Combat· American Revolutionary War
Penobscot Expedition
The Penobscot Expedition of July and August 1779 was an American attempt to dislodge the British from the Bagaduce Peninsula in Penobscot Bay, Maine.
Commodore Dudley Saltonstall led the fleet from the frigate Warren, and Solomon Lovell commanded the land forces. Marines occupied Banks Island on July 26. At first light on July 28 the landing force reached a steep bluff, with the Marines on the right under Captain John Welsh. They climbed hand over hand under musket fire, and a rear guard of 20 men withdrew toward the fort. Welsh was killed, Lieutenant William Hamilton was severely wounded, and 32 others were killed or wounded, including eight Continental Marine privates from the Warren. The advance halted at the top of the precipice. After nearly three weeks Sir George Collier's squadron arrived, and most American ships were destroyed by their own crews or captured. Saltonstall was tried and declared unfit to command a Continental vessel again. Marines did not attempt another sizeable amphibious operation until the War with Mexico.
Record no. 164