took place on 21 May 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The naval battle involved three armed U.S. privateer vessels against three Nova Scotian vessels off Cape Split, Nova Scotia. American Privateers caught two Nova Scotia Vessels. The first Nova Scotia vessel was re-captured by Lieut Benjamin Belcher. The second Nova Scotia vessel was overtaken by the captured crew under the command of Captain Bishop. The privateers were taken to Cornwallis and put on trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Annapolis Royal (1781)</span>

The Raid on Annapolis Royal took place on 29 August 1781 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved two American privateers - the Resolution and the Reprisal - attacking and pillaging Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in revenge of the defeat of the Penobscot Expedition. The privateers took captive the commander of the militia John Ritchie, described as the "Governor of Annapolis." One historian described it as "one of the most daring and dramatic raids upon Nova Scotia."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Charlottetown (1775)</span> 1775 military operation

The Raid on Charlottetown of 17–18 November 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, involved two American privateers of the Marblehead Regiment attacking and pillaging Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, then known as St. John's Island. The raid motivated Nova Scotia Governor Francis Legge to declare martial law. Despite the raid's success, George Washington immediately freed senior colonial officials the privateers had brought back as prisoners to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Canso (1776)</span>

The Raid on Canso took place on 22 September – November 22, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved American Continental Navy captain John Paul Jones attacking Canso, Nova Scotia and the surrounding fishing villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle off Liverpool, Nova Scotia (1778)</span> 1778 battle

The Battle of Liverpool took place on 24 April 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved the British vessel HMS Blonde and the French 24-gun frigate Duc de Choiseul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Saint John</span>

The Raid on Saint John took place on 27 August 1775 during the American Revolutionary War. The raid involved American privateers from Machias, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bay attacking Saint John, Nova Scotia on the northeast shore of the Bay of Fundy(in present day New Brunswick). The privateers intended to stop the export of supplies being sent to the loyalists in Boston. This raid was the first hostile act committed against Nova Scotia and it resulted in raising the militia across the colony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle off Yarmouth (1777)</span> 1777 battle

The Battle off Yarmouth took place on 28 March 1777 during the American Revolutionary War off the coast of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The battle is the first American armed vessel to engage the British Navy. The British vessel HMS Milford forced the American USS Cabot aground and the American crew escaped among the inhabitants of Yarmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia in the American Revolution</span>

The Province of Nova Scotia was heavily involved in the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). At that time, Nova Scotia also included present-day New Brunswick until that colony was created in 1784. The Revolution had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, "almost the 14th American Colony". At the beginning, there was ambivalence in Nova Scotia over whether the colony should join the Americans in the war against Britain. Largely as a result of American privateer raids on Nova Scotia villages, as the war continued, the population of Nova Scotia solidified their support for the British. Thousands of Loyalist refugees fled to Nova Scotia during the war, and many were resettled in the region after the signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris as "United Empire Loyalists".

The Battle off Halifax took place on 10 July 1780 during the American Revolutionary War. The British privateer Resolution fought the American privateer Viper and heavy casualties were suffered by both sides. The battle was "one of the bloodiest battles in the history of privateering.... a loss of 51 lives in a single battle was virtually unheard of."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Chester, Nova Scotia</span>

The Raid on Chester occurred during the American Revolution when the US privateer, Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Chester, Nova Scotia on 30 June 1782. The town was defended by Captain Jonathan Prescott and Captain Jacob Millett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Selman (privateer)</span> American privateer

Captain John Selman (1744–1817) was a privateer who served in the Marblehead Regiment and commanded the USS Franklin for George Washington's first expedition of the American Navy, which was ordered to interrupt the shipping of British armaments off Nova Scotia. Selman also participated in the Raid on Charlottetown (1775).

References

  1. Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Vol. 3, p. 109
  2. p.1281
  3. Benjamin Franklin also engaged France in the war, which meant that many of the privateers were also from France.
  4. Roger Marsters (2004). Bold Privateers: Terror, Plunder and Profit on Canada's Atlantic Coast, p. 87-89
  5. p. 109, note 2
  6. Naval Records of the American Revolution, Vol. 3, p. 3
  7. Naval Records of the American Revolution, Vol. 3, p. 121
  8. Poole, Edmund Duval (1899). Annals of Yarmouth and Barrington (Nova Scotia) in the Revolutionary War; compiled from original manuscripts, etc., contained in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth, State House, Boston, Mass. J. Murray Lawson. p. 8.
  9. p. 5

43°48′25″N66°09′29″W / 43.807°N 66.158°W / 43.807; -66.158