Revolutionary Heroes
10 Eastern Maine Revolutionary War Patriots to Remember
By Richard Shaw
Choosing only 10 Revolutionary War patriots from Eastern Maine to honor is like trying to pick your favorite child.
Every town seems to have sent good men off to fight in the seven-year struggle. The fortunate ones who returned became honored members of their communities, marching as grand old citizens in Fourth of July parades.
The exact number of men from the District of Maine (then part of Massachusetts) who fought in the Revolutionary War is not specifically known, but records indicate a significant quantity participated across various units, and according to Maine.gov, about 1,000 Maine men lost their lives during the conflict.
Approximately 198 men of color fought in Maine units, alongside Native Americans and other minorities. The Maine Old Cemetery Association is a good source for further research, along with local libraries, museums, and historical websites. The Bangor Historical Society will resume Mount Hope Cemetery walking tours in the spring. Sharp eyes might spot the grave of a patriot or two.
PVT. PETER EDES • 1756-1840
The founder of his town’s first newspaper, the Bangor Register, in 1815, Edes was an early advocate of independence. Arrested by Gen. Thomas Gage after the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Boston native was taken prisoner on June 19, 1775. He later settled in the Maine frontier.
COL. JONATHAN EDDY • 1726-1804Â
Before establishing the community now named Eddington in 1784, this military officer served in the French and Indian War and American Revolution. While living in Nova Scotia, he resisted King George III’s rule, and later led the Battle of Machias in 1777.
LT. COL. GABRIEL JOHONNOT • 1748-1820
Last year’s news that the Kennebec Road home of a Revolutionary War officer from Hampden was added to the National Register of Historic Places had people reading his impressive war record. Check out the graves of two British soldiers, who died in the War of 1812, while visiting Johonnot’s remains.
MAJOR GEN. JOHN BLAKE • 1753-1842
This patriot’s gravestone inscription relates his military service in unusual detail, chronicling his life from being born in Boston, enlisting on April 19, 1775, and in May 1787, then emigrating to Brewer. Blake served in the militia, from lieutenant to major general.
SGT. DANIEL SKINNER • 1743-1841
Corinth’s first settler in 1793, Skinner previously saw extensive Revolutionary War service. The future farmer was a corporal in Capt. Samuel White’s company and a sergeant in Col. John Daggett’s Massachusetts regiment.
COL. JONATHAN BUCK • 1719-1795
This town founder was much more than the local justice supposedly cursed by a witch whom he sentenced to death. An outline of her leg and foot famously appear on his tombstone. Serving in the 5th Maine Regiment, he guarded Fort Pownall and helped lead the ill-fated Penobscot Expedition in 1779.
CAPT. DANIEL SULLIVAN • 1738-1781
Someone should make a movie about this patriot’s exciting life. He witnessed the 1779 siege of Bagaduce, now Castine, then returned to Sullivan, where British sailors burned his home and took him prisoner. Released from Halifax and New York prisons, he died en route back home in 1781.
COL. JOHN ALLAN • 1746-1805
A Scottish-born officer with the Massachusetts militia, this patriot served under George Washington during the Revolutionary War, when he recruited Indian tribes in Eastern Maine, and urged them to ally themselves with Americans during the war.
COL. JEREMIAH O’BRIEN • 1744-1818
Six ships and a bridge have been named in honor of this legendary military officer. Among his exploits was the 1775 capture of the British schooner HMS Margaretta, which inspired a history-based festival held each June in Machias.
CAPT. WILLIAM HUTCHINGS • 1764-1866
This amazing patriot began his coastal service at age 15, and lived to be 101. He served in Col. Samuel McCobb’s Massachusetts Militia, was one of the last six surviving Revolutionary War veterans, and one of the few to be photographed.
