Aroostook war

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Map of the disputed area (New Brunswick = yellow)

The Aroostook War of 1838–1839 was an undeclared and bloodless war between the United States and Great Britain . The cause of the conflict was a dispute over the border between British North America (now Canada ) and the USA, which had been established by mutual agreement between the state of Maine and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Québec after the American War of Independence . The conflict is called "war" because it not only remained with political tensions and fierce disputes, but armed troops were sent from both sides to the disputed border. Timely intervention by the governments in London and Washington prevented bloodshed in the border area. Present-day Aroostook County covers most of the disputed area.

Causes of the border conflict

In the Treaty of Paris , which ended the American War of Independence in 1783, the border between Canada and the United States was not clearly defined everywhere. At that time, Maine was still part of the state of Massachusetts , which issued state land grants to deserving citizens after the war. This land was partly on the area claimed by the British. In the War of 1812 , Britain occupied almost all of eastern Maine for eight months with the intention of permanently annexing it for Canada. In the Treaty of Ghent this war was declared to be over in 1814 and the borderline of 1783 was confirmed again, but the old ambiguities remained.

When the new state of Maine was formed in 1820, the border issue rapidly became a top priority in the policies of the new state government. Massachusetts was also involved, as much of the disputed area on the Saint John and Madawaska Rivers was still in his possession. In September 1825, government officials from Maine and Massachusetts came to the border area to issue deeds and logging permits, organize censuses, and record births, deaths, and marriages.

The majority of the residents were of French descent, while the settlers who immigrated in the 1820s were mostly American and British, who lived mostly on the Aroostook River and west of the Saint John River. The French-speaking population on Madawaska were so-called Brayons and viewed themselves as members of the unofficial Republic of Madawaska (French: République du Madawaska ). The population grew in winter, when many foreign woodcutters from the woods had no work and came down the Saint John. These loggers were a thorn in the side of the Maine and Massachusetts governments for fear of dwindling resources and state revenues.

On July 4, 1827, John Baker hoisted an American flag on the west side of the Saint John River at what is now Baker Brook and declared his place of residence the capital of the Republic of Madawaska . The man was immediately arrested by the British colonial authorities and kept in prison until he was fined £ 25.

In the summer of 1830, a number of residents on the west bank of the Saint John River in Madawaska announced their affiliation with Maine. As a result, state officials from Maine came and organized several meetings in a hall to elect representatives for a future city of Madawaska. In return, members of the New Brunswick militia occupied the hall and threatened the participants with arrest and arrest. Even so, the event continued until additional troops arrived from New Brunswick and arrested some participants while others fled into the woods. The Augusta and Washington governments were informed of the incident and the US Secretary of State met with his British counterpart to resolve the issue.

Mediation attempt

In the same year King Wilhelm I of the Netherlands was asked to mediate in the border dispute. Wilhelm I proposed a compromise between the two alternatives at hand, which came very close to the borderline realized later. The British accepted the king's proposal, but the state of Maine rejected it. US President Andrew Jackson was called in, but under Maine's pressure, the US Senate decided against the mediation proposal.

Great Britain and the USA agreed on a provisional settlement in 1831/32, which stipulated that the population in the disputed areas should already recognize the legislation and authority of the respective state.

The conflict escalates

In 1837 the taxpayers should get a tax refund. A special census was used to identify the people affected. Penobscot County's Census Commissioner Greely began the census on the upper Arostook River when New Brunswick provincial officials learned that money was to be paid to the settlers at Aroostook. Greely was arrested and taken to Fredericton . A letter from New Brunswick accused the governor of Maine of bribery and threatened military action if Maine did not cease its activities on the Aroostook River. In response, Maine Governor Robert Dunlop stated that his state had been attacked by a foreign power .

Sir John Harvey (1778-1852)
General Winfield Scott (1786–1866)

In the winter of 1838/39 American and Canadian loggers were working in the disputed area. In January 1839, the Penobscot County Sheriff was hired to send a squad of volunteer Maine militiamen to the Aroostook River to track down and arrest the New Brunswick loggers. A number of them were captured and sent to Bangor in handcuffs . The other Canadian loggers found out about this and armed themselves from the Woodstock arsenal. They then ambushed the Maine sheriff and his companions and transported them tied up with chains to Woodstock. Sir John Harvey , Governor of New Brunswick, wrote to Washington that he could not release the political prisoners until he had instructions from London. In addition, the area on the Aroostook River is under British jurisdiction and he therefore demands the withdrawal of all American troops from the region.

Troop deployment

In February 1839, Maine sent Maj. General Isaac Hodson and another 1,000 volunteers to reinforce the upper aroostook. It was reported that regular British troops were advancing from the West Indies, the Mohawk had offered their support and New Brunswick's forces were rallying on the Saint John River. There were a total of around 32,000 armed men in the disputed area, including 10,656 regular British soldiers.

The situation was debated in Congress in Washington, and Rep. Smith from Maine said the primary responsibility of the federal government was to protect and defend its territory and its citizens. Since she was apparently not fulfilling her duties, Maine would defend its state alone. Congress responded and approved a force of 50,000 regular troops and $ 10 million in case of emergency, while Maine could provide 3,000 to 10,000 militiamen. General Winfield Scott , who recently led the Cherokee relocation , was posted to the conflict area.

General Scott and Governor Harvey knew each other as opponents from the 1812 war, and their relationship was one of mutual respect. Scott arranged for the Maine militia to be recalled in May and June 1839 and exchanged for regular US Army troops. Later that summer construction began on Fort Fairfield and Fort Kent. The crew consisted of three companies of the 1st US Artillery Regiment under the command of RM Kirby. On the opposite side stood four companies of the 11th British Regiment from Québec. In addition, every tributary of the Saint John River in the disputed area was occupied by regular troops and militias from New Brunswick. In 1840, Maine founded Aroostook County .

A diplomatic solution

Since nobody really wanted another war in North America, diplomacy looked for a peaceful solution to the problem. Eventually the United States and Great Britain agreed on a border commission and on August 9, 1842 the Webster-Ashburton Treaty was signed in Washington DC, which ended the border disputes. The treaty not only regulated the line between Maine and New Brunswick, but also the disputed border between Canada, Michigan and Minnesota.

Daniel Webster (1782-1852)

The treaty negotiated by Daniel Webster and Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton , granted the United States 18,170 km² and Canada 12,890 km² of the disputed area. Webster had used an old map as a template in which Benjamin Franklin had marked the border with a red line as early as 1782, in order to persuade Massachusetts to compromise on the old dispute. Some people later claimed the card was a counterfeit by the British to put pressure on the Americans. Ultimately, the only losers were the Brayons, the French-speaking residents of the region whose residential area was divided by the new border.

Even though no shot had been fired, the war had left some casualties. Maine Soldier Hiram T. Smith died while on duty of unknown cause. Other Maine Militia members died of illness or serious injuries, and an unknown number left the camps and did not return.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f C. Gagnon: The Border Dispute. How the Maine-New Brunswick border was finalized
  2. ^ Government of Canada: Canadian Military Heritage: The Aroostook War ( Memento June 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )