The Battle of Machias – The Margaretta
On May 9, 1775, two sloops carrying provisions sailed into Machias Bay, escorted by an armed British cutter with four guns, the Margaretta. The Margaretta’s captain, midshipman James Moore, circulated a document that he wanted the villagers to sign. The document said they would agree to protect the three vessels in exchange for the provisions they so desperately needed.
On June 11, the British officers noticed the Machias rebels coming after them in church. They escaped to their little ship Margaretta amidst a bit of shooting. Midshipman Moore threatened to fire on the town. The two sides prepared for battle the next day. Two young women, Hannah (Watts) and Rebecca Weston, traveled 16 miles from Jonesboro with bags of pewter plates, spoons, and mugs for ammunition.
On June 12, townspeople armed with muskets, pitchforks, and axes seized one of the merchant ships, the Falmouth Packet, and armed it alongside a second ship, the Unity, under the command of Jeremiah O’Brien. The two ships sailed out to meet the Margaretta, but the one captained by Benjamin Foster ran aground. O’Brien’s crew quickly caught up to the ship.
Painting donated to Hannah Weston Chapter, NSDAR, by Patrick O’Brien, a maritime artist and descendent of the O’Brien family, in 2017.
As the Margaretta headed toward the open sea, inept seamanship caused her to lose her gaff and boom. That made the vessel hard to sail, and the crew had to capture another vessel for replacements. Then it had to fix the rigging. which had been damaged by rough weather. That gave O’Brien’s sloop plenty of time to catch up with the Margaretta and ram into her side. The rebels then boarded her. Shooting and hand-to-hand combat resulted in the death of two Americans, four British, and a mortal wound to British Midshipman Moore, taken down by a musket shot to the chest.
Once captured and stripped down, the Margaretta was taken up Middle River (which is off the Machias River) and hidden in Marshfield and concealed from the British who, after losing another schooner, punished the residents of Machias in a raid that burned several buildings.
