Eastport

A British flotilla of four warships, two troop transports and support ships arrived off Moose Island (Eastport) the afternoon of July 11, 1814. Lt. Oates was taken to Maj. Perley Putnum, commander at Fort Sullivan. Oates requested Putnam to surrender the fort. Putnam said he needed to think about it, and after Oates left called a council of war. It was agreed to surrender the fort which was done within less than an hour of the arrival of the warships.

The immediate benefit to the British was questionable since such a large force was used to capture such a weak fort with only a small amount of ordnance and supplies. In the bigger picture however, the British had long believed that Moose Island was rightfully theirs because after the Revolution they had received all the islands in the vicinity except Moose Island. Also, the British wanted a direct overland link between Quebec and Halifax, and controlling Eastport and thus northern Maine would accomplish this. Thus the British met their goals and were therefore reluctant to give up Eastport at the end of the war in 1815, and did not actually leave until 1818.