As the lead frigate steamed towards the channel between the two forts, Commodore Treat with his pennant flapping from the mast on the USS Abenaki led the ironclads out of the harbor. His twin 20-inch Dahlgrens fired twice into the lead frigate; then the USS Biddeford fired two salvos from the 15 inch Parrot rifles. The return cannon fire from the frigate bounced harmlessly off the sloped armored sides of the casements and the round turrets.
The damage to the frigate was devastating with the heavy shot blasting open the wood hull of the ship before exploding inside. The Gatling guns poured murderous fire into the hull breaches and the gun ports. The Casco monitors added to the damage with several hits from their 15 inch Parrot rifles. Mortally wounded the frigate lost control and grounded on the shoals. Once there, it came under fire from the remaining guns of the shore batteries. Helpless, the frigate struck its colors.
USS Abenaki and USS Biddeford continued the attack on the other British warships. The Casco Monitors joined the battle and shelled the Royal Navy ships from the shallow waters near shore. The sloops of a war fought valiantly and finally struck their colors before needing to abandon the sinking vessels. Less than half of the crews survived the cold and unforgiving waters of Penobscot Bay. Those who did were able to climb aboard the decks the Monitors.
The trailing frigate and sloop of war tried to break off but were chased down by USS Abenaki and USS Biddeford. After a brief exchange of fire, the British captains knowing the damage their ships were sustaining and observing their cannon balls bouncing off the ironclads struck their colors. Prize crews took command of the captured warships, and the sailors were locked in the hold. The officers were locked in their cabins.
Two hours later, with the captured Royal Navy warships in tow, the USS Abenaki, and the USS Biddeford, with whistles blowing steamed triumphant into Searsport. Commodore Treat telegraphed General Chamberlain and Admiral Farragut the results of the battle and the strength of the Royal Navy fleet sailing up the Penobscot.
Treat’s questioning of the survivors indicated the British objective was the destruction of the navy yard in Bangor. The United States’ Army units stationed at Fort Knox in Bucksport were alerted to expect the British before day’s end. Additional telegraph warnings were sent to ports along the New England coast all the way to New York City that the Royal Navy had sailed from Halifax and was on the attack. Chamberlain, promising reinforcements, ordered Treat to expel the British from Belfast. Then render aid to forces up the Penobscot River.
Just before dawn the next morning, with the British survivors securely imprisoned in the forts and the Casco Class Monitors protecting the harbor, USS Abenaki, USS Biddeford and three passenger ships with 650 militia, most of them Civil War veterans steamed towards Belfast Harbor. Landing the troops south of the city, the USS Abenaki and USS Biddeford steamed into Belfast Harbor demanding the surrender of the British garrison.
The British Colonel Wells, presuming the United States Navy would be reluctant to fire on the city, refused. He was also confident that the Royal Navy fleet would return a matter of days. The next day, 1,000 militia reinforcements arrived along the Augusta Road. 500 more militia arrived from rural farm communities. They drove the British patrols back into Belfast and blocked the roads heading north. The British, effectively surrounded, were relearning a 90-year-old lesson about fighting an armed and angry populace.
That night, Commodore Treat met with the militia Colonels. Plans were drawn up for a simultaneous assault at dawn, coinciding with the ironclads shelling of the British positions. Following a one hour cannonade, the militia, which had been stealth-fully moving forward attacked from three sides and within 30 minutes had overrun the forward British positions.
By 10 am, Colonel Wells raised the white flag and surrendered. By the end of the day, with the fighting over and the surviving British soldiers imprisoned under heavy guard in a warehouse. Commodore Treat took Colonel Wells and his officers back to Searsport. The three merchant ships, with the Searsport Militia followed.
Commodore Treat stopped briefly in Searsport to take on more munitions and telegraph General Chamberlain and Admiral Farragut. He advised them of the recovery of Belfast and the capture and internment of the British garrison. He ended the message indicating that he was leaving three Casco monitors to defend Searsport, and the balance of the flotilla was to steam north up the Penobscot to render aid to the beleaguered forces in Bucksport.
Chapter 15
Boston, Massachusetts
General Joshua Chamberlain was inspecting the fortifications protecting Boston Harbor. New fortifications included a dirt filled wood fortification at East Point in Nahant and the newly named Fort Heath on Grover’s Cliff in Winthrop, which had granite ramparts. Chamberlain had recently attended the commissioning ceremony there, honoring Major General William Heath. Heath was a resident who had fought in the Revolutionary War and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
Both fortifications were situated on hills and had batteries of nine 15-inch Rodman Cannons, which could shoot a 400lb explosive or solid shot 5 miles when angled at 30 degrees. Three miles of water separated the forts. Thus they had overlapping fields of fire. The channel between the forts led to the important manufacturing center of Lynn.
The traditional fortifications of Boston included Fort Warren at the mouth of the harbor, which protected the south entrance known as Roosevelt Roads. Fort Independence was situated on Castle Island 1/2 mile offshore from the city, and Fort Winthrop on Governors Island protected the entrances to Belle Isle Inlet and Chelsea Creek. These were pentagon star forts constructed of granite. Fort Warren and Fort Independence mounted 96 guns each, including rooftop batteries of thirty-two 15” Rodman cannons. Fort Winthrop mounted a rooftop battery of sixteen 15-inch Rodman guns, plus thirty-two 8” and 10” Rodman guns in the casements.
Chamberlain was touring the United States Navy Yard in Charleston when the first telegraph from Commodore Treat arrived. Orders went out to the fortifications to prepare the city for possible British attack. The first order of business was to determine the progress of the five, turreted Casco Monitors which were in the process of refitting at the Navy Yard. At the Commandant’s office, he learned that the refit had been completed, with only a shakedown cruise needed.
Each monitor had a 15-inch, and an 11-inch Dahlgren mounted in the turret. Defects in the steam powered spindle turret rotation mechanism were corrected, but not fully tested. Chamberlain ordered them to be fully crewed and armed. If time allowed, the monitors could cruise around the harbor and the outer islands to test the re-fit. Unfortunately, Chamberlain did not think they had the required time.
He dispatched reinforcements to the garrisons at Fort Heath and Fort East Point. Enhancements to the redoubt constructed across the north side of Nahant Island accommodated additional cannons. A ground assault would only be possible at high tide as the series of sand bars extending to Lynn would restrict access at low tide and funnel the attackers into narrow channels. Redoubts at Fort Heath faced the beach leading up to Beachmont Hill in North Chelsea.
The Beachmont shore was considered a resort with a road leading to Winthrop. A wide elevated boardwalk was on the ocean side, with homes and businesses located on piers. A broad sandy beach leads to the ocean. A quarter mile long wood pier extended out from Roagan’s Point to accommodate the yacht club and fish docks.
This idyllic setting was about to be disturbed. The houses and businesses were mostly seasonal in nature and as winter was approaching were mostly closed and boarded up. The remaining residents evacuated, as the engineers set demolition charges under the boardwalk and the buildings across the road. If the British invaded, the buildings would be demolished to allow for a free fire zone. The hill in Beachmont rose steeply from Pearl Ave to Bellingham Ave, and a redoubt was hastily constructed to defend against a landing. Horses pulled gun carriages to the redoubt mounting field cannon and Gatling Guns.
The next morning, the local newsp
apers the Boston Daily Journal, The Boston Herald, and the Boston Chronicle ran sensational banner headlines THE BRITISH ARE COMING. Below the headlines were inflammatory stories of their atrocities in Maine. Lurid accounts told of the burning of Stonington, Vinalhaven, Center Haven, Camden, Rockport and the sacking of Belfast. The newspaper reporters retrieved stories of how in the War of 1812 the Royal Navy had sailed up the Penobscot River and sacked Bangor. Panic began to set in. Many coastal families began moving inland to stay with relatives.
Later editions heralded the victory by Commodore Treat at Searsport. News reporters descended on the family in Chelsea with interviews. William Treat proudly basked in the glory that Robert had earned. Accompanying stories were full of dire warnings of the possible attack by the Royal Navy on Boston. Reports told the readers to listen for church bells, as that would be the warning of invasion. The issues were full of photos of the defensive preparations and interviews with General Chamberlain.
The steamship SS Nancy was en route from Provincetown full of passengers returning to Boston when a lookout sighted smoke, then sails from the northeast. As Boston was still 15 miles away, the captain ordered full steam ahead. His concern was a possible sighting of the British fleet, and he wanted to get to the safety of Boston Harbor.
The SS Nancy had indeed sighted the Royal Navy fleet under the command of Governor Chapman. The fleet consisted of eight battleships, five frigates including HMS Achilles, six sloops of war and four troopships. Chapman dispatched HMS Achilles to run down the steamer before it could provide a warning to Boston. At full speed, SS Nancy could do ten knots. Achilles’ top speed was 14 knots. After a chase of one-hour Achilles was within 1/2 mile.
A lookout on the observation tower at Fort Warren saw two ships approaching less than five miles away. Through the telescope, he saw an obvious chase and was able to determine that a warship was chasing a passenger steamer. He sounded the alarm giving the direction of the approaching ships. Four of the roof mounted Rodman cannons were loaded and elevated to the maximum 30 degrees. The guns were deliberately aimed 2 degrees to starboard of the approaching passenger vessel.
The passengers on SS Nancy were beginning to panic. The Achilles was drawing ever closer and was now only 300 feet away. A British officer was shouting over a megaphone for the captain of SS Nancy to stop and prepare for boarding. Realizing he could not escape, Nancy’s captain was prepared to give the order to reverse engines. In the distance, he heard loud booms. Thinking it was thunder, he looked up, but the sky was clear. Seconds later what looked like large stones splashed into the water around and behind HMS Achilles. Realizing he had been discovered and was in the range of Fort Warren, Captain Vansittart ordered the Achilles to come about and steamed away.
Loud cheering erupted on SS Nancy as the vessel steamed away towards Boston. As SS Nancy approached Fort Warren signal flags were raised for her to dock. Questions to the crew and passengers asked about the size of the Royal Navy Fleet. The stories varied and most were conjecture. However, the one common detail was that the ship that chased them was an ironclad.
At the sound the cannon shots, the harbor defenses came to alert. The lookouts on Fort Warren’s tower reported numerous ships on the horizon sailing towards Boston. A harbor Guard boat was dispatched from Fort Warren to Chamberlain’s headquarters at the Navy Yard. The Royal Navy had arrived. The passengers quickly re-boarded SS Nancy which fled to safety in the inner harbor.
The telegraph lines were busy sending the message that the British had arrived. Church bells within forty miles of Boston began to ring and kept ringing. That was the signal for the militia to assemble.
Factories began to close as the militiamen went home, put on their uniforms, grabbed their weapons and met in the town squares. Soldiers opened the armories and hitched cannons to horse-drawn caissons. Within hours, 30,000 militiamen, most of them Civil War veterans had gathered. Cheering crowds lined the roadsides as the companies with fifes, drums and flag bearers leading the way marched towards Boston. The churches stayed open. Families gathered to pray for the safety of the fathers and sons who were again marching off to battle.
Chapter 16
Buffalo, NY
General Grant issued orders to transport the hundreds of stockpiled barges to the Lake Erie shore south of Buffalo to facilitate the crossing of Lake Erie west of the Niagara River and ordered the seizure of the bridges crossing the Niagara River into Canada. United States cavalry units seized the bridges from the unprepared Canadian police force. Thousands of troops crossed the bridges. The motorized barges assisted in the crossing of thousands more. The port cities of Colborne and Dalhousie were quickly occupied, taking control of the Welland Canal between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Militia and police surrendered and the armory’s secured.
General Grant set up his headquarters in Port Dalhousie. The next morning, leaving a 10,000 man garrison to protect the canal, Grant with a cavalry screen in front, moved north with his 50,000 troops along the shores of Lake Ontario towards the important railroad junction and the port city of Hamilton. Hamilton’s location on the northwest end of Lake Ontario was the gateway to Toronto.
Two days later Grant’s army was on the outskirts of Hamilton, occupied the railroad yard and surrounded the city. Observing the size of the occupying army, the Mayor of Hamilton, Harrison Clinton rode out accompanied by the militia commander under a flag of truce were ushered into Grant’s tent. Grant who was filling out reports looked up and said: “Who might you be?
Mayor Clinton replied: “I am Harrison Clinton, Mayor of Hamilton.” The officer said: “I am Colonel Robert Boyd commander of Harrison County Militia. We ask for your terms of surrender. I only ask that you spare the city and its residents from destruction.”
Grant replied: “You must surrender the city, disarm the police and Militia and turn over all weapons. The armories must be turned over intact to officers of my choice. The militia must muster and stack their arms. My officers will need the militia roster. Once identified, the members can return to their families. The officers who personally give me their parole will be able to keep their side arms and return to their families. I have no desire to destroy your city or harm any of its residents. However, military force will suppress resistance including execution of the resistors and any who assisted them.”
Greatly relieved, Mayor Clinton and Colonel Boyd agreed to the terms. An hour later, both signed the prepared documents. At 9 am the next morning, 750 militiamen mustered, rolled up their flags and stacked their weapons. The officers signed the parole agreement and were allowed to keep their sidearms and swords. The roster included 900 names. General William Rosecrans, Grant’s designated officer, asked Colonel Boyd: “Where are the rest of your men?”
Colonel Boyd answered: “Two companies of the militia were training east of Hamilton when your army arrived and encircled the city. They are unaccounted for as they are not here.” Rosecrans replied: “I request that you send two of your officers to find them, present their commanders the surrender agreement and order their return. If they don’t agree, they will be combatants.” Gray issued the orders to two captains and provided a copy of the surrender agreement. The two officers saluted, mounted their horses and rode off. The assembled militia and officers were then dismissed to return to their homes.
Grant’s army then occupied the city including the docks. Municipal offices remained open. Employees who signed a loyalty oath were allowed to keep their jobs. The schools reopened the next day. The newspapers told stories of the peaceful occupation and extolled the citizenry to remain calm. Later in the day, Colonel’s Gray’s two officers returned with 80 militia men who agreed to surrender. The officers reported that the missing men had voted to stay in the field and join up with other British forces. The returning militia stacked their weapons and went home. Grant ordered cavalry patrols to probe eastward.
Detroit, Michigan.
Coordinating his attack at the same time that Grant invaded from Buffalo, Gene
ral Sherman crossed the Detroit River with 30,000 troops and began marching east towards London. His forces quickly captured Windsor Ontario. The police and local militia were caught totally unprepared. The police stations and the armories were quickly secured. As there were active trade and many personal and cultural contacts between the cities, the occupation was not seriously opposed. Too many of the residents, the Imperial Government was heavy handed in its rule, and the Queen was over 5,000 miles away. The American’s promise of self-governance had broad appeal. Joint policing began with local authorities and the garrison of United States Military. Under common control, the public services continued without interruption.
Sherman’s march continued following the stagecoach road through Kent County. The area was mostly rural with sullen and or indifferent farm families watching as the army passed through. By the end of the third day, the army occupied the villages of Tilsbury, Chatham, and Blenheim. On the fourth day, Sherman’s cavalry patrols met up with a regiment of Meade’s cavalry which probed south from London. Sherman turned north to join with Meade. With the joining of both armies, 50,000 men under the command of General Sherman rode the rails to Hamilton.
Port Huron, Michigan
Another 20,000 troops, under the command of George Meade, crossed at Port Huron to capture Sarnia, which was an important railroad junction and port city on the south end of Lake Huron. After leaving a garrison of 5,000 soldiers from the Michigan militia, Meade transported his army by railroad towards London, with cavalry regiments screening on both flanks. Other Army units secured the border along the Canadian side of the St Clare River. Local police units surrendered and armory’s secured. The entire operation was without bloodshed.
The next morning newspaper editions in the occupied areas spread the story of how Britain had declared war on the United States after their defeat in Liberia. The reports indicated that US Naval forces, caught in the middle of the conflict had to defend themselves when attacked by the British. Follow-up editions focused on how municipal services were uninterrupted; schools were in session, regular church services continued, just under a different administration. The local population, at first restive, settled in to wait. Occupation forces were strictly instructed to utilize a “light” touch. Public flogging or hangings punished breaches of military discipline such as looting, rape, or murder.
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