The Penobscot Expedition: Commodore Saltonstall and the Massachusetts Conspiracy of 1779 - Book Review

Naval War College Review, Summer, 2003 by James B. Goodman

Buker, George E. The Penobscot Expedition: Commodore Saltonstall and the Massachusetts Conspiracy of 1779. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2002. 195pp. $32.95

In the various history books on the American Revolution, the Penobscot expedition is rarely mentioned in any detail, being overshadowed by the more widely known and successful battles and campaigns. Perhaps this is due to the dismal outcome of this early joint amphibious operation and to the desire by some, especially Massachusetts politicians of the time, to forget what had happened.

This hastily conceived expedition was launched from Boston in July 1779. The expedition was given the task of expelling the mounting British military presence on coastal Maine, centered around Penobscot Bay, but specifically at Castine. The expedition set off with full expectation of success on the part of the Massachusetts political leadership. But from the beginning, the force assembled was hampered by inadequate leadership, divided command authority, poor training and support, and a significant lack of understanding of the tactical situation. In this book, George Buker, a retired Navy commander, professor of history, and an accomplished author, provides a significant account of this much overlooked effort by the combined forces of the Massachusetts and Maine militia, Continental Navy and Marines, and various privateer groups. Buker also provides an interesting glimpse of the internal politics and personalities of the colonies, especially in Massachusetts during the American Revolution. He further provides a complementary argument that the Massachusetts political authorities, when confronted with the dismal failure of the expedition, set in motion an inquiry that may have been a conspiracy of political self-interest.

The book appears well researched, with significant endnotes and bibliography. Reading almost like a novel, it tells the story of the Penobscot expedition in great detail and addresses the issues that led up to its failure and the resulting inquiry. In appropriately titled chapters Buker provides a historical overview leading up to the expedition, including the British policy, orders for military operations along coastal Maine, and, of course, the colonial response to the threat to the extended territory of Massachusetts, now the state of Maine.

As expected, the majority of the book deals with the actual operations, from outfitting and the order of battle to the assaults and resulting siege at Castine, to the hasty retreat and then rout of colonial forces when superior Royal Navy forces arrived, and finally to the sequel, in which the expedition's personnel walked back to Massachusetts from Maine after burning their ships. After the failure of the expedition and the loss of almost forty ships, recriminations were made against various leaders, including allegations against naval force commander Captain Dudley Saltonstall of responsibility for the overall result; and against Paul Revere, an icon of the Revolutionary War who served in the expedition as a lieutanant colonel in charge of the artillery, of unsoldierly conduct. In the end, it was Captain Saltonstall who bore the brunt of the smear campaign by Massachusetts politicians to shift the blame.

In the final chapters, and through the lens of history, Buker argues that indeed a conspiracy by the Massachusetts politicians, through their committee of inquiry, manipulated the results of their investigation and attempted to influence the outcome of the court-martial of Saltonstall by Continental Navy authorities. Their efforts ensured the desired results of exonerating their native son, militia general Solomon Lovell, and provided the justification needed to assess the Continental government for a portion of the monetary cost. Buker, however, provides technical and tactical reasons that may have led to the failure of the expedition. Further, he indicates that only Captain Saltonstall fully appreciated the tactical and operational circumstances, as well as the limited capability of his resources and ships in the confined waters around Penobscot Bay. These considerations were evidently excluded or ignored by the politicians in their single-minded desire to find a scapegoat for the failure.

Overall, this is a fine historical accounting of this chapter in American history. My one large criticism is that the one simple map provided is inadequate for a full understanding of the operations. This reviewer has the benefit of having been stationed in Castine, Maine, and is geographically aware of the area; I have walked the earthen ramparts of Fort George and the various other entrenchments around Castine. It would have been most helpful to the general reader had additional detailed military maps been included with each phase of the expedition. Well placed photographs of the area would have further added to the historical understanding of the events, as would photos of the various earthworks, trenches, the defensive canal, and Fort George, which all still exist as historical landmarks.