History of Castine
Castine, Maine is one of the oldest communities in North America. It has
been occupied continuously since the early 1600s as the site of numerous
trading posts, forts, missions and permanent settlements of France, Holland,
England and colonial America. Before 1613, and during the course of its long
history, Castine has also been home to several nations of Native Americans.
What is now known as the Castine peninsula appears on a 1612 chart that
geographer and explorer Samuel de Champlain submitted to King Henry IV of
France. His enthusiasm for the region led to the establishment of a French
trading post in 1613. Its location is described in French records as being
on the eastern side of what is now called Penobscot Bay. The French called
the peninsula Pentagoet (later Castine). In 1614 Captain John Smith charted
this area of the coast for British interests.
Following the signing of the Breda Treaty in 1667, which ended the war
between France and England, Castine and the surrounding territory was deeded
to the French. A French officer, Jean Vincent d'Abbadie de St. Castin, obtained
a grant from the King of France for land in the vicinity of Pentagoet and
the peninsula that would eventually bear his name.
The Dutch briefly occupied Castine twice, once in 1674 and again in 1676,
when they bombarded it from the bay. After coming ashore, the Dutch turned
the guns of Fort Pentagoet on its walls and buildings, destroying it completely.
THE EVACUATION OF CASTINE.
In 1783, Washington wrote to Sir Guy Carleton:-
I had the honor to receive your letter of the 3d of October, acquainting
me with the arrangements your Excellency had made for the removal of the troops
and stores of his Britannic Majesty from the Post of Penobscot.
It would seem to have taken nearly three months to carry out the arrangements
mentioned.
After the evacuation of New York, Nov. 25, Fort
George, at Castine, was still held by the British; and it was the
last fort in the territory of the new republic from which the king’s troops
were withdrawn. The soldiers of this garrison belonged to the 74th
Highlanders. To those of them who chose to remain in America after they
were disbanded, lands were allotted on the Digdeguash. The formal discharge
of one of the garrison, Dugald Clarke,1 bears date at Fort George, Dec. 24,
1783.
Whether the winter was passed at Castine or at Halifax seems now uncertain.
In March, 1784, however, the Highlanders arrived at St. Andrews, where they
found four feet of snow on the ground. Others are said to have landed
at St. George’s, (L’Etang,) at the same time, to join the Loyalists and others
who were there awaiting the location of their lands.
Jonathan Greenlaw is among the person listed.
During the early 18th century, life in Castine was relatively tranquil.
As England's relationship with the liberal American colonists continued to
deteriorate, the British decided in 1759 to once again rebuild and occupy
Castine's forts, recognizing the area's strategic location and its importance
as a convenient source of timber for masts and other supplies. When word of
the occupation reached the Massachusetts Board of War, 18 armed vessels and
24 transports carrying 1,000 ill-trained militiamen and 400 marines sailed
to Castine to recapture it. Commodore Dudley Saltonstall of New Haven, Connecticut
commanded the naval force. Brigadier General Solomon Lovell was in charge
of land forces, with General Peleg Wadsworth as his second-in-command, and
Colonel Paul Revere as the ordinance officer.
What followed is still considered by some historians to be the worst naval
defeat in United States history. The American fleet sat in the Penobscot
Bay for several weeks deciding what to do. This gave the superior British
fleet time to make their way to Castine from Halifax, Nova Scotia. It advanced
on the American ships, forcing them to retreat up the Penobscot River. Once
bottled up in the river, Saltonstall had no choice but to scuttle his ships,
forcing his troops to make their way on foot back to Massachusetts. Saltonstall
and Revere were court-martialed; the former was cashiered, the latter exonerated.
After the signing of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary
War, the boundary between Canada and the United States was set at the St.Croix
River rather than at the Penobscot. Later, when the War of 1812 broke out,
American troops were garrisoned in Castine but were unable to defend the
town against a superior British force. By 1814, Castine once again was under
the British flag. A year later the British evacuated the region and Castine
became an American town once and for all.
In the years that followed, 121 ships, many owned and commanded by local
people, were launched from Castine shipyards. Local ropewalks, sail lofts
and ship chandlers provided all necessary goods and services for maritime
trade that was carried on primarily with the West Indies and England. A
salt depository supplied the Grand Banks fishing fleets. At times, hundreds
of ships were anchored in Castine Harbor.
Established in 1783 by Loyalists from Castine, Maine, St. Andrews
is one of New Brunswick's oldest and most distinctive settlements.
18th Century
Established in 1783 by Loyalists from Castine, Maine, St. Andrews is one
of New Brunswick's oldest and most distinctive settlements. The old plat,
now the nucleus of the modern town, is a neat rectangle half a mile deep
and a mile long laid out on a south facing hillside that slopes gently toward
the harbour. It is a classic example of colonial town planning. The broad,
straight streets form a regular grid broken at intervals by open squares
for public buildings and a market place. Except for Water Street, which runs
along the shore, all the street names have royal or colonial associations.
Thirteen are named after the children of George III and his wife, Charlotte,
and two after faithful servants of the crown; the remainder are King, the
show street, Queen and Prince of Wales. St. Andrews is a symbol as well as
a settlement.
Jonathan Greenlaw spent the rest of his life here in St. Andrews of
which he was one of the first Loyalists to settle the area.
