The Penobscot Expedition

Bucksport experienced several dramatic military episodes over the centuries. During the Revolutionary War in 1779, a fleet of 19 American naval warships and 25 support vessels arrived at Penobscot Bay to reclaim the area from British forces based at Fort George in nearby Castine, but in the worst naval defeat of the war, the Americans were chased up the Penobscot River by a much smaller British force of only 10 warships. Trapped by the British, some American vessels were captured, while others were burned to prevent their capture. Fearing for their lives, most Bucksport residents fled overland back to Massachusetts, and the British vessel Nautilus anchored off Bucksport while its crew pillaged and burned the largely abandoned community. Bucksport was also occupied by the British during the War of 1812, and in the 1840s Fort Knox was built to protect Bangor, Maine's lumber capital, from potential threats.

Bucksport, Maine · United States