Battle of Machias
1775 first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War
The Battle of Machias (June 11–12, 1775) was an early naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War, also known as the Battle of the Margaretta, fought around the port of Machias, Maine.
Following the outbreak of the war, British authorities enlisted Loyalist merchant Ichabod Jones to supply the troops who were under the Siege of Boston. Two of his merchant ships arrived in Machias on June 2, 1775, accompanied by the British armed sloop HMS Margaretta (sometimes also spelled Margueritta or Marguerite), commanded by Midshipman James Moore. The townspeople of Machias disapproved of Jones' intentions and arrested him. They also tried to arrest Moore, but he escaped through the harbor. The townspeople seized one of Jones' ships, armed it alongside a second local ship, and sailed out to meet Moore. After a short confrontation, Moore was fatally wounded, and his vessel and crew were captured.
The people of Machias captured additional British ships, and fought off a large force that tried to take control of the town in the Battle of Machias in 1777. Privateers and others forces operating out of Machias continued to attack British targets throughout the war.
Background
The American Revolutionary War began on April 19, 1775, with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, after which the Continental Army under the command of George Washington besieged the British army in the Siege of Boston.
The public source identifies “Battle of Machias” as 1775 first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Battle, Machias and first.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Battle of Machias”, the useful work is to connect “1775 first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4090317. Authority coordinates are 44.684, -67.383. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1775 and 1777.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Battle of Machias”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Battle of Machias primary sources, Battle of Machias archive and Battle research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Battle of Machias”?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
- Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Battle of Machias” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.