The leader of the expedition against Fort Cumberland was Jonathan Eddy, who had lately been commissioned a lieutenant colonel by the Massachusetts congress. He was a native of Norton (Mass.), and had settled in Cumberland about 1763, but early in the Revolution returned to Massachusetts. About the time of the Declaration of Independence, in July, 1776, Eddy set out from Boston in company with Jonathan Rowe (lately a resident at St. John) and proceeded to Machias. He left that place about the middle of August in a schooner with only 28 men as a nucleus of his proposed army. At Passamaquoddy a few people joined him. The party did not meet with much encouragement on their arrival at St. John, although Hazen, Simonds and White from motives of prudence refrained from any hostile demonstration. Proceeding up the river to Maugerville Eddy met with greater encouragement. “I found the people,” he writes, “to be almost universally hearty in our cause; they joined us with one captain, one lieutenant and twenty-five men, as also sixteen Indians.” The captain of the St. John river contingent was 269 probably Hugh Quinton[101] who has as his lieutenant one Jewett of Maugerville. Others of the party were Daniel Leavitt, William McKeen, Elijah Estabrooks, Edward Burpee, Nathan Smith, John Pickard, Edmund Price, Amasa Coy, John Mitchell, Richard Parsons, Benjamin Booby and John Whitney. The rest of the party lived in Maugerville but their names are not known.
On his arrival at Cumberland Jonathan Eddy was joined by many of the settlers there who, like himself, were originally from New England. His whole force probably did not exceed 200 men, badly equipped and without artillery. The Indians of the St. John were under the leadership of Ambroise St. Aubin, one of their chiefs, and Eddy says they “beheaved most gallantly.”[102] However, the expedition failed to achieve anything of importance. The rebels plundered some of the loyal inhabitants, seized one or two small provision sloops and captured several prisoners, including the Rev. John Eagleson, acting chaplain of the garrison. All attempts to take the fort were futile, and the arrival of Major Batt and Captain Studholme with reinforcement from Windsor rendered Eddy’s situation exceedingly precarious. On the 28th November his forces were utterly routed by Major Batt and hastily retired to the River St. John. They suffered great hardships on the way and arrived at that place in a very miserable condition. Unwelcome as they had proved to the people of Portland Point on the occasion of their advance they were still more unwelcome visitors on their return. In their forlorn condition Hazen, Simonds and White were obliged to furnish them with provisions and supplies in order to keep them from plundering their houses and stores. All that the trading company obtained in return was a bill of exchange on the Massachusetts congress, which probably was never paid:
“Gentlemen,—At sight of this our second Bill (first of same tenor and date not paid) please to pay to Messrs. William Hazen, James Simonds and James White, or order, forty-one Spanish milled Dollars for value received of them.
EZEKIEL FOSTER, Lt.,
EDMUND STEVENS, Capt.,
DAVID PRESCOTT, Lt.,
DANIEL MESERVY, Lt.Portland, Nova Scotia, December 14th, 1776.
To the Honorable Council of Massachusetts State.
James White says the supplies furnished to Prescott & Co., were regarded as for the common cause and benefit to get rid of a needy lawless banditti.
On the 10th February ensuing General Massey wrote to the secretary of State that Eddy, Rogers, Allen and Howe were at the River St. John preparing with the Indians for attacks on various points in the Spring. To counteract the designs of Eddy and his associates Colonel Michael Francklin was appointed Superintendent of Indian affairs about this time.
Early in May, 1777, a serious attempt was made by John Allan to establish a trading post for the Indians on the River St. John. James Simonds proceeded via Windsor to Halifax, and reported the matter to the civil and military authorities. Lieut.-Governor Arbuthnot at once sent Colonel Arthur Goold and an armed party, commanded by Major Studholme, to investigate, and on their arrival at St. John the Machias rebels promptly decamped. On the 9th May Goold wrote a letter to the inhabitants of the townships up the river stating that the government of Nova Scotia was well informed of their treasonable doings, and that the tenure of their present possessions was due to the clemency of “the most just, generous and best of Princes.” He informed them that his object was to effect a reconciliation for them with Government, and added that while he came to them with the olive branch of peace, in the event of a refusal of his overtures an armed force would follow and employ a very different argument.
A meeting was immediately held at Maugerville, and in reply to Goold a letter was sent “by order of the body of the inhabitants assembled,” written and signed in their behalf by Israel Perley. In this letter the inhabitants aver “that their greatest desire hath ever been to live in peace under good and wholesome laws,” and they declare themselves “ready to attend to any conditions of lenity and oblivion that may be held out to them.”
Colonel Goold in his reply expresses his pleasure at the unanimity of their resolution to observe loyalty and obedience to the government under which they lived and his surprise that they should suffer a few incendiaries to disturb the public tranquillity. He hoped the word “Committee” had nothing so terrible in its sound as to frighten a majority of the loyal people. “Why not,” he says, “form a Committee in favor of Government and see which is strongest? I will throw myself into your scale and make no doubt but we shall soon over balance these mighty Law-givers.”
On the afternoon of May 13, two of John Allan’s lieutenants, William Howe and John Preble, arrived at Manawagonish Cove[103] in a whale boat, not knowing of the presence of a British sloop of war at St. John. Captain Featus, the commander of the “Vulture,” promptly dispatched a boat to the place and took their whale boat, but Howe and Preble and their party fled to the woods and eventually got back to Machias. The captain of the “Vulture” also intercepted two schooners laden with supplies for the proposed Indian “Truck House.”