1814 Letter from Lt. E. Manning at Fort Sullivan in Eastport, Maine, to Lt. Andrew Lewis in Castine, Maine

June 10, 1814 letter from Lieutenant E. Manning of the 40th Infantry, stationed at Fort Sullivan in Eastport, Maine, to Lieutenant Andrew Lewis, 40th Infantry Commanding, at Castine, Maine.

[Reprinted, with permission, from the Heirlooms Reunited blog]

Interestingly, both Fort Sullivan and Castine would fall into British hands, as the result of a surprise invasion not long after.  In the case of Fort Sullivan, which was captured on July 11, 1814, the British would not leave until June 30, 1818, as Eastport had been disputed territory since the American Revolution, and the British were anxious to retain it.

Interesting content:

• ... I fired a small Gun or Swivel burst and murdered two men, one of which died (Alden) third day after, the other is likely to do well.  Did "murdered" have a different meaning at that time - i.e. "grievously injured" as well as "killed"?
• The writer found Robbinston women more to his liking than Eastport women.
• I ordered two (women) drummed out of Camp yesterday, which caused considerable laughter in Post.

This letter appeared on page 200 in the The Bangor Historical Magazine, Volume 3, July 1887-June 1888.  The contents page lists many interesting articles, including several others with an Eastport, Maine, connection.

Transcript

LETTER FROM EASTPORT, 1814

[From Lieut. E. Manning, 40th Infantry U.S.A., to Lieutenant Andrew Lewis, 40th Infantry, Commanding, at Castine.]

"FORT SULLIVAN, 10th June, 1814 (EASTPORT).

DEAR SIR: - I have not had an opportunity to write you before, since my arrival at this Post. I was at Robbiston last month, and was relieved by Lieut. Blanchard. On his arrival at that Post, I fired a small Gun or Swivel, which burst and murdered two men, one of which died (Alden) third day after, the other is likely to do well. Robbinston is a fine place andthe young ladies very agreeable, much more so than at Eastport. Carpenter is at Machias. He released Lieut. Blanchard the last day of this month. I hope your situation is agreeable, which if it is or not, I hope you let me know by writing me. I have nothing new to write, except I ordered two (women) drummed out of Camp yesterday, which caused considerable laughter in Post.

I am with due consideration, Sir, your most obedient servant.

E. Manning, Lieut. 40th Infantry

Lieut. Andrew Lewis, 40th Infantry.

Diorama of Fort Sullivan (1808-1873)

Fort Sullivan was captured by the British on June 11, 1814 and was renamed Fort Sherbrooke, in honor of Canadian military and political leader Sir John Coape Sherbrooke (1764-1830). When the British finally quit their occupation, on June 30, 1818, the fort returned to its original name of Fort Sullivan.

As for the origin of Sullivan, what is known is that it was likely named for one of two Sullivan brothers, with the younger brother the more likely.

• John Sullivan (1740-1795), a Revolutionary War general
• James Sullivan (1744-1808), Governor of Massachusetts, who died during his second term in 1808, the year the fort was originally built.

Newspaper clipping about Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Moose Island, Maine, probably from the late 1870s.

Passing of a Fort
Eastport's Old Fort Sullivan to Be Divided Up Into Building Lots and Sold

Eastport, Me.  May 19 -- One of Eastport's oldest and most prominent landmarks narrowly escaped going up in smoke recently during a storm, and while a heavy wind was blowing.

Fire was discovered coming through the roof of the old-time building on Fort Sullivan, where several families live, and a large crowd soon collected, including members of the fire department, who rendered valuable aid in getting the fire under control and saving the building.  The damage was small, and the former Government building that was at one time occupied by the English soldiers is yet prominent on the high ground.

Fort Sullivan, on which the above building stands, was built by the United States Government in 1808, the result of the embargo act passed by Congress in 1807, and it is supposed that the old fort was named in honor of Gov. Sullivan.  It was during his administration that the Batterman act was passed, which gave settlers at that time, who had no title, a fair compensation for improvements or betterments.  The Government turned its attention to the fortifying of Eastport, or Moose Island, as it was called, in the spring of 1807, and in April of the following year instructions came from the Government for Col. Lemuel Trescott, then Collector of Customs at Machias, to build the proposed fort here.  It is known that he purchased for $180 three acres of land on Clark's hill and the earth works were soon begun, to be followed by the necessary buildings.  A crescent battery of stone mason work was completed which was laid in lime 11 feet thick, and sods six and one-half feet thick laid on top, making the platform for the cannon.  A block-house was built near of pine timber, two stories high and having walls 14 inches thick.

They also constructed a magazine 10 feet square, the walls two feet thick and the roof arched.  A company of United States Artillery arrived in Passamaquoddy Bay on the warship Wasp, and the garrison was first commended [commanded?] by Capt. Moses Swett, four 18-pounders being mounted.

During the War of 1812, the place was occupied and some time later a fleet of English men-of-war arrived in the harbor and soon took possession of Fort Sullivan, which they held up to the close of the troubles.  It is said that most of the buildings on the fort, of which the above-mentioned is one, were built by the British at that time, who improved the fortifications began by the American Government and many buried timbers are yet to be seen on the fort and near the building now standing.  American soldiers were stationed at Fort Sullivan at intervals up to 1875, when they were ordered away by the Government and since that time the houses have been occupied mostly by the poorer residents of the city.

Last year a careful survey of the fort property was made and it was divided into lots that will probably be sold at public auction at an early date, when the present buildings will be hauled away and the frontier fortifications of 100 years ago will disappear.

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James Monroe's 1817 SOTU: Mentioning the Islands in Passamaquoddy Bay

In his State of the Union address on December 12, 1817, President James Monroe mentioned the Treaty of Ghent and the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay.

Excerpt from his address: 

The Commissioners under the fourth article of the treaty of Ghent, to whom it was referred to decide to which party the several islands in the bay of Passamaquoddy belonged under the treaty of 1783, have agreed in a report, by which all the islands in the possession of each party before the late war have been decreed to it.  

The Treaty of Ghent ended the hostilities of the War of 1812 in 1815, but a few thorny issues remained for further negotiation, including the issue of the islands in Passamaquoddy Bay.    

In July of 1814 the British had captured Fort Sullivan on Moose Island and renamed it Fort Sherbrooke, in honor of the Governor General of British North America, Sir John Coape Sherbrooke.  Unlike as in the case of Castine, Maine, however, the British did not leave Moose Island at the war's end, feeling that it had rightfully been part of British North America all along, since the American Revolution.

In the end, however, the negotiators agreed that the islands would be governed as they were before the War of 1812, and, thus, Moose Island and its fort would return to the United States, whereupon the fort resumed its name of Fort Sullivan. 

Although this decision was reached in late 1817, the British did not leave until June 30, 1818, because of slow communications, the enormity of the task and because the British were having a hard time finding transport for the large force.

A different outcome from those negotiations, not difficult to imagine, would have placed Moose Island in British North America, and thus a part of modern day Canada, or would have placed what are now the West Isles of New Brunswick in the United States.

Read Monroe's State of the Union address of December 12, 1817 in its entirety here.