Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Down East Coast. In June of 1775 townspeople in Machias stormed
and took over the British schooner
Margaretta
, using a trusty sloop and
little more than an odd collection of hunting flintlocks and pitchforks. In
October of that year, the British Navy, on orders to harass non-loyalists,
bombarded the town of Falmouth, now Portland.
Benedict Arnold's March on Quebec
Perhaps the most notable local operation of the war, immortal-
ized in Maine author Kenneth Robert's novel
Arundel
, was Ben-
edict Arnold's march on Quebec. Beginning with 1,100 men in
the early fall of 1775, Arnold and his expedition headed up the
Kennebec River in leaky bateau and with provisions and equip-
ment he would soon learn were extraordinarily sub-standard.
The plan was to haul the boats and supplies a short ways over-
land from the northern reaches of the Kennebec and then use
north-flowing rivers in Canada to approach the city of Quebec.
Winter snows came early. The expedition, with men weakened
by disease and malnourishment, became lost and disorientated
after hauling the boats literally up the side of a mountain. After
eight excruciating weeks Arnold was left with only a handful of
men. His attack was repulsed. Despite the capture of hundreds of
his men he lay siege to Quebec for several months before ulti-
mately giving up and going home. The raging rapids, falls, and
the massive mountains the expedition had to cross can be easily
viewed today from Route 201 now named the
Arnold Trail
, with
interpretive signs and roadside rest areas.
Also during the revolution, in 1779, American Naval forces suffered a
disastrous defeat off Castine in Penobscot Bay.
During the War of 1812, much of Maine east of the Penobscot, including
Bangor, was occupied by British forces.
Residents of Maine, then a territory of Massachusetts, were not happy
with what little protection and attention they received during the war.
The issue sowed the seeds of separatism that resulted in Maine becoming
its own state. On July 26, 1891 Mainers voted 17,091 to 7,132 to separate
from Massachusetts. The new state, with a population of just under
300,000, officially joined the Union as a free state on March 3, 1820 as
part of the Missouri Compromise.
Maine Counties
Maine has 16 counties. They are: Androscoggin, Aroostook,
Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Ox-
ford,
Penobscot,
Piscataguis,
Sagadahoc,
Somerset,
Waldo,
Washington, York.
