The Raid on Yarmouth took place on 5 December 1775 during 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 raid involved American Privateers from

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

attacking

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. History Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regio ...

at Cape Forchu. The privateers intended to stop the export of supplies being sent from Nova Scotia to the loyalists in Boston.

Background

During the American Revolution, Americans regularly attacked Nova Scotia by land and sea. American privateers devastated the maritime economy by raiding many of the coastal communities, such as the numerous raids on

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and on

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

. Sent to join Captain Jeremiah O'Brien in the Bay of Fundy, five vessels left Salem for Nova Scotia. The schooners took four prizes in the Bay of Fundy and sent three to Salem. Two of the schooners went to Yarmouth. One of these schooners had prisoner Acting-Governor Phillips Callbeck, having been captured in the

Raid on Charlottetown (1775) The Raid on Charlottetown of 17–18 November 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, involved two American privateers of the Marblehead Regiment attacking and pillaging Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, then known as St. John's Isl ...

Battle

On December 5, 1775 at 10:00 in the morning two American Privateers (80 men each) from Salem, each armed with eight Carriage guns and 16 swivels, landed at Yarmouth. The crew had fire locks,

pistols A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...

and cutlasses. They overwhelmed the local militia and imprisoned all the officers. Under threat of death, the inhabitants of the town watched as the privateers pillaged their town. As a result, 82 inhabitants of Yarmouth signed a petition to Governor Legge to either withdraw to Halifax or New England or be able to remain neutral in the conflict, which was quickly rejected by Richard Bulkeley.

Aftermath

American privateers remained a threat to Nova Scotian ports for the rest of the war. The attacks put an end to the trade relations between Nova Scotia and New England.p. 5
/ref> For example, after a failed attempt to raid

Chester, Nova Scotia Chester is a village on the Chester Peninsula, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. The nearby waters of Mahone Bay and its numerous islands are well known for yachting and have made the Chester Yacht Club into a cruising destination. A provi ...

, American privateers struck again in the Raid on Lunenburg in 1782.

References

{{coord, 43.807, -66.158, type:event_globe:earth_region:CA, display=title Yarmouth Yarmouth Privateering in the American Revolutionary War Yarmouth Maritime history of Canada Military history of Nova Scotia Military history of New England 1775 in Nova Scotia Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (1775)

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References