The Episode of a Siege of Fort Cumberland and American-Canadian History - Research Paper Example

Introduction: American History spans only a few hundred years but possesses some of the most spectacular events under its belt. While a lot of emphasis is given on the successful chapters of American Independence, there is much to be understood by studying the low moments of the independence struggle. The attempt at the fort of Cumberland and its subsequent failure is one of those failed tales. The fort of Cumberland is located in Nova Scotia, on the southeastern coast of present day Canada. It was a British Colony since 1713. In the aftermath of America’s declaration of independence, Nova Scotia was attacked and siege by patriots the very same year i.e. 1776. It was the time when the Thirteen Independent Colonies had declared independence from the Britain while refusing to pay allegiance to the crown anymore. Republicanism was on the spread. Nova Scotia was attacked and was put under blockade by a small militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy, a patriot, whereas Joseph Goreham - an able leader on the side of Britain - made the defense of the fort and successfully repelled many attempts on the fort. The siege of the fort lasted for only a month but its impact on American-Canadian history was far reaching. It shaped and defined the behavior of the people living in this area and shaped the course of history for the people of Nova Scotia. The long-lasting effects of this brief episode of history attracted later historians a great deal in the next two centuries. In our essay, we will analyze the reasons of failure of the siege of fort of Cumberland of Nova Scotia. Underlying causes and their impacts on the whole scene will also be discussed. To this effect, we will throw some light on the historical development and background of the siege to enable ourselves to absorb the history and then we will discuss the reasons in an analytical mode. In the end some influences and aftermath of this episode will also be highlighted. Siege of the Fort Cumberland: Background: Fort Cumberland is situated in Cumberland county of Nova Scotia located on the Isthmus of Chignecto. It was an important area in earlier part of colonization and remained a bone of contention between French and British. Britain gained the control of the fort in 1755 after defeating France and the fort was transformed into a garrison.1 After the Declaration of independence by the Thirteen States in July, 1776, there was a prevailing sense of republicanism across America. Debate over the issue was initiated well before the siege and Governor Legge in February that year had taken cognizance of that unrest and wrote to Lord Darmoth about the suspicious activities and gatherings in the town. An increasing influence of patriots was recognized in a town which would otherwise have an overwhelming majority of Loyalist and neutral Yankees but prima facie people continued to claim loyalty and allegiance to the crown.2 Preparation for the siege: Jonathan Eddy, a born resident of Cumberland County was the person behind patriotic movement in the area and the siege of the fort. He was of the view that with the help of Thirteen States, it would be possible to capture Nova Scotia, a stronghold bastion of loyalist administration.3 In order to accomplish his task he went to Congress to muster support. However, he was neither encouraged by Congress nor by George Washington at that time. He was, however, able to secure a little support from Massachusetts Provincial Congress in form of ammunition, powder and other military supplies4. It helped him to move further on his scheme. He got engaged in recruiting activities for the battle in the area and was able to secure some aides for his scheme. On the other hand, in 1775, Colonel Joseph Goreham, a former French war veteran, was ordered to prepare himself for the defense of Nova Scotia from any attempt of Patriots to capture the same5. He raised his militia and with his 200 people arrived in the fort in the middle of 1776. Fort was being used as a garrison for a long time and no uplifting efforts were made since long.6 Upon his arrival he tried to improve the defense of the deserted fort and was able to convert it into a reliable place to defend. Siege of the fort: Actual assaults on the fort started in November, 1776,7 and siege was made by Eddy and his men. A number of attempts were made on the fort. However, he remained unsuccessful in this regard, despite the fact that there were a number of initial successes in name of Eddy like seizure of Polly with a quarter of Gorham’s men, fuel and supplies8. Goreham and his defense were also on a weak footing as they had comparatively small artillery and less manpower as compared to patriots standing outside the fort. Initially, when he and his people arrived there, local people not only refused to lend their support to defend the fort but also created difficulties in the way of Goreham.9 But after initiation of attacks more people came to join and support the cause10. Eddy’s attempts on the fort were thereafter countered by Goreham and his people. Eddy’s summon to Goreham to surrender was turned down11. By that time, Fort was no more out of focus for the British authorities. They soon came to knew about the siege of the fort and British Administration made arrangements like sending ships Vulture and Hope to rescue the situation. The siege which was started a month earlier ended on 29th of November 177612. Reasons of failure of the siege: There is no single factor which resulted in the end of siege as a failure but a number of factors had contributed towards the failure of siege of Fort of Cumberland. In coming lines, we will try to focus on the reasons and their impacts afterward. 1- Invasion to Fort of Cumberland was premature: If whole of the episode comprising historical trails of the event, and the siege itself are analyzed, we will see that this adventure was a premature one. Though, this argument had been countered by many historians e.g. John Allan13. Just few months back America had declared independence and Congress was busy in other affairs including internal rifts. Priorities of the new Republic would rather be concentration on the existing states and guarding of their reservations on independence. Perhaps due to the same reason, proposal given by Eddy to capture Nova Scotia was not appreciated by Congress and George Washington at that point of time14. 2- Invasion and subsequent siege was mismanaged: It might be argued that perhaps the timing was right but the way the whole affair was conducted was not. Eddy’s preparation was poor and management of resources and events could not produce any favorable result in favor of patriots. Initial successes, capturing of ships and Goreham’s men could not be utilized in the way those should had been15. Furthermore, aftermath of the invasion was not calculated beforehand. Patriot community - who had to migrate from the area - was in miserable condition as compared to their loyalist counterparts in that area16. Eddy conducted the whole affair on wrong assumptions of support from the Congress and local residents but neither of the two expectations materialized. 3- Little support from the locals: Role of the inhabitants of Nova Scotia was detrimental in this case. Human history reflects that inhabitants of an area decide the fate of any siege. Although there was a lot of sense prevailing in Nova Scotia in favor of republicanism even before the actual siege17 happened, however, the general outlook of population remained pro-crown. Precisely to say, patriots were unable to utilize the advantage of disorganization among the loyalists. Majority of masses were loyalists, but they were scattered into factions and seemed disorganized in their outlook. On the other hand, there had been a lot of big gatherings in Nova Scotia, giving an impression of support for the revolution as mentioned earlier and the same was felt at all the levels including administration but at the time of actual encounters, a little support for the patriots were found. Besides patriots and loyalists, there were a number of other people like Yankees who remained neutral in the whole situation. These were the people living in remote areas of Nova Scotia where the only way to access them was the sea rout. It is learnt that if an access to the areas of Yankees would be available, there would be rather more republicans to support the action taken by Eddy, but it could not be mobilized or overseen by Eddy while preparing for the action18. In the absence of local support, any invasion by the patriots was bound to fail. One more important factor may also be considered in this regard that on the arrival of Goreham, there was no originally welcome or help of native people but as soon as the assaults started, many locals joined hands with the defenders. 4- Patriots could not muster support for their cause: Unlike loyalists who were duly supported by British Government19, patriots were neither supported nor promoted to go for such an invasion from the Congress or the elders. Eddy tried to secure a nod from the congress along with funds to support his invasion but it could not happen. Rather, he had to manage a little support from the Massachusetts Provincial Congress after which he went for recruitment of people for invasion. He was carrying insufficient human resource and ammunition along with the allied facilities to support a siege for longtime. Goreham, however, was supported by the crown fully. Rather, he was deputed on the mission to defend the guards and he maintained the same. There is no doubt that the resource position of Goreham was as precarious as of Eddy but bastion position and external support in the end proved an edge for him. Mage done by Eddy and his people started forthwith. Authorities on side of Goreham were active on 8th of November1776, about the actions of Eddy on the Fort and effort to recover the same. Active support was ordered by then Lieutenant Governor to save the fort and to end the siege at the earliest20. To this effect, active support of the British Authorities in form of ships like Vulture which was already sent to Bay of Fundy on rumors of insurgencies and Hope which was ordered to be in action after confirmation of siege of fort of Cumberland made a starking difference between the two sides. 5- Eddy did not evaluate the past patterns of battles in that area: As the events appeared in November, 1776, it seems that Eddy did not try to learn from the previous battles of that area. He tried new route to attack the fort unlike successful attempts made by the British two decades ago. In overt action he lost a number of aides as he miscalculated the strength on the fort and an impatient pursuit to his goal was evident. Unlike Eddy, Goreham utilized his potential in an effective manner and duly covered the weaknesses which could be fatal in case of long siege or open conflict. 6- Eddy’s control over his people: It could be one of the important reasons for ending of siege so early. Eddy’s attempt to storm in the fort on 12th of November, to divert loyalists’ attention from weak points of the defense was short of success. Rather it was the blow to the authority of Eddy over his people. Soon after that retreat a council of leaders was formed against him and effectively the command was taken over from Eddy. It added an aggressive element in the whole episode and aggressive night attacks were ordered by that council of leaders which, although inflicted damages to Goreham’s defense but could not enter in the fort21. 7- British Navy: In the eighteenth century the British ruled the seas of the world. India was not yet under full control of British and North America was their most prized colony. Although the thirteen states had declared independence but this by no means challenged the naval authority of Britain. British flag was still sailing high over the seas in America. So as soon as the British introduced their Navy the whole outlook of battle changed. Had it been a state distant from seas the situation might have been different. Within two days of action on part of navy and introduction of Hope in the scene, patriots had to end the siege and flee. Their fleeing also proved to be very costly because as soon as they left the fort they were chased in the open, wounded and murdered by the loyalists and their aides. Aftermath of siege: In result the siege proved to be a disaster for the patriots. There was a lot of emigration and misery for the people who had to leave their homes. The mass mobilization of people has two facets; Patriots had to move out and loyalists from the other areas migrated toward Nova Scotia. However, call of general amnesty from loyalist and promises of reward encouraged Acadians and native people to lay down their arms and chase the patriots.22 Homes and properties of patriots were fired and buried as revenge.23 Conclusion: The episode of siege of Fort Cumberland had a deep impact on American-Canadian history and the future course of this area. Had it been successful the history and more importantly the geography of present day United States of America (USA) would have been much different. At a time when republicanism had taken roots in that area and sooner that area was going to be seen as another stripe in flag of America, this adventure proved a misadventure by the patriots. The assault which was seen as an opportunity by Eddy proved a mistake. The whole episode was ill planned and mismanaged in most of the instances especially when it was not authorized by the Congress and the Elders of the Revolution. Similarly, reaction from British authorities was timely in both instances when they sent Goreham to rescue the fort and when they had knowledge of siege by sending institutional support to their people on the fort. Among the strong reasons for its failure, as listed above, there was lack of support from locals as expected by Eddy before its start along with absence of logistic and institutional support to achieve the success. But there is an other side of the story as well. Although the event looks a loss when seen in isolation but it represents the mood of the American society at that time. It harbors seeds for future successes as it marked a new era filled with ambition to break chains and set the home land free. For next two centuries America was to be the country of free men, wiling to sacrifice anything as the cost of freedom. Work Cited Armstrong, M.W, 1946, “Neutrality and Religion in Revolutionary Nova Scotia”, New England Quarterly, XIX, pp. 50 Douglas Brymner, Aurther George Doughty, and Edouard Richard, 1895, Public Archive of Canada: Annual Report, 1894, pp 332-333 Ernest Clark, 1995, “ The Siege of Fort Cumberland, 1776”, McGill Queens University Press, p. 45 Gwyn, Julian, 2004, “Frigates and Foremasts: The North American Squadron in Nova Scotia Waters”, Vancouver, BC:UBC Press, pp.61-63 Kidder, Frederic, 1867, “Military Operation in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia During the Revolution”, J. Munsell Leamon James S., 1995,”Revolution Downeast: The War of American Independence in Manine”, University of Massachusetts Press, p. 88 “Nova Scotia in the Critical Years 1775-6”, Dalhousie Review.XII, 1932, pp. 111-115 Weaver, Emily P., 1904,”Nova Scotia and New England During the Revolution”, the American Historical Review10.1, pp52-55 Read More