A British fleet, consisting of four 74-gun ships, two frigates, two sloops of war, and one schooner, with ten transports, the latter bearing almost 4,000 troops, sailed from
Halifax Aug. 26, 1814, under the command of
Lieut.-Gen. Sir John Cope Sherbrooke, governor of
Nova Scotia, assisted by
Maj.-Gen. Gerard Gosselin.
The fleet was in command of
Rear-Admiral Edward Griffith.
The destination of the armament was the
Penobscot River, with a design to take possession of the country between that river and
Passamaquoddy Bay.
Sherbrooke intended to stop and take possession of
Machias, but, learning that the
[
68]
corvette
John Adams, 24 guns, had entered the
Penobscot, he hastened to overtake her. On the morning of Sept. 1 they arrived in the harbor of
Castine.
There was a small American force there, under
Lieutenant Lewis, occupying a little battery.
Lewis, finding resistance would be in vain, spiked the guns, blew up the battery, and fled.
About 600 British troops landed and took quiet possession of the place.
the
John Adams had just returned from a long cruise, much crippled by striking on a rock on entering the bay. It was with difficulty that she was kept afloat until she reached
Hampden, far up the river, to which she fled.
The
British immediately detached a land and naval force to seize or destroy her.
Sherbrooke and
Griffith issued a joint proclamation assuring the inhabitants of their intention to take possession of the country between the
Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Bay, and offering them protection on condition of their acquiescence.
All persons taken in arms were to be punished, and all who should supply the
British with provisions were to be paid and protected.
General Gosselin was appointed military governor.
See
Hampden, action at. 
