The Aroostook War
The Pork and Beans War, Bloodless Aroostook War, Lumbermen’s War, and just plain Aroostook War is a little known border conflict between the British province of New Brunswick and the American states of Maine and Massachusetts. While the war itself was short the border struggles lasted for nearly 60 years, and on multiple occasions nearly precipitated into a third anglo-american war.
The Start of a Problem
Britain’s need for timber to use in their shipyards had drawn them to Maine’s vast forests in the 16th century. Here there was a wobbly border between the British Massachusetts Colony and French Acadia that was never clearly defined, but by 1763 the British had taken over all of French North America so a clearly defined border was no longer a real issue. In 1776 the American colonies declared their independence and the British had to go farther North into what is now Canada. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 left an ambiguous stance on where the boundary was between the state of Massachusetts, later the state of Maine, and the British province New Brunswick. This was due in part because during peace talks the men in Europe were using a map that was not based on actual surveys but more by guesswork. The Americans wanted the boundary to be the St. John River to the North while the British wanted it to be the Penobscot River that was further South, the compromise was the St. Croix River. The negotiators then agreed that the boundary would start at the headwaters of the St. Croix River and extend to the highlands that separated the rivers draining into the St. Lawrence from those draining into the Atlantic. However there was an issue, the name “St. Croix” was not in use and there was dispute over exactly which river it belonged to. In order to give themselves more land America claimed it was the easternmost river known as the Magaguadavic. Unsurprisingly the British countered that it was the westernmost river, the Schoodic.
A map showing the British and American claims. The blue is the original American claim, the yellow is the current boundary, and the red is the British claim. Courtesy of the New England Historical Society.
In 1794 the Jay Treaty was signed which remedied several problems between the United States and Britain. One part of the treaty set up a commission to discover which river was the St. Croix and find its source. A man named Ward Chipman was a New Brunswick loyalist and member of the survey commission tasked with finding the river. He became the most influential member of the survey by arguing that the Schoodic was the St. Croix, evidencing it by the presence of St. Croix island being there. By 1798 both parties agreed with his claims and they ran a “monument line” from the headwaters of the St. Croix north to the highlands, but negotiators disputed where the highlands actually were. Massachusetts believed that the highlands were north of the St. John River while the British believed that the Penobscot watershed was the boundary. Negotiations went on for years with special meetings being held in 1806 and 1807, but before any sort of consensus could be reached the War of 1812 broke out plunging Great Britain and the United States into a bitter conflict with one another.
A map showing the rivers of Maine, the St. Croix is on the far right. Courtesy of geology.com.
The Grand Communications Route
One might ask why would the British want to secure this land if they were able to obtain more than enough resources in Canada? The answer to that would be the Grand Communications Route. This was a strategic communication line for British colonies in Canada as it was the only direct road between them and the outside world, and was also the only available route during the winter when the St. Lawrence river froze over. Therefore securing this route was the main focus of British negotiators. America's claims of the highlands being further North would have allowed for parts of this route to fall under American jurisdiction.
The dark blue line is the St. John River, along the southern shore of it is where the Grand Communication Route ran. Courtesy of Wikipedia.
After the American Revolutionary War ended British commanders quickly realized how important this road was and, even though the land was disputed, they wanted to protect it at all costs. They came up with a plan to place settlers all along it, this would act twofold by helping them assert their claims to the land as well as having a population that could help defend it at a moments notice. The first major settlers were Americans who had come to the region for the timber and good soil, but the British realized they could not be trusted in the case of another war with the U.S. so they quickly moved them out. The next settlers, also American, came shortly after and were loyal to the crown. The British welcomed them with open arms and gave them land grants for areas along the St. John River. Still worried about a war with the United States, these settlers were placed in specific blocks of land that would be easy to defend. Between 13-16 separate militias were formed and the British felt much better knowing that they had people ready and able to defend the route.
The influx of Americans made the French Acadians in the lower St. John uncomfortable, so they petitioned the New Brunswick government to move them. The British agreed and many of the Acadians were given land grants along the Madawaska River where they formed the Madawaska settlement, a great point of contention later on. American settlement of Maine (still part of Massachusetts) was sparse so there were no complaints of the British settlements in the disputed territory. Americans had a difficult time occupying this area due to the dense forests, and the only way to bypass them was through the St. John River but this was under British control.
French Acadians moving. Painting by Claude T. Picard.
In 1789 the French Revolution began and military commanders knew this meant another war with France was likely. Those in North America realized that many of their soldiers would likely be recalled to Europe to fight, and began making improvements that would help local militias defend the Grand Communications Route should a war with America break out while the regulars were away. In 1790 they raised another militia from the Acadian ranks and in 1791 two military posts were constructed. Fort Carleton at Grand Falls and another at the junction of Presque Isle and St. John Rivers which was known simply as the Presque Isle military post. They were not only used for military actions, they also served as posts for communication and to encourage settlement within the region.
In 1794 war with France broke out and the two regiments in New Brunswick were recalled to Europe. That same year questions were raised about the British outposts and whether they were actually within British territory, but these questions were quelled when the monument line was surveyed and the posts were North of it.
While American settlement was slow it was pushing farther North as more and more timber was cut and in 1807 the American settlement of Houlton was founded. However it was quite remote and it’s main access was through the British controlled St. John River.
A view of Fort Carleton. Courtesy of Mr. Hyland.
The War of 1812 and the Commissioner's Line
At the start of the War of 1812 the British were largely on the defensive since they did not have many soldiers to spare from the fighting going on in France. Militias were called up and new units were raised from the population in New Brunswick and other Canadian provinces. More military forts and outposts were built to help repel any invasion from the United States, though this never occurred. In 1814 Napoleon was defeated and the British were able to turn their attention to the war in North America. Moving troops and supplies along the Grand Communications Route they began setting up for a large-scale military action. It was not long before they were on the offensive and pushed into the states, reaching Washington and burning down the Whitehouse while also conquering territory in Massachusetts (Maine) and declaring that the Penobscot River was their new boundary. This claim did not last long however as in 1815 the Treaty of Ghent was signed ending the war, and one of its stipulations was that no territory captured during the war was to remain in the conquerors hands. Once again the border was in dispute.
Artist depiction of British burning the White House. Courtesy of the White House Historical Association.
The treaty did attempt to remedy the problem, Article 5 set up another border commission that was to find the boundary between New Brunswick and Massachusetts. The survey took place in 1817 with two mixed parties of anglo and american surveyors. One party claimed that the line was at the St. John River while the other said that it was along the watershed between the Aroostook and Penobscot rivers, this latter claim giving ownership of the entire St. Lawrence watershed to Great Britain. The commission soon broke down as neither party wanted to concede their claim. There was an upside to this as the commission ran a line due North of the monument line which became known as the Commissioners Line, which would go on to be used as the unofficial border between New Brunswick and Maine.
The Treaty of Ghent also established that neither country would do anything to disturb the status quo within the region until a true boundary was agreed upon. This led to problems later on as the details of exactly what this meant were never made concrete and both sides had differing opinions on what the status quo was. The British believed this meant that they would continue to be the main force in the region and the residents there would continue to live under British laws. The Americans believed this meant that the region could continue to be settled but that their laws would be followed. While officials tried to sort this out lumbermen from both the U.S. and Canada continued moving into the area and harvesting its rich timber. Some of these settlers were considered squatters and both the U.S. and Britain agreed that they needed to be removed. The British would be the ones to remove them and oversee issues within the area, leading to an informal agreement that the British were the law of the land. An understanding that caused issues later on.
The Treaty of Ghent. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Maine Joins the Fight
On March 5, 1820 Maine split from Massachusetts and became a state, making the disputed territory mostly their problem and they wanted control of it. Maine and Massachusetts made much of their revenue by selling timber cutting permits and some of the best wood was found within this region. As early as 1821 Maine sent land agents to collect fines on timber cut without a permit and to warn residents to not cut anymore. Maine discovered that many of the residents continued to cut illegal timber, though it was technically legal since the residents had obtained their permits from New Brunswick, and complained to the federal government who launched a formal complaint against Britain. The British said they would continue to exercise their jurisdiction in the area until an official border was agreed upon, harking back to the Treaty of Ghent’s “status quo” clause.
A map of Maine before the border with New Brunswick was settled. Courtesy of the Bangor Daily News.
In 1825 Maine once again sent land agents to check on the territory and were again angered to find that residents were cutting illegal timber, at least in their eyes. The Federal government launched another formal complaint against Britain for selling permits that allowed people to cut timber in the disputed territory, though this was a bit hypocritical considering Maine and Massachusetts were also selling timber cutting permits for the region. The problem was solved in 1826 when Maine, Massachusetts, and New Brunswick all agreed to stop selling permits for the territory. This agreement did not last long however, for in 1827 it was found that Massachusetts was again selling timber permits for the area.
For some reason the U.S. government launched another complaint at Britain saying that they were not doing enough to stop the illegal cutting activities. Britain decided to solve the problem by sending a magistrate named James A. MacLauchlan to investigate. He discovered that most of the illegal timber was being cut by Americans who did not have permits from either of the three entities, instead they had been given indirect permission from the Maine and Massachusetts land agents. It should be said that the British had no issue with Americans moving into the region and cutting timber, even if their permits were obtained from the states, so long as they did not interfere with the Grand Communications Route. In 1829 New Brunswick appointed MacLauchlan as the “Warden of the Disputed Territory” in order to help quell the cutting of illegal timber and keep the U.S. from launching further complaints.
James A. MacLauchlan. Courtesy of Kings Landing Historical Settlement.
Maclauchlan would warn residents to not cut trespass timber and work to seize any that was floated down the river. However finding this timber was easier said than done since there were also legal logs sent down the river. It could be hard to discern what lumber was legally tagged and taken with a permit and what wasn’t, especially when illegal became mixed with legal. On top of this it was legal for residents that lived in the disputed territory to cut down trees without a permit so long as it was for either subsistence or as a supplemental income.
What efforts were made to find the illegal timber were almost certainly in vain. When they identified trespass timber it would either be auctioned off or the cutter of the wood could pay a fine to get it back. Many opted to let it go to auction as there was an agreement between lumbermen that they would not bid on each other's seized timber. This meant that the original cutter could get his wood back at the starting bid which was almost always cheaper than the fine would have been. Despite knowing much of his work was all for naught MacLauchlan worked hard at it in an attempt to keep the two countries from bickering with one another.
Logs being floated down the river. Courtesy of the Bangor Daily News.
While the United States and Britain were arguing over land permits a couple incidents between British and American citizens occurred. When British officials would attempt to sort out the problem and find out who was in the wrong they kept running into the same conundrum, whose law did the people have to follow? Americans obviously believed they were to be subjected to U.S. law and when faced with British law they protested vehemently. It quickly became apparent that the territory would need to be jointly governed by both parties in order to stop the squabbling. This led to the town of Houlton, Maine, the closest official American town to the disputed territory, to have a barracks built and a company of soldiers raised. Thus starting America’s militarization of the border region.
An 1800s lumberjack. Courtesy of Bates College.
Arbitration and Assertion
Realizing that the boundary commission set up under the Treaty of Ghent was not going to solve the issue the two countries decided to submit to arbitration. They sent their case to King William of the Netherlands who could not exactly be called the best man for the job. In 1813 he had been established as the Dutch King with help from the British and he certainly felt he owed them for that. To add to this bias while he was reviewing the issue between the two countries a rebellion broke out in the Netherlands. Once again the British stepped in to help and he was placed on the throne of the new country Belgium. New Brunswick certainly believed that King William would rule in their favor but he actually surprised both sides.
A portrait of King William of the Netherlands. Public Domain.
On January 10, 1831 the King proposed a compromise along a boundary that is quite similar to the actual border that exists today. Of the roughly 12,027 square miles in dispute, Maine and Massachusetts would be given 7,908 miles and New Brunswick and Quebec would be given 4,119 miles. While the British retained less land they would have full control of the Grand Communications Route, making this compromise acceptable to them. Maine however objected, claiming that a compromise was not in the King’s mandate and that he had been influenced by the British through their continued support in his domestic affairs. President Andrew Jackson wanted to accept the compromise but handed the decision over to the senate to decide. Maine successfully persuaded senators to vote against the decision and in 1832 the compromise was formally rejected.
While King William studied the matter another small event occurred that heightened tensions within the area. In a bid to assert its claim over the disputed territory, on March 15, 1831 Maine decided to incorporate the Madawaska settlement, made up largely of British settlers and French Acadians, into a town within Penobscot County. They held elections for city officials and for a representative in the Maine legislature, and a British representative showed up to tell them the elections were illegal but he was largely ignored. Maine also sent two land agents into the area to perform a census and to confirm land grants that had been given to settlers. Warden MacLauchlan warned the two agents that their actions went against the Treaty of Ghent but ultimately did not force them to leave, likely trying to avoid an international crisis. Instead he accompanied the men as they went about their business. Major General Sir Archibald Campbell, New Brunswick’s lieutenant-governor, was not happy about the elections and sent a British posse to arrest those partaking in it. Four Americans and about thirty French-Canadians were arrested. A diplomatic crisis quickly unfolded and Maine’s Governor, Samuel E. Smith, said that even though Madawaska was incorporated into the state they had no intention of holding elections, squaring the blame on the shoulders of overzealous residents. The Federal government accepted this explanation and requested that the prisoners be released. New Brunswick complied and Maine reimbursed the American citizens for any losses they incurred while in prison or on the run. While this crisis ended quickly it set the stage for the Aroostook War as Maine began expanding its militia and had them in a constant state of readiness, in the words of Governor Smith, “to protect our territory from invasion and our citizens from capture.”
A map showing Madawaska at the top of Maine. Courtesy of Sperling’s Best Places.
Despite the constant war readiness the next five or so years were relatively calm. While the arbitration was rejected and no end to the border dispute was in sight most of the residents within the territory were happy and the number of illegally cut timber was drastically reduced which pleased Maine. Both sides continued to bring settlers into the region and Maine in particular worked to assert its claims by building roads and having surveyors plot the grounds for setting up towns and settlements. This did irritate some French-Canadians but was not a major concern.
A painting showing a winter scene in Madawaska. Courtesy The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Rising Tensions
In May of 1837 Ebenezer S. Greely was appointed by Maine to conduct a census of the Madawaska settlement. Of course Maine did not tell New Brunswick about the census and when Greely attempted to conduct it he was arrested for illegally conducting a census and for “troubling the peace of His Majesty’s subjects.” He was freed shortly afterward and attempted to perform the census again, promptly being arrested a second time. The U.S. government intervened and asked that he be released which the British agreed to do. Greely now attempted the census a third time and was again arrested. This time he threatened the British by telling them that Maine would just send someone else to do it, but with a force sufficient in protecting and supporting them. New Brunswick’s new lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Harvey, wrote to Maine’s Governor, Robert P. Dunlap, asking how the problem could be solved, adding in his letter that he would have allowed the census if Maine had only asked. Instead of replying to the letter Governor Dunlap declared that Maine had been invaded and ordered the militia to mobilize for the defense of the state. Harvey responded by sending a company of soldiers from the 43rd Regiment of Foot to Woodstock and Grandfalls. This de-escalated the situation as Governor Dunlap did not want to fight British regulars with a militia force, on top of that he likely realized what sort of international crisis he could cause.
Sir John Harvey. Courtesy of Newfoundland Heritage.
A much larger event broke out in November and December of 1837 when both upper and lower Canada erupted in rebellion. It was put down relatively quickly but many rebels escaped across the border into the U.S. where they found citizens sympathetic to their cause. Escaped rebels and even American citizens took part in raids across the border into Canada which left the border regions in a state of chaos. The U.S. established the Eighth Infantry Regiment in Sackets Harbor, New York in order to maintain neutrality along the border, further militarizing the region. The British sent more soldiers by way to the Grand Communications Route to Canada to deal with the rebellion, causing their resolve to maintain control of it to grow. However these troop movements angered Maine even though Sir Harvey had informed the U.S. Government, who in turn informed Maine, about them. Nevertheless Maine saw these movements as an affront to their state's sovereignty and launched a complaint.
Maine Governor Robert P. Dunlap. Courtesy of the Maine State Archives.
Tensions grew even worse in November of 1838 when a second rebellion in Lower Canada broke out, and on November 12 a battle known as the Battle of the Windmill between Americans helping Canadian rebels and British regulars and Militia took place. The Americans were quickly defeated and their deaths angered many throughout Maine. More British troops were moved across the Grand Communications Route due to this second rebellion which Maine again objected to, but not much came of these complaints.
Artist depiction of the Battle of the Windmill. Courtesy of Alchetron.
Maine was in debt. In 1835 Maine was $55,000 in debt (Over $1.3 million today) by 1838 it had jumped to $584,000 (Over $14 million today). Maine had planned on stocking its treasury by selling land grants and timber permits but much of these resources were tied up in the disputed territory. They sent a land agent into Aroostook and the Upper St. John regions to discover how much illegal timber was being cut, in turn showing how much revenue the state was losing. In January of 1839 the land agent filed his report saying that over 85,000 tons of timber was cut in the area, equaling over $100,000 in lost revenue from timber permits alone. This was an outrageous estimate as for the past seven years the amount of wood taken from these areas never exceeded 9,000 tons. Nevertheless, Governor John Fairfield believed the report and on January 23, 1839 he told the state legislature about the lost revenue and they decided it was necessary to arrest the log cutters and seize their timber.
Maine Governor John Fairfield. Courtesy of Bobb Edwards.
Rufus McIntire, a new land agent, was given the job of running off and arresting the trespassers. The state gave him $10,000 and told him to enforce the laws within the original 1783 boundary, which extended into territory that was under British control. McIntire went to Penobscot County Sheriff Hastings Strickland and they quickly worked to organize and arm a posse of 200 men. Though there is a common belief these were lumbermen or militiamen this was a civil action and not a military or vigilante one, though some certainly were lumberjacks and most were a member of the state militia so it is not hard to see why this myth persists. The men attempted to form up in private but word soon got out and New Brunswick dispatched messengers to recall lumbermen in the area. However most settlers and lumbermen did not believe the posse had a right to arrest them or enforce Maine law and instead of leaving they prepared to resist.
Rufus McIntire. Courtesy of the New York State Library.
The posse moved into the Aroostook region and did not see any action for the first few days, only finding some abandoned logging equipment. Governor Fairfield did give a report saying that the posse encountered a group of 300 armed lumbermen and settlers and a standoff ensued between the two groups, the lumbermen disbanding when they realized the posse had a 6 pounder cannon with them. However this encounter likely did not happen as there is no mention of it anywhere else. On February 11 they did see some real action when they came upon a group of 16 armed lumbermen guarding two horse teams that were attempting to make it down the frozen river. Sheriff Strickland charged through the line of men and one of them shot at him, lightly wounding his horse. Strickland chased the horse teams for seven miles through dense forest and patches of icy snow before bringing them back to the posse. They held court there on the frozen river and five men were sent to the Penobscot jail, two others were released a few hours after their arrest. They did not encounter any other lumbermen, instead finding abandoned settlements. McIntire believed he had done his job and planned on dispersing the posse, only retaining those he would need to move the timber they had seized.
After the men had the lumber situated and began bedding down for the night McIntire, along with two other men, rode six miles to a man named Fitzherbert’s house. Here McIntire would spend the night and meet MacLauchlan in the morning to discuss the posse’s mission. At around midnight between 15-18 lumbermen armed with rifles and bayonets entered the house and arrested the five Americans staying there. One of them challenged the lead lumberman, Punderson Beardsley, by asking him what authority he had to make the arrests. Beardsley reportedly gestured to his rifle and said, “That is my authority.” It must be said that this operation was not sanctioned by New Brunswick and was perpetrated by an independent group of settlers. The men were taken to jail in Fredericton and word soon reached the posse of what happened. However instead of attempting to rescue McIntire and the other four the posse retreated as there was a rumor spread that “300 white men and 25 indians, well armed” were coming to confront them.
A .52 caliber Hall breech loading rifle and bayonet that was commonly used by the Maine militia. Courtesy of the Rock Island Auction Company.
While the posse tried to avoid confrontation, Sheriff Strickland rode 160 miles in less than two days to bring news of McIntire’s arrest to the state capital. At the same time MacLauchlan learned the news of McIntires arrest and went to the posse to try and sort out exactly what was happening. After a short discussion the posse placed MacLauchlan under arrest, and he was transferred to a prison in Bangor.
It was an odd situation, Maine’s land agent was a prisoner in New Brunswick and New Brunswick’s Land Warden was a prisoner in Maine. The posse had stopped timber cutting for a while but the lumbermen quickly went back to work after they retreated. The results of these actions would go on to nearly plunge Britain and the United States into a third anglo-american war.
American and British flags. Courtesy of Tom Hill on Redbubble.
A Nonplus Conflict
On February 13, 1839 Sir John Harvey issued a proclamation declaring that Britain would maintain control even in the southern part of the disputed territory. He said that the armed posse had been an invasion and that troops would be mobilized to protect inhabitants of the region from harassment. That same day he sent a letter to Governor Fairfield reasserting that Britain was to be the law of the disputed territory and requested that the posse be removed, saying that if this request was refused then they would be met with military force. He also tried to dissuade the governor’s fears of illegal timber being cut by assuring him that a boom would be constructed on the Aroostook River to intercept any floated down it.
That same day Fairfield sent a letter to Harvey asking if the lumbermens actions were sanctioned by New Brunswick. Unfortunately Harvey’s first letter led Fairfield to believe that it was a sanctioned action and this riled up many all over the state of Maine. Fairfield quickly called for a military force to be dispatched to enforce the original 1783 boundary line, saying that they were willing to spend $800,000 (nearly $20 million today) to do so. Quite a large sum of money for a state that was on the verge of bankruptcy. Though it was not hard to find volunteers as many in Maine held anti-British sentiment after the War of 1812, and on top of this it was winter and many were either looking to make a little extra money or just find some sort of excitement. A new land agent was appointed and he was sent to reinforce the original posse with a force of between 400-500 men.
American soldiers fighting in the Seminole War. Courtesy of David Layton.
Sir Harvey and Governor Fairfield exchanged letters for a couple weeks but to no avail, in the meantime men, horses, and guns from both sides poured into the region. In late February Harvey sent a letter to the Federal Government requesting that they force Maine to withdraw its militia and to reaffirm that Britain was the one to enforce law and order in the region until a defined border existed. On February 28 the U.S. Government shocked New Brunswick by telling them that no such agreement existed and that they would support Maine in any military actions taken. This was technically true since there was no formal agreement and the status quo clause in the Treaty of Ghent was never clearly defined. A few days later on March 3, in a bid to dissuade the British from action, President Martin Van Buren signed a Law for the Defence of the United States which allowed him control of the army and navy as well as the ability to call up 50,000 militia volunteers and secure an emergency fund of $10,000,000 to pay for it in the case of war breaking out. If war did occur he would have had to rely largely on a volunteer force since the U.S. Army only had 12,500 active members and nearly all of them were engaged in the Seminole War in Florida. On the other hand Britain had over 11,000 regulars in Canada, plus militia forces, as well as the ability to call on more reinforcements from Europe. Not to mention their navy ruled the sea. Unsurprisingly the President's actions had the opposite effect as the British mobilized more troops and brought them in from other parts of Canada.
A satirical cartoon showing President Martin Van Buren riding a bull with the face of Maine Gov. Fairfield facing off against the Queen of England who has a dog with the face of the Duke of Wellington. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
President Van Buren also wanted to explore peaceful solutions and he called on his trusted Major-General Winfield Scott to do the negotiations. General Scott was a veteran of the War of 1812, and was in command of the Eastern Department of the U.S. Army, and had worked on keeping peace along the U.S. and Canadian border for years. General Scott was without a doubt the best man for the job as he was a skilled negotiator and highly respected on both sides, he even knew Sir Harvey from the War of 1812 and had kept up a correspondence with him throughout the years. When President Van Buren asked for his opinion on the situation, Scott replied “Mr. President if you want war, I need only to look on in silence. The Maine people will make it for you, fast and hot enough; I know them. But if peace be your wish, I can give no assurance of success. The difficulties in its way will be formidable.” The President simply replied “Peace with honor.”
Luckily for General Scott New Brunswick was already reaching out for peace and offered that they would not invade as long as Maine withdrew its troops and promised that any operations to stop illegal activity in the region would be done in a joint effort. All he had to do was convince Maine and Massachusetts to accept the proposition.
General Winfield Scott. Public Domain.
As he made his way to Maine militiamen and soldiers continued to arrive in the disputed territory. The now reinforced posse built a boom and a fort, named Fort Fairfield after the Governor, in order to stop trespass timber from floating down the Aroostook River. Also during this time the only “battle” of the war occurred. A group of a half dozen Maine militiamen advanced roughly one or two miles past the Commissioner's Line, encountering a British advanced post. There are several different versions of what happened but the most likely story is that words were exchanged and a scuffle may or may not have occurred. If it did, the worst injury sustained was a bloody nose. Fortunately this was an unofficial action by the militia and neither side used it as an excuse for further bloodshed.
.75 caliber Indian Pattern Brown Bess musket that was standard issue of the British Army. Courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions.
General Winfield Scott arrived in Augusta, Maine and saw that war fever had set in. He quickly worked to defuse the situation and draw up an agreement that both sides would find satisfactory and by March 21 he had one. The main points were as follows: neither side would use military force to annex the territory, Governor Fairfield would agree to not send in an armed posse to attempt to enforce U.S. law, all actions meant to stop the cutting of illegal timber would be done so in a joint effort, negotiations for the disputed territory would open back up, and in the meantime Maine would maintain control of the Aroostook Valley while New Brunswick would have rule over the rest of the disputed territory. On March 23 Sir John Harvey signed the agreement followed by Governor Fairfield on March 25. The Aroostook War was over.
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty
It would be another couple of years before the boundary issue was finally settled. Both sides built forts and blockhouses to protect their claims as they did not trust one another, but nothing major occurred. The only notable event was when a group of New Brunswick militiamen attempted to attack a blockhouse at Fort Fairfield. Only one shot was fired when a sentry saw the party coming and the men quickly ran off, some leaving in such a haste that they left their powder and boots behind. This was not a sanctioned military action and the leaders of the group were seriously punished when they returned to New Brunswick. The British apologized to Governor Fairfield but he took little notice of the event and did not seem to care.
A reconstructed blockhouse that was part of Fort Fairfield. Courtesy of fortwiki.
Due to several incidents between Britain and America in the first two years of the 1840s anti British sentiment was on the rise throughout the United States. Both sides realized it was time to reconcile their issues, and luckily both countries saw changes in leadership that made achieving these goals much easier. Lord Ashburton, who preferred to take the more peaceful conciliatory approach, was appointed as special minister to Washington. Martin Van Buren lost the election to William Henry Harrison who appointed the anglophile Daniel Webster as Secretary of State.
A portrait of Lord Ashburton. Painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Lord Ashburton was instructed to not accept anything less than the arbitration compromise of 1831. They also wanted to retain control of the land overlooking the St. Lawrence River so that the United States could not use it to stop shipping should another war break out, as well as keeping the Madawaska settlement intact though this was of lesser concern. The goal of the U.S. was to retain as much land as possible but in early 1841 Daniel Webster began a campaign consisting of posters and newspaper articles in Maine to educate citizens and sway them towards accepting a compromise. Webster also found maps that had been drawn up by Benjamin Franklin and Baron von Steuben in 1783 showing that the British were actually meant to retain the entire watershed of the St. John River, giving the British not just the disputed territory but additional land as well. He showed these maps to Maine politicians in order to weaken their arguments and make them more accepting of a compromise.
Secretary of State Daniel Webster. Public Domain.
On April 4, 1842 negotiations began and went surprisingly smooth with the only real point of contention being the Madawaska settlement. America wanted to retain the southern portion of the settlement which would split it between the two countries, when residents of the area heard of this they petitioned the lieutenant-governor to remain British subjects. Several attempts were made to find a suitable compromise so that the settlement could remain intact but to no avail. Residents in this southern area were given the opportunity to move to other parts of Canada, which many accepted. The border was now settled and largely resembled the 1831 arbitration line with the exception of the southern strip of Madawaska. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed on August 9, 1842 and promptly ratified by the United States a couple weeks later. The treaty would not be fully passed until May of 1843 when it was accepted by parliament. Thus ended one of the most drawn out border conflicts in American history.
The United States ultimately ended up with 7,015 square miles that was split between Maine and Massachusetts, and Britain received 5,012 square miles (which was actually 893 more than the 1831 arbitration) which was split between New Brunswick and Quebec. As a concession by the British the U.S. also received free passage on the St. John River. Maine and Massachusetts each also received $150,000 from the Federal Government for their conceded territory as well as Maine being reimbursed for its expenses incurred during the Aroostook War.
Modern map of Maine. Courtesy of MapofUS.org.
Personal Thoughts
When I was in highschool I took AP US History and this was one of the things we learned about that I just didn’t understand. Our book only gave a few sentences about it and it just was not enough for me. I never forgot about it and bought a book that described the entire conflict in detail, the book used as a source, and now I have an exponentially better understanding of it. I thought the border dispute that led to the Honey War was bad but this is leaps and bounds worse. So much could have been avoided and solved a lot sooner but that’s just not the path they chose. I’m glad I researched this because I enjoyed writing this article and anymore I get kind of bored of early American history, I know that’s bad, but I just prefer European history and U.S. history from about the 1850s on. But this was interesting and I hope everyone reading this finds it interesting too.
Sources
Cover photo courtesy of Down East Magazine.
Book, The Aroostook War of 1839 by W.E. Gary Campbell
https://www.britannica.com/event/Aroostook-War
https://www.mainememory.net/sitebuilder/site/781/page/1190/display
https://digitalmaine.com/arc_aroostook_war/
http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/Gray156.html
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=20
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/webster-treaty
