Jonathan Eddy
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Eddy served for the British in the French and Indian War
and for the American Patriots in the American Revolution
. After the French and Indian War he settled in Nova Scotia
as a New England Planter
, becoming a member of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia
. During the American Revolutionary War
, he was strongly supportive of the rebel cause. He encouraged the residents of Nova Scotia to join their American brothers in open revolt against King George III
and England. He led a failed attempt to capture Fort Cumberland
in 1776 and was forced to return to Massachusetts
, the place of his birth. The following year he led the defense of Machias, Maine during the Battle of Machias (1777)
. After the war he established the community now known as Eddington, Maine
in 1784, where he died.
in 1726 or 1727. In 1755 he enlisted in the Massachusetts militia and participated in Robert Monckton
's successful capture of Fort Beauséjour
on the Isthmus of Chignecto
in the French and Indian War
. He received a militia captain's commission in 1758, when he apparently saw no action, and again in 1759, when his company was garrisoned at Fort Cumberland
(the name Fort Beauséjour was given after its capture). After the war, Eddy returned home to Norton, only to return to Cumberland as a New England Planter
in 1763. From 1770 to 1775 he served in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
began in Massachusetts in 1775 he openly supported the rebellion. Following Governor Francis Legge
's crackdown on seditious persons and seeing an opportunity, Jonathan Eddy fled to his riding in Cumberland. He made frequent excursions to see Samuel Adams
and the General Court of Massachusetts as well as to General George Washington
. Here he was met with varying degrees of support for his proposed rebellion. Adams pledged full support, troops, weapons, ammunition, and more, while Washington basically said not to expect any support at all. He was eventually able to convince the Massachusetts legislature to provide logistical support in the form of small arms (musket
s) and other military supplies.
In the summer of 1776, Mariot Arbuthnot, the new governor of Nova Scotia, ordered Colonel Joseph Goreham
's Royal Fencible Americans to secure Fort Cumberland and keep watch for any signs of an American invasion of the province. Eddy, knowing he was being monitored by authorities loyal to the King, fled to Massachusetts where he was made a full colonel in the Continental Army and given authority to raise a regiment of his own with the sole purpose of invading Nova Scotia through Cumberland and Truro
and then east into Halifax.
's army departed Nova Scotia to attack New York
in 1776, Eddy made his move. His force of 180 American militiamen, Natives, and Nova Scotians marched on Fort Cumberland. They attempted to storm the fort on November 13, 1776 and were repulsed. Two more attempts were made on the 22nd and 23 November, but on the 28th the HMS Vulture arrived at the head of the Bay of Fundy
with British regulars
aboard and relieved the fort. Eddy and his militia force were scattered, eventually regrouping near the Saint John River. Eddy and many of his supporters who had lived near the fort had their properties destroyed in retaliation.
Eddy spent the remainder of the war managing the defense of Machias in the District of Maine
(then a part of Massachusetts), and was awarded a tract of land in the Ohio Country
in 1801 for his role in the war. He moved to Stoughtonham
after the war, where he served in the Massachusetts legislature. In 1784 he established a settlement on the eastern bank of the Penobscot River
that grew to become Eddington, Maine
, where he died in 1804.
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and for the American Patriots in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. After the French and Indian War he settled in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
as a New England Planter
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion...
, becoming a member of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia
5th General Assembly of Nova Scotia
The 5th General Assembly of Nova Scotia represented Nova Scotia between May 1770 to 1784, its membership being set in the 1770 Nova Scotia general election....
. During the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, he was strongly supportive of the rebel cause. He encouraged the residents of Nova Scotia to join their American brothers in open revolt against King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
and England. He led a failed attempt to capture Fort Cumberland
Battle of Fort Cumberland
The Battle of Fort Cumberland was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776...
in 1776 and was forced to return to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, the place of his birth. The following year he led the defense of Machias, Maine during the Battle of Machias (1777)
Battle of Machias (1777)
The Battle of Machias was an amphibious assault on the Massachusetts town of Machias by British forces during the American Revolutionary War. Local militia aided by Indian allies successfully prevented British troops from landing...
. After the war he established the community now known as Eddington, Maine
Eddington, Maine
Eddington is a town located on the eastern side of the Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 2,052.- History :...
in 1784, where he died.
French and Indian War
Jonathan Eddy was born in Norton, MassachusettsNorton, Massachusetts
Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the village of Norton Center. The population was 18,036 at the 2000 census...
in 1726 or 1727. In 1755 he enlisted in the Massachusetts militia and participated in Robert Monckton
Robert Monckton
Robert Monckton was an officer of the British army and a colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General Wolfe at the battle of Quebec and subsequently being the Governor of New York State...
's successful capture of Fort Beauséjour
Battle of Fort Beauséjour
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War andthe opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America...
on the Isthmus of Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. He received a militia captain's commission in 1758, when he apparently saw no action, and again in 1759, when his company was garrisoned at Fort Cumberland
Fort Cumberland
Fort Cumberland can refer to:*Fort Cumberland *Fort Cumberland also known as Fort Beauséjour*Fort Cumberland Fort Cumberland is located in Cucumber Land, Cumber is short for Cucumber. Fort Cumberland was founded by Johnson Merrell, a moonshiner in 1687...
(the name Fort Beauséjour was given after its capture). After the war, Eddy returned home to Norton, only to return to Cumberland as a New England Planter
New England Planters
The New England Planters were settlers from the New England colonies who responded to invitations by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, to settle lands left vacant by the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion...
in 1763. From 1770 to 1775 he served in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
American Revolution
When the American Revolutionary WarAmerican Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
began in Massachusetts in 1775 he openly supported the rebellion. Following Governor Francis Legge
Francis Legge
Francis Legge , was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776....
's crackdown on seditious persons and seeing an opportunity, Jonathan Eddy fled to his riding in Cumberland. He made frequent excursions to see Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
and the General Court of Massachusetts as well as to General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. Here he was met with varying degrees of support for his proposed rebellion. Adams pledged full support, troops, weapons, ammunition, and more, while Washington basically said not to expect any support at all. He was eventually able to convince the Massachusetts legislature to provide logistical support in the form of small arms (musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s) and other military supplies.
In the summer of 1776, Mariot Arbuthnot, the new governor of Nova Scotia, ordered Colonel Joseph Goreham
Joseph Goreham
Joseph Goreham was a British army commander during the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War.- Family :...
's Royal Fencible Americans to secure Fort Cumberland and keep watch for any signs of an American invasion of the province. Eddy, knowing he was being monitored by authorities loyal to the King, fled to Massachusetts where he was made a full colonel in the Continental Army and given authority to raise a regiment of his own with the sole purpose of invading Nova Scotia through Cumberland and Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and then east into Halifax.
Siege of Fort Cumberland
Shortly after General William HoweWilliam Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
's army departed Nova Scotia to attack New York
New York and New Jersey campaign
The New York and New Jersey campaign was a series of battles for control of New York City and the state of New Jersey in the American Revolutionary War between British forces under General Sir William Howe and the Continental Army under General George Washington in 1776 and the winter months of 1777...
in 1776, Eddy made his move. His force of 180 American militiamen, Natives, and Nova Scotians marched on Fort Cumberland. They attempted to storm the fort on November 13, 1776 and were repulsed. Two more attempts were made on the 22nd and 23 November, but on the 28th the HMS Vulture arrived at the head of the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
with British regulars
Regular army
A regular army consists of the permanent force of a country's army that is maintained under arms during peacetime.Countries that use the term include:*Australian Army*British Army*Canadian Forces, specifically "Regular Force"*Egyptian army*Indian Army...
aboard and relieved the fort. Eddy and his militia force were scattered, eventually regrouping near the Saint John River. Eddy and many of his supporters who had lived near the fort had their properties destroyed in retaliation.
Eddy spent the remainder of the war managing the defense of Machias in the District of Maine
District of Maine
The District of Maine was a legal designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from American independence until the Missouri Compromise on March 4, 1820, after which it gained its independence from Massachusetts and became the 23rd state in the Union...
(then a part of Massachusetts), and was awarded a tract of land in the Ohio Country
Ohio Country
The Ohio Country was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake Erie...
in 1801 for his role in the war. He moved to Stoughtonham
Sharon, Massachusetts
Sharon is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,612 at the 2010 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about 17 miles southwest of downtown Boston....
after the war, where he served in the Massachusetts legislature. In 1784 he established a settlement on the eastern bank of the Penobscot River
Penobscot River
The Penobscot River is a river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's West Branch and South Branch increases the Penobscot's length to , making it the second longest river system in Maine and the longest entirely in the state. Its drainage basin contains .It arises from four branches...
that grew to become Eddington, Maine
Eddington, Maine
Eddington is a town located on the eastern side of the Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 2,052.- History :...
, where he died in 1804.