Hancock Barracks was a 19th-century fortification near

Houlton, Maine Houlton is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Interstate 95 and as the birthplace of Sam ...

. It was an active United States Army post from 1828 to 1847.

Origin

Controversy surrounded the boundary between

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

(now

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

) and

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

after the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of George III, King George III of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and representatives of the United States, United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the Ame ...

had ended the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. The British invaded coastal Maine during the War of 1812, but the treaty ending that war simply reverted the border to that established in 1783. The Army anticipated further conflict along the border, and purchased 25 acres of land atop Garrison Hill east of

. The United States Army in 1828 established Hancock Barracks to quarter a garrison of two hundred troops. At the time of its construction, Hancock Barracks lay farther northeast than any other Army installation in the United States. Soldiers and their family members who died at the post were interred at the post cemetery. Locals took jobs supplying the troops, stimulating the local economy. Workers completed military and state roads connecting Hancock Barracks with

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, open for travel after 1834.

Aroostook War

Conflict quickly arose regarding the definition of the border with Maine and New Brunswick authorities expressing sovereignty in the area. Lumbermen and settlers infiltrated the Aroostook region from both sides. Major Reynold M. Kirby arrived at Hancock Barracks in October 1838 along with Captain Lucien B. Webster. When

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...

flared in 1839, three companies of the 1st Artillery Regiment manned Hancock Barracks under Major Reynold M. Kirby. Maine legislature sent twelve companies of state militia, and Major Kirby helped to restrain them from starting a shooting war. The officer corps in 1840/1841 briefly included Second Lieutenant

Michael Simpson Culbertson Michael Simpson Culbertson (January 18, 1819 – August 25, 1862) was an American Presbyterian clergyman, missionary to China, academic and author. Early life Michael Simpson Culbertson was born in 1819 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He entered ...

. In 1839 Brigadier General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

successfully negotiated a truce that minimized hostilities until Webster-Ashburton Treaty settled the boundary dispute in 1842. The Army made Hancock Barracks the headquarters of 1st Artillery Regiment in 1840. Despite the bitter weather, it gained a reputation as a good post. American army officers occasionally made merriment with their British counterparts in nearby

Woodstock, New Brunswick Woodstock is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada on the Saint John River, 103 km upriver from Fredericton at the mouth of the Meduxnekeag River. It is near the Canada–United States border and Houlton, Maine and the inter ...

Later years

Decommissioning

The Army abandoned Hancock Barracks in 1847. With the authorization of Congress, the War Department sold the buildings at auction in 1873.

Origin

Aroostook War

Later years

Decommissioning

Further reading