(upbeat music) (projector clicking) - Have you ever wondered where the television signal you're watching is coming from?

♪ I love to go a wanderin' (projector clicking) ♪ along the mountain track - Welcome to True North.

(upbeat music) (mysterious music) - Good evening and welcome to Mainewatch (upbeat music) (projector clicking) Welcome to From the Vault, a celebration of 60 years of Maine Public Television.

We are going to look at some Maine history on this episode with two programs from the archives.

In the second half of the show, we will go back to 2004 for an episode of Home: The story Of Maine that will examine the disastrous Penobscot Expedition during the Revolutionary War.

It was the summer of 1779 when 44 American ships sailed to Penobscot Bay to battle the British fleet, who had recently taken control of Castine.

The resulting defeat of the American Naval Armada is considered one of the worst and the least known episodes in our country's maritime history.

But first, we will look at Maine's role in the Civil War as we go back to 2013 for the 16th Maine at Gettysburg.

July 1st through July 3rd of 1863 saw the bloodiest multi-day battle of the Civil War occur at Gettysburg.

On the first day, the 275 soldiers of the 16th Maine played a pivotal role in holding their ground to allow nearly 16,000 union troops to retreat.

This program recreates their heroic act and explains how their sacrifice helped the North to eventually repel the Confederate troops.

I had the privilege of working on this program and as anyone who has been to Gettysburg can attest, it is a moving and profound experience to walk through the area and take stock of what happened there.

An incredible moment occurred during the last scene we shot, which was bugler Jari Villanueva playing Taps for us on Little Round Top.

It was a beautiful sunset and the sound of the trumpet seemed to carry for miles.

As he finished and lowered his trumpet, we heard a wash of applause coming from behind us.

The producer and I turned around to see dozens of onlookers that had been drawn to this spot by his music.

Some were clapping.

Some were saluting and some were crying.

But all felt the somber respect of what that music represented.

It was one of the most powerful moments that I have ever been a part of.

Let's take a look at that day in American history as we go back to 2013 for the 16th Maine at Gettysburg.

[orchestra plays] ♪ ♪ [piano plays softly] I, Lt. Francis Wiggin, stand before you today at this reunion of our Civil War soldiers in arms to recount a tale both awful and inspiring, that of the 16th Maine Regiment at Gettysburg.

The Civil War threatened the disruption of the United States, and due to the momentous issues involved, we know the Battle of Gettysburg lives on in our nation's soul.

But it is not my province to describe that battle any further than to make clear the part the 16th Maine Regiment took in that awful conflict.

Families here today carry a truly heartrending and tangible symbol of this story.

But we will get to that in a bit, because that lasting artifact comes near the end of this shared recollection, and the truth of the matter is that the innocent men of the 16th Maine had a strenuous history from the beginning.

[acoustic guitar plays softly] On August 14th, 1862 the 16th Maine mustered into United States service in Augusta.

We were over 1,000 in strength, and came from the central and southern part of the state.

Run of the mill citizens, laborers, lumbermen, farmers, store clerks, teachers, pharmacists, ministers on occasion.

We were mostly young and chiseled and naive.

There was no federal draft as of yet.

We were present by our own choice.

The draft in the Civil War doesn't even begin until 10 days after the Battle of Gettysburg, so the units that show up at Gettysburg are essentially local groups.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) We were ably led by Col. Charles Tilden, a merchant from Castine.

(David Cheever) This was a second tour of duty for Charles Tilden.

He was a businessman, a merchant in Castine, and a little bit older than your average Maine soldier in the Civil War.

Tilden was late twenties when he first enlisted.

By the time he takes over as colonel of the 16th he's about 31, 32 years old, about 5' 9", and genuinely appreciated, respected by his men.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) We carried with us a vital symbol of our union, the flag, which also served as a reminder of the families we left behind.

(Paul Marhevka) A lot of times their wives would sew a flag together.

It's given to the regiment when it's ready to go off to war.

They're very proud of it, the way we are today proud of the United States flag.

It's a disgrace to lose it in battle; it's a disgrace to see it even fall to the ground during a battle.

It served, of course, a very practical and functional role as well.

Civil War battlefields were hugely chaotic places in large part because of the smoke.

Tremendous smoke were produced by these weapons.

For the soldiers to be able to have some sense of where they were in relationship to their comrades, for them to be able to fight as a cohesive unit, they could through the fog of this battle smoke see their regimental colors.

♪ ♪ (as Lt. Francis Wiggin) We were ordered to march to Washington to help protect the Union from an anticipated assault by Lee and his Confederates.

What such a march means, you old soldiers know full well, but your families may not.

We were encumbered with gun, knapsacks, blankets, and 60 rounds of ammunition, shouldering about 75 pounds or more.

(David Cheever) The average Maine soldier was about 5' 6", 145 pounds, 22 years of age.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Carrying the weight, the march to Washington was indeed long.

Many of us grew sick along the way.

We finally reached the center of Union strength and commenced drilling, but soon thereafter came Lee's first invasion of the North.

Our 16th regiment, part of the 1st Corps commanded by Gen. John Reynolds, was ordered to make fast in joining the campaign to repel Lee's army.

Making fast required us to jettison crucial equipment.

(Paul Marhevka) When an army's on the move, then they're starting to throw it off to the side.

A soldier would probably have a blanket, extra pair of socks in his knapsack; his rifle of course, his cartridge box, a canteen.

(David Cheever) They're told to drop their stuff, grab their muskets and whatever they can carry, but everything else, change of clothes, luggage, whatever, leave it there, and we'll take off.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) The supply outfit could not keep track of us, and thus, when the cold weather came on, we were still marching without tents, knapsacks or overcoats.

(David Cheever) The uniforms they had were not well made.

They were falling off, and it was a colder than normal autumn for that area so they were in freezing rain, they were down below freezing at night.

Then the illnesses started coming, and guys would drop from dysentery, the flu, pneumonia, and it began eating at the ranks of the 16th Maine.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) And still, even in this condition the 16th Maine had to fight our way North.

The 16th fought through the campaigns of 1862, including Antietam, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg.

♪ ♪ (as Lt. Francis Wiggin) When the weather turned, we were relieved, but we did not understand that a summer in the lower northeast would bear no likeness to kindness of a Maine summer.

(David Cheever) Heat and humidity in the summer of 1863 was particularly taxing.

They're going 11, 18, 22, in one case 30 miles in a day when it's 90 degrees out.

(Jams D. Campbell) The average soldier in the Army of the Potomac in the week prior to the Battle of Gettysburg went 20 miles a day in chasing Lee's army north up into Pennsylvania.

That's a significant achievement when you think that it was in the heat of summer, that these guys were wearing wool uniforms.

They had one very small canteen full of water, shoddy leather shoes, and very heavy equipment, the rifle they carried, the ammunition they carried, haversack, blanket, maybe an extra shirt.

It's a pretty significant achievement to be able to walk that much that fast, that far in that heat in the week prior to the battle.

By the time they arrive at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, they're down to under 270 men.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) With hundreds of men lost over the months to battle and disease and another three dozen immediately assigned to a different battery, our dear 16th Maine was now dreadfully low in number.

On June 30th we left Emmitsburg, Maryland at 9 a.m. As our major, Abner R. Small, our adjutant from Waterville said of our march, the road was hazy with the dust of the marching column and the farmlands drifting by were dry and shimmering in the summer heat.

We marched a few miles across the Pennsylvania border and bivouacked at Marsh Run, about six miles from Gettysburg.

At that time we had little idea of what the next three days would develop.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Gettysburg needs to be understood as a spontaneous battle.

Gettysburg was not a place on the map that officers pointed to and said let's fight a battle here, but it was a place where armies could almost naturally converge.

(David Cheever) Gettysburg, which had maybe 2400 people at the time, was a collection of roads like a star pattern.

(Peter Carmichael) That of course, not only was natural for bringing trade and commerce to this area, but when the war entered Pennsylvania that road network would facilitate the arrival of armies on both sides, Union and Confederate.

(James D. Campbell) The story of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg is the armies ran into each other accidentally just to the northwest of the town of Gettysburg.

(man) Fire!

Neither side was prepared or eager to have a fight on July 1st, and so when the armies stump up into each other this signified that there was a great deal of uncertainty on both sides as to where the other was located.

And in both commands there were issues, problems.

On the Union side there was a great deal of chaos and confusion because of a change in command at the very tip-top when Joseph Hooker was relieved by Abraham Lincoln, replaced by George Gordon Meade just a few days before the battle.

On the Confederate side Robert E. Lee was straining to find out where the enemy was located.

The hard fact of the matter is that R. E. Lee lacked the intelligence information to properly understand where his army was in relationship to the enemy.

The risks were undoubtedly great for R. E. Lee, but Lee also understood that an offensive driven campaign that would result in a decisive and complete victory on northern soil would bring incredible political rewards for the Confederate nation, and at the same time his army would be able to draw from the resources of Pennsylvania and give Virginia a break from the war.

[snare drum plays] (as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Our 16th Maine was still a mile or more from the town when an orderly came riding back bringing to us the sad intelligence that General Reynolds had been killed by a sharpshooter while he was superintending the placing of troops and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the remainder of our 1st Corps.

Events were crowding upon us too swiftly for the indulgence of grief over the untimely death of one of the ablest generals in the Union army.

The first major formation of the Union army to get to Gettysburg was the 1st Corps and the 16th Maine was part of that.

(Peter Carmichael) The fighting had a very raggedness to it, an uneven flow of the 1st Corps attacking then being on the defense.

That's what characterizes the fighting on that day, and the result was extraordinarily vicious and bloody.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) As we neared the town, marching on the Emmitsburg Road, the cannonading became more rapid and distinct, and we thought we could distinguish the sharp crack of guns.

The rebels possessed fresh courage and became more aggressive.

So for the men in the 16th Maine, the battlefield that took in here in Gettysburg was beyond description.

In fact, soldiers often wrote that they could not write about what they saw because they simply did not have the power of vocabulary to capture how horrifying, how dehumanizing, how grisly this carnage was.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Our captain, James Hall, recalled, "As the afternoon wore by, the rebel forces increased, and ours didn't.

Their army was coming fast towards Gettysburg, crowding the roads from both west and north, and their lines formed and moved in with overpowering strength."

(James D. Campbell) The Confederate army was converging on Gettysburg from the west and from the north.

What ended up happening was that 1st Corps and part of the 11th Corps were essentially outflanked.

During the chaos of the afternoon of July the 1st, the Federals were in utter disarray.

They looked for a place to reform.

Cemetery Hill was that spot.

It was commanding high ground, the very place where demoralized troops could form a defensive line, where they could in fact believe in themselves again, that they could withstand renewed Confederate assaults.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) The lines of the 1st Corps were crumbling and giving way before the tremendous waves of the oncoming rebels.

A sacrifice had to be made in order to save what was left of the division and the corps.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (James D. Campbell) The commander of the corps directed that one regiment stay behind to form a bulwark to keep the Confederates at bay to allow the rest of the corps to withdraw through the town.

It was a perilous position.

This last stand, its intent was to slow down the Confederate advance so the remainder of the 1st Corps could retreat through the town of Gettysburg and occupy this final defensive line along Cemetery Hill.

That unit happened to be the 16th Maine.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) At about 1:00 the order came.

"Fall in!

Forward 16th!"

Gen. Robinson himself rode up to Col. Tilden and ordered him to move his regiment to the right along the ridge and take position by the Mummasburg Road.

Col. Tilden stated to Gen. Robinson the strength of the enemy and expressed the opinion that it would be impossible to hold the position.

The general then very emphatically gave this order, "Take that position and hold it at any cost."

"You know what that means," said our Col. Tilden as he turned and gave the order to the regiment to about face and move forward.

Yes, the regiment knew what it meant.

It meant death or capture, and every man realized it perfectly.

(David Cheever) They could see what was waiting for them... and they could hang on as best they could.

A rather extraordinary piece of courage on all of them, to do what they were ordered to do and do it as well as they could for as long as they could.

You can imagine what's going through the minds of the men of the 16th Maine.

You have that brief instant where you turn back to go to a different position.

You know you're being asked to be the only one on the ridge to give the rest of the Union army a chance to retreat back to Cemetery Hill.

Your thoughts are I'm sure going to home, to your wife, to your mom, to your kids, and realizing that you're probably not going to leave this ridge.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) The 16th Regiment was the forlorn hope and on its faithfulness rested the destiny of the 1st Corps.

So there was the spectacle of one broken and shattered regiment of less than 300 men, holding back the onslaught of 4 divisions of the rebel army, each division nearly as large as one of our army corps.

(David Cheever) As the Confederates were coming and they were swarming, the 16th Maine was hopelessly outnumbered.

We're talking fewer than 250 men and you're talking thousands of Confederates.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Our adjutant, Abner Small wrote, "The attacking line came on, and following behind it was another, and we knew our little regiment could not withstand the onset."

The ridge could be held no longer.

We were sacrificed to steady the retreat.

The little band fought on until our fellow soldiers had reached Cemetery Hill.

The object of our sacrifice had been obtained.

We took stock of our situation anew.

They, the men remaining, quickly made their way off the field headed back toward the town of Gettysburg, and as they tried to cut their way out they of course, increasingly faced more and more Confederate resistance.

It takes you anywhere from 20 to 35 seconds to load a musket and then fire and then reload.

How much room can be covered in that amount of time by an on-running or even walking enemy?

♪ ♪ (as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Our adjutant Abner Small wrote, "He gave us the commands that sent us hurrying back towards the Mummasburg Road again.

The stone wall came along on the left and bent sharply ahead of us to face the road.

We made a dash for the corner and planted our colors in the angle."

We knew capture was inevitable, but surrender comes in many forms.

And so here the 16th made two final stands.

♪ ♪ (Peter Carmichael) The commander of the 16th Maine told them rather than giving up a sword, the story goes that he took the sword and put it into the earth so the hilt of the sword was visible.

(James D. Campbell) It's a very symbolic gesture.

The symbol of surrender is to turn over your sidearm, essentially symbolizing the end.

Okay, fellas, we're done.

Snaps off the sword; not going to turn it over to the enemy.

His sword is now useless.

One of the men turns to Tilden and says, Sir, he says, we cannot allow our flags to be captured.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) He wrote, "We looked at our colors and our faces burned.

We must not surrender those symbols of our pride and our faith.

Our color bearers appeal to our colonel, and with his consent they tore the flags from the staves and ripped the silk into shreds, and our officers and men who were near, each took a shred."

Sanctioned by Col. Tilden and the other surviving officers, the flag was torn into little pieces.

These pieces were concealed to save them from capture, hidden about the persons of those brave men in pockets, under caps, in the toes of their torn shoes.

It was at that point in the battle when he told the men in the regiment, do the best you can, try and make your way back on your own.

They had done all they could really be asked to do, he said good luck to you, make your way back best you can, it's every man for himself.

(James D. Campbell) The regiment lost virtually all of its strength.

I think There were maybe 45 or so soldiers left who were able to make it back and join the rest of the Union army.

The rest were either killed or captured, to include Col. Tilden who was captured and imprisoned by the Confederates.

♪ ♪ (as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Our little regiment of about 40 men were thinking of the 150 or our comrades captured on July 1st who were now prisoners and who were traveling toward southern prison pens.

We held as comfort the knowledge that the sacrifice had enabled the 1st Corps to reach high ground and form new lines for the remaining days of Gettysburg.

What was the final destiny of those men of the 16th Maine Regiment captured at Gettysburg?

No one can answer that question fully.

Possibly half were exchanged or released after the surrender of Lee.

Many men died in prison.

(as Lt. Francis Wiggin) Col. Tilden was captured and confined at Libby Prison at Richmond, but was one of the fortunate officers who escaped by means of the famous Rose Tunnel.

He served the rest of the war, being captured and escaping twice more, and is with us here tonight.

And our colors, those cherished pieces of the flag, some of those pieces were brought home by the survivors of the battle and the southern prisons and today are preserved as precious mementos of that supreme sacrifice.

[playing "Taps"] (men and women) ♪ Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord ♪ ♪ He is trampling out the vintage ♪ ♪ Where the grapes of wrath are stored ♪ ♪ He hath loosed the fateful lightening ♪ ♪ Of His terrible swift sword ♪ His truth is marching on ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ His truth is marching on ♪ I have seen him in the watch-fires ♪ ♪ Of a hundred circling camps ♪ We have builded him an alter ♪ In the evening dews and damps ♪ ♪ I can read His righteous sentence ♪ ♪ By the dim and flaring lamps ♪ His day is marchin on ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ His day is marchin on (James Leamon) THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION IS USUALLY REGARDED AS THE WORST AMERICAN NAVAL DISASTER WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PEARL HARBOR.

AS A MILITARY EVENT, IT IS ONE OF THE GREAT UNKNOWNS IN AMERICAN HISTORY IN GENERAL.

EVEN BIOGRAPHIES OF PAUL REVERE DON'T USUALLY MENTION THE PENOBSCOT CAMPAIGN IN ANY DETAIL.

THEY MIGHT MENTION THAT HE PARTOOK OF IT AND WAS IN COMMAND OF THE ARTILLERY AND ALONG WITH THE OTHER OFFICERS WAS EXONERATED OF BLAME BY A COURT MARSHAL.

AND THAT COVERS UP THE WHOLE SITUATION VERY NICELY.

BUT THE PENOBSCOT CAMPAIGN SIMPLY IS A FORGOTTEN EPISODE IN MOST AMERICAN HISTORIES.

[orchestra plays in minor tones] (female narrator) IN JUNE OF 1779, THE BRITISH MAKE THE DECISION TO BUILD A FORT AT THE MOUTH OF THE PENOBSCOT RIVER TO PROTECT A LOYALIST COLONY THAT WILL BE CALLED NEW IRELAND.

THE AMERICANS IN BOSTON RESPOND IMMEDIATELY AND SEND AN ARMADA TO STOP THE BRITISH.

THEY CALL THE MISSION THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION.

OVER 200 YEARS LATER, IN AUGUST OF 1998, BREWER RESIDENT BRENT PHINNEY WAS SALVAGING WATER-LOGGED LUMBER WHEN HE FOUND SOMETHING VERY UNUSUAL.

(Brent Phinney) I WAS ALMOST OUT OF AIR AT THE TIME I FOUND IT.

SO I LOOKED AROUND AS QUICK AS I COULD AND THEN CAME BACK UP TO THE BOAT AND GOT ANOTHER TANK OF AIR ON AS FAST AS I COULD TO GO BACK DOWN AND LOOK AT IT SOME MORE.

AND I GUESS I SPENT THE REST OF THAT AIR TIME DOWN THERE LOOKING THE WHOLE THING OVER AND TRYING TO GO AROUND AND SEE WHAT ELSE IS THERE.

SOME PEOPLE THINK I WAS CRAZY TELLING THEM THERE'S CANNONS AND CANNONBALLS OUT THERE.

PEOPLE DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION.

SO LET'S GET IT UP AND HAVE THE HISTORY WHERE PEOPLE CAN LOOK AT IT.

(narrator) BRENT PHINNEY FOUND WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN HISTORIC ARTIFACT, BUT WHAT WAS IT?

WAS IT SIGNIFICANT?

AND WHY WAS IT LYING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PENOBSCOT RIVER?

IN THE END, HIS DISCOVERY SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON THE DESPERATION OF A NEARLY FORGOTTEN EPISODE IN MAINE'S HISTORY.

NEXT ON "HOME: THE STORY OF MAINE."

(man) PRODUCTION OF "HOME: THE STORY OF MAINE" ON MAINE PBS WAS MADE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MAINE STATE MUSEUM.

MAJOR FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES, A FEDERAL AGENCY COMMITTED TO FOSTERING INNOVATION, LEADERSHIP, AND A LIFETIME OF LEARNING.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY ELSIE VILES.

[orchestra plays in bright rhythm & tone] ♪ ♪ [orchestra plays in minor tones] IN 1998, BRENT PHINNEY WAS SALVAGING LOGS WHEN HE FOUND TWO CANNONS AND A SWIVEL GUN LYING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PENOBSCOT RIVER.

A YEAR LATER, HE DISCOVERED AN OLD SHIPWRECK NEARBY.

CONCERNED THAT THESE ARTIFACTS MIGHT ROT AND DISAPPEAR INTO OBLIVION, HE CONTACTED WARREN RIESS OF THE DARLING MARINE CENTER.

THAT'S, I GUESS, WHEN I CONTACTED WARREN RIESS AND TOLD HIM THEY NEEDED TO GET UP HERE AND GET THIS STUFF OUT OF THE RIVER.

HE CAME UP AND TALKED TO ME, I GUESS A COUPLE TIMES AND EXPLAINED HOW THEY DO A LOT OF DETAIL MAPPING BEFORE THEY JUST YANK THE STUFF OUT OF THE RIVER, WHICH CONSERVE THE ARTIFACTS, THAT THEY BRING OUT.

(Warren Reiss) THE WINTERS HERE ARE PARTICULARLY DESTRUCTIVE TO THESE SITES.

THE SHALLOW WATER SITES, YOU CAN GET ICE FORMING 2 OR 3 FEET THICK.

THE ICE WILL FORM AROUND ARTIFACTS, AROUND PIECES OF SHIP AND AS THE TIDE COMES IN, LIFTS THEM UP AND THEN IT BREAKS UP AND TAKES THEM DOWNRIVER AND DROPS THEM SOMEWHERE.

IN ARCHEOLOGY WE CALL THAT "RAFTING."

AND THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING OVER THE YEARS.

THERE'S DIFFERENT EROSION GOING ON AS THE RIVERS CHANGE.

NOW, IF WE WANTED TO EXCAVATE THEM AND SAVE THE ARTIFACTS AND BRING UP THE HULL AND EVERYTHING, THEY WOULD LET THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE DO THAT-- IF WE HAD ENOUGH FINANCING, AND TO NOT ONLY DO IT PROPERLY, BUT STUDY IT PROPERLY, PUBLISH IT, CONSERVE EVERYTHING.

THE STATE OF MAINE JUST DOESN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY.

THE NAVY DOES.

THEY HAVE THEIR OWN UNDERWATER ARCHEOLOGY TEAM.

THEY HAVE A CONSERVATION LAB.

AND SO IT MADE MOST SENSE TO BRING THEM IN NOT ONLY FOR THEIR EXPERTISE AND FUNDING, BUT FOR PROTECTION OF THESE SIGHTS.

ONCE THESE SIGHTS ARE FOUND, THEY CAN BE LOOTED.

(narrator) TO OVERSEE THE EXCAVATION OF THE UNDERWATER SITE WHERE THE SWIVEL GUN WAS FOUND, THE NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER CALLS ON THEIR TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS INCLUDING JAMES HUNTER WHOSE WORK COMBINES HISTORY WITH UNDERWATER ARCHEOLOGY.

(James Hunter) I THINK THAT ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORY REALLY COMPLEMENT ONE ANOTHER.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU INTEGRATE BOTH EQUALLY, YOU FIND THAT CERTAIN THINGS THAT ARE MISSING FROM THE HISTORICAL RECORD ARE FILLED IN BY THE ARCHEOLOGICAL RECORD AND VICE VERSA.

I KIND OF SUSPECTED SOMETHING WAS WRONG WHEN I FIRST SAW THE GUN UNDERWATER BECAUSE A LOT OF THE SWIVEL GUNS I HAVE SEEN FROM OTHER ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES WERE VERY LONG AND SLENDER ELEGANT WEAPONS.

THIS WAS NOT THE CASE WITH THIS GUN.

IT WAS VERY STUBBY, AND SO I ALWAYS KIND OF THOUGHT HERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG WITH IT.

WHEN THEY FINALLY DECONCRETED IT AND I HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT I REALIZED ITS, IT'S TRUE-- THE MUZZLE'S MISSING.

SO IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

BUT WE DO KNOW THAT WHEN THE GUN WAS MADE, IT WAS FLAWED.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE GUN DEAD ON DOWN THE BORE YOU SEE THAT THERE'S CONSIDERABLE THICKNESS IN THE BARREL WALL ON ONE SIDE IT'S APPRECIABLY THINNER ON THE OTHER.

SO IT APPEARS THAT WHOEVER MADE THE GUN, WHETHER THEY DRILLED IT OR CAST THAT BORE, IT WAS CAST VERY MUCH OFF CENTER, WHICH WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE BY ANY MEANS.

BUT FOR WHATEVER REASON, THEY CONTINUED TO USE THE GUN IN SPITE OF THAT.

(narrator) THE SWIVEL GUN IS MANUFACTURED DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

UP TO NOW, THE MAJORITY OF COLONISTS ARE PROTESTANT AND CONSIDER THEMSELVES TO BE BRITISH CITIZENS.

WITH THE HELP OF THE BRITISH, NEW ENGLANDERS HAVE FOUGHT PERIODIC WARS AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS AND THEIR CATHOLIC FRENCH ALLIES FOR NEARLY A HUNDRED YEARS.

BUT NOW, A PROFOUND SHIFT OCCURS.

WHEN THE BRITISH DEMAND TO BE REPAID FOR THEIR MILITARY ASSISTANCE AND IMPOSE A SERIES OF TAXES ON THE COLONISTS, THE MAJORITY OF COLONIAL AMERICANS REBEL AGAINST WHAT THEY PERCEIVE AS BRITISH TYRANNY.

IN MAINE, PROTESTERS IN THE TOWN OF FALMOUTH KIDNAP A BRITISH NAVAL COMMANDER AND REBELS IN MACHIAS CAPTURE A ROYAL VESSEL AND KILL HER CAPTAIN.

TO RETALIATE, THE BRITISH BURN FALMOUTH AND WHILE THEIR ATTEMPTS TO PUNISH MACHIAS FAIL, THEY DO SUCCEED IN CUTTING OFF SUPPLIES TO THE TOWN.

AMERICAN PATRIOTS DO THEIR BEST TO PROTEST BRITISH RULE.

UP TO 20% OF AMERICANS REMAIN LOYAL TO THE CROWN.

THESE PEOPLE ARE CALLED TORIES, OR LOYALISTS, AND THEIR LIVES BECOME MORE DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS AS THE REVOLUTION DRAGS ON.

(James Leamon) PEOPLE WOULD BE LOYALIST FOR ANY NUMBER OF REASONS.

ONE WAS THE OBVIOUS FEELING THAT THE AMERICANS COULDN'T WIN.

AND THAT'S A VERY, VERY REASONABLE ASSUMPTION THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE REVOLUTION.

LOGIC, REASON, DICTATED THAT THE AMERICANS WITH THEIR DISUNITY AND THEIR LACK OF ORGANIZED MILITARY EXPERIENCE COULDN'T POSSIBLY WIN AGAINST SO GREAT A MILITARY NAVAL FORCE AND THE POLITICAL ORGANIZATION OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

SECONDLY, PARTICULARLY AFTER 1778 WHEN THE FRENCH ALLIANCE OCCURS, WAS FEAR OF FRANCE.

THERE'S A LONG-STANDING TRADITION OF HOSTILITY AGAINST CATHOLIC FRANCE.

JOINING FRANCE WAS LIKE JOINING THE DEVIL, AND THIS IS TRUE.

AND OF COURSE, AN UNSUCCESSFUL REVOLUTION MEANT THAT THEY WOULD BE TRAITORS.

BRITAIN AND ANY COUNTRY WAS VERY UNSYMPATHETIC TOWARD TRAITORS.

THEY BEHEADED OR HANGED OR PENALIZED IN VARIOUS WAYS PEOPLE WHO WERE REGARDED AS TRAITORS.

I MEAN, I WOULD BE A LOYALIST, I THINK, AS I ADDED UP THE CAUSES LIKE THIS.

(narrator) LOYALISTS ALSO HAVE A PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENT AGAINST INDEPENDENCE.

THEY BELIEVE THAT A MAN'S OATH IS GIVEN BEFORE GOD AND THAT, ONCE A MAN HAS GIVEN HIS OATH TO THE KING, IT CANNOT BE BROKEN, EVEN IF THE KING HIMSELF FAILS TO LIVE UP TO THE AGREEMENT.

IN THE TOWN OF POWNALBOROUGH, LOYALIST AND ANGLICAN REVEREND, JACOB BAILEY, IS PRESSURED BY PATRIOT LEADERS AGAIN AND AGAIN.

LIKE OTHER PREACHERS, HE IS ASKED TO READ THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM HIS PULPIT.

HE REFUSES.

(James Leamon) AND IN 1776, WHERE HE REFUSED TO READ THE DECLARATION, AND HE DID SO ON THE ARGUMENT THAT HE, AGAIN, HAD GIVEN HIS OATH TO THE CROWN.

AND THEN HE SAID, "AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO ALSO HAVE GIVEN THEIR OATH TO THE CROWN AND BROKEN IT.

WHAT GOOD IS THEIR OATH?

IT'S WORTHLESS.

EVEN IF THEY GIVE IT NOW TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS OR TO GEORGE WASHINGTON THEIR OATHS HAVE BEEN FORSWORN.

THEIR OATHS ARE VALUELESS!"

(narrator) IN "THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE," THE AMERICAN PATRIOTS LIST THEIR COMPLAINTS AGAINST GEORGE III.

THEY ARGUE THAT, BECAUSE THE KING HAS VIOLATED THEIR TRUST, THEY ARE NOW FREE FROM THEIR OATHS OF LOYALTY TO HIM.

(James Leamon) "THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE," THE SECOND HALF OF WHICH LISTS ALL THE WAYS THAT THE KING HAS BROKEN HIS OATH.

HE HAS SENT TROOPS.

HE HAS DENIED TO AMERICANS THEIR RIGHTS AS ENGLISHMEN.

LOYALISTS DENY THAT ARGUMENT.

HE MAY HAVE BROKEN HIS OATH.

HE MAY HAVE SENT ARMED TROOPS TO COERCE OUR PEOPLE.

TO BURN OUR CITIES, TO DO ALL THESE THINGS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

BUT TO THE LOYALISTS, HE'S STILL OUR KING.

AND IT'S NOT US TO SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM HIM.

WE CANNOT DO THAT.

(narrator) MANY LOYALISTS ARE THE TARGET OF BOYCOTTS AND MOB RULE AND ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR FAMILIES.

TO PROTECT THE LOYALISTS AND TO ALLEVIATE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN THEY REPRESENT, THE BRITISH SEND 700 TROOPS AND 3 SLOOPS OF WAR TO ESTABLISH A LOYALIST COLONY AND BUILD A FORT AT PRESENT-DAY CASTINE.

THIS NEW FORT CAN ALSO THREATEN MASSACHUSETTS AND PROTECT BRITISH SHIPPING LINES FROM THE AMERICAN PRIVATEERS THAT ARE WREAKING HAVOC ON BOTH MERCHANT AND MILITARY VESSELS.

THE AMERICANS IN BOSTON QUICKLY DISCOVER THE PLAN AND REQUISITION TRANSPORTS, PRIVATEERS, AND WARSHIPS TO TRY AND STOP THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THIS NEW BRITISH COLONY.

INITIALLY, MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE CONFIDENT THAT THEY WILL WIN THE BATTLE AND THEY TAKE THE UNUSUAL STEP OF INSURING MOST OF THE SHIPS IN THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION.

THEY PROVIDE FINANCIAL GUARANTEES FOR THE SAFETY OF MANY OF THE PRIVATE VESSELS THAT SAIL WITH THE ARMADA.

AS THE FLEET MAKES ITS WAY FROM BOSTON TO THE PENOBSCOT, THE OFFICERS HAVE ORDERS TO RECRUIT 1,500 TROOPS FROM MILITIA UNITS ALONG THE MAINE COAST.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THE MILITIA THAT WAS PUT ON BOARD THESE SHIPS WAS PRETTY MUCH THE LOW END OF THE SPECTRUM.

ALL THE VOLUNTEERS HAD LEFT ALREADY.

THIS IS THE MIDDLE OF THE REVOLUTION.

THE REVOLUTION HAD BEEN GOING ON FOR A FEW YEARS.

WHEN THEY HAD A NEW CALL-UP FOR THIS EXPEDITION THEY HAD THE YOUNG BOYS WHO WERE JUST COMING OF AGE.

AND THE OLDER FELLAS LIKE ABOUT MY AGE, YOU KNOW, WITH A BAD SHOULDER AND A LIMP AND WHATEVER, BAD EYESIGHT, FORMING UP THIS 1,000 TROOPS THAT WERE PUT ON BOARD.

THEY HAD NEVER WORKED TOGETHER AS AN ARMY AT ALL.

(narrator) IN CONTRAST TO THIS RAGGED BAND OF REBELS, THE BRITISH STATIONED AT FORT GEORGE ARE WELL-TRAINED AND BATTLE-HARDENED AND HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF THE BRITISH ORDINANCE BOARD.

THE BRITISH ORDINANCE BOARD WAS A GROUP IN ENGLAND THAT WAS PART OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND THEIR JOB WAS TO MAKE SPECIFICATIONS FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF ARTILLERY.

THEY BASICALLY STANDARDIZED ARTILLERY ABOARD SHIPS AND ALSO IN ARMY FIELD UNITS.

BUT ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST RESPONSIBILITIES WAS TO ENSURE THAT THE WEAPONS BEING SUPPLIED TO THE BRITISH NAVY AND TO THE BRITISH ARMY WERE SAFE.

THAT THEY MET THE STANDARDS THAT THE ORDINANCE BOARD HAD STIPULATED AND THAT THESE WEAPONS WOULD NOT INJURE THEIR OWN GUN CREWS.

THAT WAS THEIR MAIN, THEIR MAIN PURPOSE.

(narrator) CONSIDERING THE STRICT REGULATIONS OF THE BRITISH ORDINANCE BOARD, HUNTER IMMEDIATELY SUSPECTS THAT THE SWIVEL GUN FOUND IN THE PENOBSCOT DOES NOT BELONG TO THE ENGLISH.

AT THE MARYLAND ARCHEOLOGICAL CONSERVATION LAB, THE GUN IS X-RAYED AND HUNTER DISCOVERS SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED.

(James Hunter) ONCE THEY DID A SERIES OF X-RAYS THEY WERE ABLE TO SHOW THERE WAS, IN FACT, A PIECE OF AMMUNITION LODGED IN THE BARREL TOWARDS THE MUZZLE.

IT SHOWS THEY WERE USING A DEFECTIVE WEAPON AND PAID FOR IT.

A BURST GUN WAS NEVER A GOOD THING.

MOST OF THE TIME WHEN A CANNON FROM THIS PERIOD EXPLODED IT WOULD KILL AT LEAST ONE OR TWO CREW MEMBERS EVERY TIME IT HAPPENED.

BASICALLY IT WOULD BE SHRAPNEL.

IT WOULD THROW PIECES OF METAL EVERY DIRECTION.

IF YOU HAPPENED TO BE UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO IT, IT WOULD EITHER KILL YOU OR SERIOUSLY DISABLE YOU.

(narrator) THROUGH THE CONSERVATION PROCESS, ARCHEOLOGISTS ANSWER MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SWIVEL GUN, BUT ONE QUESTION REMAINS-- WHY IS A GUN THAT IS SO COMPLETELY FLAWED AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS STILL BEING USED?

TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, IT'S NECESSARY TO LOOK BACK MORE THAN 200 YEARS IN MAINE'S HISTORY.

ON JULY 19TH, 1779, APPROXIMATELY 40 AMERICAN VESSELS LEAVE BOSTON TO FIGHT THE BRITISH AT CASTINE.

SO THEY HEADED UP TO CASTINE.

THE FLEET GOT THERE AND THEY SAW THE BRITISH UP ON THE HILL.

THE BRITISH HAD LEVELED THE TREES, WERE STARTING TO BUILD A FORT.

AND ACROSS THE ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR WERE 3 SMALL, BUT PROFESSIONAL, BRITISH SHIPS ANCHORED ACROSS THE ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOR, SHOWING THEIR 3 BROADSIDES OUT.

THE AMERICAN WARSHIPS THEN WENT IN CLOSE TO THEM TO TRY TO KNOCK THEM OUT, PUSH THEM OUT, BUT THE AMERICANS GOT THE WORST OF IT.

AND SO THE AMERICANS BACKED OFF.

THEN THEY MADE A FEINT TO LAND AT A NICE LANDING PLACE.

THE BRITISH TOOK THE BAIT AND WENT OVER THERE.

AND THEN THE AMERICANS LANDED ACTUALLY IN THE FACE OF 100 FOOT CLIFF CALLED DICE HEAD, VERY STEEP.

AND THE CONTINENTAL MARINES THAT HAD BEEN ON THE AMERICAN SHIPS THEN STORMED THAT HEIGHTS.

[men yelling; guns blasting] THERE WERE MILITIA UNITS ON EITHER SIDE FIRING AT THE BRITISH.

THE BRITISH WERE UP ON TOP SHOOTING DOWN, DROPPING GRENADES ON THEM.

BUT THE AMERICAN MARINES TOOK THE HEIGHTS (narrator) DESPITE THEIR LACK OF EXPERIENCE AND HEAVY LOSSES, THE AMERICAN MARINES STORM A 100-FOOT CLIFF AND PUSH BACK THE BRITISH MILITARY MACHINE.

BUT THEN, JUST WHEN THE BRITISH COMMANDER IS ABOUT TO END THE BATTLE AND SURRENDER FORT GEORGE, THE AMERICAN GENERAL COMMANDS HIS TROOPS TO STOP THEIR OFFENSIVE AND DIG IN FOR TRENCH WARFARE.

SO AS THE BRITISH COMMANDER STOOD THERE WITH HIS MOUTH WIDE OPEN, THE AMERICANS STOPPED AND STARTED DIGGING IN.

IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE UNBELIEVABLY-- IT WAS A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF A COLONIAL LEADER WHO DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WARFARE.

(narrator) BOTH THE BRITISH AND THE AMERICANS HAVE FAULTY INTELLIGENCE AND BOTH BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE OUTNUMBERED.

THE AMERICAN GENERAL IS DETERMINED TO WAIT FOR SUPPORT FROM THE AMERICAN NAVY BEFORE STORMING THE FORT.

AT THE SAME TIME, THE AMERICAN NAVY ADMIRAL BELIEVES THAT HIS SHIPS WILL BE SUNK BY THE 3 BRITISH SLOOPS OF WAR AND HE ALSO REFUSES TO ATTACK.

PLUS THE BRITISH COULD BE HIDING ALL KINDS OF ARTILLERY IN THE WOODS SURROUNDING THE HARBOR AND THE WIND WAS BLOWING STRAIGHT INTO THE HARBOR.

IF THEY GOT INTO A TRAP, THEY COULDN'T GET OUT.

SO THERE WAS THE FORT, THE AMERICAN TROOPS AROUND IT, THE NAVY WOULDN'T GO IN; THEY HAD THIS STANDOFF FOR AWHILE.

(Ed Churchill) THE AMERICAN GENERAL SAID, LOOK, HE SAID THIS TO THE NAVAL COMMANDER, HE SAID, "YOU GO AND TAKE THOSE 3 VESSELS, THEN I'LL ATTACK THE FORT."

AND THE NAVAL COMMANDER SAYS, "NO, NO, NO," HE SAYS, "YOU GO TAKE THE FORT AND THEN I'LL GO AFTER THE VESSELS."

(narrator) EVERY DAY FOR TWO WEEKS, THE AMERICAN COMMANDERS ARGUE TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER THE AMERICAN ARMY OR THE AMERICAN NAVY WILL ATTACK THE BRITISH FIRST.

DURING THE DEBATES A SECRETARY TAKES NOTES, KEEPING RECORD OF HOW EACH COMMANDER VOTED.

(Ed Churchill) AND THE LAST LINE WOULD BE "AND MR. REVERE VOTES TO GO HOME."

THIS WAS PAUL REVERE.

PAUL REVERE WAS THERE WITH THE ORDINANCE VESSEL, WHICH CARRIED ALL THE ARMAMENTS, THE GUNS, AND ALL OF THAT.

AND HE OBVIOUSLY FIGURED HE HAD SPENT ENOUGH TIME UP THERE AND IT WAS TIME TO LEAVE.

HE WAS NOT MAKING A GOOD NAME FOR HIMSELF IN THIS INSTANCE.

(narrator) FINALLY, COURIERS FROM MASSACHUSETTS DELIVER STERN ORDERS TO THE AMERICAN COMMANDERS TO TAKE THE FORT.

NOW THAT THEY AGREE TO WORK COOPERATIVELY, A VICTORY IS ALMOST GUARANTEED.

BUT THEN, ON AUGUST 13TH, WHEN THE COMMANDERS HAVE FINALLY SETTLED THEIR DIFFERENCES AND THE TROOPS ARE PREPARING FOR THE ATTACK, BRITISH REINFORCEMENTS APPEAR ON THE HORIZON.

(Ed Churchill) AND LO AND BEHOLD, HERE SHOWS UP THE BRITISH WAR FLEET OF 7 SHIPS.

HOWEVER, THIS 7 SHIPS INCLUDED A 64, WHICH MEANS A 64-GUN VESSEL, SEVERAL 32s AND IT WAS A FORMIDABLE FLEET.

THE BEST THE AMERICANS HAD WAS ONE 32 (narrator) SEEING THAT THEY ARE TRAPPED, ONE VESSEL, "THE DEFENCE," TRIES TO HIDE BEHIND SEARS ISLAND, BUT IS QUICKLY DISCOVERED BY THE BRITISH.

THE CAPTAIN ORDERS ALL THE MEN ASHORE AND SCUTTLES THE SHIP.

THE REST OF THE AMERICAN FLEET ATTEMPTS TO ESCAPE UP THE PENOBSCOT RIVER.

BUT THE WIND AND THE TIDE ARE AGAINST THEM.

(Warren Reiss) THERE WAS ALMOST NO WIND, AND THE CURRENT AS IT EBBS OUT OF THE PENOBSCOT IS VERY POWERFUL.

SO EVERYBODY ANCHORED WHEN THE TIDE WAS GOING OUT.

AND WHEN THE TIDE WOULD BE COMING IN THEY'D HAUL UP ANCHOR.

THEY'D SEND THEIR BOATS OUT AHEAD AND TOW AS BEST THEY COULD, ROWING ALL THE WAY.

(narrator) THE BRITISH HAVE LARGER SHIPS AND TALLER MASTS.

THEIR TOPSAILS CATCH THE SLIGHT BREEZE, ALLOWING THEM TO INCH THEIR WAY TOWARD THE AMERICANS.

IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT THE SMALLEST AMERICAN SHIPS WILL BE CAUGHT.

THE AMERICANS DRIVE THEM ON THE BEACH AT SANDY POINT AND LIGHT FIRE TO THEM.

THE MEN ESCAPE INTO THE WOODS.

AT LEAST 15 SHIPS ARE LOST THERE.

(James Leamon) YOU CAN JUST ENVISION THE CHAOS THAT THIS MUST HAVE INVOLVED.

SHIPS SAILING UP RAMMING ONE ANOTHER IN THEIR HASTE TO GET ASHORE.

TROOPS MUTINYING AGAINST THEIR OWN OFFICERS IN THEIR HASTE TO GET ASHORE AND GET BACK INTO THE WOODS IN SAFETY AND GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THIS FORMIDABLE BRITISH FLEET.

(narrator) ON A DESPERATE FLIGHT FROM THE BRITISH FLEET, THE AMERICANS DELIBERATELY BURN AND SINK 35 OF THEIR OWN SHIPS, AND THROW AN UNTOLD NUMBER OF MUNITIONS OVERBOARD TO KEEP THEM OUT OF BRITISH HANDS.

MAINE'S HISTORY HAS UNLOCKED THE SECRETS OF THE SWIVEL GUN THAT BRENT PHINNEY FOUND.

NOW ARCHEOLOGIST JAMES HUNTER IS CLEAR THAT IT ONCE BELONGED TO A DESPERATE BAND OF AMERICAN REBELS.

(James Hunter) SEEING IT ON THE BOTTOM, IT'S PROVENIENCE ON THE BOTTOM LAYING IN A SCATTER OF ARTILLERY, A SCATTER OF MUNITIONS, GIVES YOU A REAL SENSE OF WHAT THINGS WERE LIKE IN THE VERY LAST HOURS OF THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION FOR THE AMERICAN FORCES.

THEY WERE PANICKED; THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

THE BRITISH WERE COMING UP THE RIVER; THEY HAD NOWHERE TO GO.

THERE WERE 10 SHIPS BOTTLENECKED AT THE END OF THIS RIVER AND THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

AND THEY FIGURED THE BEST THING THAT THEY COULD DO WAS TO TAKE EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAD THAT COULD BE OF USE TO THEIR ENEMY AND GET RID OF IT, JUST THROW IT OVERBOARD.

WE ALWAYS HEAR IN HISTORY ABOUT HOW THE AMERICANS HAD IT VERY DIFFICULT.

THEY WERE UNDERMANNED, THEY WERE UNDERARMED.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF MONEY.

THEY WERE NOT VERY WELL TRAINED.

AND YOU SEE A SWIVEL GUN LIKE THIS, WHICH IS CLEARLY DAMAGED.

IT WAS CLEARLY CAST WRONG.

I MEAN, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE ITS WAY INTO A EUROPEAN ARMY, AND YET IT'S BEING USED.

I THINK IT GIVES YOU A VERY TANGIBLE SENSE OF THE DESPERATION THAT THE AMERICANS WERE ENDURING AT THE TIME.

(James Leamon) TO THIS DAY, THE CHAOS WAS SO GREAT THAT NO ONE CAN ACCURATELY SAY WHAT THE LOSS TO THE AMERICANS WERE.

NOBODY REALLY KNOWS EXCEPT THAT THE ARMY WAS TOTALLY DISMANTLED BY THIS EXPERIENCE.

AND MASSACHUSETTS WAS LEFT WITH AN HORRENDOUS BILL BECAUSE IT HAD INSURED ALL THESE VESSELS, IT HAD PAID FOR ALL THE EQUIPMENT, IT HAD ORGANIZED THE ARMY.

(narrator) BECAUSE SO MANY SHIPS ARE LOST DURING THE EXPEDITION, MASSACHUSETTS IS NOW LIABLE FOR MILLIONS OF POUNDS STERLING.

THIS CRIPPLES THEIR ABILITY TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE REVOLUTION.

THE LOYALISTS STAY IN CASTINE UNTIL THE END OF THE REVOLUTION WHEN MAINE BECOMES PART OF THE NEW NATION.

AT THAT POINT, SOME OF THEM DISMANTLE THEIR HOMES AND REBUILD THEM ON PASSAMAQUODDY LAND IN ST. ANDREWS, NEW BRUNSWICK WHERE THEY STAND TODAY.

(Warren Reiss) THE CONSEQUENCES OF LOSING THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION WERE FAR REACHING.

THE WHOLE EASTERN HALF OF MAINE WAS TAKEN AWAY.

BECAUSE WE LOST THAT BATTLE.

IT WAS VERY DEPRESSING, I THINK, TO THE PEOPLE TO THE PROVINCE OF MAINE AND NEW ENGLANDERS IN GENERAL TO SEE THE BRITISH GATHERING THAT MUCH PROPERTY FROM THAT ONE LOSS.

BUT THEY RECOVERED.

(James Leamon) THE PENOBSCOT EXPEDITION WAS PIVOTAL IN THE MOVEMENT TO SEPARATE MAINE FROM MASSACHUSETTS LARGELY THROUGH THE FACT THAT IT WAS A MILITARY AND FINANCIAL DISASTER.

WHICH MEANT MASSACHUSETTS COULD NO LONGER PROTECT MAINE FROM THE BRITISH.

AND THIS LAID THE BASIS FOR THE ARGUMENT THAT SINCE MASSACHUSETTS DID NOT DEFEND MAINE, MAINE OWED VERY LITTLE, IF ANYTHING, TO MASSACHUSETTS.

GIVEN THE REVOLUTIONARY IDEOLOGY OF SELF-DETERMINATION OF A SEPARATE PEOPLES, MAINE BEING SEPARATE FROM MASSACHUSETTS ANYWAY, COULD LOGICALLY BE AN ENTITY UNTO ITSELF.

(man) PRODUCTION OF "HOME: THE STORY OF MAINE" ON MAINE PBS WAS MADE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MAINE STATE MUSEUM.

MAJOR FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES, A FEDERAL AGENCY COMMITTED TO FOSTERING INNOVATION, LEADERSHIP AND A LIFETIME OF LEARNING.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING WAS PROVIDED BY ELSIE VILES.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ CC-- ARMOUR CAPTIONING ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ ♪ Glory glory hallelujah ♪ His day is marchin on