For the most part, the British Royal Navy in America in 1775 was busy capturing American vessels and gathering food and supplies for the besieged army in Boston. But in October, British Admiral Graves sent Lieutenant Henry Mowat to “chastize” a number of New England towns — or, to put it more bluntly, to “lay waste burn and destroy such Seaport Towns as are accessible to his Majesty’s Ships”. Graves gave the order on October 6, and Mowat sailed with four ships — the Canceaux, Symmetry, Spitfire, and Halifax — to carry it out.
Mowat decided to go first to Falmouth (now Portland), Maine. It was the 17th when he arrived there and lined up his ships in position to bombard the town. He sent an officer on shore with a letter, telling the people that he would give them two hours to “remove…the Human Species out of the…town”, and then he would start firing. Three leading citizens went out to talk with Mowat aboard his ship, the Canceaux, and he agreed to wait until the next morning so that the people would have enough time to get out of the town. He also told them that if they would “surrender their cannon and musketry, and give hostages for their future good behaviour,” then he would try to convince the Admiral to change his mind about destroying Falmouth.
Not surprisingly, although the people were given until the next morning to leave, they didn’t surrender their firearms. The whole town was thrown into a panic, and people started working frantically to get themselves and their belongings out of town. The Reverend Jacob Bailey described what happened the next day:
The morning was calm clear and pleasant, without a breath of wind, and the town was crowded with people and carts from the country to assist in removing the goods and furniture of the inhabitants. At exactly half an hour after nine the flag was hoisted at the top of the mast [as a signal], and the cannon began to roar with incessant and tremendous fury. … The oxen, terrified at the smoak and report of the guns ran with precipitation over the rocks, dashing everything in pieces, and scattering large quantities of goods about the streets. In a few minutes the whole town was involved in smoak and combustion. … The bombardment continued from half after nine till sunset, during which all the lower end and middle of the town was reduced to an heap of rubbish. … In a word about three quarters of the town was consumed and between two and three hundred families who twenty four hours before enjoyed in tranquility their commodious habitations, were now in many instances destitute of a hut for themselves and families; and as a tedious winter was approaching they had before them a most gloomy and distressing prospect.
In some places where the buildings weren’t very close together, and so the fire wouldn’t spread very well, Mowat sent men ashore to set the buildings on fire. The British also destroyed some ships in the harbor.
Mowat moved his ships down the harbor the next morning, and reported that the fire was still raging in the town that evening.
The destruction of Falmouth was a forceful display of British military might, and an example of how the rebellious Americans could be punished. But while it might have made some Americans think twice about rebelling, it also gave them another reason to hate the British.
Fortunately, Mowat’s ships had used up most of their ammunition, and some of his guns and one of his ships were damaged, so he didn’t try to destroy the other towns that Admiral Graves had singled out.
Sources
Naval Documents of the American Revolution, vol. 2, pp. 324, 471, 487-8, 500, 516.